PSYM5A1
PowerPoint Presentations-Tips.pptx
Making PowerPoint Slides
How to Design an Effective Presentation
Reference: www.iasted.org/conferences/formatting/Presentations-Tips.ppt
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Tips to be Covered
Outlines
Slide Structure
Fonts
Color
Background
Graphs
Spelling and Grammar
Conclusions
Lecturer Notes
Questions
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Outline
Make your 1st or 2nd slide an outline of your presentation
Ex: previous slide
Follow the order of your outline for the rest of the presentation
Only place main points on the outline slide
Eg: Use the titles of each slide as main points
Use Notes section at the bottom of the slide to write out more complete information the speaker will need (see below).
According to Argosy (2011), it is important to give the audience an overview of the presentation. By previewing the presentation in a brief outline, the audience will have an idea of what topics to expect and they might start to develop questions to ask.
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Helpful hint:
“Before you create a single slide, think about what you want to say” (Friedman, 2007, p. 23).
Slide Structure – Good
Use 1-2 slides per minute of your presentation
Write in bullet-point form, not complete sentences
Include 4-5 points per slide
Avoid wordiness: use key words and phrases only
The point is to guide the presenter as well as provide visual aids for the audience. If the presenter clutters the slide with too much information, readers will become too involved with the slides rather than what the presenter is saying.
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Slide Structure - Poor
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.
Burke, James, and Ahmadi (2009) suggest that no more than about bullet points should appear on each slide. Too much information presented at a time results in decreased attention and understanding of the material.
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Slide Structure – Good
Show one point at a time:
Will help audience concentrate on what you are saying
Will prevent audience from reading ahead
Will help you keep your presentation focused
Slide Structure - Poor
Do not use distracting animation
Do not go overboard with the animation
Be consistent with the animation that you use
Just as in using quotations within an APA-formatted paper, animation should be used to emphasize a point, not to take up space.
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Fonts - Good
Use at least an 18-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
Fonts - Poor
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 background
Eg.: blue font on white background
Use color to reinforce the logic of your structure
Eg.: light blue title and dark blue text
Use color to emphasize a point
But only use this occasionally
Color - Poor
Using a font color that does not contrast with the background color is hard to read
Using color for decoration is distracting and annoying.
Using a different color for each point is unnecessary
Using a different color for secondary points is also unnecessary
Trying to be creative can also be ineffective
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
Graphs - Good
Use graphs rather than just charts and words
Data in graphs is easier to comprehend & retain than is raw data
Trends are easier to visualize in graph form
Always title your graphs
Do not copy graphs or charts from other sources without permission
Graphs - Poor
Graphs - Good
Graphs - Poor
Minor gridlines are unnecessary, font is too small, colors are illogical, title is missing, shading is distracting
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Spelling and Grammar
Proof your slides for:
speling mistakes
the use of of repeated words
grammatical errors you might have make
If English is not your first language, please have someone else check your presentation!
Read your work aloud to be sure it flows well and make sense
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 presentation
Suggest future avenues of research
Questions??
End your presentation with a simple question slide to:
Invite your audience to ask questions
Provide a visual aid during question period
Avoid ending a presentation abruptly
References
Include in-text citations throughout your presentation to credit sources and include the full reference list in APA format at the end
Burke, L.A., James, K., & Ahmadi, M. (2009). Effectiveness of
PowerPoint-based lectures across different business disciplines: an investigation and implications. Journal of Education for Business, 84(4), 246-251.
Friedman, K. (2007). Avoid a PowerPoint slumber party. Global
Cosmetic Industry, 175(5), 23.