1. How to create effective PowerPoint slides: A Brief Tutorial Disclaimer: the slides in this presentation are intentionally poor. The goal of this tutorial is for you to create “better” slides using the suggestions given by this tutorial. The design of these slides are not indicative of the creative genius of its creator. Only the examples are claimed by the creator of this tutorial, but only as representations and not the best work. Have to keep some secrets safe, otherwise the creator might lose some of the luster as cool PowerPointer.

2. Effective presentations have an interesting title page that orients the audience to the rest of your presentation. It is important to have a strong beginning so that you can attract the attention of your audience at the outset. Using this idea as the basis for a presentation (effective presentation methods for PowerPoint slides), insert a new slide and make a title page for this presentation. Make sure you use a blank slide, do not choose a theme, and erase the predetermined text boxes from the slide. You pretty much want to start from scratch. Keep in mind when you make your first slide (the title slide) these key strategies for Typography: You should should use sans serif typeface such as Ariel or Helvetica Use 28 point type for headlines and 18—24 for body text Avoid setting text in all caps 1 Title Slide

3. The first slide in this presentation, and all subsequent slides, are not a good representation of effective PowerPoint slides. Each slide will contain a whole bunch of text that you will need to parse down to accommodate good visual design for a presentation. Some people will want to use a built in theme from PowerPoint to make their presentation “look good” but limit the capabilities that are available in free design. Creating a custom theme for yourself will add a professional, creative quality to your presentation. Duplicate your title slide and move it below this current slide. Create a custom personal bio tag that provides your a) name b) contact info such as email c) organizational affiliation and any other desired information. (see example on this slide below) 2 Create a theme Graduate Assistant RCPCdhanson@iastate.edu

4. Following your title slide, it is always good to provide an overview or “forecast” for the rest of your presentation. Your main points should be covered as a snapshot of the presentation so that viewers can expect what will becoming and can follow your transitions. Keep in mind from here on out that a major strategy for effective PowerPoint slides (from your reading) is to use a sentence headline that states the slide’s main point for every slide. Insert a new slide (keeping your personal bio on every slide) that forecasts the rest of the presentation. Topics for your slide: Typography, images, shapes, animations *See next slide for an example 3 Forecasting Graduate Assistant RCPCdhanson@iastate.edu

5. Graduate Assistant RCPCdhanson@iastate.edu This presentation will cover the following items relating to my creative component: MMACS Background Developing a Consistent Style Case Study Creation Multimedia Production Challenges and Future Goals

6. Besides just following a standard practice of using large font sizes (see first slide for reference), changing the typography (or font style) can alter the look and feel of the slide. Depending on what words you want to draw emphasis to, manipulating the typeface will add great detail to your slide and make it more visually appealing. For instance, if I want to draw attention to this word, merely changing the font will greatly alter the way an audience will view the slide. Create a new slide that takes all of this information but creates a new feel for how to use typography. Keep your previous strategies in mind and play with different styles, sizes, and even colors of typefaces. 4 Typography Graduate Assistant RCPCdhanson@iastate.edu

7. Images are a big part of creating effective PowerPoint slides. They are tricky to integrate and can often times distract audience members if it has no rhetorical purpose. When adding images to slides, you can go so far as to make them the background for your slide. You just have to be careful and match the image to the content of your slide. For instance, the previous forecasting slide example is plenty bare, but adding an image can alter the effect the slide has on the tone and feel (see next slide for example). Duplicate your forecasting slide and move it to follow this one: Add an appropriate image for the content of your slide 5 Images Graduate Assistant RCPCdhanson@iastate.edu

8. Graduate Assistant RCPCdhanson@iastate.edu This presentation will cover the following items relating to my creative component: MMACS Background Developing a Consistent Style Case Study Creation Multimedia Production Challenges and Future Goals Looking Ahead

9. If you haven’t noticed yet, there are some shapes on each of the slides in this tutorial; can you spot them? Good! The circle and the rectangle above are all created from scratch using the “Shape” option in the tool bar. This is another effective way to draw attention to a particular part of your slide, establish a coherent theme for all of your slides, or to even simulate a progress bar that moves with your presentation. You can format shapes with color, borders, line weights, and arrange them how you see fit. You can even group shapes together so that they become one piece instead of multiple. This could be particularly useful if you want to insert arrows or circles around specific items on your slide. Create a new slide (or edit some/all of your previous slides) that incorporates shapes. 6 Shapes Graduate Assistant RCPCdhanson@iastate.edu

10. Now, here is a function that is often frowned upon as too flashy or distracting: animation. If not done in good taste, animations can be merely fluff to a slide. However, certain animations can add specific appeal to your slides if you can use them properly. One way that you can use animations is to highlight a specific portion of your slide. For instance, you could have an image that you are describing, but you want a particular item to be highlighted. You can insert insert the cropped portion of your image and have it appear from the slide. This will cause a sort of zooming in effect where the point of emphasis jumps out at the audience. Create a new slide (or edit some/all of your previous slides) that adds an element of animation. 7 Animation Graduate Assistant RCPCdhanson@iastate.edu

11. Once you have neared the end of your presentation, it is important to have an explicit concluding slide for your audience. The most traditional, and effective strategy for your final slide is to attract questions from your audience. You can embed a Q & A statement on your final content slide so viewers know you are at the end of the presentation even if you are still finishing with your main content; or, you could create a new slide that simply thanks your audience and invites questions. Whichever strategy you choose, the important thing to remember is that the final slide is very explicit that this is the end, but you are open to audience participation. Create a new concluding slide. 8 Conclusion Graduate Assistant RCPCdhanson@iastate.edu