1. Powerpoint Presentations Problems

2. Font issues #1 Some students make the font so tiny that it cannot be read

3. Font issues #2 Some student chose fonts that are too hard to read when reading more than a few words. It gets too hard to read and so most people just stop reading.

4. Font issue #3 Some students write so much that it is too hard to read everything they write on one slide. They go on and on and on and on and on and on and one. The font is generally too small, there are no graphics to help and there is just too much to read on one slide. Students need to know when to break up the information into two or more slides. There is nothing wrong with covering a topic over several slides. No one will come and hurt you. Students should not go on and on and on and on and on and on and on… We want to communicate things well to others. That is why we create powerpoint presentations. If a slide has toooooooooooo many words then people don’t want to read it. We want people to read and understand what it is that we are trying to get across. Therefore, break up large sections of text!

5. Font issue #4 I don’t want to feel like an Elementary student again. Do you?

6. Background When the background is so distracting that the information is lost then it doesn’t work.

7. Pictures are good but… Do they help make a point or distract?

8. How can the pictures help your work? Be careful with too many distracting pictures and backgrounds.

9. Pictures can be worth a 1,000 words but other times…

10. PowerPoint Presentations Neat, clean, interesting but not distracting Font – big enough to be read from the back of the room (at least 24 font) Not too many words on a page Pictures can help, but make sure they help get your ideas across.

11. PowerPoint Presentations The whole point is to give us the highlights about your topic and allow you to fill in more information. This is a teaching tool not a hey-read-this-and-you’ll-know-what-I-know presentations that we read along as you read to us.

12. Things to consider: Tell stories. Seriously. People could care less about the five ways some XML vocabulary will enable enterprise whatever. Rather, put a screenshot of your project up, tell people what you learned while doing it, then give them a slide that reiterates those ideas in easy to digest bullets. That's interesting. Even more interesting are before-and-after screenshots. Better yet: a step-by-step evolution. Just do not go from bullet-point slide to bullet-point slide trying to tell people what to think. Show pictures. Got a good metaphor? Use it. "The Web is like a school of fish." But go to images.google.com and type in "sardines" or "school of fish" or whatever. Make it a slide. Then say the Web is like that. Much more powerful and memorable.sardinesschool of fish Don't apologize. Ever. If something is out of order, or if something occurs to you as a mistake during the presentation, keep it to yourself. They'll never know. Besides, nobody cares about the presentation itself. This is really hard, because you know the whole backstory, and you'll be tempted to explain why something isn't quite perfect. Skip it. Also, you don't need to apologize about the color on the projector, or the fact that your mic just popped off your lapel, or that a staff person spilled a pitcher of water. Commiserating is fine, however. "If it gets another 5 degrees colder in here, I'll be able to see my breath!" Start strong. I can't believe how many presenters forget this. Do not get up there and say, "Um, well, I guess we should probably get started." Instead, say, "Hi, I'm Jeff. It's really great to be here, and thank you so much for coming to my session. Today, we're going to talk about...." Make sure those are the absolute first words you say out loud. No need for a joke or an opening or any of that. Just start strong and confident. End strong too. "...so that's why I like social software. I appreciate your attention today. Thank you." Then stand there and wait. Everyone will clap, because you just told them you were done. When they've finished, ask them if they have any questions. If nobody asks anything, break the uncomfortable silence with "Well, I guess I told you everything you need to know then. [heh heh] I'll be around after if you think of anything. Thanks again!" and start packing up your stuff. Stand. Away from the podium. Out from behind the presenter table. Keep your hands out of your pockets. Take off your conference badge (the lights will catch it and be distracting). I pace a little bit around the stage, timed with my points, saying one thing from over here, and another from over there. But don't move too much. Pause. When you say something important, leave a gap after it. Let it hang there for a few seconds. Try it when talking to your friends. "You know what I think? (pause...two...three...four...) I think Bush is bankrupting this country for the next twenty years. (pause...two...three...four...) Here's why..." Have