Death by Powerpoint Clive Baldwin Canada Research Chair in Narrative Studies

Introduce yourself I am besotted with him He’s the best dog in the world He doesn’t like being called Alan

Clive Baldwin MA Education, MA Social Work, CQSW, PhD, PGCMLHE Canada Research Chair in Narrative Studies Director of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research on Narrative Professor, Social Work

Know yourself: with what you are comfortable what style you prefer the limits of what you know and can say confidently what makes you anxious what you want out of the presentation

Purpose What is the purpose of the presentation? What are the three (or so) main points you want your audience to remember? How will you introduce yourself?

Venue Where is the presentation to be held? What are the seating arrangements? What are the acoustics like?

Timing When are you scheduled to present? How long do you have to present? Will you accept questions as you go along or only at the end?

Audience Think about your audience – adjust your presentation accordingly – adjust your language accordingly – adjust your dress accordingly – adjust your behaviour accordingly

Prepare Be sure you know the content of your presentation Be sure it is structured well Rehearse – preferably with others Take criticism seriously not personally

Some tips Get a good night’s sleep Do not get drunk the night before … or do hard drugs … or soft ones for that matter … in fact, don’t do drugs at all … just say no tangents Don’t go off on tangents Don’t run with scissors Practice deep, regular breathing Arrive early

Accessibility issues Provide material ahead of time Be visible Speak clearly Use straightforward language Give people time to process what you say

Do you need PowerPoint? – Can you hold an audience with what you say rather than with what you show? – PowerPoint should be used to illustrate and punctuate, not provide a script – PowerPoint will not make you a better presenter – but may well make you worse

Alternatives to PowerPoint: No visual aids Flipcharts/Whiteboards Handouts Prezi MindMapping software

If you must use PowerPoint Check that the technology is working. Can you do the presentation without your slides? Is your version of PowerPoint (other software) compatible with that on the computer you will be using? Does your laptop work with the other equipment provided?

Layout  Do not use a font smaller than 24 pt  Check your margins  Both sides

Do not overcrowd your slides with pictures

or use distracting backgrounds

... Or text: Do not put too much text on each slide. If you do then your audience will be trying to read what is on the slide and not be listening to you. It is important to remember that it is also quite difficult to read a lot of text from a distance. Having lots of words on a page transforms your audience into readers and you might as well give them a handout with the text on it. Ideally, you should keep the text of each slide to four or five bullet points, preferably related in some way and clearly separated from each other by using enough white space between lines so that the audience can easily see where one point ends and another begins. Although there is no hard and fast rule, a general rule of thumb is not to have more than 25 – 35 words on a page.

Font Do not use a font smaller than 24 pt Use a font appropriate to the occasion Use a font without flourishes Lucida Sans Arial Candara Tahoma

Always do a spell-check

Do not use your slides to hold everything that you are going to say about a topic. Do not use your slides as the text of your talk or an autocue - rather they should be succinct aide memoires for you to talk about the subject in hand

Accessibility issues Are your handouts readable (number of slides/page) Cover all material on the slides – referring to slide is not useful for those who have some form of visual impairment

Use contrasting colours for your background and text.  Use contrasting colours for your background and text.

Graphics – Relevant – Non-distracting – Simple – Well-placed

Do not include incredibly complicated tables or graphs

Do not use animations that detract or distract from your presentation Nothing is more annoying that moving text except perhaps spinning text... or bouncing text... or text that disappears before one has read it

Use time-release features to: allow you to introduce one point at once on the same slide allow your audience time to process the information prevent your audience reading ahead and not listen to you; for dramatic effect

Avoid annoying transitions

Questions Ensure you leave enough time for questions Repeat the question so that everyone can hear it (and to show you have understood it) Answer the question Check that you have answered the question to the person’s satisfaction If you don’t know the answer then say so

[You see, they really are annoying] And knowing all of this you are in the position to create a slide perfect in form and content

The End