Senior ProjectHow to make a good Power-point presentation.
Purpose
The purpose of your power-point is to enhance your presentation and to help give you cues for your speech
You want the presentation to be:ProfessionalSimpleHelpful
Pitfalls
Students (and professionals!) make many mistakes with power- point.
A bad power-point can hurt your presentation more than help it.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Too much content on your slide Poor colour choices Poor font choices Inconsistency Too many pictures Too many distracting transitions Spelling / Grammar errors Reading verbatim off the slides the
whole time
Content
You don’t want to put too many words on a slide.
Choose one font size (30-35) and stick with it.
Once the slide is full at that font size start with a new slide. Do not keep writing on the same slide as the font gets smaller and smaller.
Example
Marine sea turtles are caught worldwide, although it is illegal to hunt most species in many countries. A great deal of intentional marine sea turtle harvests worldwide are for food. Many parts of the world have long considered sea turtles to be fine dining. Ancient Chinese texts dating to the fifth century B.C.E. describe sea turtles as exotic delicacies.Many coastal communities around the world depend on sea turtles as a source of protein, often harvesting several sea turtles at once and keeping them alive on their backs until needed. Coastal peoples gather sea turtle eggs for consumption.To a much lesser extent, specific species of marine sea turtles are targeted not for their flesh, but for their shells. Tortoiseshell, a traditional decorative ornamental material used in Japan and China, comes from the carapace scutes of the hawksbill sea turtle.Ancient Greeks and ancient Romans processed sea turtle scutes (primarily from the hawksbill) for various articles and ornaments used by their elites, such as combs and brushes.The skin of the flippers is prized for use as shoes and assorted leather goods. The Moche people of ancient Peru worshipped the sea and its animals. They often depicted sea turtles in their art. Leatherback sea turtles enjoy immunity from the sting of the deadly box jellyfish and regularly eat them, helping keep tropical beaches safe for humans.
Way too much text on this slide. Also, it’s all in one paragraph instead of nice small points.
Colour
If you randomly change the colour of the text, it is very hard on the eyes.
This means that people will not be paying attention to the content but the context.
Use only one other colour for emphasis.
Background Colour You want a simple background that
will not be a distraction to your points. You want high contrast between your
words and your background. You want a background that matches
the theme of your presentation nicely.
Background
• A white background, while focusing attention, can sometimes be boring.
• If you choose to go with a coloured background, pick a stylish, uncluttered background.
Background• Don’t choose a theme that doesn’t
match your content. • This theme is cute, but would
really only be suitable if you’re talking about young children.
BackgroundBackground
• Picture backgrounds should apply to Picture backgrounds should apply to the topic.the topic.
• This is not a good background for a This is not a good background for a Rain Forest presentation.Rain Forest presentation.
BackgroundBackgroundMake sure the contrast is good Make sure the contrast is good
between your font and your between your font and your background. background.
Otherwise no one will be able to read Otherwise no one will be able to read your points!your points!
Backgrounds
The easiest way to create a sharp presentation is to use prepared formats.Go to Format.Choose Slide Design. Pick from the selection
Poor Font Choices
Use the same font (or at most maybe two fonts) throughout your whole presentation.
Choose a font that is clear, crisp and easy to read.
Poor Font Choices
Good Fonts Bad Fonts
Ariel
Times New Roman
CalibriVeranda
Blackadder ITCPristinaEdwardian ScriptFrench Script
Inconsistency
In general, try to make your whole power-point consistent.
Use the same slide design, colour scheme, fonts, font-size, etc. throughout your whole presentation.
Resist the urge to ‘change it up’ from slide to slide – that looks unprofessional.
Pictures
Pictures can be great, but make sure you choose the right pictures.
Quality is more important than quantity
Pictures
Too many pictures?
The slide will be confusing. Your audience will not know to
concentrate on. An explanation is needed to explain
why the picture is important.
A better slide would be…
New York City The most beautiful city in the world.
Transitions & Animations
You can use slide transitions or animations within your presentation, but as with everything, try to make them consistent and make sure they won’t be a distraction.
Some of KM’s Favourite Books LIFE OF PI (Yann Martel) A FINE BALANCE (Rohinton Mistry ) THE HANDMAID’S TALE (Margarat
Atwood) THE POISONWOOD BIBLE (Barbara
Kingsolver ) LORD OF THE RINGS (Arthur
Herman)
Some of PB’s Favourite Books
LIFE OF PI A FINE BALANCE THE HANDMAID’S TALE THE POISONWOOD BIBLE LORD OF THE RINGS
Reading off the Slides
You are the expert. Use your slides to aid you, but do not read straight off them the entire time. That is boring for an audience.
A few more words of advice..
When making your presentation, view it as a slideshow often, and get someone to proof read it for you.
Practice saying it out loud. Brainstorm a list of questions people
might ask you (or get someone to help you do that) and prepare some answers ahead of time to typical questions.