Tips for Microsoft PowerPoint
Microsoft PowerPoint hides behind is wide spread success a very simple principle: a sequence of landscape oriented sheets, built to offer a graphical support for information that resumes the speech of the speaker.
In most cases, a bad PowerPoint slide is not the result of poor technical skill but poor presentations skills. The first essential rule of a presentation is building a custom template. Using a default template looks unprofessional. Templates may be used as starting points but adapted as per the company/individual needs. The presenter should always use high quality graphics.
The content of a slide should be kept simple with plenty of negative space. The texts in the slides should only present essential ideas and resume the content in the speech of the speaker. When the audience follows the slides, the content should be easy and quick to read but also clear, to keep them aware of the subject debated. There should not be any portion of a slide that is not covered by the presenters' speech.
The charts should be another point of focus when building a high quality slide. Presenters are almost all the time the ones guilty for including too much info in their charts. Pie charts should be limited to a maximum of six slices. Vertical bar charts work best when used to show values over time but should not exceed more than 8 to 10 bars. When presenting sale figures, horizontal bar charts have a more professional look. Splitting sale zones using horizontal bars is highly recommended. If the presenter needs to create a visual image of a trend, line charts are the best way to do it. If multiple values are implied, like regional sales data over periods of time, tables will just fine.
Another common mistake is the abuse of transitions and animations. Some animation is good and can benefit the presentation but overdoing it will completely alter it.
The structure of presentation is vital. It should cover three simple questions: Why? What? How? Even if these three questions are covered, the presenter should be always prepared for queries from the audience also. Being prepared is a must and useful, to keep the audience informed and clear on what is being presented for them.
Finally, a €Take Home Message€ should always be imprinted with subtlety in the audiences' mind. It is the message which starts the presentation and the one that will persist after it is finished, the very core of the slides and presenter speech.
In most cases, a bad PowerPoint slide is not the result of poor technical skill but poor presentations skills. The first essential rule of a presentation is building a custom template. Using a default template looks unprofessional. Templates may be used as starting points but adapted as per the company/individual needs. The presenter should always use high quality graphics.
The content of a slide should be kept simple with plenty of negative space. The texts in the slides should only present essential ideas and resume the content in the speech of the speaker. When the audience follows the slides, the content should be easy and quick to read but also clear, to keep them aware of the subject debated. There should not be any portion of a slide that is not covered by the presenters' speech.
The charts should be another point of focus when building a high quality slide. Presenters are almost all the time the ones guilty for including too much info in their charts. Pie charts should be limited to a maximum of six slices. Vertical bar charts work best when used to show values over time but should not exceed more than 8 to 10 bars. When presenting sale figures, horizontal bar charts have a more professional look. Splitting sale zones using horizontal bars is highly recommended. If the presenter needs to create a visual image of a trend, line charts are the best way to do it. If multiple values are implied, like regional sales data over periods of time, tables will just fine.
Another common mistake is the abuse of transitions and animations. Some animation is good and can benefit the presentation but overdoing it will completely alter it.
The structure of presentation is vital. It should cover three simple questions: Why? What? How? Even if these three questions are covered, the presenter should be always prepared for queries from the audience also. Being prepared is a must and useful, to keep the audience informed and clear on what is being presented for them.
Finally, a €Take Home Message€ should always be imprinted with subtlety in the audiences' mind. It is the message which starts the presentation and the one that will persist after it is finished, the very core of the slides and presenter speech.
