Top Ten Slide Tips from Garr Reynolds

1. Keep it simple

Slides should have plenty of negative space and no fluff. The less visual clutter

the more powerful the slide.

2. Limit bullet points and text

You know this has worked when the slides themselves don’t tell the story of your

presentation. You are the narrator of the story, not the slides. Pass out extra

information after the talk. (Best to avoid bullets if you can.)

3. Limit transition and animation effects.

If you absolutely must, a simple wipe to left is sufficient.

4. Use high quality graphics

Avoid the deadly clip art and cartoons. Take your own pictures. Use images of

people for better emotional connection. Decide if you want the image forefront or

background. Decrease opacity and use Gaussian Blur for effects.

5. Have a visual theme but avoid power point templates and create your own.

6. Use appropriate charts

Pie charts = percentages

Vertical bar=show changes over time

Horizontal bar=compare quantities

Line charts=demonstrate trends

Tables= for side by side comparison

7. Use colour well

Colour evokes emotion. Use warm colours for objects in the foreground such as

text and cool colours for the background. In a darkish room, keep the background

dark with a large white text but in a lighter room, keep the background lighter and

the text dark.

8. Use fonts well

He recommends sans serif and gill sans. Avoid Helvetica.

9. Use videos/video if appropriate

10. Organize for structure and clarity using the slide sorter.

Avoiding Death by Power Point Bullets

Bullets are for guns. Here are Seth Godin’s top tips for great power point slides.

This is from his blog at:

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2007/01/really_bad_powe.html

1. No more than six words on a slide. EVER. There is no presentation so complex

that this rule needs to be broken.

2. No cheesy images. Use professional stock photo images.

3. No dissolves, spins or other transitions.

4. Sound effects can be used a few times per presentation, but never use the sound

effects that are built in to the program. Instead, rip sounds and music from CDs

and leverage the Proustian effect this can have. If people start bouncing up and

down to the Grateful Dead, you’ve kept them from falling asleep, and you’ve

reminded them that this isn’t a typical meeting you’re running.

5. Don’t hand out print-outs of your slides. They don’t work without you there.

The home run is easy to describe: You put up a slide. It triggers an emotional reaction in

the audience. They sit up and want to know what you’re going to say that fits in with that

image. Then, if you do it right, every time they think of what you said, they’ll see the

image (and vice versa).1

Sure, this is different from the way everyone else does it. But everyone else is busy

defending the status quo (which is easy) and you’re busy championing brave new

innovations, which is difficult.

Another seasoned presenter to learn from is Guy Kawasaki. You can find his advice here

on his blog:

http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2005/12/the_102030_rule.html#axzz0b0F66VG9

As a venture capitalist (someone who convinces others to invest in business deals) he has

listened to thousands of presentations and he knows what makes a presentation excellent.

He follows the 10/20/30 rule: 10 slides, 20 minutes, size 30 font. You can listen to him

on YouTube. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liQLdRk0Ziw) .These three great

presenters will show you how to be the best presenter you can be. Remember, you are

still at the beginning of your academic career and you’ll probably be presenting for many

years to come, so learn how to be the best now!

Now you’re ready!