Making PowerPoint Slides

Avoiding the Pitfalls of Bad Slides

Titles and Headings

 The main topic should be the Heading – see above  Have at least one slide for each topic. – You should have enough information for several per topic

Slide Structure – Good

 Use 1-2 slides per 30 seconds of your presentation  Write in bullet form, not complete sentences  Include 4-5 points per slide  Avoid wordiness: use key words and phrases only

Slide Structure - Bad

 This page contains too many words for a presentation slide. It is not written in bullet 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.

Slide Structure – Good

 Show one point at a time: – Will help audience concentrate on what you are saying – Will prevent audience from reading ahead – Will help you keep your presentation focused

Slide Structure - Bad

 Do not use distracting animation  Do not use “fun” sounds  Be consistent with the animation that you choose – Use the same one throughout

Fonts - Good

 Use at least an 24-point font  Use different size fonts for main points and secondary points – 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 San Serif fonts are better than Serif fonts

Fonts - Bad

 If you use a small font, your audience won’t be able to read what you have written  CAPITALIZE ONLY WHEN NECESSARY. IT IS DIFFICULT TO READ   Don’t use a complicated font Don’t use “fun” fonts

Color - Good

 Use a color of font that contrasts sharply with the background – Ex: blue font on white background  Use color to reinforce the logic of your structure – Ex: light blue title and dark blue text  Use color to emphasize a point – But only use this occasionally

Color - Bad

 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 – Using a different color for secondary points is also unnecessary  T r y i n g t o b e c r e a t i v e c a n a l s o b e b a d

Background - Good

 Use backgrounds such as this one that are attractive but simple  Use backgrounds which are light  Use the same background consistently throughout your presentation

Background – Bad

 Avoid backgrounds that are distracting or difficult to read from  Always be consistent with the background that you use

Graphs - Good

 Use graphs rather than just charts and words – Data in graphs is easier to comprehend & retain than is raw data – Trends are easier to visualize in graph form  Always title your graphs

Graphs - Bad

Blue Red 20.4

30.6

27.4

38.6

90 34.6

20.4

31.6

 Boring!

 No title  What is this telling us?

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

Graphs - Good Items Sold in First Quarter of 2002

January February March April Blue Balls Red Balls

100 90 20 10 0 80 70 60 50 40 30

Graphs - Bad

20.4

30.6

27.4

38.6

January February 90 March 34.6

20.4

31.6

April Blue Balls Red Balls

Graphs - Bad

 Minor gridlines are unnecessary  Font is too small  Colors are illogical  Title is missing  Shading is distracting

Pictures - Good

 Use pictures that add to the presentation  They should help explain what your career does  You could point out details that explain your facts.

Pictures - Bad

    The picture is distracting from the information.

The wrong size Does not help audience to understand Text is too small in comparison

Spelling and Grammar

 Proof your slides for: – speling mistakes – – the use of of repeated words repeatedly grammatical errors you might have make  Have your editor check your presentation for errors!

Slide Transitions - Good



Keep them simple



Use the same one throughout the presentation

Slide Transitions – Bad



Too busy



No distracting sounds



Are more interesting than your presentation

Conclusion

 Use an effective and strong closing – Your audience is likely to remember your last words  Use a conclusion slide to: – Summarize the main points of your presentation – Suggest future avenues of research

Bibliography

 Cite every source you used in your presentation.

 Cite the source of images (except Clip Art) unless they are your property.

 Use proper MLA format. – Hanging indent

Questions??

 End your presentation with a simple question slide to: – Invite your audience to ask questions – Avoid ending a presentation abruptly   Write your ending.

Do not say, “That was my presentation about Firefighters.”