DOs and Don'ts

in creating your
Power Point Slides

Effective PowerPoint
presentations
Are
You
Excited
By
Animations, sound
and
Clip art
In PowerPoint?

PowerPoint Slide
Highlight key points or reinforce what the
facilitator is saying
Should be short and to the point, include only
key words and phases for visual,
reinforcement
In order for your presentation to fit on most
screens, text and images should be placed
within 95% of the PowerPoint slide. This
action safe area is seen in the next slide.

PowerPoint Presentation Skills

Tips
for need
Effective
1. Do you
really
to usePresenting
PowerPoint?
If its not absolutely necessary to use PowerPoint in your presentation then
STOP USING IT!

2. Stop using PowerPoint as your prompt!

3. Ruthlessly reduce the number of
PowerPoint slides
4. Use images in the PowerPoint slides
whenever possible
5. Use headline summaries only for text slides
in PowerPoint
6. Don't just use PowerPoint slides as your
handouts
7. Use hidden PowerPoint slides for the Q&A
session

PowerPoint Layout
Layout continuity from frame to frame
conveys a sense of completeness
Headings, subheadings, and logos should
show up in the same spot on each frame
Margins, fonts, font size, and colors should be
consistent with graphics located in the same
general position on each frame
Lines, boxes, borders, and open space also
should be consistent throughout

Using PowerPoint
Do:
1. Check that you have booked all the equipment
you need well before your talk.
2. Plan what you want the audience to see and don't
crowd the screen.
3. Use an appropriate font.
4. Use a good colour contrast for background and
image, and project it to check.
5. Give handouts with details, which wouldn't be
clear on the screen.
6. Rehearse with all your visual material and the
equipment you will be using.
7. Always have backup in case of disaster.

Don't:
1. Show paragraphs or long sentences on the
screen.
2. Use fussy and distracting backgrounds.
3. Overdo punctuation: very little is needed in
a visual aid.
4. Use over-complicated diagrams, which the
audience won't be able to see clearly.
5. Use unnecessary and distracting
movement on the screen.
6. Watch the computer screen instead of the
audience.
7. Assume that you can use the equipment
without trying it out.

What well cover today

Do you need PowerPoint?

Outline
Slide layout
Fonts, colour and background
Graphs
Spelling and grammar
Room set up

Do you need PowerPoint?

then he said, I cant feel
my legs and then I said,
Stay with me Joe! But it was
too late. He was gone.
It was the PowerPoint.

Do you need PowerPoint?

Consider the type of presentation:
Lecture
Discussion

Dont make your presentation

PowerPointless

The outline
1st or 2nd slide should
have an outline
Follow outline for your
presentation
Place main points on
outline slide

Slide layout
Use point form, not complete
sentences
Maximum of six points per slide
Avoid wordiness: key words only

Slide layout
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.

Slide layout
Showing one point at a time will:
focus attention on one point
prevent reading ahead
help keep your presentation focused

Slide layout
Do not use distracting animation
Do not go overboard with the animation
Use consistent animation

Slide layout
Slide transitions should not be distracting
Be consistent with transitions never
Random
Worst effects
Checkerboard or Comb

Fonts good
Use different size to show hierarchy
the title font is 36-point
the main point font is 28-point
this font is 24-point

Use a standard font like Arial

Use at least an 18-point font and Bold

Fonts - bad

If you use a small font, your audience wont be able to read what you have written

CAPITALISE ONLY WHEN NECESSARY. IT IS

DIFFICULT TO READ AND LOOKS LIKE YOU
ARE SHOUTING.
Dont use a complicated font

Spacing - bad
If you have a set of points
space them out on the slide
rather than in one corner

Spacing - good
If you have a set of points
space them out on the slide
rather than in one corner

Colour - good
Use a font colour that contrasts
sharply with the background
Use colour to reinforce the logic of
your structure
Use colour to emphasise a point
But only use this occasionally

Colour - bad
Dont use non-contrasting font colours
Using colour for decoration is
distracting and annoying
Using a different colour for each point
is unnecessary
Using a different colour for secondary
points is also unnecessary

Trying to be creative can also be bad

Background - good
Use a simple background
Use backgrounds that contrast with
text/imagery
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
Use graphs rather than just charts and
words
Data in graphs is easier to comprehend
and retain than raw data
Trends are easier to visualise in graph
form

Always title your graphs

Graphs

January February
Blue Balls
20.4
27.4
Red Balls
30.6
38.6

March
90
34.6

April
20.4
31.6

Graphs
Items Sold in First Quarter of 2002
100
90
80
70
60

Blue Balls
Red Balls

50
40
30
20
10
0
January

February

March

April

Graphs
100
90

90

80

70

60
Blue Balls

50

Red Balls
38.6

40

34.6
31.6

30.6
27.4

30
20.4

20.4

20

10

0
January

February

March

April

Other features - avoid

Avoid sound effects in
PowerPoint
Embedded programs
and action buttons for
advanced users
Refrain from trite clip
art

