Guidelines for Preparations
of PowerPoint Presentations
Good
visual aids added to an oral presentation are enormously important. To maximize
the effect of all visual aids, follow these basic:
A. Make
the visual aid APPROPRIATE....to room size, audience and subject
B. Make it BIG.....designed for the person in the back
row. The larger the visual aid, the
greater the impact.
C. Make
it CLEAR... in concept and legibility.
1. Western audiences read from left to right, top to bottom. The elements of the slide should follow the
same direction of flow. Keep all
lettering horizontal for ease in reading. Slides always should be horizontal.
2. Art should be simple, with large flat-color areas, high
silhouette values, and generally bright colors. Low-key shadowy illustrations usually produce disappointing
results. For black and white slides,
render the cartoons, lettering and diagrams use a 50% gray. This allows the use of both black and white
lettering on the same slide. Avoid white
backgrounds; the glare is most unpleasant for the audience.
3. Fill the frame. Most
slides and charts would benefit from bigger figures and letters if all the
space were used. However, keep detail
and wording to a minimum for ease in reading.
4.
Present
only the most important elements of a complicated idea on slides. Introduce only one new idea per slide. If
necessary, use “build-up” slides that add each point progressively. Remember that a presentation benefits more
from a few well-prepared slides that highlight basic ideas than from many
“cluttered” or busy slides.
5.
Graphs
and simple line diagrams make far more effective slides than tables of
figures. Time is limited during a
technical presentation; the audience must grasp the most important point at a
glance.
Lettering
Size for these should be no less than 18-pt. 24-pt or 30-pt type are
preferable. Bold or Gothic typefaces
are recommended.