PowerPoint Slide Shows
Tips & Tricks
I thought this guide might help those of you that don’t prepare presentations
on a regular basis, and those of you that want to improve your existing
presentations.
Karen Nosovitch, OAC
Here are some tips to help make sure your
slide show not only looks good, but also
communicates clearly.
1.
Simplify. Take out sentences and replace them with key words
and phrases. Take out slides you can live without. Take out clip
art, if you have used more than you really need. Take off
punctuation.
2.
Check consistency. Watch out for consistency in fonts, type
sizes, and formatting. Check for consistency in lists of bullets,
for example, a list of action steps should all begin with verbs.
3.
Use natural transitions. The easiest transitions and builds are
when text drops down from above, or appears coming in from
the left. It’s easier to read when the text comes in the same way
each time, unless you have a specific case where a new
transition would create attention. Don’t overdo. Every slide
does not need these special effects, and they can slow down the
pace of the presentation.
4.
Don’t rely on spell check only. Spell check won’t help with
synonyms such as “their” and “there” or the correct spelling of
your client’s name! Ask someone else to read it.
5.
Have a blank slide or two at the end. You don’t want to click out
of your show in front of your audience. If you prefer at the end
have a slide that says “Thank You”.
6.
Use “b” or “w” keys. When you are in slide view, you can get a
black screen by pressing the “b” key. (“w” key for a white
screen) When you are ready to start or resume your
presentation, press the “b” key again, and your slide show will
reappear. (Same concept works for the “w” key.)
7.
Know key slide numbers to jump forward or back. When you
are in slide show you can jump ahead or back to a different part
of your presentation, simply by hitting the slide number and
“Enter”. Beats scrolling around in the middle of a presentation.
8.
Have a backup plan. Technology is getting easier to use all the
time, but it is still true that your computer might not want to talk
to the projector. But with a backup plan, you can feel more
comfortable. You can use overheads, hard copy of your
handouts. If the equipment fails, simply continue. You are the
message; the visual aid is just your presentation assistant.
Font size:
Try this: Look at this screen from
12 feet away, and then from 6 feet.
Sign painter's rule of thumb:
1" letter is readable from 10 ft.
2" letter from 20 ft.
3" letter from 30 ft.
Assume 72 point fonts are 1" high
You can do the math.
Tip
Before you start to prepare your presentation, determine (guess)
how far your audience will be from your screen, then choose the bes
Choosing the right font size is 90% of the job.
Note
Point size is actually measured from ascender to descender
Font Selection:
These fonts may look fine when you're close to the screen but look at this
screen from 6 ft.
From a distance, you'll notice that the serif (Times) font and the 'narrow' or
condensed font are more difficult to read. There's always that struggle to
squeeze more words into limited space so using a narrow font may sometimes
be necessary.
Tip
Don't sacrifice readability for style.
Keep your eye on the ball, your job is
to communicate.
Color
Yellow with black lettering is considered the most readable.
(school buses and traffic signs)
. . . however,
On a sign, color is paint.
On screen, color is light.
What may work on a sign or in print
may not work well on an LCD
Tip
re: Reds and greens.
Ambient light affects contrast by turning rich, deep burgundies and
hunter greens into pastels.
More Color tips…
There's also the colorblindness issue, about 10% have
difficulty with reds and greens.
•Avoid the using these color combinations:
pink-gray,
orange-brown,
black-purple,
green-brown,
black-red
(color blindness prevents some users from
distinguishing between the two).
End your presentations with a black slide
The End