Powerpoint presentations are meant to serve as visual aids that can enhance audience engagement and understanding of your speech. These tips will set you on the path to presentation success.
BEST PRACTICES
- Only use bullet points. You should not have full sentences on PowerPoint because they distract from your speech and you want your audience to listen. Use short fragments or keywords to keep your presentation organized.
- Have a backbone slide. Have a slide that demonstrates the direction your presentation will have by outlining the major elements of your speech.
- Use Animations carefully. It may look nice, but it can also be a distraction. Only use them if they play an essential role in your presentation.
- Make sure the text is visible. Your text should be large enough to be visible from the back of the room for someone with average eye sight. Sometimes, the text may get lost in the background of the slide or the text color is too close to the background color. Be sure to avoid red/green and blue/yellow color schemes as people with colorblindness may not be able to differentiate the text from the background.