PowerPoint Pointers What are the rules?

Things to Consider In PP Presenting to the TV Generation State presentation's objective in one simple sentence. Don't skimp on pictures--each one paints a thousand words. Keep presentations moving along--one idea at a time. Use color. Consider it a compliment if people say presentation is too short. page 1

Things to Consider In PP Creating the Outline (storyboard)  Organize flow of major thoughts and sub-points.  Keep text short and simple.  Use consistent grammatical structure.  Remove every unnecessary word.  Write to be heard. Make sure the material makes sense when you read it aloud. page 2

Things to Consider In PP Backgrounds  Only use one per presentation.  For interest, add a subtle graphic and use a background with a graduated color.  Remember the correct color selection  Be careful of large images  Keep it simple page 3

Things to Consider In PP Type  Keep it simple and consistent.  Use at most two fonts per presentation. Stick with one, if possible.  Use bold type to improve readability.  Use big type. Body text points. Subtitles points. Headlines 36 or more  Check readability during development by stepping back 5-6 feet from you monitor. page 4

Things to Consider In PP  Drop shadows can help text stand out from the background.  Provide space between the lines. Increase the "line spacing" and/or "paragraph spacing" so that the text is not too tightly packed. The viewer needs help going from the end of one line to the beginning of the next without getting lost.  Use bullets, but consider using something other than a round dot. Some fonts offer alternatives.  Only consider using all uppercase for a title if the title is one or two words. page 5

Things to Consider In PP Color  In a dark room, use light type on a dark background. In a well-lighted room, use dark type on a light background.  Be aware of human reactions to various colors. page 6

Things to Consider In PP  Red: Danger, Stop  Dark Blue: Dignity  Light blue: Cool energy, Calm  Gray: Neutral, Mature  Purple: Royal, mystery  Green: Life, Health  Orange/Yellow: Outgoing, Sunny  White: (Use only for text on a dark background)  Black: Serious page 7

Things to Consider In PP Color  Contrasting colors help the eye focus.  Colors classify information. Be consistent.  No more than 4-5 colors on a chart.  No more than 10 colors in a presentation.  Subtle colors for large graphics.  Bright colors for small graphics. page 8

SAFE Design Simple Appropriate Functional Economical

Things to Consider In PP Match the presentation to the projector – If the projector is 640x480 (standard VGA), make sure your presentation is the same size. If not, the right side and bottom of the presentation will be clipped from the screen. page 9

Things to Consider In PP Toggle the lights – Use PowerPoint to explain a concept, then turn on the lights to discuss the concept. Intersperse active learning activities with the usually passive PowerPoint activity. page 10

Things to Consider In PP Use dissolves Rarely – Find a dissolve and stick with it. If the viewer is aware of the dissolve, they are distracted from the content, and the content is king. – Use one dissolve for transitions within a section and one dissolve when moving on to another major section. Vary the effect and/or the speed. page 11

Things to Consider In PP Display bullets lists in steps – If you have a slide with a number of points, make each point appear in turn, reducing the intensity of the other points as you move on. – Select the bullet, go to the menu named "Slide show" and select "Custom animation." page 12

Things to Consider In PP Have a "Plan B" ready – Be prepared for the case where you can't show the presentation. bring a printout overhead transparencies Other Activities page 13

References – PowerPoint notes Bill Vilberg Instructional Advancement Center University of Miami Last updated 10/22/99Bill Vilberg Instructional Advancement Center University of Miami – Greg Bandy, Multimedia Presentation Design for the Uninitiated