PowerPoint Presentation

Guidelines
• The following 37 slides present guidelines
and suggestions for the use of fonts, colors,
and graphics when preparing PowerPoint
presentations for Sessions and Seminars.

• This media (PPT) is designed to ENHANCE

your presentation, not BE the
presentation.

• Remember, only you can

prevent
“Death by 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.
 95%

90%
85%
VERDANA 22 PT. HELVETICA 22 PT.
VERDANA 20 PT. HELVETICA 20 PT.
VERDANA 18 PT. HELVETICA 18 PT.
VERDANA 16 PT. HELVETICA 16 PT.
VERDANA 14 PT. HELVETICA 14 PT.
VERDANA 12 PT. HELVETICA 12 PT.
VERDANA 10 PT. HELVETICA 10 PT.

+
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. 85% _ ,
. 90% TITLE SAFE .

. 95% - - - - - - - - - A- C T-IO-N S-AF-E

- '
 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
 Fonts
• Font Style Should be Readable
– Recommended fonts: Arial,
Tahoma,
Veranda
• Standardize the Font
Throughout
– This presentation is in Tahoma
Do
!
 Font
 The larger, the Size
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.

Don’t
• 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

 Small fonts are okay for a footer,

such as:
TIPS Presentation: 3/8/2004 Dawn Thomas, CRM
 Don’t
Font !

s
• Don’t Sacrifice Readability for
Style
• DON’T SACRIFICE
READABILITY FOR STYLE
• Don’t Sacrifice Readability for
Style
• Don’t Sacrifice Readability for
Style
 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.
Use the Same
Background
on Each Slide
Do !
!
Don’t use multiple
backgrounds in your
presentation

Changing the style is

distracting

Don’t!
 Colors
• Reds and oranges are high-
energy 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 Don’t
!
–Orange on
Green
–Red on Green
 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 Don’
Events t
–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 !
 Background Colors
Remember: Readability! Readability!
Readability!

This is a good mix This is a bad mix

of colors. of colors. Low
Readable! contrast.
Unreadable!

This is a bad mix

This is a good mix of colors. Avoid
of colors. bright colors on
Readable! white.
Unreadable!
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.

Don’t
!
 This graph contains too much
information in an unreadable
format.

Don’t
!
 Good
Graph
These are
examples of good
graphs, with nice
line widths and
good colors.

Do !
Charts and Graphs
80

70

60

50
Mode
40 A
30 Mode
20 B

10
Mode
C
0
North Europ A
America e ustrailia

Don’
t
 Charts and Graphs
8
0 Mode
7 A
0 Mode
6 B
0 Mode
C
5
0
4
0
North Europ Australi 3 Do
Americ e a 0 !
a
2
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 mountingDcuop!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

 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
Do
communicators
!
Don’t
!
Limit Each Slide to One
Idea
• Use Bullet Points to
Cover Components of
Each Idea
 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 you’re 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 won’t read it
– Too much text looks busy and is hard
to read
– Why read it, when you’re going to tell
them what it says?
– Our reading speed does not match our
listening speed; hence, they confuse
instead of reinforce
 Points to Remem Dbo
Limit Bullet
enort do this! 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
 Points to Remember
• Keep bullet points brief
• Use the same
Do background for each slide
! • Use dark slides with light
colored text in large hall
events
 Don’
t
Avoid the “All Word”
Slide
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 time.
• To make a slide stand
out, change the font,
background, or add
animation.
 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
you’re trying to get across
Bam!
Don’t
 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
you’re trying to get across
Do !
 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 you’re only going to read from the
slides, then just send them the slides!
• Remember, only you can prevent
“Death by PowerPoint”