Career Opportunities for a Crime Analyst Presentation

Pow er P oint P resen tatio n s

A n n H a r m a n

O n c e u p o n a tim e t h e r e w e re c o lo r e d p h o t o s l i d e s a n d s im p le slid e p ro je c to rs , u s e d b y s c ie n tis ts , b e e k e e p e rs a n d o rd in a ry peo p le. T he s c ie n tis ts c o u ld m a k e illegible slid e s of g r a p h s a n d ta b le s of in fo rm a tio n . B e e k e e p e rs to o k fu zzy p i c t u r e s o f fu zzy b e e s . O r d in a r y p e o p le b o re d t h e i r f r i e n d s a n d n e i g h b o r s w ith v a c a t i o n p h o t o s . T h e s l i d e s a n d s lid e p r o j e c t o r s w o r k e d j u s t fin e if y o u o v e r lo o k e d t h e o c c a s i o n a l u p s id e d o w n slid e a n d th e p ro je c to r b u lb t h a t b u r n e d o u t m idw ay th ro u g h th e p r e s e n ta tio n .

F a s t fo rw a rd to to d a y (ac tu a lly s in c e 1 9 9 0 w h e n P ow er P o in t firs t a p p e a r e d ) a n d s c i e n t i s t s a r e n o w m a k in g illegible slid e s of g r a p h s a n d ta b le s of in fo rm a tio n . B e e k e e p e rs a re flooding th e ir a u d ie n c e s w ith e n d le s s fuzzy in fo rm a tio n a b o u t fuzzy b e e s . O r d i n a r y p e o p le a r e b o rin g frie n d s a n d n e ig h b o rs w ith cell p h o n e p h o to s of th e ir v a c a tio n so Pow er P o in ts a re n o t for th e m .

T h e I n t e r n e t is f i l l e d w ith t u t o r i a l s , r e a d y - to - u s e f o r m a ts , e v e r y th in g a n y o n e w a n ts to m a k e a good Pow er P oin t (PP). E v en b o o k s o n c o m p o sin g PP a re a v a ilab le. Yet all th is in fo rm a tio n s e e m s to b e o v erlo o k ed by a n y o n e a s k e d to give a p r e s e n t a t i o n . Yes, so m e good PP h a v e b e e n s h o w n b u t th e v a s t m ajo rity a re po o r for a variety o f re a s o n s . L et’s find o u t a b o u t th e b a s ic s o f m a k in g a good P ow er Point.

U nlike m a n y of th e old fa s h io n e d slid es, Pow er P o in t p u ts w o rd s o n th e s c re e n for all to see. T h e a u d ie n c e is g o ing to re a d th o s e - no , m a k e t h a t - a tt e m p t to re a d th e w o rd s. More a b o u t th a t la te r. However y o u a re n o t going to re a d y o u r P o in ts o u t loud. T h e re is n o th in g m o re b o rin g th a n h a v in g th e s p e a k e r r e a d w h a t is on th e sc re e n . M ost o f th e a u d ie n c e h a s j u s t r e a d it.

F irs t of all, y o u n e e d to c o n s id e r th e a u d ie n c e . W ith s c ie n tis ts ta lk in g to s c ie n tis ts th e g ra p h s , c h a r ts a n d s c ie n tif ic t e r m s a r e th e la n g u a g e of s c ie n c e , u n d e r s t a n d a b l e to t h a t a u d ie n c e . H o w ev er m a n y o f th o s e p r e s e n t a t i o n s fa il in p r e p a r a t i o n . S c ie n tis ts ta lk in g to b e e k e e p e rs n e e d to m odify th e ir la n g u a g e o f scien ce. B e e k e e p e rs t a lk in g to b e e k e e p e r s h av e a n d u s e th e ir ow n lan g u a g e . B u t b e e k e e p ers ta lk in g to n o n -b e e k e e p ers a lso n e e d to m odify th e ir b e e k e e p in g l a n g u a g e . U n f a m i l i a r w o r d s a r e visible on th e s c re e n . If th e a u d ie n c e is p o n d e r in g th e u n f a m ilia r te r m s w hile y o u , th e s p e a k e r, a re ta lk in g , y o u ’ve lo s t y o u r a u d ie n c e .

