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Effective PowerPoint Presentations

Aruna Viswadoss, Ph.D. ITC

aruna@virginia.edu

Acknowledgements: Ellen Ramsey, ITC, and Sue Ellen Breeden, ITC

Much of the content and formatting of this presentation are from the original presentation by Ellen Ramsey at the Office Technology

Conference, 2000.

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PowerPoint Basics

• What can you create:

• Term: each page in a presentation is a “slide”

• Possible to have many slides in one file

• On-screen presentations• Web pages/presentations• Speaker notes

• Audience handouts• 35 mm slides• Color and B&W overheads• Paper printouts

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To Use or Not to Use PowerPoint

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PowerPoint Is Useful• Powerful features• Spike up dry subject matter • Appeal to different learning styles• Multimedia file friendly• Web access to absentees • Paperless; reuse with modification• Move slide order, outline

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PowerPoint Is Not That Useful

• Some subject areas• Pedagogy issues

– Demo, hands-on, small group work

• Technology issues• Time crunch *• Need to make last minute

changes/additions• If features not relevant to needs

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Additional UsesPowerPoint provides a framework:• For organizing lecture materials• For organizing images and sounds• For building lecture outlines• For creating custom lectures for

different groups based on one lecture• Lecture related notes / handouts• Ability to link URLs, Office applications,

from within

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Design

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Text Layout• Legible, large fonts• No underlining• Bold, color, italics• 6 lines, 6 words• Key points• Recommended

fonts• Serif vs. Sans Serif

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Color

• Choose colors wisely• Stick to a theme• Darker backgrounds• Lighter text and graphics• Know your lighting conditions

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Color Don’ts: Examples

Green on Red Red on Green

Brown on Green

Green on Brown

Blue on Black Black on Blue

Blue on Purple Purple on Blue or Blue-green

Multicolors Multicolors

Animation, esp. pointless

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Graphics

• Images should be: – Meaningful – Clear and professional– Limited in number– Subdued if background

• Animation– For emphasis

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• Beware of file sizes [compressed (.jpg, .gif) vs. uncompressed image files (.bmp)]– Ensure transportability

• Photos– Bitmap in background or foreground– Resolution affects file size, transition speed

• Lower resolution = smaller file size

More Graphics

The Holsinger Studio Collection, X8276B, Special Collections Department,

University of Virginia Library (http://www.lib.virginia.edu/speccol/holsinger/)

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Graphics Resources

• Image Repositories at UVa– Digital Media Center

http://www.lib.virginia.edu/dmc/

– Electronic Text Centerhttp://etext.lib.virginia.edu/

– Holsinger Studio Collection http://www.lib.virginia.edu/speccol/holsinger/

– ITC Photo Repositoryhttp://www.itc.virginia.edu/pubs/uva-images/

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Templates

• Slide templates should be: – Relevant to subject matter – Darker in color – Clear and professional– Sparing with animation– Office 2000 defaults provide

many choices• Web searches provide alternatives• Choices will grow as product ages

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Presentation: 4 P’s

1. Planning

2. Preparation

3. Practice

4. Presentation

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Planning: What, How, Who, Where

• Consider your message

• Pick the best tools• Know your

audience• Know your

environment

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Preparation• Use slides as emphasis for key points

– Don’t read off the screen– Use outlines, flowcharts, graphs, and cue slides to

emphasize main points– Use slides as prompts, outlines, or conversation points, not

cue cards

• Use handouts to reinforce your presentation– Make sure the sequence of printed slides and supplemental

materials matches the sequence of your presentation– Introduce information in handouts that has not been

covered during presentation• People won’t look at appendices, etc. unless you point them

out• Hand out additional materials at the end of your presentation,

otherwise people will read them while you are speaking

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Preparation

• Effective slides– Emphasis, prompts, or

outlines– Well edited

• Effective handouts– Reinforce points– Match sequence– Supplemental materials

East West

North

South

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Practice• Know your content!• Test everything

– Timing and narration

– Equipment– Room, lighting

• Backups– On hard drive– Non-electronic– Murphy’s law

ContentTestBackup

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Presenting• Acknowledge

distractions/mistakes • Major changes?• Follow up questions• Keep on track• Prioritize content• Evaluate for next time• Speaker space / physical

location

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Design Presentation

Plan

Prepare

Practice

Present