2. Slide presentation software such as PowerPoint has
become an ingrained part of many instructional settings,
particularly in large classes and in courses more geared
toward information exchange than skill development.
PowerPoint can be a highly effective tool to aid learning,
but if not used carefully, may instead disengage students
and actually hinder learning.
7. The most important part of any presentation is the content, not the graphical
appeal. That is why you should develop your presentation with the content first,
before deciding on the look (colours, graphics, etc.) Create a good structure for
your presentation by reflecting on the goal of the presentation, what your
audience is thinking right now, and what points you need to make in order to
move the audience from where they are to where you want them to be. Write an
outline on paper or use sticky notes so you can move ideas around. By creating
an outline first, you ensure that the content of your presentation is solid before
you concern yourself with the visual elements.
1. Start by creating an outline
8. If you want your audience to be able to see what you have on the slide, there
needs to be a lot of contrast between the text colour and the background colour. I
suggest a dark background with light text – I usually use a medium to dark blue
background and white or yellow letters. Some prefer a light background and dark
letters, which will also work well - which you choose will depend on personal
preference. Don’t think that just because the text looks fine on your computer
screen that it will look fine when projected. Most projectors make colours duller
than they appear on a screen, and you should check how your colours look when
projected to make sure there is still enough contrast.
2. Use Contrasting Colours
9. When deciding what font size to use in your presentation, make sure it is big
enough so that the audience can read it. I usually find that any font size less
than 24 point is too small to be reasonably read in most presentation
situations. I would prefer to see most text at a 28 or 32 point size, with titles
being 36 to 44 point size. The only reason I would use a font less than 24 point
is when adding explanatory text to a graph or diagram, where you could use a 20
point font size. If you are given a small screen in a big room, your font will look
smaller because the image will not be as big as it should be. In this case, see if
you can get a larger screen, use a wall instead of a screen to project on, move
the chairs closer to the screen or remove the last few rows of chairs. I've put
together a chart that lists how far away the last row of your audience should be
based on the size of screen, font size and visual acuity testing.
3. Use a big enough font
10. When text comes on the screen, we want the audience to read the
text, then focus back on the presenter to hear the message. If the
text moves onto the screen in any way – such as flying in, spiral or
zooming – it makes it harder for the audience members to read
since they have to wait until the text has stopped before they can
read it. This makes the presenter wait longer between each point
and makes the audience members focus more on the movement
than on what is being said. I suggest the use of the "Appear" effect,
which just makes the text appear and is the easiest for the
audience to read.
4. Stop the moving text
11. During a presentation, it is very annoying to have the pointer (the little arrow)
come on the screen while the presenter is speaking. It causes movement on the
screen and draws the audience attention from the presenter to the screen. The
pointer comes on when the mouse is moved during the presentation. To prevent
this from happening, after the Slide Show view has started, press the Ctrl-H key
combination. This prevents mouse movement from showing the pointer. If you
need to bring the pointer on screen after this, press the A key. If the pointer does
appear during your presentation, resist the urge to press the Escape key – if you
do, it will stop the presentation and drop you back into the program. Press the A
key or Ctrl-H to make the pointer disappear.
5. Turn the pointer off
12. Every two years I ask audiences what annoys them about bad
PowerPoint presentations. The latest survey confirms that
audiences are more fed up than ever with the overload of text on
slides. Instead of using slides that only contain text, use visuals
such as graphs, diagrams, photos and media clips to engage the
audience. I've developed a five-step method for creating
persuasive visuals in my book The Visual Slide Revolution. Read
the free chapter to see a summary of the process you can use to
create your own persuasive visuals. Looking for professional photos
that don't cost a lot? Check out istockphoto.com, where I go for
great looking photos at reasonable prices.
