PowerPoint presentations

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LEARN

SAY IT WITH STYLE Now that we have started to learn the lay of the PowerPoint land, we can take a closer look at how to use this powerful software to build a successful presentation. Think back to the various presentations you’ve heard and seen. What made them successes or failures? What captured and held your interest? Which details were convincing or illuminating, and which made the presentation hard to follow?

A successful presentation is:

1) Coherent: Clear, logical, and easy to follow structure

2) Engaging: Hold attention with compelling visuals, such as images and videos that are related to the content and give life to it

3) Memorable: Show supporting facts and figures without having to give that information verbally

4) Persuasive: Reinforce important points while you’re speaking and show examples of your own work

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WHAT’S THE POINT? A successful presentation should help you communicate a message. That’s why the most important questions you need to ask yourself when beginning to design a PowerPoint presentation are: What’s the Point? What do you need the presentation to achieve? Are you trying to sell something? Report information? Get approval on a concept?

As an example, many companies need to share results of how they’re doing with stakeholders, partners, and employees. PowerPoint is a popular tool for sharing reports, such as quarterly profits, new initiatives, or customer surveys. An informative report would include different materials than a persuasive pitch intended to secure funding for a new kid’s video game app, or a presentation to get a client’s approval on design concept for a marketing campaign.

Each of these examples has a different objective, and therefore needs to use different words and pictures to make its point.

Once you figure out the point of your presentation, the next step is to think about WHAT you need to say, and WHO you need to say it to.

What is the best way for the audience to view and hear the information you’re sharing, so that they can successfully understand your point?

Next you want to start thinking about HOW to communicate your point in the most effective way. Do you need graphs, reports, charts, design samples, illustrations, storyboards, or video?

Finally, and probably most importantly: Get to the point and stick to it! Just because you can add all kinds of images and graphics doesn’t mean that you should. If a slide isn’t moving you toward your point in a clear and impactful way, keep it out.

What you leave out is just as important as what you put in. But remember, some details that seem minor, such as font colors, backgrounds, or text placement on a slide, can have a significant effect on the audience.

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Let’s take a closer look at some of the best ways to make an effective presentation.

BEST PRACTICES FOR CREATING SLIDESHOWS USE SIMPLE DESIGNS It may sound funny, but a successful design shouldn’t be noticed. You want your audience to be able to focus on your content without getting bored—or distracted. Readability, consistency, and relevance are key. Make sure to be thoughtful about choosing what text, images, graphics, animations, and transitions you include. Think about Goldilocks: Make a presentation that is not too boring and not too busy, but just right!

USE THEMES In addition to making designing and formatting easy, you can be confident that the elements in a theme work together well. They provide consistency and visual interest, which minimizes distraction and maximizes the content delivery for audiences. Variants are available within each theme so that you can customize colors and other small details, but still stay within the same style.

UNDERSTAND LAYOUT OPTIONS With built-in layout options, the formatting of individual slides is done for you automatically. Once you select the layout that best matches your needs, you can quickly type in text or insert media into the placeholder boxes. The layout options can also help you determine the best way to organize your information in a concise way. Options include:

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BUILD-IN LAYOUT OPTION SLIDE CONTENT AND PURPOSE

Title Only • Title

Title Slide • Title and subtitle

Title and Content • Title

• Bulleted list of what the presentation will be about

OR

• Related graphic

Section Header • Section title and short description

Two Content • Title and content

• Displays two side-by-side content place- holders to show a comparison

• Content can include a bulleted list or a graphic

Comparison • Same as Two Content, plus text placehold- ers above each section to label compared content

Content with Caption • Title placeholder

• Content placeholder (e.g. photograph or graphic)

• Text placeholder (caption) to label content

Blank • No built-in placeholders

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GRAPHICS AND MULTIMEDIA ELEMENTS When creating slides, think about the best way to present your information. If you’re discussing the steps in a process, is a bulleted list the best option, or would a diagram be better? What is the best way for your audience to see the information laid out? Using graphics in a thoughtful way can help you present information concisely, and variety can also help you keep your audience’s attention.

Pictures and Clip Art: Adding images you already own, images you find online, or images from the PowerPoint library can bring the content of your presentation to life. Images are the most common multimedia element added to a presentation. When looking for images online to add to your presentation, you must ensure that the images you are selecting are not subject to copyright claims, meaning that they are work created by and belonging to someone else, and are royalty-free, which means you don’t have to pay a charge to the person who is providing them. PowerPoint also has a Clip Art collection you can choose from. Clip Art pieces are simple pre-made illustrations searchable within the PowerPoint interface by subject, and which do not require paying royalties.

Screenshots: Taking a screenshot and including it in your presentation allows you to capture what is on your computer screen in one or more images. This can be a very effective way to showcase a website or another digital tool within your presentation. The PowerPoint Screenshot tool allows you to take a screenshot and include it right from within PowerPoint. Remember again to make sure that you have permission to use the image.