Now w e a r e g o in g to c o n s id e r s o m e th in g t h a t m a n y do n o t realize. As y o u sit in fro n t of y o u r c o m p u te r or la p to p s c re e n w hile c o m p o sin g y o u r

PP, th e lig h t is co m in g from th e b a c k , s h in in g th r o u g h e s s e n tia lly from th e b a c k of y o u r slid e to y o u r eyes. You p a c k u p y o u r la p to p a n d arriv e a t th e v e n u e , p lu g all th e c a b le s in, t u r n on th e p ro je c to r a n d voila! Y our PP is p ro je c te d o n to a s c re e n . (W ell cover u s in g w alls a s s c re e n s later.) Now th e lig h t is from th e fro n t, b o u n c in g off th e s c re e n to y o u r eyes.

D oes th e b a c k lig h t vs. fro n tlig h t m a k e a d i f f e r e n c e ? O h w ow ! I t c e rta in ly d o es. You j u s t c o m p o se d a slid e w ith a b la c k b a c k g ro u n d w ith a re d lin e a n d re d w o rd s. O n y o u r c o m p u te r th is slide p o sitively glows! T he a u d ie n c e will be im p ressed ! Well, no. T h ey c a n h a rd ly re a d th e re d line a n d re d w o rd s o n a b la c k b a c k g ro u n d o n t h e f r o n t l i t s c r e e n . I o n c e s a t

th r o u g h a p r e s e n ta tio n (from a b ee s c ie n tis t a c tu a lly ) t h a t h a d yellow l e t t e r i n g o n a w h ite b a c k g r o u n d . F ro m m y s e a t in th e fo u rth row th e s c re e n a p p e a r e d w h ite w ith p e c u lia r v e ry p a le a r e a s h e r e a n d th e r e . I a m s u r e w h e n b e in g c o m p o s e d o n t h e c o m p u te r th e yellow a p p e a r e d a g lo w in g l i q u id g o ld o n a w h ite b a c k g ro u n d , veiy visible w h e n back lit

V e ry p a le b a c k g r o u n d s , s u c h a s very p a le b lu e o r g re e n o r yellow, becom e m u c h m ore pale w h e n fro n tlit fro m p ro je c tio n . T h e very p a le b lu e d is a p p e a r s in to a v a g u e g rey ish color a s do th e g re e n a n d yellow. T h ere is a b s o lu te ly n o th in g w ro n g w ith b la c k le tte r s . T h e y a r e visible! I s n ’t t h a t w h a t y o u w ish to ach iev e?

P e rh a p s now we n e e d to c o n sid e r t h e v e n u e . S o m e la r g e f a c i l i t i e s , w e ll-d esig n ed for p r e s e n ta tio n s m ay

h a v e re a r-p ro je c tio n (backlit) s c re e n s . B u t do n o t d e p e n d o n t h e m . J u s t p r e p a r e fo r fro n tlit s c re e n s a n d y o u r PP will a p p e a r legible. C o n sid e r t h e s iz e o f t h e ro o m . Y ou m a y b e s p e a k in g in a sm a ll c h u r c h m e e tin g ro o m w h e re

th e s c re e n will b e only 20 feet from th e b a c k ro w o f s e a ts . O r y o u a re in a h o te l m e e tin g room w h e re th e b a c k row s a re m o re t h a n 50 o r 100 feet from th e s c re e n . No m a tte r th e d is ta n c e , y o u r slid e s m u s t b e legible.

