PowerPoint
Presentation Advice
Mike Splane –© March 2006
Structuring Your Talk:
Preparing a talk always takes far longer than you anticipate. Start early!
- Write a clear statement of the problem and its
importance.
- Research. Collect material which may relate to
the topic.
- Tell a story in a logical sequence.
- Stick to the key concepts. Avoid
description of specifics and unnecessary details.
- If you are making a series of points, organize
them from the most to the least important. The less important points can
be skipped if you run short of time.
- Keep your sentences short, about 10-20 words
each is ideal. This is the way people usually talk.
- Strive for clarity. Are these the best words
for making your point? Are they unambiguous? Are you using unfamiliar
jargon or acronyms?
Preparing Your Slides:
- Presentation Design
- Don’t overload your
slides with too much text or data.
- FOCUS. In general,
using a few powerful slides is the aim.
- Let the picture or
graphic tell the story. Avoid text.
- Type
key words in the PowerPoint Notes area listing what to say when
displaying the slide. The notes are printable.
- Number
your slides and give them a title.
- Use
the “summary slide” feature in slide sorter view to prepare an Agenda or
Table of Contents slide.
- Prepare
a company logo slide for your presentation.
- You
can add a logo and other graphics to every slide using the slide master
feature.
- Proof
read everything, including visuals and numbers.
- Keep
“like” topics together
- Strive
for similar line lengths for text.
- Visual elements
- A
font size of 28 to 34 with a bold font is recommended for subtitles. The
title default size is 44. Use a san serif font for titles.
- Use clear, simple visuals. Don’t confuse the audience.
- Use
contrast: light on dark or dark on light.
- Graphics
should make a key concept clearer.
- Place your graphics
in a similar location within each screen.
- The
drawing toolbar is extremely useful You can:
- Insert
clip art
- Insert
pictures
- Use
Word Art
- Use
text boxes
- Insert
charts and diagrams
- Insert
arrows, banners, and thought balloons.
- To temporarily clear
the screen press W or B during the presentation. Press Enter to resume
the presentation.
- Text
- Font
size must be large enough to be easily read. Size 28 to 34 with a bold
font is recommended.
- It
is distracting if you use too wide a variety of fonts.
- Overuse
of text is a common mistake.
- Too
much text makes the slide unreadable. You may just as well show a blank
slide. Stick
to a few key words.
- If
your audience is reading the slides they are not paying attention to
you. If possible, make your point with graphics instead of text.
- You can use Word
Art, or a clip art image of a sign, to convey text in a more interesting
way.
- Numbers
- Numbers
are usually confusing to the audience. Use as few as possible and allow
extra time for the audience to do the math.
- Numbers
should never be ultra precise:
- “Anticipated
Revenues of $660,101.83” looks silly. Are your numbers that accurate?
Just say $660 thousand.
- “The
Break Even Point is 1048.17 units. Are you selling fractions of a unit?
- Don’t
show pennies. Cost per unit is about the only time you would need to
show pennies.
- If
you have more than 12-15 numbers on a slide, that’s probably too many.
- Using
only one number per sentence helps the audience absorb the data.
- Statistics
- Use
the same scale for numbers on a slide. Don’t compare thousands to
millions.
- When
using sales data, stick to a single market in the presentation. Worldwide
sales, domestic sales, industry sales, company sales, divisional sales,
or sales to a specific market segment are all different scales. They
should not be mixed.
- Cite
your source on the same slide as the statistic, using a smaller size
font.
- Charts
- Charts
need to be clearly labeled. You can make more interesting charts by
adding elements from the drawing toolbar.
- Numbers
in tables are both hard to see and to understand. There is usually a
better way to present your numerical data than with columns and rows of
numbers. Get creative!
- PowerPoint
deletes portions of charts and worksheets that are imported from Excel,
keeping only the leftmost 5.5 inches. Plan ahead.
- Backgrounds
- Backgrounds
should never distract from the presentation.
- Using
the default white background is hard on the viewer’s eyes. You can easily
add a design style or a color to the background.
- Backgrounds
that are light colored with dark text, or vice versa, look good. A dark
background with white font reduces glare.
