1. Professional PowerPoint Presentations Do’s and Don’ts

2. Text DO Keep slides concise Font size should range between 18 to 48 According to importance Use fonts that are easy to read Arial, Helvetica, Times New Roman, etc.. DON'T Don’t include too many details and data No more than 7 words to a line and 7 lines to a slide Don’t crowd the information Don’t use flashy or curvy fonts

3. Text DO Use uppercase letters for the first letter Use statements, not sentences Convert paragraphs to sentences, sentences into phrases, phrases into keywords Use keywords to help the audience focus on your message DON'T Don’t use all uppercase letters Difficult to read and will appear as yelling Don’t use abbreviations or acronyms People don’t always know what you’re talking about Don’t use punctuation marks for bulleted items

4. Noise Effects DO Use sound to help convey, complement, or enhance the message Sound should have a purpose DON'T Don’t use sounds when they aren’t appropriate Sounds can be distracting Make your presentation less effective

5. Color DO Limit the use of color to 2 to 4 colors/shades Use built-in themes that relate to the topic Change theme color or font if necessary Use colors that will stand out and will be easy on the eyes Dark backgrounds, light text is best DON'T Don’t have multiple color schemes Don’t use dark colors on a dark background Red, blue, and black should not be used together as text and background Yellow on White doesn’t work either

6. Images and Shapes DO Include images that make issue more true to life Audience needs to identify with the image Only include 1 to 2 images per slide Use shapes or SmartArt to illustrate complex topics DON'T Don’t use too many graphics Can be distracting Don’t use low-quality images Should not be pixilated; unprofessional

7. Graphs and Charts DO Show relationships, comparisons, and change Illustrate your point by verbally discussing the graph or chart Make sure your data is correct Otherwise, you’ve lost credibility DON'T Avoid meaningless graphs that are difficult to read

8. Transitions and Animations DO Help presentation make more of an impact Keep transitions to a minimum Use the same transition or a variation of the transition Use animations to emphasize a point DON'T Avoid flashy transitions To much will distract your audience Avoid using random slide transitions Use animations that are distracting from the point

9. Practice Your Presentation DO View your presentation ahead of time Is it easy to read the text? Is the amount of information on each slide kept to a minimum? Are there any distracting elements? Ask others for feedback DON'T Don’t read material directly from the screen Use slides as prompts or conversation points, not cue cards Don’t use words you can’t pronounce Don’t leave all the lights on Be sure people can actually see the screen

10. 6 Ways to ruin your PowerPoint 1. Too much text 2. Too much “art” 3. Too flashy 4. Spellign/gramer errers and FUN punctuation!!!!!!!!!!!!! 5. Comic Sans 6. Can’t read it