MAKING POWERPOINT SLIDES

Avoiding the Pitfalls of Bad Slides

TIPS TO BE COVERED

Outlines Slide Structure Fonts Color Background Graphs Spelling and Grammar Conclusions Questions

OUTLINE FORMATS ARE EASIER TO FOLLOW

OUTLINE Make your 2nd slide an outline of your

presentationEx: previous slide

Follow the order of your outline for the rest of the presentation

Only place main points on the outline slideEx: Use the titles of each slide as main

points

USE THE 6 X 6 RULE: 6 lines of text 6 words per line

USE BULLETS, NOT NUMBERS

Bullets imply no significant order

Use numbers only to show rank or sequence

NO MORE THAN ONE TOPIC PER SLIDE

What about them Sox hey?

SLIDE STRUCTURE – GOOD Use 1-2 slides per minute of your

presentation Write in point form, not complete

sentences Include 4-5 points per slide 6 * 6 Rule

6 words per line6 lines 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 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.

SLIDE STRUCTURE – GOOD Show one point at a time:

Will help audience concentrate on what you are saying

Will prevent audience from reading aheadWill help you keep your presentation

focused

SLIDE STRUCTURE - BAD Do not use distracting animation

Do not go overboard with the animation

Be consistent with the animation that you use

SELECT READABLE TYPE SIZETHIS IS 40 POINT

Minimum 36 point for titles 24 point for body text

This is 32 point

45 point40 point35 point30 point25 point20 point 15 point 10 point

USE A READABLE TYPEFACE AND FONT

Use Sans serif (no curly feet) such as Arial or universal for body text

Use San serif (no curly feet) such as Arial or universal for body text

Use serif such as a roman for titles only

Use a Readable Typeface and Font

TYPEFACE EXAMPLES TYPEFACE EXAMPLES

Typeface Examples

Typeface Examples Typeface Examples

Typeface Examples

Arial Times New Roman Courier New GillSans

ADJUST LETTERING TO DISCRIMINATE OR EMPHASIZE

Make titles a larger type size than body elements

emphasize important statements or words with bold, italic, larger size or

different fonts.

FONTS - GOOD Use at least a 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 The bigger the better

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

COLOR - GOOD Use a color of font that contrasts sharply

with the backgroundEx: blue font on white background

Use color to reinforce the logic of your structureEx: light blue title and dark blue text

Use color to emphasize a pointBut only use this occasionally

COLOR - BAD Using a font color that does not contrast

with the background color is hard to read

Using colour for decoration is distracting and annoying.

Using a different color for each point is unnecessaryUsing a different color for secondary points

is also unnecessary Trying to be creative can also be bad

CHOOSE COLOR CAREFULLY

Use the same color consistently throughout the presentation

Use light letters on a dark background

To determine if a slide is legible when projected, hold it up to a light;if it is readable, it is probably fine

COLORS Avoid placing saturated primary colors

(red, green or blue) adjacent to each other.

They may create a third color where the two colors meet.

USE SOLID COLORS INSTEAD OF FILL PATTERNS ON CHARTS Patterns on

bars or pie slices cause confusion.

Solid colors convey a clear bold message

0

10

20

30

40

50

1st Qtr 2ndQtr

3rd Qtr4th Qtr

Blue Red Hatch Other

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

ADJUST LETTERING TO DISCRIMINATE OR EMPHASIZE

Make titles a larger type size than body elements

emphasize important statements or words with bold, italic, larger size or

different fonts.

GRAPHS - GOOD Use graphs rather than just charts and

wordsData in graphs is easier to comprehend &

retain than is raw dataTrends are easier to visualize in graph form

Always title your graphs

GRAPHS - BAD

January February March AprilBlue Balls 20.4 27.4 90 20.4Red Balls 30.6 38.6 34.6 31.6

GRAPHS - GOODItems Sold in First Quarter of 2002

0102030405060708090

100

January February March April

Blue BallsRed Balls

GRAPHS - BAD

20.4

27.4

90

20.4

30.6

38.634.6

31.6

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

January February March April

Blue Balls

Red Balls

GRAPHS - BAD Minor gridlines are unnecessary Font is too small Colours are illogical Title is missing Shading is distracting

SPELLING AND GRAMMAR Proof your slides for:

speling mistakes the use of of repeated wordsgrammatical errors you might have make

Please have someone else check 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

presentationSuggest future avenues of research

QUESTIONS?? End your presentation with a simple

question slide to: Invite your audience to ask questionsProvide a visual aid during question periodAvoid ending a presentation abruptly

POSITION TEXT To move text box, drag the cursor over

the box until a 4-point arrow appears. Hold down the mouse button and drag. To resize a text box, drag the cursor over

the box until a 2-point arrow appears. Hold down the mouse button and drag. To set text, click outside text box.

CLIPART Add Clipart

where appropriate

If ever

PICTURES AND BITMAPS

INSERT CLIP ART Click Insert. Select Picture. Select Clip Art. Choose an image. Click Insert. Save.

POSITION ART To move an image, drag the cursor over

the image until a 4-point arrow appears. Hold down the mouse button and drag. To resize an image, drag the cursor over

the image until a 2-point arrow appears. Hold down the mouse button and drag. Or click Format and select Picture to

adjust image size, position, color, and line.

CREATE NEW SLIDE Click Insert. Select New Slide. Or click New Slide on Common Task bar. Or click new slide icon on tool bar. Choose the blank slide.

ANIMATE TEXT Insert text. Highlight text. Click Slide Show. Select Custom

Animation. Choose desired effect options. Choose desired timing options. Click Preview. Click OK. Save.

ANIMATE CLIP ART Insert Clip Art. Click Slide Show. Select Custom

Animation. Choose desired effect options. Choose desired timing options. Click Preview. Click OK. Save.

INSERT TRANSITION ACTION

Click forward or backward arrow. Click Slide Show. Select Slide Transition. Choose desired slide transition. Click Apply to All. Save.

PRESENT SLIDE SHOW Click Slide Show. Select View Show. Enjoy!

YOUR SLIDES ARE NOT YOUR PRESENTATION

Your slides are a focus for your presentation

Your presentation is not proof of your thesis

Your paper is proof You present your proof with slides to

focus interest on what you think is important