W h a t a b o u t th e c h u r c h m e e tin g h a ll w ith its so rt-o f-b eig e w alls a n d n o s c re e n ? Be p re p a re d for th a t. Y our p h o to s of b e e s a n d p la n ts will look a b it m u d d y . T h a t c a n ’t b e h e lp e d . If y o u k n o w in a d v a n c e y o u c a n m a k e a copy o f y o u r b e a u tifu l lig h t g re e n b a c k g r o u n d s lid e s a n d c h a n g e to a w h ite b a c k g r o u n d a n d u s e b la c k l e t t e r s . D o n ’t f u s s if i t is n o t a s e le g a n t a s y o u h a d h o p ed ; y o u w ere a s k e d to p r e s e n t in fo rm a tio n .

C o m p u te r s a n d t h e p r o je c to r s h a v e b eco m e m o re co m p a tib le . Not

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J a n u a r y 2 0 1 6 BEE CULTURE 8 1 0

to o lo n g ag o a n y g iv e n l a p to p or its fla s h d riv e (th u m b drive, stick) j u s t w o u ld n o t ‘s p e a k ’ to a n y given p ro je c to r. A lth o u g h th e c a b le s w ere c o n n e c te d n o th in g h a p p e n e d . T h e a u d i e n c e w a s e n t e r t a i n e d b y a g ro w in g n u m b e r o f h e lp fu l p e o p le offering d iffe re n t la p to p s a n d m u c h advice. P e rh a p s so m e th in g w o rk ed , p e r h a p s n o t. Still to d a y th e r e is th e niggling th o u g h t ‘w h a t if.... ’

Q uite nice pro jecto rs a re available to d a y a t very affo rd ab le p ric e s. If y o u give a n u m b e r of PP y o u m ig h t w ish to b u y a p ro jecto r. You c a n th e n see, o n a w all o f y o u r h o m e, w h a t y o u r fin ish e d Pow er P oin t will look like. If y o u see a slid e t h a t n e e d s fixing y o u c a n do t h a t before y o u r a u d ie n c e sees it. I h ig h ly re c o m m e n d p u r c h a s in g a p ro jecto r. T h e n find a sm all, w heeled, c h e a p s u itc a s e a n d c a rry e v ery th in g w ith y o u for y o u r p re s e n ta tio n . Please a d d a lo n g e x te n s io n c o rd o r tw o. T he w all s o c k e t c a n be q u ite fa r from w h e re y o u will be s ta n d in g . Now y o u h a v e th e a s s u r a n c e t h a t ev ery th in g will w o rk s m o o th ly a n d pro p erly .

W h a t i f y o u d o n o t h a v e a p r o j e c t o r ? A rriv e a t t h e m e e t i n g p la c e e a rly , in e n o u g h tim e to s e t ev erything u p a n d try o u t a few slides. W h a t if y o u a re flying to th e m eetin g ? In e ith e r o f th e s e s itu a tio n s y o u c a n p u t y o u r PP o n a s tic k a n d s e n d it to th e p ro g ra m o rg a n iz e r a n d r e q u e s t t h a t it b e tr ie d o n t h e e q u ip m e n t y o u w ill b e u s i n g . If e v e r y t h i n g w o rk s, y o u ’re all se t. If th e PP is n o t c o m p a tib le th e n y o u h a v e tim e to fix

th e p ro b lem before th e m eetin g . T ake a s tic k w ith y o u an y w ay j u s t in c a se th e y m isp la c e th e one y o u s e n t. Yes, all t h a t is w o rth th e b o th e r.

