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K. Strandupdated Mar 2013

PowerPoint and other presentation software should be use to clearly convey and emphasize points you wish to make in your presentation.

Your PPT or other type of presentation should NOT contain everything you wish to say, or contain unnecessary information.

The following slides are meant to give you some tips on what to do and what not to do when preparing your presentation.

So, you’re giving an oral presentation....

Tip One:  avoid weird color combos

…that could make your audience ill

If you’ll be speaking in a dark room,use a dark background.

White or gold font on black is nice….

but yellow on black can be a bit too bright

unless maybe you’re giving a talk on bees

White or yellow font on a dark blue gradient is nice, too.

Just keep in mind that the larger the screen, the more diffuse colors will appear. 

So choose a couple of shades darker than what you’d like to see on the big screen.

If you’re giving a presentation in a room with some illumination, 

such as a classroom where people will be taking notes, 

use a lighter background with dark font. 

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You might also want to use an understated design layout.

Just avoid choosing a layout that’s too busy or has little to do with the topic of your presentation.

For example, this design is not good for a presentation about bees.

Unless it’s about the dangers of being stung by a bee at a track meet, I suppose.  

It ’s a good  idea to confirm that the version 

of PPT you will use on presentation day

is compatible with (will recognize) the design and fonts you’ve chosen.  

Tip Two:  avoid having too much text on your slides

Tip Two:  avoid having too much text on your slides

• use bullet points

•minimum of two bullets at any level

• if you have point “a”

• you also need point “b”

•minimum two spaces (or quarter inch) between bullet and text

• space bullets to make use of space on the slide

•use text large enough to read from back of room

Tip Two:  avoid having too much text on your slides

• you can animate your bullet points

• each will appear as you click to advance

• you can also dim bullets you’re finished discussing

•on average, it should take at least one minute to cover the information on each slide

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Tip Three: use a readable font (i.e. avoid the feet)

Serif fonts have “feet” that can make them hard to read

Times New Roman makes a nice font for papers, but not presentations

Arial and Tahoma have no feet

Calibri is also a nice san‐serif font

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Tip Four:  use animation in moderation

• subtle animation can be used to emphasize a point

• or help explain a cartoon

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Tip Four:  use animation in moderation

• too much animation can be distracting

• or even a bit obnoxious…

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IF  YOU   INCLUDE  A  FIGURE,  GRAPH,  

PICTURE  OR  OTHER  NON‐TEXT   ITEM,    

Tip Five:  Figures, Graphs, Pics, etc.

BE  SURE  IT  HAS  A  PURPOSE

AND  THAT  THE  RESOLUTION   IS  

HIGH  ENOUGH  TO  BLOW  UP  ON  A  BIG  

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Tip Five:  Figures, Graphs, Pics, etc.

Tip Five:           Figures, Graphs, Pics, etc.

If it’s a rather complicated figure, be prepared to walk your audience through it.

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TIP SIX: REFERENCES

Include references on the slides as they are needed. Don’t include one

slide at the end with all your references – they are not meaningful there

and no one is going to read or write them down. Some members of the

audience may want to write down a reference or two as they come up

with the information you present, so including them on slides with

information they are supporting is helpful.

Tip Seven: Be clear and give reminders

Keep the audience on track with each new topic or section presented.

• Tell the audience at the start of your talk the purpose and main question of your research

• Remember the audience is likely not familiar with abbreviations that may be familiar language to you

• Give the audience reminders to keep them tracking new topics or sections in your presentations

• Pauses can give the audience valuable processing time

TIP EIGHT:  REHEARSE!

Practice your presentation for time, transitions between slides, and energy and engagement with your audience.

Try out your presentation on friends or family who are familiar with your topic,

and those who are not;

both can provide valuable feedback.

• You will likely have more information than you have time to present

• Think of questions you would ask if you were in the audience

• Include extra slides with data or graphics that help answer anticipated questions

Finally...