A Guide to PowerPoint

PowerPoint PowerPoint is a part of the Microsoft Office package. It is a presentation software program that has many of the functions available in Microsoft Word.

PowerPoint Continued To display a presentation, you need: –A computer (desktop or laptop) –LCD projector –White board or screen for projection

Seeing (and Hearing) Is Believing PowerPoint presentations can enhance understanding and retention of concepts. Audiovisual aids should be relevant to the speech topic.

Designing Presentation Aids Do not add too much content. –Keep bullets short Visual aids should: –Reinforce –Support –Summarize what you say Simplicity

Designing Presentation Aids Use the same design throughout your presentation Continuity

Designing Presentation Aids Continuity Maintain continuity in: –Colors –Fonts –upper and lowercase letters –Styling Boldface Underlining Italics

Designing Presentation Aids Typeface: –a specific style of lettering Arial Times Roman Courier New Tahoma Monotype Corsiva Typeface

Designing Presentation Aids Fonts: –sets of sizes (called the point size) 24 point 20 point 18 point 16 point 10 point –upper and lower cases Font Size

Designing Presentation Aids Check that your lettering stands apart from your background. Use a typeface that is simple, easy to read, and doesn’t distract from your message. Don’t overuse boldface, underlining or italics. Use upper-and lowercase type. Typeface Style And Font Size

Designing Presentation Aids Use bold, bright colors to emphasize important points. Use softer, lighter colors. Avoid dark backgrounds. Color

A How-To Guide for Using Microsoft PowerPoint as a Presentation Aid

How-To Guide to PowerPoint This guide offers straightforward advice that will help you use Microsoft PowerPoint to create effective and enjoyable presentations.

You don’t want your slides to look like this: Title too small Font is small and hard to read Texts overlap and have strange formatting Clip art is too large; only one piece is necessary Colors on the slide are distracting

Let’s Begin! PowerPoint is a Microsoft application. If you are proficient in programs such as Word and Excel, you are already familiar with over 100 common commands used by Microsoft Office software.

Let’s Begin! NOTE: All of the icons, example buttons, and toolbars shown in this slide show are taken from the MS PowerPoint 2007.

To Use PowerPoint Become familiar with the toolbars Select your presentation option Learn how to create a slide Learn how to organize design elements Learn how to balance design elements

Press F5 Press Shift+F5

Switching Views and Navigating a Presentation The PowerPoint window contains features common to all Windows programs, as well as features specific to PowerPoint –Slide pane –Notes pane –Slides tab Thumbnails –Outline tab

Switching Views and Navigating a Presentation At the lower right of the PowerPoint window, on the status bar to the left of the Zoom slider, are three buttons you can use to switch views –Normal view –Slide Sorter view –Slide Show view

Adding a New Slide and Choosing a Layout

Previewing and Printing a Presentation PowerPoint provides several printing options –Color, grayscale, or pure black and white –Handouts are printouts of the slides themselves; these can be arranged with several slides printed on a page –Overhead transparency film Print Preview allows you to see the slides as they will appear when they are printed

Previewing and Printing a Presentation

Organizing Text Use a readable font and font size for each different aspect of the page (a good size range is between points). Be consistent from slide to slide with fonts and font sizes. Choose colors that will ensure that your text is readable and your slides do not appear distracting.

Organizing Text Don’t use too many different fonts. DON’T USE ALL CAPS. Avoid fonts that are distracting: –Braggadocio –OzHandicraft BT –Shelley Volante BT

Organizing Text Don’t include your entire speech on the slides. Instead highlight important points. To determine what information is best to include in your presentation, you should: Review your speech outline. Identify points that can be illustrated, such as key terms and their definitions, statistics, or charts and graphs.

Organizing Clip Art and Pictures To insert clip art onto your slide you can: Select a slide layout that has a set space for clip art. When working on that slide, simply double-click on the clip art space and it will take you to the Microsoft Clip Gallery. Use the Insert menu, click Picture, and then select Clip Art. Click on the shortcut icon:

Organizing Clip Art and Pictures Remember: use clip art, pictures, charts, and graphs only to illustrate points, not as fillers.

Organizing Animation Effects PowerPoint has a variety of different ways that text and art can be animated. For example: Blinds Vertical Fly from Bottom-Left Box Out Spiral Checkerboard Across Crawl from Right Dissolve Peek from Bottom Stretch from Top Appear Wipe Right Zoom In

Organizing Animation Effects These effects can be interesting additions to your presentation, but they can also be distracting. Use them sparingly to add emphasis. To animate, right-click on the text or image and select Custom Animation from the menu. Select the effect you want to use, determine the order of the animations on the slide, and make sure to preview.

Organizing Animation Effects Take time while in this screen to determine how your animation effects will appear. Clicking on the Timing menu gives you options so that your textboxes, clip art, and other animation elements can be presented on a mouse click, automatically, or automatically after a preset length of time.

Balancing the Elements Even if you follow all the suggestions for setting up your slide and its elements, you still may find that your presentation is hard to follow. It is important to go back through your completed presentation and make sure that the overall experience of watching it is pleasant as well as educational.

Balancing the Elements Defining a balanced slide may seem like a matter of opinion, but there are concrete criteria, including: Clip art and text must fit together well. No element -- title, points, graphics -- should overpower the others. Headings should be consistent in size and placement. They should be large and clear. Easy to understand.

The clip art illustrates the slide and is well placed on the layout. Example of a Balanced Slide The title is large and clear. Good use of contrasting colors on slide and in font. Text is easy to read and well sized.

Example of an Unbalanced Slide Title and color scheme are still fine. Text is too small. Clip art is too large. This slide is hard to read and places unnecessary emphasis on the artwork.

Giving Your Presentation Practice your speech Time yourself.