Here are some guidelines to maximize the effectiveness of
your PowerPoint presentations:
Keep the lights turned on whenever possible
A dark room can contribute to wandering audience concentration. If the
projector isn't bright enough with all the lights on, try turning off just the
lights around the screen, but leave the audience area lit.
Pace your presentation and avoid covering more than 3 slides
per minute
Covering too much information too quickly can lose audience attention.
Never use a font size smaller than 24pt
Keeping the slide content easily readable from everywhere in the room is
always appreciated.
Use light colored backgrounds with dark type
This also contributes to easy readability, and brighter backgrounds keep
things more lively. Resist the temptation to use the sleek-looking blue
background templates supplied by PowerPoint.
Maintain eye contact with the audience, not with the screen
behind you
Since you are conveying information to the audience, avoid turning your back to
the them whenever possible. Use the computer screen or a hardcopy of your
slides whenever possible for referencing on-screen material.
Distribute printed copies of the slides before the
presentation begins
This greatly enhances the effectiveness of your slides because audience members
can follow and review the material at their own pace. This is also a great
backup strategy in the event of equipment failure.
Minimize reading each slide out loud
Do cover the points discussed in each slide, but avoid word-for-word reading of
each one to the audience. The slides are there to augment what you
are saying, not the other way around.
Are your slides for simplification or elaboration?
Slides used for simplification should be limited to bullets and short
sentences so you can get your point across quickly and efficiently. Slides
for elaboration, containing content such as charts and diagrams, are okay to use
as long as the slide text and content is easily readable.
PowerPoint should be used for preview and review, not
presentation
Remember, ultimately you are the presenter. The audience's
attention should be focused on you for the majority of the presentation.
If you find the audience constantly staring at the slides instead of you, your
slides may be too content-heavy or difficult to read or understand.
Create PowerPoint presentations with longevity
Design slides with content that can be reused to minimize the amount of time
needed to update them for the next session. Time-critical information that
expires quickly should be concentrated on a just a few slides that can be easily
updated.
When creating a presentation from these templates, be sure to save the
presentation with a different name so the template file itself remains blank.
We hope these guidelines help you maximize the efficiency of your PowerPoint
presentations. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or
would like more information.
