Microsoft Powerpoint in the industry standard in software for making informative presentations. However, a lot of people who use it are distracted by the different things it can do, while forgetting that they are supposed to be presenting information. Here are some tips for making an effective, professional Powerpoint presentation. However, all of the points on this list could be summed up in one: make sure that viewers can see your information. Use Powerpoint as an aid, not as the primary focus of your talk.
Avoid transition effects
Transition effects between slides may look neat, but ultimately, they serve no purpose. Many of them are actually quite annoying. A simple fade is acceptable, but anything that spins, flips of twirls should be avoided if you are trying to appear professional. Anything that takes too long merely wastes time and is distracting. Your audience should be focussing on you and your information, not the slide transitions.
Avoid text effects
Similar to the slide transitions, text appearance and disappearance effects should be avoided. However, the ‘appear’ effect is a must for lists. Using ‘appear’ to make the items on a list appear one by one is an excellent use of text effects. If your text makes three spinning loops of the screen before settling into place, that is simply not necessary. While you may think that the people to whom you are presenting will be impressed by your technical know-how, most will not. Many will simply be annoyed.
Try to make your presentation have a common colour theme
Select one background style and apply it to all slides. Keep the slides all the same colour throughout the presentation. This will give your presentation a consistent feel to it.
Make your text large enough to read
At least a 24 point font is mandatory for body text. Larger would be preferable. For titles and headings, a 48 point font minimum is preferred. This can depend on the size and resolution of the screen you will be presenting on. The basic point here is make sure your audience will be able to read your text.
Use a sans-serif font
When reading on a screen, sans-serif fonts are easier to read. When reading a printout, a serif font is preferred. If in doubt, use Garamond, which looks good anywhere. Times New Roman is a serif font. Helvetica is a sans-serif font.
If printing handouts, make sure they can be read
Powerpoint has the ability to print the slide view, or slide view with space for notes. If you are making use of these abilities, make sure to test your layout with your printer. Especially if you are not printing in colour, make sure that your text can be read on your background. This may sound obvious, but I have received notes where the text blended into the stylistic elements when converted to black and white.
Use high resolution images
If you are using images, make sure that they are high resolution. Keep in mind that on the screen, everything is blown up. What looks good on a normal computer monitor, might look horrible and pixelated on a large projection screen.
Don’t just read what’s on your screen
This is more a tip for giving your presentation than it is for making it. When making a Powerpoint presentation, it is acceptable to assume that your audience can read, - that is, if you follow the fourth point on this list about text size. You do not have to and should not read every word on the screen. The Powerpoint should be a supplement to the information you are giving, not a full copy of it. There is a reason you are doing a presentation and not simply writing a report. If you simply read everything in your presentation, the audience will either tune you out, or ignore the presentation.
Try to use images, charts or graphs
Large blocks of text can be intimidating to many audiences. Try to include visuals whenever possible. This is the point of using Powerpoint: a visual aid to help your audience understand your information. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a graph or chart should be worth at least seven hundred. If your topic can be expressed in a graph, you should use one. If you have a picture that illustrates your point, don’t be afraid to use it.
