POWER POINT PREPARATION

AND
PRESENTATION
Presentation at
[Place]
Held between
[Date]

By
[Presenter]
TIPS TO BE COVERED

 Outlines
 Slide Structure
 Fonts
 Colour
 Background
 Graphs
 Spelling and Grammar
 Conclusions
 Questions
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.
Ex: Use the titles of each slide as main
points
SLIDE STRUCTURE – GOOD
 Use 1-2 slides per minute of your
presentation
 Write in point form, not complete
sentences
 Include 4-5 points per slide
 Avoid wordiness: use key words and
phrases only
SLIDE STRUCTURE - BAD
 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 STRUCTURE – GOOD
 Showone 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 - BAD
 Do not use distracting animation
 Do not go overboard with the animation
 Be consistent with the animation that you
use
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 - BAD
 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

COLOUR - GOOD

 Use a colour of font that contrasts sharply

with the background
Ex: blue font on white background
 Use colour to reinforce the logic of your
structure
Ex: light blue title and dark blue text
 Use colour to emphasize a point
But only use this occasionally
COLOUR - BAD
 Using a font colour that does not contrast with the
background colour is hard to read
 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 backgrounds such as this one that are
attractive but simple

 Use backgrounds which are light

 Usethe 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
TABLE - GOOD

January February March April May

Blue Balls Blue Balls Blue Balls Blue Balls Blue Balls
20.4 20.4 20.4 20.4 20.4
Red Balls
Red Balls Red Balls Red Balls 30.6 Red Balls
30.6 30.6 30.6 30.6
TABLE - BAD

Blue Balls 20.4 27.4 90 20.4

Red Balls 30.6 38.6 34.6 31.6
 GRAPHS - GOOD

Items Sold in First Quarter of 2002

100
90
80
70
60
Blue Balls
50
Red Balls
40
30
20
10
0
January February March April
 GRAPHS - BAD
100

90
90

80

70

60

Blue Balls
50
Red Balls

38.6
40
34.6
30.6 31.6
30 27.4

20.4 20.4
20

10

0
January February March April
GRAPHS - BAD
 Minor gridlines are unnecessary
 Font is too small
 Colours are illogical
 Title is missing
 Shading is distracting
SPELLING AND GRAMMAR

 Proof your slides for:

spelling mistakes
the use of repeated words
grammatical errors you might have make
 If English is not your first language, please
have someone else check your presentation!
"5 BY 5 RULE"

 The five by five rule is to limit yourself to

five lines of text per slide and no more
than 5 words per line.
 A similar "rule" to the 5x5 rule is that
slides should be able to be read in less
than 7 seconds.
 The bottom line is that the material that you
put on your slides should only be your main
points and not everything that you want to
say.  
 Although everyone breaks the 5x5 rule on
occasion, you should take care to make sure
that the bulk of your PowerPoint slides fit
the rule.
 In general, if you have more than can be
put on these five lines then you should put
the additional text on a second or third
slide.
 There are a LOT of reasons for this. The
most important having to do with control
of the presentation.
 The bottom line is that when a new slide goes
to the screen then people’s attention goes to
the slide and away from the speaker. During
that transition time, a large percentage of
people will NOT hear what you are saying.
You should only put a lot of text on the screen
when you want the people to read the slide
and NOT listen to you.
"USE THE BLANKING 'B' KEY":

 Pressing the "B" key when presenting in

PowerPoint immediately puts a black,
blank slide on the screen until some other
key our mouse button is pressed. This
feature is more important and useful than
most people realize.
 The "B" key can be used in emergencies
when you find out that you have the
wrong material up and you want to get the
screen off as quickly as possible. If you
are near the computer but not near the
projector then hitting the "B" key may be
quicker than shutting off the projector.
 The bottom line is that the "B" key helps
give you more control. Use it often. (Extra
tip: pressing the "W" key while presenting
gives you a white blank slide)
USING THE 'ALT-TAB' KEYS":

 Hold down the "ALT" key and while doing so

then press the "TAB" key. This will give you
a graphic representation of all your available
windows. Keep clicking on the "TAB" key
until you get the window that you want and
then release the key. This will open up the
window that you want.
HELP

 Simply press the "F1" key while in

presentation mode and PowerPoint will
give you a list of shortcut keys to use
during presentations.
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
REHEARSAL & PREPARATION

 Research your audience. Be sure that any

jokes, visual aids, or complex material takes
into account the knowledge, experience level,
and expectations of your audience.
 Rehearse to maximize effective delivery.
Practice your presentation several times and
ideally, practice in front of an audience
(friend, neighbor) to get feedback.
 Practicealoud with notes.
 Practice in a room similar to presentation
venue.
 Practice with equipment to be used (e.g.
power point, other visual aids, laser pointer).
 Prepare for Q & A (anticipate questions your
audience may ask before your presentation).
 Be prepared for the worst. Have back up
handouts or overheads in case your
technology fails you (it will).
 Get plenty of sleep the night before so you
are well rested.
 Arrive early to decrease nervousness-arriving
late can also diminish your credibility.
ORGANIZATION

 Have a title slide with the name(s) of those

presenting.
 Include an attention getter and explain the
relevance of your presentation.
 Introduce your teammates and yourself, the
topic, and preview the presentation.
 Follow the order in your presentation that you
lay out in your preview.
 Use transitions between slides, major
sections, and new speakers. Also, use sign
posts when you have multiple points on one
slide (i.e. my first point is, my second point
is, my third point is, and so on . . .)
 Conclude by highlighting the main points (not
topics covered) of your presentation.
 End on a high note by having a creative
conclusion.
 Don't forget to transition to Q & A.
SLIDES

 Try to have an even mix of text and visuals in

your slides (too much text will bore your
audience-we want to SEE what you are
talking about).
 Choose a dark background color with light
font or a dark background with white font.
Font size should be 24 point or larger.
 Avoid having more than 4 or 5 lines of
text per slide and avoid complete
sentences.
 As a general rule, have about one slide per
minute you will be talking--don't stay on
one slide for too long.
 Prepare for question and answer.
Anticipate questions your audience may ask.
Bring additional materials to share with audience
if necessary.
Do not interrupt audience members.
It is better to say "I don't know" than to give an
incorrect answer.
Keep your answers brief (if possible).
Thank your audience for their time and attention.
THANK YOU
FOR
LISTENING