Effective PowerPoint

14 Top Tips

for designing and presenting great

slide showsby Paul Hinckley

Not another boring PowerPoint presentation….

Oh no!!

1. Keep the points simple• Introduce yourself• Title page• Aims and objectives• Structure• Subheadings• Bullet points• Summary / conclusion• Questions

2. Make your title concise and relevant

• Show where you are going!

3. Take control of the show

4. Outline• Make your 1st or 2nd slide an outline of your

presentation

• Follow the order of your outline for the rest of the presentation

5. 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• Show one 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

6. Keep the background simple

• Keeps a clear, clean design

6. Keep the background simple

Keeps a clear, clean design

Avoids distractions

6. Keep the background simple

• Keeps a clear, clean design

• Avoids distractions

• Allows good contrast

6. Keep the background simple

• Keeps a clear, clean design• Avoids distractions• Allows good contrast• Prevents confusion

6. Keep the background simple

• Keeps a clear, clean design• Avoids distractions• Allows good contrast• Prevents confusion• Avoid PowerPoint’s own templates

Background – Bad• Avoid backgrounds that are distracting or

difficult to read from• Always be consistent with the background

that you use

7. Keep the text clear

• 24 pt minimum • 36-44 pt for heading• Contrast colours

18 point

20 point

24 point

28 point

36 point

40 point

44 point

Good Bad

Bad Good

Good Bad

Bad Good

Bad Good

Good Bad

Bad Good

Good Bad

Contrast colours

7. Keep the text clear

• 24 point minimum • 40-44 for heading• Contrast colours• Don’t use black on white

7. Keep the text clear

• 24 point minimum • 40-44 for heading• Contrast colours• Don’t use black on white

7. Keep the text clear

• 24 point minimum • 40-44 for heading• Contrast colours• Don’t use black on white

7. Keep the text clear

• 24 point minimum • 40-44 for heading• Contrast colours• Don’t use black on white

7. Keep the text clear

• Use a standard font like Times New Roman or Arial

7. Keep the text clear• 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

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 & IT LOOKS LIKE

YOU’RE SHOUTING!…

• Don’t use a complicated font

(including “serif” fonts) - like THIS

• Photographs are fantastic• Cartoons are fun (… sometimes!)• Diagrams are

useful• No picture? Then why have a slide?

8. Always have a good picture

9. Animate quickly and simply

• Avoid transitions

9. The next slide?

9. Animate quickly and simply

• Avoid transitions• For text use:

– Appear– Fly, from left/right/bottom (very fast)– Fade (very fast)

9. Animate quickly and simply

Appear Fly

• For graphics use:

Dissolve in

9. Animate quickly and simply

• Nothing fancyIt will only end upREALLY ANNOYINGyour poor audience.

• Keep it quickOr you try to read or recognise it before it has

fully developed!

10. Spelling and grammar

• Spellcheck!• Proof your slides for:

– speling mistakes– The the use of of repeated words– grammatical errors you might have make

• If English is not your first language, please get someone else to check your presentation!

11. Never just read out the slide word for word!!This is THE thing that annoys more people about PowerPoint presentations than anything else.

It is BORING!

Keep something back!

12. Be very careful with sound

• No whooshes• No chimes• No lasers • No typewriters

Great for learning languages…

…or adding a bit of realism!

12. Be very careful with sound

French

Hello

Goodbye

Thank you

Français

Bonjour

Au revoir

Merci

13. (Don’t) give out great handouts

• Save until last• Send to Word• People will listen!

14. Enjoy it!Teaching and imparting knowledge and experience is one of the fundamental expectations of us as nurses within our profession. (NMC, 2010)

Embrace it….

It ’s fun!….

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

Thank you for your attention

“My PowerPoint presentation went so well, I had it made into a tattoo!”