Other features
choose pictures
that highlight your
point
use a screen
capture if
appropriate

Spelling and Grammar

Proof your slides for:
speling mistakes
the use of of repeated words
grammatical errors you might have make

Have someone check your

presentation

On the day

Get there early

Handouts
Does everything work?
Can your audience read the slides?
Keep an eye on the time
Dont read directly from the slides

Conclusion slide
Use an effective and strong closing
Use a conclusion slide

Conclusion

Structure your presentation

Keep it simple (background, font, colour)
Minimal content on slides - 6/6
Avoid pointless animations
Only use pictures if they assist
Ensure accuracy with content and
equipment

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

Make It

Big

Font Size
The larger, the better. Remember, your slides
must be readable, even at the back of the
room.

This is a good title size

Verdana 40 point

A good subtitle or bullet point size

Verdana 32 point
Content text should be no smaller than
Verdana 24 point

This font size is not recommended for content. Verdana 12 point.

Font Size
Combining small font sizes with bold or
italics is not recommended:

What does this say? Garamond Font, Italic, Bold 12pt.

This is very difficult to read. Times Font, Bold, 12pt.

This point could be lost. Century Gothic Font, Bold, Italic, 14pt.

No one will be able to read this. Gill Sans Font, Condensed Bold, 12pt

Dont !

Small fonts are okay for a footer, such as:

Make it Big (Text)

This is Arial 12

This is Arial 18

This is Arial 24

This is Arial 32

This is Arial 36

This is Arial 44

Make it Big (Text)

This is Arial 12

This is Arial 18

This is Arial 24

Too Small

This is Arial 32

This is Arial 36

This is Arial 44

Make It Big (How to

Estimate)

Look at it from 7 feet away

7 ft

Fonts
Font Style Should be Readable
Recommended fonts: Arial, Tahoma,
Veranda

Standardize the Font Throughout

This presentation is in Tahoma
Do !

Fonts

Dont !

Dont Sacrifice Readability for

Style
Dont Sacrifice Readability for
Style

Dont Sacrifice Readability

for Style
Dont Sacrifice Readability for
Style

FONTS

Keep It Simple

Keep It Simple (Text)

Too many colors
Too Many Fonts and
The 6 x 7 rule

Styles

No more than 6 lines per slide

No more than 7 words per line

While hard work and good ideas are essential to success, your
ability to express those ideas and get others to join you is just
as important. Much of this verbal expression will be one on
one or in small groups, but periodically you will be involved
in more formal and public speaking in front of larger numbers.
If this thought makes you nervous, you are not alone. Many
speakers lack the skills and confidence to make effetcive
presentations. We have all been victims of speakers who put
us to sleep. Despite knowing how ineffective many speakers
are, many of us have found that, despite the best intentions,
we havent fared much better. We knew the topic and the
ideas were written down, but the presentation still didnt go
well. Was it the way you delivered the presentation? Was it
because the audience didnt seem interested?

What was wrong

with that?

Keep It Simple (Text)

Instructional Technology:
A complex integrated process
involving people, procedures, ideas,
devices, and organization, for
analyzing problems and devising,
implementing, evaluating, and
Too
detailed
!
managing solutions to those problems
in situations in which learning is
purposive and controlled
(HMRS 5th ed.)

Keep It Simple (Text)

Instructional Technology:
A process
involving people, procedures & tools
for solutions
Much Simpler
to problems in learning
(HMRS 5th ed.)

Caps and Italics

DO NOT USE ALL CAPITAL LETTERS
Makes text hard to read
Conceals acronyms
Denies their use for EMPHASIS

Italics
Used for quotes
Used to highlight thoughts or ideas
Used for book, journal, or magazine titles

Use a Template
Use a set font and color
scheme.
Different styles are
disconcerting to the audience.
You want the audience to focus
on what you present, not the
way you present.

Keep It Simple (Picture)

Art work may distract your audience

Artistry does not substitute for content

Keep It Simple (Sound)

Sound effects may distract too
Use sound only when necessary

Keep It Simple (Transition)

This transition is annoying, not
enhancing
"Appear" and "Disappear" are better

!
Limit Animation
Use the same animation
throughout the entire presentation
Using more than one can be very
distracting
The audience will only see the
animation and not the message
youre trying to get across
Dont

Bam!

Limit Animation
!
Use the same animation
throughout the entire presentation
Using more than one can be very
distracting
The audience will only see the
animation and not the message
youre trying to get across

Do
!

Keep It Simple (Animation)

7 ft

Too distracting !

