IV PowerPoint Presentation
PowerPoint Best Practices is a tutorial that will help you learn to build a presentation using techniques that make your PowerPoint easy to view and understand.
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PowerPoint is frequently used as a presentation aid when information is being delivered to an audience. The objective of this tutorial is to demonstrate how to create appropriate presentations in an academic setting. Aspects that we will cover in this tutorial are Content, Backgrounds, Text, Fonts, Colors, Graphics, and APA referencing.
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Before you begin developing the PowerPoint, it is good to remember a few basic things that will help your presentation be visually pleasing. In regard to the overall look or content, the elements placed on each slide should be balanced. In your text, be sure to leave some space between lines. The style and formatting should be consistent from slide to slide. Be sure also to organize your slides in a logical sequence.
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Backgrounds are the bedrock to the presentations. They set the theme and the mood. As you choose a background, try to match it in some way to the information you will be presenting. The Design tab is a good place to pick a theme that parallels your information. Keep the background simple, and stick with one background for the majority of the slides. Also avoid using patterns or bold prints and colors.
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Overpowering patterns make it difficult to read the text. Viewers will probably not even pay attention to the information because they can’t see it on top of the bold background.
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Text is obviously a very important component of your slides. But it must be presented in such a way that the audience can absorb it quickly and easily without it being too confusing and complicated. If using bullets, don’t center them because this makes the information jagged and difficult to follow. Left-justification within a textbox is easier to read because your eye knows where to go next.
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Avoid having too much text on a slide. Remember that PowerPoint presentations are meant to be presented to a room full of people. Even if the room is not very large, it can be difficult for the eyes to read this much information at a distance. Also, if you put all of your information on a screen, then it is not necessary for you to read it – your audience can do that themselves. As you can see, there is too much information squeezed into this slide which is not ideal for presenting your information. Remember – the professor asked for a PowerPoint presentation – not a paper, so be succinct. Show that you understand the main points by keeping it brief.
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Your text boxes will have to be formatted with fonts, so you will need to decide what specific size and style of typeface you want in the presentation. The size of the titles and the size of the content should be consistent from slide to slide. And the size should be large enough to read easily. This font, for instance, is Myriad Pro, size 36. Typically, the font size should be somewhere around 40(±) to be viewable.
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Sans Serif fonts are the preferred font to use for electronically viewed information. Sans Serif literally means “without wings.” This style is easier to read when projected. Serif styles, such as Georgia and Times New Roman, read better in print. Stay away from scripts and italics. Avoid fonts that overpower your topic. Don’t use all CAPS because this MAKES IT SEEM LIKE YOU ARE YELLING. And don’t use more than 2 different fonts in one presentation.
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The color of the fonts is also important. The contrast between dark and light colors will make a difference in how well the words can be read. You should use dark and bold colors against a light background and light and bright colors against dark backgrounds. Can you see the question at the bottom of the slide? Did you have to strain to see it? There are 2 issues with this sentence: the contrast is bad since the font is too dark against the dark color of the background and the font size is too small (24).
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One way to use color well in a PowerPoint is to choose a color theme. These themes will keep your font colors consistent throughout.
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Putting a graphic on the slide can help emphasize the information you are trying to get across because it will capture the audience’s attention and enable them to remember the information better. However, to be effective, graphics need to be used by following a certain set of rules or guidelines.
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Use graphics that will help make your point. Using images that don’t have anything to do with what you are saying detracts from your point. Face images towards the middle of the slide so that they do not appear to be looking off the edge of the slide. This helps create a balanced slide. Don’t use copyrighted material without permission and giving proper credit to the owner.
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Avoid mixing photographs & clipart in the same presentation – decide in advance which form of images you think will work best with the topic then stick with that form when you do use an image. Don’t overuse graphics – whether it is on a single slide or throughout your presentation, too many images overpower the information that is being presented. Remember graphics should just be used to make your point more effectual and memorable.
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Sometimes you may need charts or SmartArt to best portray your information. This can be done by using these tools in the Illustrations toolbar. For more technical instructions pertaining to PowerPoint creations, the tutorial “PowerPoint Basics” can be viewed.
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Transitions & Effects are options that can be utilized in PowerPoints. However, the overall look of the presentation should be kept simple and professional by only using one style of transition for all slides and limit the animation that is on each slide and throughout the PowerPoint. These elements can be distracting to the viewers, and any distraction will hinder how your information is perceived and remembered.
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Even though your PowerPoint presentations will not be presented orally in the online setting, you can use the Notes function below the slide to give the professor the detailed information you want him to see while still creating a presentation that is pleasing to the eye.
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Creating an easy-to-follow PowerPoint can be done by making sure there are no distractions that will impede your viewer form learning the information. Long sentences can be very distracting to the viewer because a long sentence just has too much information to have to take in as you can see in this sentence! Overpowering graphics like the lovely dinosaur to the right keep viewers’ eyes focused on him instead of the pertinent information. Multiple ideas on a slide just make the audience confused. Inconsistencies (with font, bullets, etc.) are not pleasing to the eye. Unorganized information keeps the audience from focusing on the point that is being talked about. Too much information tends to make the viewers just tune out.
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The sources you use for the information you place in the PowerPoint must be given credit, just as I did on slide 15. Treat the presentation like a paper by using in-text citations with the information you use on each slide. Be sure to also include a reference list on the last slide or slides. You can use smaller a font on these slides since this tends to be much more information.
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If you have ANY questions about any of this information or if you need help with writing skills or APA, we in the Writing Center are here to help. If you have a question or just need help with an assignment, you can call us during our business hours at 800-977- 8449, extension 6538. Our hours are Monday through Thursday 8:00 to 5:00 Central Time and Friday 8:00 to 3:00 Central Time. Also, you can email your question to teamsucceed@columbiasouthern.edu.
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In addition, if you would like to work with a writing specialist, you can send your papers in before you submit them to your professor for a grade. In order to submit your papers, you will log in to the My CSU Student Portal. Click on Online Forms. Then click on Courses. Towards the bottom of the list, you will see the Writing Center Request form. Simply fill out this form, attach your paper, and we will give instructions on skills that are needed. We will email your paper back to you with specific resources to help you. Please be advised that writing specialists require up to two business days to process requests.
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We hope this tutorial was helpful to you as you prepare to create a PowerPoint presentation. Please contact us at the Success Center if we can be of further assistance.
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