MAKING MISTAKES IN POWERPOINT

(Never write titles in capitals only since it’s harder to read)

(because they are very hard to read

from a distance)

Choose your colours wisely…

The default colours are the best Too many colours look un-

professional Some colours can be very hard to

read against some backgrounds

Text is even harder to read against a graduated background

Don’t add too much text…

The maximum number of words you add to a slide should be 50. If you add more then the text will be too small for the people at the back to read. As a result they will give up and chat or doodle or whatever. Remember the purpose of the presentation is to act as a focus for your talk. It should be a set of subheadings to draw people’s attention to what you are saying. If you really need to give them a lot of information then put it on a printed sheet and give it as handouts.

This bit is 50 words. That’s

enough!

Don’t add too many bullet points

Bullet points or numbered items are good! They keep you focused on the item. You can change the shape of the bullet and the number style. You can use images as the bullet. You can make the bullets appear one at a time. You can animate the bullet point. You can add far too many bullet points. Seven bullets is too many. The more you add the smaller the text gets. Eventually the people at the back will not be able to read the

text because it will be too small. It looks cramped with this many bullet points. Even if you can read this from the back of the room,

remember that not everyone may have such good eyesight

Pointless images

There’s no point in adding images just because you like the picture.

Pictures add interest but are a distraction if they are not related to the text. Animated pictures are particularly bad at this.

Don’t add too many pictures…

In general a single picture is good. It helps you get a point across.It can be ok to add a second pictureAdd many more and you lose the effect

Avoid silly animation

This one takes forever to complete and bores the viewers

Its not easy to read text which spins …or swivels Bouncing text gets irritating