Keep It Simple (Animation)

7 ft

Simple & to the point

Make It Clear

Make It Clear
(Capitalisation)
ALL CAPITAL LETTERS ARE DIFFICULT
TO READ
Upper and lower case letters are
easier

Make It Clear (Fonts)

Sanserif

Z
Serif

clear

busy

Use the Same Background

on Each Slide

Do !!

 Dont use multiple backgrounds

in your presentation
Changing the style is distracting

Dont!

Colors
Reds and oranges are highenergy but can be difficult to
stay focused on.
Greens, blues, and browns are
mellower, but not as attention
grabbing.
Reds and Greens can be difficult
to see for those who are color
blind.

Avoid These Combinations

Examples:

Green on Blue
Dark Yellow on
Green
Purple on Blue
Orange on Green
Red on Green

Dont !

Colors
White on dark background should not
be used if audience is more than 20 ft
away.
This set of slides is a good example.
You can read the slides up close.
The further away you get, the harder it
is to read.
This is a good color combination if
viewed on a computer.
A dark background on a computer
screen reduces glare.

Colors
Large Hall Events

Dont

Avoid White Backgrounds

The white screen can be
blinding in a dark room
Dark Slides with Light
Colored Text Work Best

The Color Wheel

Colors separated by
another color are
contrasting colors
(complementary)
Adjacent colors harmonize
with one another (Green
and Yellow)
Colors directly opposite one
another are said to CLASH
Clashing colors provide
readability

Orange on Blue

Do !

Make It Clear (Complement)

Use contrasting colors

Light on dark vs dark on light

Use complementary colors

These colours complement

Make It Clear (Complement)

Use contrasting colors

Light on dark vs dark on light

Use complementary colors

These colours do not complement

Background Colors
Remember: Readability! Readability! Readability!

This is a good mix of

colors. Readable!

This is a good mix of

colors. Readable!

This is a bad mix of

colors. Low contrast.
Unreadable!
This is a bad mix of
colors. Avoid bright
colors on white.
Unreadable!

Make It Clear (Colors)

Use contrasting colors
Light on dark vs dark on light
Use complementary colors

Make It Clear (Contrast)

Use contrasting colors
Light on dark vs dark on light
Use complementary colors
high contrast
low contrast

Make It Clear (Contrast)

Use contrasting colors
Light on dark vs dark on light
Use complementary colors

This is light on dark

Make It Clear (Contrast)

Use contrasting colors
Light on dark vs dark on light
Use complementary colors

This is dark on light

Make It Clear (Size)

Size implies importance

Make It Clear (Size)

Size implies
importance

Make It Clear (Focal Points)

Focal points direct attention

Make It Clear (Focal Points)

Focal points direct attention

Graphs and Charts

Make sure the audience
can read them!

Graphics and Charts

Avoid using graphics that are difficult to read. In this example, the
bright colors on a white background and the small font make the graph
hard to read. It would be very difficult to see, especially in the back of
a room.

Dont !
8

This graph contains too much information in an

unreadable format.

Dont !

10

This is a good, readable table. Tables, especially large

ones, should be placed on a separate slide.

4/19 Fri

109

NICMOS restarted, Ne-loop control

continues

4/22 Mon

112

Change to mountingDo
cup !control

4/23 Tue

134

Return to Ne control, Filter wheel test

begins

4/24 Wed

155

Increase control temperature to allow

for +2 K variations

4/25 Thur

165

Begin darks every 3rd orbit

4/26 Fri

174

DQE test visit 1; Control temp +0.5 K

Falling Leaves Observed

Christchurch

Dunedin

Wellington

January

11,532,234 14,123,654

3,034,564

February

1,078,456 12,345,567

16,128,234

March

17,234,778

6,567,123

16,034,786

April

16,098,897 10,870,954

7,940,096

May

8,036,897 10,345,394

14,856,456

June

678,095

4,123,656

8,890,345 15,347,934

18,885,786

8,674,234 18,107,110

17,230,095

September

4,032,045 18,923,239

9,950,498

October

2,608,096

9,945,890

5,596,096

November

5,864,034

478,023

6,678,125

December

12,234,123

9,532,111

3,045,654

July
August

16,184,345

Too detailed !

Falling Leaves in Millions

In 106

Christchurch

Dunedin

Wellington

January

11

14

February

12

16

March

17

16

April

16

10

May

10

14

June

Much Simpler
16

15

18

August

18

17

September

18

October

November

December

12

July

Falling Leaves

Too detailed !

Falling Leaves

Much Simpler

Good Graph
These are examples
of
good graphs, with
nice
line widths and good
colors.
Do !

Charts and Graphs

Don
t

Charts and Graphs

80
70
60
50
40

Mode A
Mode B
Mode C

30
20
10

North Europe
America

Australia

Do !

Illustrations
Use only when needed, otherwise they
become distracters instead of
communicators
They should relate to the message and
help make a point
Ask yourself if it makes the message
clearer
Simple diagrams are great communicators

Do !

