Effective PowerPoint
Presentations
Aruna Viswadoss, Ph.D.
ITC
[email protected]
Acknowledgements: Ellen Ramsey, ITC, and Sue Ellen Breeden, ITC
Much of the content and formatting of this presentation are from the original
presentation by Ellen Ramsey at the Office Technology Conference, 2000.
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PowerPoint Basics
• What can you create:
• On-screen presentations
• Web pages/presentations
• Speaker notes
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Audience handouts
35 mm slides
Color and B&W overheads
Paper printouts
• Term: each page in a presentation is a
“slide”
• Possible to have many slides in one file
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To Use or Not to Use PowerPoint
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PowerPoint Is Useful
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Powerful features
Spike up dry subject matter
Appeal to different learning styles
Multimedia file friendly
Web access to absentees
Paperless; reuse with modification
Move slide order, outline
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PowerPoint Is Not That Useful
• Some subject areas
• Pedagogy issues
– Demo, hands-on, small group work
• Technology issues
• Time crunch *
• Need to make last minute
changes/additions
• If features not relevant to needs
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Additional Uses
PowerPoint provides a framework:
• For organizing lecture materials
• For organizing images and sounds
• For building lecture outlines
• For creating custom lectures for different
groups based on one lecture
• Lecture related notes / handouts
• Ability to link URLs, Office applications, from
within
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Design
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Text Layout
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Legible, large fonts
No underlining
Bold, color, italics
6 lines, 6 words
Key points
Recommended fonts
Serif vs. Sans Serif
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Color
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Choose colors wisely
Stick to a theme
Darker backgrounds
Lighter text and graphics
Know your lighting conditions
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Color Don’ts: Examples
Green on Red
Red on Green
Brown on Green
Green on Brown
Blue on Black
Black on Blue
Blue on Purple
Purple on Blue or
Blue-green
Multicolors
Multicolors
Animation, esp.
pointless
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Graphics
• Images should be:
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Meaningful
Clear and professional
Limited in number
Subdued if background
• Animation
– For emphasis
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More Graphics
• Beware of file sizes [compressed (.jpg, .gif)
vs. uncompressed image files (.bmp)]
– Ensure transportability
• Photos
– Bitmap in background or foreground
– Resolution affects file size, transition speed
• Lower resolution = smaller file size
The Holsinger Studio Collection, X8276B, Special Collections Department,
University of Virginia Library (http://www.lib.virginia.edu/speccol/holsinger/)
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Graphics Resources
• Image Repositories at UVa
– Digital Media Center
http://www.lib.virginia.edu/dmc/
– Electronic Text Center
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/
– Holsinger Studio Collection
http://www.lib.virginia.edu/speccol/holsinger/
– ITC Photo Repository
http://www.itc.virginia.edu/pubs/uva-images/
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Templates
• Slide templates should be:
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Relevant to subject matter
Darker in color
Clear and professional
Sparing with animation
Office 2000 defaults provide many
choices
• Web searches provide alternatives
• Choices will grow as product ages
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Presentation: 4 P’s
4. Presentation
3. Practice
2. Preparation
1. Planning
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Planning: What, How, Who, Where
• Consider your
message
• Pick the best tools
• Know your audience
• Know your
environment
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Preparation
• Use slides as emphasis for key points
– Don’t read off the screen
– Use outlines, flowcharts, graphs, and cue slides to emphasize
main points
– Use slides as prompts, outlines, or conversation points, not
cue cards
• Use handouts to reinforce your presentation
– Make sure the sequence of printed slides and supplemental
materials matches the sequence of your presentation
– Introduce information in handouts that has not been covered
during presentation
• People won’t look at appendices, etc. unless you point them out
• Hand out additional materials at the end of your presentation,
otherwise people will read them while you are speaking
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Preparation
• Effective slides
– Emphasis, prompts, or
outlines
– Well edited
• Effective handouts
– Reinforce points
– Match sequence
– Supplemental materials
East
West
Nort
h
South
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Practice
• Know your content!
• Test everything
– Timing and narration
– Equipment
– Room, lighting
• Backups
Content
Test
Backup
– On hard drive
– Non-electronic
– Murphy’s law
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Presenting
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Acknowledge distractions/mistakes
Major changes?
Follow up questions
Keep on track
Prioritize content
Evaluate for next time
Speaker space / physical location
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Design
Presentation
Present
Practice
Prepare
Plan
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