Now i t ’s tim e to c o m p o se a good Pow er P oint. You h a v e a h u g e choice o f b a c k g ro u n d s , m o s t o f th e m fu s s y a n d d i s t r a c t i n g . S o m e a r e e v e n n o t p a r t i c u l a r l y c o m p a t i b l e w ith frontlig h tin g . C o n sid er a n y th in g from j u s t p la in w h ite to a p la in p ale color, c o m p a tib le w ith y o u r top ic. C hoose a font, o n e t h a t is p la in , e a sy to re a d fro m a d i s t a n c e . R e m e m b e r y o u r a u d ie n c e is n o t s ittin g in fro n t of y o u r c o m p u te r b u t is ‘m ile s a w a y ’ - 20 to 100 feet o r m ore. G ood fo n ts a re Arial, C alibri, H elvetica, L ucida. Look a t th e m in n o rm a l a n d in bold. Now ch o o se a fo n t color. Yes, y o u c a n have b la c k . It c a n be s e e n a t a d is ta n c e . You c a n try c o m b in a tio n s s u c h a s a m e d iu m yellow fo n t o n a d a r k b lu e b a c k g ro u n d . F o n t size? Big. Yes, y o u h a v e p le n ty of room for Big on a slide. J u s t re m e m b e r two th in g s: b a c k lit/ fro n tlit a n d d is ta n c e to a u d ie n c e .

T he in itia l slide is th e title of y o u r p r e s e n ta tio n . T h is slid e c a n h a v e a ‘d e c o r a tio n .’ T h a t c a n b e a p h o to , d r a w i n g , s o m e t h i n g c o m p a t i b l e w ith y o u r s u b j e c t . All t h e r e s t of th e slid e s will h a v e a title giving a b rie f s ta te m e n t o f th e to p ic y o u will b e d i s c u s s i n g . P u t t h e title in all c a p ita l le tte rs . T h e n in th e b o d y of th e slid e u s e u p p e r a n d low er c a se , a s a p p ro p ria te . T h e title fo n t size will g e n erally be la rg e r t h a n th e fo n t size in th e b o d y of th e slide.

To c o n s t r u c t t h e b o d y o f th e Pow er P o in t slide it is im p o r ta n t to c o n s id e r p a r t of t h a t n a m e - Point. Y our slid e s will b e sh o w in g a P oin t or P o in ts t h a t y o u will b e d is c u s s in g . T h e s e P o in ts will b e o n ly o n e o r a very few w o rd s. W hy? T he a u d ie n c e is fo c u s in g o n th e slid e to r e a d it. Y our P o in t is sim p ly y o u r to p ic for th e n e x t few m in u te s . T h e few w o rd s a re to re m in d y o u w h a t to sa y , to k e e p y o u o n tr a c k to s ta y w ith in th e a llo tte d tim e for y o u r p re s e n ta tio n . T he title o f th e slide m u s t re la te to th e te x t o n th e slide. O th e rw ise y o u h a v e lo s t y o u r a u d ie n c e . T h ey will be w o n d e rin g w hy th e slide title a n d te x t a re n o t re la te d .

T he te x t of th e slide, one to a few w o rd s p e r line, s h o u ld b e lim ited to th r e e lin e s - th r e e th o u g h ts - th re e P o in ts t h a t y o u a re d is c u s s in g . T hey s h o u ld be nicely sp a c e d , fo n t size Big (p e rh a p s 3 6 pt) a n d e a c h c a n h a v e a s u b -P o in t o r n o t. T he te x t c a n h av e b u lle ts o r n o t. If y o u n e e d m o re t h a n th r e e lin e s m a k e a n o th e r slide. Well, fo u r lin e w o u ld b e a c c e p ta b le b u t n o t more!

Now, th e title a n d th e s e th r e e P o in ts n e e d A n im atio n . (T h a t’s a PP te r m for how th e w o rd s, th e lin e s, t h e P o in t w ill e n t e r o n to , a c t a n d ex it fro m th e slide.) U n f o r tu n a te ly y o u r ch o ice of a c tio n s is fro m a long list, m o s t of w h ic h a re a b it silly. T he A n im atio n is going to p u t y o u r P o in ts o n th e s c re e n in d iv id u ally , y es, one a t a tim e , not all at once. W h e n s o m e th in g a p p e a r s o n th e s c re e n th e a u d ie n c e is a ttr a c te d to t h a t a n d will re a d it. P u t e v e ry th in g o n th e slid e a t o n c e a n d y o u ’ve lo s t y o u r a u d ie n c e . You a re ta lk in g a b o u t th e first P oint. T hey a re re a d in g all th e P o in ts.