Dont !

Be Progressive

Types of Instructional Tools

Discovery
Learning

Mode of Instruction

Individual
Constructive
Tools

Social
Constructive
Tools

Too many in one go!

Guided
Inquiry

Informational Tools

Individual
Instructive
Tools

Social
Communicative
Tools

Direct
Instruction
Individual

Pair

Complexity of Interactions

Group

Types of Instructional Tools

Discovery
Learning

Mode of Instruction

Individual
Constructive
Tools
Guided
Inquiry

Social
Constructive
Tools

Informational Tools

Progressive &
thus focused
Individual
Instructive
Tools

Social
Communicative
Tools

Direct
Instruction
Individual

Pair

Complexity of Interactions

Group

Understanding Technology
Mouse

I/O Error

Main Storage

CPU

Function key
Software
Floppy disk

Too many & User interface

not focused Debugger

Backup system

Understanding Technology
Mouse

I/O Error

Main Storage

CPU

Progressive &User interface

thus focusedDebugger

Function key
Software
Floppy disk

Backup system

Limit Each Slide to One

Idea
Use Bullet Points to Cover
Components of Each Idea

Make It Clear (Fonts)

Seriffontsaredifficulttoreadonscreen
Sanserif fonts are clearer
Italicsaredifficulttoreadonscreen
Normal or bold fonts are clearer
Underlines may signify hyperlinks
Instead, use colors to emphasise

Make It Clear (Numbers)

Use numbers for lists with sequence
For example:
How to put an elephant into a fridge?
1. Open the door of the fridge
2. Put the elephant in
3. Close the door

Make It Clear (Numbers)

How to put a giraffe into a fridge?
1.
2.
3.
4.

Open the door of the fridge

Take out the elephant
Put the giraffe in
Close the door

Bullets
Keep each bullet to 1 line, 2 at the most
Limit the number of bullets in a screen to 6,
4 if there is a large title, logo, picture, etc.
This is known as cueing
You want to cue the audience on what
youre going to say
Cues are a a brief preview
Gives the audience a framework to build upon

Bullets (con.)
If you crowd too much text, the
audience wont read it
Too much text looks busy and is hard to
read
Why read it, when youre going to tell them
what it says?
Our reading speed does not match our
listening speed; hence, they confuse
instead of reinforce

Make It Clear (Bullets)

Use bullets to show a list without
Priority
Sequence
Hierarchy, ..

Points to Remember

Do not do this!

Limit Bullet Points

To a few words

Limit each slide to 1 idea

Limit each bullet point to only a few words
to avoid long sentences that go on and on!
Limit animation Too much animation can
be distracting. Be consistent with animation
and have all text and photos appear on the
screen the same way each time. There are
many animation modes to choose from, but
it is best to use just one throughout.

Points to Remember
Keep bullet points brief
Use the same background for
each slide
Use dark slides with light
colored text in large hall
events
Do !

Avoid the All Word Slide

Dont

Another thing to avoid is the use of a

large block paragraph to introduce
your information. Attendees do not
like to have what is on the screen,
read to them verbatim. So, please
use short, bulleted statements and
avoid typing out your whole
presentation on to the slides. Also, it
is difficult for some to listen and read
a large amount of text at the same

To make a slide stand out,

change the font, background,
or add animation.

YOU
Do not use the media to hide you
The audience came to SEE you
The media should ENHANCE the
presentation, not BE the presentation
If youre only going to read from the slides,
then just send them the slides!
Remember, only you can prevent
Death by PowerPoint

Be Consistent

Be Consistent
Differences draw attention
Differences may imply importance
Use surprises to attract not distract

Be Consistent

Differences draw attention

Differences may imply importance
Use surprises to attract not distract

This tick draws attention

Be Consistent

Differences draw attention

Differences may imply importance
o Use surprises to attract not distract

These differences distract!

Be Consistent
Differences draw attention
Differences may imply importance
Use surprises to attract not distract

This implies importance

Be Consistent
Differences draw attention
Differences may imply importance
Use surprises to attract not distract

Confusing differences!

Be Consistent
Differences draw attention
Differences may imply importance
Use surprises to attract not distract

This surprise attracts

Be Consistent
Differences draw attention
Differences may imply importance
Use surprises to attract not distract

These distract!

In Summary

Big
Simple
Clear
Progressive
Consistent

Tips for Presenting

Limit the number of slides
3 slides per minute is the maximum

Practice moving between slides.

Be prepared for technical
difficulties
Avoid the use of flashy transitions.

This is TOO flashy!

Some Final Words

Communication is the key

Text to support the communication
Pictures to simplify complex concepts
Animations for complex relationships
Visuals to support, not to distract
Sounds only when absolutely
necessary