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SmartArt, Charts and Shapes: These pre-designed diagrams allow you to provide information visually. They include text placeholders that help describe or label information. SmartArt graphics are helpful in displaying a process, cycle, hierarchy, or other relationship. Charts are a great way to display data visually within your presentation, and come in many forms (column, pie, bar, line, and doughnut or circle). Shapes are singular objects— lines, arrows, boxes, ovals, equations and callouts—that can be added to call attention to content within the presentation.

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Tables: A table can easily be inserted into a content placeholder. Once you insert the table, working with it is the same as working with one in Word. You can choose the number of columns and rows needed, and format the table as you wish.

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USE YOUR DIGITAL SKILLS Importing: Now that you have worked with all of the major digital tools in the Microsoft Office Suite, it’s important to note that you don’t always need to recreate things in PowerPoint that you already created in Word or Excel. If you want to include documents or spreadsheets as part of your final presentation, there are a few different ways to go about it. If you have kept all of your files and folders organized as suggested in Week 4, it will be easier to grab the content you need and import it into your presentation:

• You can copy and paste portions of a word document, a chart from a spreadsheet, or images from either, using the CNTRL-C and CNTRL-V keys (or right-clicking your mouse and selecting Copy and then Paste) to transfer items from these tools to PowerPoint. These shortcuts are important to know because many online forums only allow you to insert using keyboard commands.

• You can also save items like images or charts from the original file to your local computer and use the Insert Object or Insert Picture tool to import them into PowerPoint.

• You can insert a partial or whole Excel spreadsheet by using the Insert Table tool. Instead of creating a new table, select “Excel Spreadsheet” from the dropdown menu. You can import a completed table, or edit the data within the imported table right in PowerPoint.

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GOOD HABITS TO HELP YOUR PRESENTATION As with any work you do on a computer, remember to SAVE often! PowerPoint has an autosave feature that automatically saves your work every ten minutes. However, you can make a lot of changes in ten minutes. Save regularly so you don’t have to waste time redoing work if something unforeseen happens.

Audio: If you are recording narration for your presentation, instead of delivering it in a live environment, the Audio tool allows you to insert an audio clip that you have recorded, or a pre-recorded Clip Art audio clip (such as cheering or a telephone ringing).

Video: Embedding video on a slide of your presentation is a game-changer. Relevant, high- quality video can bring your ideas to life in a larger way than graphics and text, even when combined with the best live presentation skills. You can use the Video tool in PowerPoint to insert a video clip that you have recorded yourself, one from a website such as YouTube, or a pre-recorded Clip Art video clip.

Tip: Multimedia elements like audio and video files often make great additions to a presentation, but you should always remember that they increase your presentation’s file size. This can be a problem when you are trying to email or upload a presentation. You also need to insure that your multimedia elements are compatible with different interfaces and will load and play correctly. For example, some multimedia elements will not always play correctly over conference call or online meeting software.

Transitions: A transition controls how one slide moves into the next slide within a presentation. Some are simple and barely noticeable, while others are more fun and animated. Transitions are an extra touch that can help make slideshows more visually interesting. Some common transitions used in PowerPoint are Cut, Fade, Dissolve, Push, and Wipe.

Animations: An animation controls how content appears and disappears from a slide. Animations are often used accompanying bulleted text or images on a slide to time certain content to appear as it is being presented by the speaker or in the audio narration. Some common animations used in PowerPoint are Fade, Fly In/Out, Float In, Split, and Wipe.

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SAVE IN MORE THAN ONE FORMAT If you’re sending a slideshow to someone, keep in mind what software they may or may not have. Slideshows can be saved to PDF to allow users without PowerPoint to view them.

CHOOSE CORRECT SLIDE SIZES Be aware of the screen on which your presentation will ultimately be shown. If you design your slides in the incorrect size, some information might be cut off when you present it. Check out the Slide Size dialog box to choose the applicable slide proportions. The default options are set for a widescreen.

MANAGE THE LENGTH OF SLIDESHOWS Slideshows with a large amount of slides can be hard to work with. Try these options to make them more manageable.

Group Slides: Consider grouping related slides together. This will make organizing and editing your slides easier.

Hide Slides: The option to select and hide slides is a great feature. Perhaps you have a slideshow that will be shown to different groups of people. You have the option to hide slides that apply to one group but not another. You can also hide a group of slides while you’re working so that your slide pane is easier to scroll through.

BEST PRACTICES FOR PRESENTING Let’s go back to recalling our experiences as audience members. Now, instead of thinking about the presentations, think about the presenters. What did the presenters do that drew you in? What did the presenters do to turn you off? How did they interact with the slideshow? Did they read each slide aloud, or use the slides as visual support?