6. Use visuals instead of text slides
13. The last slide you speak to should not be the last slide in your
presentation file. You should have three identical copies of your last
speaking slide so that if you accidentally advance one too many
times at the end of your presentation, your audience never knows
because you don’t drop into the program, the slide looks like it has
not changed. After these slides, you should include some slides that
answer questions that you expect to be asked. These slides will be
useful during Q&A sessions after the presentation. The final slide
should be a blank slide so that if you go through all the other slides,
you have a final backup from dropping into the program.
7. Have Slides at the End of Your
Presentation
14. PowerPoint has a feature that allows you to be able to move quickly
and seamlessly to any slide in your presentation. To do so, you need
to know the slide numbers. The easiest way to print a list of the
slide numbers and associated slide titles is to go to the Outline View
and collapse the details for each slide (there is a button on the left
side of the screen in this view that will do this). Then print the view.
To jump to any slide, just enter the slide number on the keyboard
and press the Enter key. This will move you directly to that slide.
This technique is very useful for moving to a prepared Q&A slide or
for skipping parts of your presentation if time becomes an issue.
8. Be able to Jump to Any Slide
15. Sometimes we want the image on the screen to disappear so
that the audience is focused solely on the presenter. There
are two ways to do this. The first is if you want to blank the
screen with a black image, similar to shutting the projector
off (we used to do this all the time with overhead projectors
by just shutting the projector off). Just press the B key on
the keyboard and the image is replaced with a black image.
Press the B key again and the image is restored. If you want
to use a white image instead of a black image, press the W
key each time.
9. Blank the screen
16. Sometimes it can be valuable to be able to draw on the
screen during your presentation to illustrate a particular
point or item. This can be done in the following way.
Press the Ctrl-P key combination to display a pen on
the screen. Then, using the left mouse button, draw on
the slide as you wish. To erase what you have drawn,
press the E key. To hide the pen, press the A key or the
Ctrl-H key combination.
10. Draw on the screen during a
presentation
17. Elizabeth Rash provided this sample iterative case study given to a midsize class.
Students are required to come to class prepared having read online resources,
the text, and a narrated slideshow presentation that accompanies each module.
The classroom is problem-based (case-based) and interactive, where students are
introduced to a young woman who ages as the semester progresses and
confronts multiple health issues. Since the nurse practitioner students are being
prepared to interact with patients, some slides require students to interview
another classmate in a micro role-play.
Problem-based lectures frequently alternate between providing information and
posing problems to the students, which alters the entire character of the
presentation. Rather than explain and convey information, many slides ask
questions that are intended to prompt critical thinking or discussion.
PowerPoint for Case Studies
18. Classroom response systems can improve students' learning
by engaging them actively in the learning process.
Instructors can employ the systems to gather individual
responses from students or to gather anonymous feedback.
It is possible to use the technology to give quizzes and tests,
to take attendance, and to quantify class participation. Some
of the systems provide game formats that encourage debate
and team competition. Reports are typically exported to Excel
for upload to the instructor's grade book.
PowerPoint Interactions: Student Response "Clickers"
19. Instructors who do not have sufficient photocopying opportunities in
their departments may be less likely to use paper worksheets with
their students, especially in large classes. PowerPoint offers the
ability to approximate worksheets to illustrate processes or to
provide "worked examples" that shows problem-solving step-by-
step. One valuable technique is to first demonstrate a process or
problem on one slide, then ask students to work on a similar
problem revealed on the next slide, using their own paper rather
than worksheets handed out.
PowerPoint as Worksheet
20. Avoid reading: if your slides contain lengthy text, lecture "around" the material
rather than reading it directly.
Dark screen: an effective trick to focus attention on you and your words is to
temporarily darken the screen, which can be accomplished by clicking the "B"
button on the keyboard. Hitting "B" again will toggle the screen back to your
presentation.
Navigate slides smoothly: the left-mouse click advances to the next slide, but
it's more cumbersome to right-click to move back one slide. The keyboard's
arrow keys work more smoothly to go forward and backward in the
presentation. Also, if you know the number of a particular slide, you can simply
type that number, followed by the ENTER key, to jump directly to that slide.
Best Practices: Delivery
