how to give a good powerpoint presentation

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Presentation Guidelines four class days devoted to student presentations Approx. 20 minutes (15+5) each Grade: comments from me, comments from peers class: Some basic guidelines on presentation techn

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Notes from a class on how to give an effective PowerPoint talk, with a number of slides demonstrating what NOT to do...

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Page 1: How to Give a Good PowerPoint Presentation

Presentation Guidelines

Last four class days devoted to student presentations

Approx. 20 minutes (15+5) each

Grade: comments from me, comments from peers

This class: Some basic guidelines on presentation technique

Page 2: How to Give a Good PowerPoint Presentation

Know Your AudienceFirst and most important rule: KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

Different audiences need different types of talks

Fellow experts Technical jargon OK, Details good

Briefing for Colleagues Some jargon OK, less detailed

General Audience Minimal jargon, “Big Picture” only

Know what style is appropriate for your intended audience

Page 3: How to Give a Good PowerPoint Presentation

Know Your Point

Make sure you know what you want the audience to take away

1-2 main ideas per talk

Everything must come back to main points

Page 4: How to Give a Good PowerPoint Presentation

Tell A StoryOrganization is key

Beginning, Middle, End

Clear and Logical Flow

Keep audience informed

Try to streamline presentation so each step is obvious

For very complicated material, outline/ summary breaks

Page 5: How to Give a Good PowerPoint Presentation

Limit Your MaterialRule of thumb: 1 slide per minute MAXIMUM

Lecture notes: Typically ~20 slides for 65 minute class

50-minute Research Talk: 26 slides

50-minute Social Media Talk: 32 slides

50-minute Public Lecture: 39 slides

(Very image-heavy)

In-class presentations: No more than 20 slides

Page 6: How to Give a Good PowerPoint Presentation

Slide Design

1) Text Is Death

The deplorable practice of putting huge blocks of text on a slide and then reading every single word to the audience probably accounts for half of the problems people have with PowerPoint. Most people in the audience will be able to read the text faster than you can say it out loud. Those who can’t will be so busy reading it that they’ll tend to miss what you’re saying.

Keep words on slides to a minimum

This goes double for math/equations

Page 7: How to Give a Good PowerPoint Presentation

Slide Design

1) Text Is Death

2) Use high-contrast fonts and colors

Certain colors of text are nearly invisible on some backgrounds

Be aware of/ sensitive to visual impairments, like colorblindness

Don’t use complicated fonts or tiny little text

8.5”x11” printout should be readable from ~10 feet

Page 8: How to Give a Good PowerPoint Presentation

Slide Design

1) Text Is Death

2) Use high-contrast fonts and colors

3) Keep Background Images Simple

Complicated background images make text disappear

Use solid colors, or simple patterns

Page 9: How to Give a Good PowerPoint Presentation

Slide Design

1) Text Is Death

2) Use high-contrast fonts and colors

3) Keep Background Images Simple

4) Use animation sparingly

Sure you can use a different transition every time

but it’s incredibly irritating

Page 10: How to Give a Good PowerPoint Presentation

Know What to Say, WhenReading pre-written text is deadly dull

Too much text on slides is bad

Need to seem improvised while being prepared

1) Provide clear (but subtle) prompts on slides

2) Use “Presenter Mode” when available

0) PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE

Page 11: How to Give a Good PowerPoint Presentation

If It Works, It’s GoodThese are suggestions, not absolute rules

It’s possible to give a talk thatbreaks some or all of these

The only solid rule of publishing is:If it works, it’s good. -- Teresa Nielsen Hayden