Tips for Powerpoint users
Powerpoint can be a great tool for communicating with your audience. It can also turn a great interactive opportunity into a snoozefest. Here our our tips on how to keep your next powerpoint presentation lively, and your audience engaged.
1. Assemble compelling content
It may be fun and easy to build cool graphics with flying, spinning text, but PowerPoint cannot give the presentation for you. Your audience would prefer to hear from you. They DO NOT WANT TO LISTEN AS YOU READ SLIDES TO THEM. Build a strong aural presentation, and then simply assemble slides that support your speech.
2. Keep it simple
Frankly, there are a lot of tricks in Powerpoint that get in the way of good communication. When was the last time you read text as it was spinning counterclockwise out of a reflecting pool? "Dissolve" is a term that refers to text that simply appears or fades onto the screen. If your text is worthwhile, just let it be. Effective presentations are simple. Keep your word count to a minimum (6 words per line) and don't cram too much onto the screen. Please avoid using arrows, circles and bunny rabbits unless they are intrinsic to your subject matter. Bullet lists are a great way to separate points within a topic.
3. Don't read your PowerPoint
This may be the worst habit of inexperienced PowerPoint users. Hopefully you've been hired to do more than hit the space bar and read out loud. Remember why you'll be making a presentation, why your audience is taking the time, and then maximize eye contact and your tone of voice to make an impact. Reading slides can suck the life out of the most relevant of topics, and leave your audience wondering when the coffee will be ready.
4. Make it easy on the eyes
This may sound obvious, but it is quite common to see text placed on top of busy background images or graphics. Don't forget that while you may be intimately familiar with your content, this is all new for your audience. look at your presentation through their eyes. Avoid the use of all upper case characters. As readers, our brains have memorized word shapes over years of repetition. When you capitalize an entire sentence or paragraph, the reader must slow down and concentrate harder to comprehend even the simplest statement. Also, avoid the use of script typefaces except for very large text, and in small doses. Unless you're presentation is all about greeting cards, leave the calligraphy fonts alone!
5. Minimize the use of numbers
Don't overwhelm your audience with too many intricate numbers. They'd rather not do the math while you're talking, and you don't want that either. If you want to emphasize a statistic in PowerPoint, consider using a graphic or image to convey the point. If you are discussing an increase in profits, for example, either create a large graphic with numerals, or use an image that represents the progress being made.
6. Don't speak when a new slide is presented
As you advance to the next slide give the audience a chance to absorb the new information. Then, after a few seconds follow up with comments that expand the subject on the screen. You'll likely need to rehearse this cadence a few times, but once it's a habit you'll be way ahead of the curve.
7. Draw a blank
you can use PowerPoint as a non-verbal cue for your audience. By interjecting a blank slide, they will automatically focus their attention on your next words.
8. Import other images and graphics
Learn how to import images from outside the Powerpoint library. Jpegs are a perfectly suitable file format, as you are essentially viewing a computer screen. You can use video as well. humorous clip to illustrate a point will be long remembered.
9. Distribute handouts AFTER your presentation
Save a couple of trees. You probably don't need to pass out a paper edition of your powerpoint. This is especially true if you've followed the above points and your slides are only supporting your presentation, rather than replacing it. If you plan on dispursing a handout, make sure you have high res versions of the images to drop into the printed version.
10. practice, proofread, and practice again
Unless you've given the same presentation several times recently, don't count on getting it right. Run over it again, checking for revisions (to your spoken points, as well as your slides). You've spent a lifetime becoming an expert in your field. Don't disappoint your audience by appearing unprepared or sloppy.