K eep t h e A n im a tio n s e n s ib le . ‘A p p e a r ’ d o e s j u s t t h a t , q u i e t l y . H o w e v e r , y o u m i g h t c h o o s e a n o c c a s i o n a l d i f f e r e n t o n e . T h a t d o e s give a b i t o f v a r i e t y to t h e p r e s e n t a t i o n . Y e s, t h e r e c a n b e o c c a s io n s w h e n a d r a m a tic e n try o r ex it fits w h a t y o u a re ta lk in g a b o u t. A b it o f e x p e rim e n ta tio n is w o rth th e tim e.

L e t ’s c o n s i d e r p h o t o s a n d d ra w in g s . Is t h e o rig in a l p h o to in f o c u s ? If n o t , k e e p i n m in d t h a t e n l a r g e m e n t o n t h e s c r e e n w ill e m p h a siz e th e fu zzin ess. Is th e p h o to of a tin y d a r k is h b ee c raw lin g in to a hole in th e sid e of very larg e d a r k tre e b a r k ? T he p e rs o n in th e fifth row sees a larg e d a r k blob. Is a d ia g ra m d ra w n

25 years of PowerPoint • PowerPoint is not universally loved, criticisms include:

• It elevates format over content

• Presentations can be boring and just full of bullet points

• Makes communication presentation-orientated, not audience-orientated

• Can make information too simplified

82 BEE CULTURE Ja n u a ry 2016

This is an e x a m p le of a slide with w a y too m uch text. It includes every word that the p resen ter will s a v .

The tub-point* sre too smell to re*d on screen. e»pecl*!ty if someone is sitting near the back

- You're not even going'to see !hrs one The bullet points h a v e w ay too m a n y w ords f o r e x a m p le . I coufd ha ve just w rote ' which w ould be 6 w ords in stead o l 2 9

U sm g too m uch b o ld in g ita lic iz in g an d u n d e rlining will m a k e !ho au d ie n ce loose confidence bo c a u s e they w ilf m r ik that everything is eq ually im portant or that nothing is very im portant

Y o u c a n see how h a rd this presentation is to took a ! with the thre e-co lou r backg ro u n d a n d 3 ditforont colours fo r th e foot

Font Color - Bad

• Using color for decoration is distracting and annoying.

• Using a different color for each point is unnecessary

A void b a c k g r o u n c P B | ^ e d i or difficult to re a d f r m n ^ f c j |

A lw a y s b e consisten t with th e H ^ k g r o u n d th at yo u use.

w ith s p id e ry fine lin e s to illu s tr a te so m e p la c e o r a c tio n ? T h o se sp id e ry lin e s lo se v isib ility w ith in c r e a s in g d is ta n c e to th e sc re e n . If y o u do n o t ow n a p ro je c to r to see p ro b le m s th e n a rriv e e a rly a t th e m eetin g . Go to th e b a c k row a n d h a v e so m e o n e else j u s t c lick t h r o u g h y o u r slid e s. You will le a r n a lot.

Now to c o n s i d e r C lipA rt! T h e w orld is full of C lipA rt - so m e free, o t h e r s fo r s a le . P h o to s , c a r to o n s , realistic item s, stylized item s, colorful, b la n d , big, little. A nd m ore! Yes, u s e C lipA rt w h e n a n d w h ere a p p ro p ria te . A b i t o f h u m o r f r o m a c a r t o o n , w h e re a p p ro p ria te . S o m e th in g th a t illu s tra te s y o u r Point, certain ly . D o n ’1 overdo. If y o u u s e s o m e th in g from a n o th e r so u rc e th a n th e com m ercial C lip A r t, r e s p e c t c o p y r i g h t s a n d tra d e m a rk s ! A sk p e rm is s io n to use s o m e th in g t h a t is u s e fu l to y o u r PP You c a n u s e y o u r ow n p h o to s and d raw in g s. J u s t m a k e c e rta in th e y will be visible to th e a u d ie n c e . You c a n be e a sily fooled w h e n s ittin g in fro n t ol y o u r la p to p .

