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Presentation Guidelines: Visuals
| Presentation Guidelines: Visuals and PowerPoint |
Visuals should support or extend the oral component of your presentation.
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| Some ideas for visuals include: |
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PowerPoint Slide Show Guidelines Before you create a PowerPoint slide show, ask yourself this question: "Is this the best format to aid in presenting the results of my research findings and conclusions?" If you answer "yes," consider the following criteria when creating your slide show. Remember, the PowerPoint slides are not your presentation, YOU are. Design your slides so that your audience will be looking at and listening mostly to you... not straining to read your slides. |
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| Begin with an introductory slide including your topic and the names of the presenters. | |
| Each slide should contain BRIEF main points, NOT the entire text of your presentation. You should use the points for elaboration through your oral presentation. Give your classmates a reason to have to listen to you and take notes if needed. In fact, the less text you have, the more interesting your presentation will be. | |
| Font size should be no smaller than 32 points and the style should be consistent throughout the slide show. | |
| Font color should contrast with the background color. Font color, typeface and contrast should be visible. You should not have to turn off the lights to see read your slides. | |
| Text animation should be used sparingly, if at all. Use it to make a point, not to entertain. Overuse of animation will distract your audience. | |
| Images should reinforce or extend the content and be visible from the back of the room. Be careful—text may be difficult to read if superimposed over graphics. | |
| Use a lot of "white space," refraining from cluttering each slide. | |
| Use sound prudently—only for extending or supporting the content. | |
| Slide transitions should be consistent throughout the presentation. | |
| If linking to Web sites, those should also be visible from the back of the room. | |
| Use correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization. | |
| Include a "Works Cited" slide at the end. | |
| Include an opening slide stating that your project contains copyrighted materials (if indeed it does), which have been used under the fair use exemption of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you have made alterations, those must be indicated. | |
| Try to rehearse your presentation with the computer connected to the projection device. | |
Caution: If the desktop of your computer is decorated with photos, illustrations, slogans, etc., make sure that the content is appropriate for public viewing. If not, change it prior to your presentation. |
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| Printing your slides so your audience can take notes? Print no more than 3 to a page using the Print Handouts feature on the printer setup page. | |