Transcript Document

Making PowerPoint Slides
Avoiding the Pitfalls
of Bad Slides
SEE-U 2005, rev TKittel Feb 08
Tips to be Covered
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Presentation Title & Outline
Slide Structure
Formatting - Fonts, Color, & Background
Graphs
Spelling & Grammar
Conclusions and Ending Up
References
Oral Presentation
Title Slide
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Your presentation’s title should tell your
audience what your talk is about
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Succinctly, what’s the comparison or issue, what
organism(s), and generally where
Use a subtitle to add information if needed.
Include your name, course name, semester
Outline
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Make your 1st or 2nd slide an outline of your
presentation
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Ex: 2nd slide in this PowerPoint
Follow the order of your outline for the rest of
the presentation
Only place main points on the outline slide
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Ex: Use the titles of each slide as main points
Slide Structure – Good
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Use 1-2 slides per minute of your presentation
Write in point form, not complete sentences
Include 4-5 points per slide
Avoid wordiness: use key words and phrases
only
Split information between slides to avoid
crowding a slide
Slide Structure - Bad
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This page contains too many words for a
presentation slide. It is not written in point
form, making it difficult both for your audience
to read and for you to present each point.
Although there are exactly the same number of
points on this slide as the previous slide, it
looks much more complicated. In short, your
audience will spend too much time trying to
read this paragraph instead of listening to you.
And oh yeah, don’t crowd a slide up – split your
information on a given topic over to a 2nd slide
Slide Structure – Good
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Show one point at a time:
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Will help audience concentrate on what you are
saying
Will prevent audience from reading ahead
Will help you keep your presentation focused
Slide Structure – Good
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Use the notes frame in the ‘Normal’ view to
write up more complete information for each
slide
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Include details of each point you’re making
Cite sources here, or in small font on the slide
proper such as:
- Smith & Jones 2005
Slide Structure - Bad
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Do not use distracting animation
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Do not go overboard with the animation
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Be consistent with the animation you use
Fonts - Good
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Use at least an 18-point font
Use different size fonts for main points and
secondary points
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this font is 24-point, the main point font is 28-point,
and the title font is 36-point
Use a standard font like Times New Roman or
Arial
Fonts - Bad
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If you use a small font, your audience won’t be able to read what you have written
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CAPITALIZE ONLY WHEN NECESSARY. IT
IS DIFFICULT TO READ
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Don’t use a complicated font
Color - Good
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Use a color of font that contrasts sharply with
the background
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Use color to reinforce the logic of your
structure
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Ex: blue font on white background
Ex: light blue title and dark blue text
Use color to emphasize a point
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But only use this occasionally
Color - Bad
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Using a font color that does not contrast with
the background color is hard to read
Using color for decoration is distracting and
annoying.
Using a different color for each point is
unnecessary
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Using a different color for secondary points is also
unnecessary
Trying to be creative can also be bad
Background - Good
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Use backgrounds such as this one that are
attractive but simple
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Photos can be interesting but often difficult for
reading overlying text
Use the same background consistently
throughout your presentation
Background - Good
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Use backgrounds which are either:
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Light, with dark (not black) lettering, as in the
previous slides
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Best for poorly shaded rooms
Strictly white can be too stark or blinding
Or
Background - Good
• Or backgrounds which are:
– Dark, with light lettering
• Especially good for a very dark room
• Classic look is deep blue with white or light yellow
lettering
Background – Bad
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Avoid backgrounds that are distracting or
difficult to read from
Images - Good
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Add images or simple
graphs to text slides to
illustrate your point
Adding a relevant photo
can also provide visual
relief
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Images added for this
purpose, need not be
discussed
Colorado Treeline – Google Earth
Graphs - Good
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Use graphs rather than tables and words
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Data in graphs are easier to comprehend & retain
than raw data
Trends are easier to visualize in graph form
Graphs - Bad
January February
Blue Balls
20.4
27.4
Red Balls
30.6
38.6
March
90
34.6
April
20.4
31.6
Graphs - Good
Items Sold in First Quarter of 2002
100
Number of Items Sold
90
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60
Blue Balls
Red Balls
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40
30
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10
0
January
February
March
April
Graphs - Good
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Formatting
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Always title your graphs – so it’s clear what’s shown
Label axes
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Unless meaning obvious (e.g., months)
Use a large enough font
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This is a common issue for axis tick labels
Graphs - Bad
100
90
90
80
70
60
Blue Balls
50
Red Balls
38.6
40
34.6
31.6
30.6
27.4
30
20.4
20.4
20
10
0
January
February
March
April
Graphs - Bad
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Minor gridlines are unnecessary
Font is too small
Colors are illogical
Title is missing
Shading is distracting
Spelling and Grammar
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Proof your slides for:
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speling mistakes
the use of of repeated words
grammatical errors you might have make
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For example, “data are” not “data is”
If English is not your first language, please
have someone else check your presentation!
Conclusion
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Use an effective and strong closing
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Your audience is likely to remember your last words
Use a conclusion slide to:
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Summarize the main points of your presentation
Suggest future avenues of research
Questions??
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Ending your presentation:
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End with an invitation for your audience to ask
questions
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End your slide show on your conclusions slide
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This will allow your audience to consider your key points
Avoid ending a presentation abruptly
References
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Include references on very last slide
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Show only if asked a question re your sources
Use any common style found in journal articles – but
be consistent in their formatting
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Example for journal article
Kane, D.L., Hinzman, L.D., and Zarling, J.P. 1991. Thermal response of the active
layer to climatic warming in a permafrost environment. Cold Regions Science and
Technology, 19: 111-122.
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Example for chapter in a book
Field, C. B., Raupach, M. R., and Victoria, R. 2004. The global carbon cycle:
integrating humans, climate, and the natural world. In: C. B. Field and M. R. Raupach
(eds.). The Global Carbon Cycle. Washington: Island Press. pp. 1-13.
Oral Presentation
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Practice, practice, practice
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Makes your presentation come off smoothly, dynamic
Helps tune your timing
Indentifies unnecessary & redundant information
Make a test run with the projector
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Check that slides are clear given the room’s lighting
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Slides too bright? Contrast poor?
Check slides are readable from the back of the room