How to improve your PowerPoint Presentations

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  1. Think about – Who is your audience? What are their needs, thoughts, and feelings? What is the purpose/objective of the presentation?

 

  1. An audience can only absorb three topics. Decide on these three topics and work around them. Each topic can be expanded upon as part of the presentation.

 

  1. Use one piece of information per slide.

 

  1. Include only six objects or less on each slide.

 

  1. Use a picture or a diagram instead of text.

 

  1. Do not list bullet points or sentences that you will read or the audience will read (very quickly). If the audience is reading, they are not listening.

 

  1. If bullet points or text are used, do not show all the information at once. Use the animation feature to bring the points up one by one. This will prevent the audience from reading the whole slide and then disengaging until the next slide.

 

OR

 

  1. Use the PowerPoint fade-in fade-out feature to draw the audience’s attention. Only the relevant point is clearly shown, and the others are faded grey. The video link below shows how to do this.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0zu4OqxATQ

 

  1. Use a black background with white text (if using text). This is opposite to the default PowerPoint settings.

 

  1. Make the most important thing on the slide the biggest (this is commonly not the title).

 

  1. How can you hook the audience at the start? Be positive, and do not say anything negative. A personal story (this can help relate to the audience) or a recent topical event related to your presentation.

 

  1. Don’t outline the agenda or do it very briefly. The information will be introduced as part of the presentation’s body.

 

  1. Your closing remarks are equally vital. Plan them word for word. Tell a personal story that illustrates your message. Find a quotation that illustrates your point.

 

  1. When speaking – Face forwards. Don’t talk to the slides. Talk to the audience.