Designing and Using Powerpoints

 GUIDELINES FOR DESIGN:

 ·           Limit the number of lines of text on a single slide: the fewer, the better.

·           Choose a bullet or numbering format depending on the purpose of your list.

·           Text in slides should be brief:
     -   Confine each slide to a single concept.
     -   Short phrases are preferable to full sentences.
     -   Only include the key points of the presentation.
     -   Whole paragraphs are not suitable.

·           Summarize the theme of each slide in a heading or title.

·           When importing a graph, table, or other illustration from a source, make sure the details are large enough to see/read from a distance

·           If an illustration is too complex (e.g., large table with too many numbers), simplify it by leaving out elements that are not crucial for your
     presentation, or break it down into two or more slides.

·           Use left-justification only, not full-justification.

·           The body of text in your slides:
     -   Should be set in capital and lower case letters.
     -   Should not be set in all capital letters; it will be difficult to read.

·           Titles of slides should be in a larger, bold-faced font.

·           Leave enough space between lines; never single-space your text.

·           Use italics or underlines only for a few words in a slide.

 GUIDELINES FOR USE:

       ·           There are three types of slides:
                    -    Advance Organizer:  One slide that provides the structure of the whole presentation before you launch into any details.
                          Make sure the audience first understands the roadmap of your talk.
                    -    Elaborators:  Slides that expand on individual points from the advance organizer. This is typically the bulk of your slides.
                          Always keep the audience oriented as to where you are in your talk.
                    -    Illustrators:  These include graphs, pictures, tables, etc. that provide important information in a pictorial format.  Illustrations
                          can be "attention grabbers" and raise the audience’s involvement with your talk. 

·           Give audience enough time to copy key points, or distribute copy of slide presentation.

·           If your slide has more than four or five short bullet points, consider revealing them one-by-one as you talk about them.

·           Face the audience as much as possible.  Don’t keep your head turned to the screen behind you.

·           End with a slide of your conclusions.  (This follows the general rule of giving a presentation: “First tell them what you are going to
     tell them, then tell them, then tell them what you told them!”)

(CTL, 2010)

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