You c a n also a d d a video or m u sic to y o u r PP. P le a s e p r a c tic e u s i n g th e s e to o ls a n u m b e r of tim e s before th e m e etin g . At h o m e y o u s a t in fro n t o f y o u r c o m p u te r a n d fiddled a ro u n d , finally g e ttin g th e video to w ork. Y our a u d ie n c e d o e s n o t n e e d y o u r fiddling a n d m u tte r in g for se v e ra l m in u te s . By th e tim e y o u r s p e c ta c u la r video f in a lly a p p e a r s t h e a u d i e n c e h a s fo rg o tte n w hy it p e r ta in s to th e slide. Also k e e p in m in d th e d is ta n c e to th e a u d ie n c e . A tin y b ee in te r a c tin g w ith a n o th e r tin y b ee m a y b e s e e n a s a tin y jig g lin g blob from 75 feet aw ay.

W h a t a b o u t g r a p h s - y o u know , th o s e d ra w in g s w ith a n ‘x ’ ax is a n d a ‘y ’ a x is a n d li n e s g o in g a c r o s s a n d u p a n d dow n. S c ie n tis ts s p e a k in g r a p h s . O t h e r s do n o t. If y o u a b s o l u t e l y n e e d a g r a p h k e e p it sim p le, very, very sim p le. Lim it th e n u m b e r of lin es to one o r two. Q uickly e x p la in a n y u p s o r d o w n s o r s ta y in g flat. B ar c h a r ts a re e a sie r a n d q u ic k e r to u n d e r s t a n d p ro v id ed th e n u m b e r of b a r s c lu s te re d to g e th e r is lim ited to two or th re e . T he a u d ie n c e c a n easily see t h a t a ta ll b a r m e a n s ‘m o re ’ a n d a

s h o r t b a r m e a n s l e s s . ’ Too m a n y b a rs c l u s t e r e d t o g e th e r t a k e too m u c h tim e to s o r t o u t. Keep th e b a r c h a r ts sim p le a n d th e y c a n a d d in fo rm a tio n to y o u r p re s e n ta tio n .

Slides t h a t acknow ledge o r th a n k a n u m b e r of people o r in s titu tio n s ca n definitely have all t h a t in fo rm atio n on o n e slid e w ith n o A n im atio n . T h ese freq u en tly a re e ith e r a t th e beginning, a f te r t h e title s lid e , o r e n d o f th e Pow er P o in t before y o u r final slide.

T h e f i n a l s l i d e c a n a s k f o r q u e s tio n s o r sim p ly s a y ‘t h a n k y o u .’ It c a n a lso c o n ta in so m e th in g else, s u c h a s a re le v a n t p h o to o r item from ClipArt.

Now y o u h a v e f i n i s h e d y o u r Pow er P oint. A lm ost. You k n o w th e tim e a llo tte d for y o u r p r e s e n ta tio n . G e t y o u r la p to p s e t o n t h e in itia l slide. Note th e tim e. Now s t a n d u p a n d p r e s e n t y o u r PP o u t lo u d to y o u r dog o r c a t (they te n d to sleep th r o u g h it). Note th e tim e y o u fin ish . If too s h o r t o r too long, a n d a n y g litch es, now is th e tim e to fix it.

Off y o u go to th e m eetin g . Good luck! Y our a u d ie n c e will a p p re c ia te y o u r in fo rm a tio n . E 9

Ann Harman gives talks all over the world, and keeps her bees in Flint Hill, Virginia.

Ja n u a ry 2016 BEE CULTURE 83

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