The person leading a presentation is integral to its effectiveness. Here we’ll go over some tips for maximizing the most important

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element in a presentation—YOU.

PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE! The best way to ensure that you’ll give an excellent presentation is to repeatedly rehearse it. Practice out loud, while looking around and making eye contact. After you’ve done it a few times, evaluate your performance.

• Were there any sections that tripped you up?

• Do you need to add notes for yourself to help you explain something more clearly?

• Are you relying too heavily on the notes you have?

• Are you able to make eye contact with the audience?

• Are you talking too quickly or too slowly?

• Are you speaking loudly enough?

TEST YOUR TECH It may seem obvious, but it bears reinforcement. During your rehearsals, make sure to practice with your slideshow.

• Can you access the PowerPoint file easily from the computer you are working from?

• Do you have adequate power?

• Do you have wifi if needed? Are any accompanying websites accessible and ready to view?

• Is the presentation displayed clearly so that the audience can see it?

• Can you read all the text and graphics?

• Are any images getting cut off?

• Can you hear the audio?

• Is your video playing successfully, without a lag?

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• Are you comfortable navigating the controls while speaking?

• Are the slides in the right order?

PROOFREAD Avoid looking unprofessional by proofreading your slides. If possible, have someone else look them over, too. Fresh eyes can help you identify misspellings, grammar mistakes, and typos.

REVISE Rehearsing and proofreading are valuable to help you get comfortable, and to identify problems, so that you can fix them before you present.

• Do you need to add a slide to provide more detail about something?

• Do you have a slide that can be taken out because its content is redundant?

• Do you need more practice pronouncing any terminology?

• Would a graphic provide a better explanation than a verbal description?

Let’s return to the qualities that make a great presentation. When you evaluate your slides and your delivery, ask yourself these big- picture questions related to each quality:

1) Coherent: Does my presentation make sense? Will my audience understand my message?

2) Engaging: Is my presentation interesting?

3) Memorable: Is my presentation memorable? What will my audience remember a week from now?

4) Persuasive: Did I achieve my goal? Will my audience do what I want them to do?

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After you evaluate your presentation on these qualities, make adjustments and edits as needed. Then, practice again.

GOOD HABITS FOR PRESENTATION DAY When the time comes for your actual presentation, make sure to wear appropriate clothing. Dress for success!

Audiences are more comfortable around, and more receptive to, a confident speaker. Showing confidence will be easier after you’ve put in your time practicing.

YOUR ONLINE PERSONAL BRAND We’ve reviewed important best practices for presenting during a live presentation with a physical audience, but these skills can transfer to your digital presence. How you portray yourself online is just as important as how you look, speak, and behave in real life. If someone searched for you on the Web, what would they find? Whether you are cultivating a specific personal brand consciously or not, others can put together ideas about you based on your online life. This can work to your advantage or disadvantage. Take control by following these tips:

1) We can’t say it enough: be aware of your privacy settings! Are your social media accounts set to private or public? If public, would you want a potential employer or collaborator to see everything you’ve posted? If you are trying to develop a strong social media presence to promote yourself or a business, evaluate your social media accounts to make sure they are projecting the qualities you want.

2) Be conscious of what kind of information you share. When you post on social media, do you want your location to be shared? Also, keep in mind what information or image you are displaying through photos. You might inadvertently be sharing details you wish to remain private. A quick way to find out what’s out there about you is to Google yourself to make sure the first results are what you want potential employers to find.

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3) Think twice before posting negative opinions or publicly lashing out. Think about how potential employers and collaborators would view your comments.

4) Communicate clearly. Reread and proofread your professional profiles, bios, and websites. Spelling and grammar errors have an effect on the reader and could change someone’s perception of you.

5) A picture’s worth a thousand words! Make sure that profile pictures for sites like LinkedIn, or work and school websites, are recent, clear, professional, and show you in your best light.

COMING UP You’ve made it to week 10, congratulations! Throughout this course, you’ve been building your digital literacy toolbox. You have an understanding of how computers work, you’ve practiced your skills in foundational software--the Microsoft Office Suite. And you can support your growing knowledge and skills by efficiently and accurately searching the Internet. You can feel confident that you are on your way to achieving your goals because you’ve learned how to embrace digital technology.

Next week, we’ll talk about how to sustain your growth, and how to continue adding to your toolbox during your Strayer courses and beyond.

COMPLETE THE WEEK Your next stop is the TESTOUT section, where you will continue working with PowerPoint and complete videos, materials and skills labs on formatting illustrations, pictures, media, and applying animations and transitions. After that, head over to the ASSIGNMENTS section, where you will complete and submit Assignment 3. Finally, answer this week’s REFLECT questions. Make sure to mark off each item on your TO-DO list.