- Colors
appear lighter when projected. Pale colors often appear as white.
- Consistent
backgrounds add to a professional appearance.
- For
a long presentation, you may want to change background designs when
shifting to a new topic.
- Excitement
- Slides for business
presentations should be dull! You don’t want to distract the audience.
- Sounds
and transition effects can be annoying. Use sparingly.
- Animation
effects can be interesting when used in moderation.
- Too
much animation is distracting.
- Consider
using animated clip art
- Consider
using custom animation
- You
can insert video and audio clips into PowerPoint.
- You can also insert
hyperlinks.
Hints for Efficient Practice:
- Timing - Practicing Your Presentation,
- Talk through your
presentation to see how much time you use for each slide.
- Set the automatic
slide transition to the amount of time you want to spend discussing each
slide.
- Are you using the
right amount of time per slide? Decide which slides or comments need
alteration to make your presentation smoother.
- Change the automatic
slide transition settings for individual slides to fit the amount of time
needed for that slide and practice again. Are you still within the time
limit?
- Decide if you want
to remove the automatic slide transition feature before giving the
presentation.
- Content
- Make a list of key words/concepts
for each slide
- Read through the
list before you begin.
- Don't attempt to
memorize your text;
- Your words will
probably be different each time you practice.
- Think about the
ideas, and your words will follow naturally.
Delivering Your Talk:
- Pre-Talk Preparation
- Plan to get there a
few minutes early to set up and test the equipment.
- Dress appropriately
for your audience.
- Turn off your cell
phone.
- Handouts:
- Edward Tufte, the leading expert on visual presentation
techniques, advises speakers to always prepare a handout when giving a
PowerPoint presentation.
- Make about 10% more
handouts than you expect to use.
- Distribute handouts
at the beginning of your talk.
- Opening:
- Jump right in and
get to the point.
- Give your rehearsed opening
statement; don't improvise at the last moment.
- Use the opening to
catch the interest and attention of the audience.
- Briefly state the
problem or topic you will be discussing.
- Briefly summarize
your main theme for an idea or solution.
- Speaking
- Talk at a natural,
moderate rate of speech
- Project your voice.
- Speak clearly and
distinctly.
- Repeat critical
information.
- Pause briefly to
give your audience time to digest the information on each new slide.
- Don’t read the
slides aloud. Your audience can read them far faster than you can talk.
- Body Language
- Keep your eyes on
the audience
- Use natural
gestures.
- Don’t turn your back
to the audience.
- Don’t hide behind
the lectern.
- Avoid looking at your
notes. Only use them as reference points to keep you on track. Talk, don’t
read.
- Questions
- Always leave time
for a few questions at the end of the talk.
- If you allow
questions during the talk, the presentation time will be about 25% more
than the practice time.
- You can jump
directly to a slide by typing its number or by right-clicking during the
presentation and choosing from the slide titles.
- Relax. If you’ve
done the research you can easily answer most questions.
- Some questions are
too specific or personal. Politely refuse to answer.
- If you can’t answer
a question, say so. Don’t apologize.
“I don’t have that information. I’ll try to find out for you.”
- Length:
- To end on time, you
must PRACTICE!
- When practicing, try
to end early. You need to allow time for audience interruptions and
questions.
- Demeanor:
- Show some
enthusiasm. Nobody wants to listen to a dull presentation. On the other
hand, don’t overdo it. Nobody talks and gestures like a maniac in real
life. How would you explain your ideas to a friend?
- Involve your
audience. Ask questions, make eye contact, use
humor.
- Don’t get distracted
by audience noises or movements.
- You’ll forget a
minor point or two. Everybody does.
- If you temporarily lose
your train of thought you can gain time to recover by asking if the
audience has any questions.
- Conclusion:
- Close the sale.
- Concisely summarize
your key concepts and the main ideas of your presentation.
- Resist the
temptation to add a few last impromptu words.
- End your talk with
the summary statement or question you have prepared. What do you want
them to do? What do you want them to remember?
- Consider
alternatives to “Questions?” for your closing slide. A summary of your
key points, a cartoon, a team logo, or a company logo may be stronger.