Making Effective PowerPoint Presentations Tim Mack Former Associate Dean for Information Technology and Distance Education College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Virginia Tech General Considerations Use short phrases do not use sentences 3 to 4 points per slide Enlarge default size, to fill screen Limit Text Use
Slide Transitions Use one kind for the entire presentation- do not switch. Too many types of transitions can become annoying and detract from your presentation. Text to Use Use very high contrast text/background white letters, very dark background larger than normal fonts (32 point) small fonts do not work well (this is 20 point) colored text with high contrast colored text with low contrast Dark, low contrast letters do not work Shadowed Text works well Fonts to Use Assume 800 by 600 resolution monitor This is industry standard for web site development Sans serif fonts work best Arial or Helvetica Avoid Multiple fonts in one presentation Fonts with serifs- Times Roman Non Standard fonts- Lucida Blackletter
Use of Text Boxes This is a shaded purple text box, used for emphasis. The text looks better on the bottom of this box than on the top. Stronger contrast really highlights text. Backgrounds to Use High contrast backgrounds. Not busy. My preferences: Ones that convey professionality. Do not already have an imbedded image. Allow me to place graphics where I want. Backgrounds to Use High contract backgrounds. Not busy. My preferences: Ones that convey professionality. Do not already have an imbedded image. Allow me to place graphics where I want.
Beautiful but Huge Slide Long time to download? KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE S COMPUTER LIMITATIONS Adding Images Keep file size of image small- 256k or less if possible. Size of the image and size of the file are not the same! Use an image manipulation program to adjust file size before you insert them into a presentation Graphic Converter for Windows http://www.graphic-converter.net/index.htm Graphic Converter X for Mac http://www.lemkesoft.com/en/index.htm Screen Snapshots of Web Pages Since 1997 1st use of streaming audio on campus 400-600 online students
Text and Clip Art New program as of this fall. College Program for faculty to develop online skills for courses and educational programs. Completion of program will be a significant IT achievement in the merit review process. Text and Images Pre- Internet (1993) Connected via telephone and letters Internet (1994-date) Email, Instant Messenging, FAXes Wireless cell phones, PDAs, wireless Internet, Blogs, discussions forums, beepers and pagers Basic expectation of staying connected is ingrained into young people Participate in real-time dialogs anywhere Discuss the news, not just watch it Less likely to accept facts as facts CONCLUSION: Interactive learning has become a way of life Mixing Images People. Drive a car and talk on a cell phone Eat and watch TV Use their computer & their cell phone Channel surf Effects: Attention spans are now short Breadth of exposure to information is astounding Internet news is worldwide and current- breadth of information unheard of less than 10 years ago Long, passive lectures are less tolerated than at anytime in the past CONCLUSION: Short bursts of information are the norm, and Computer Age people expect this
Be Clever with Graphics Computer-Aided Instruction CD Software Teaching World-Wide Web Courseware Entomology Bring Life Cycles to Life Mosquitoes infects dogs with nematodes, which develop in tissues for 90-120 days, penetrate blood vessels, move to heart Mosquito becomes infective in 14-21 days Larvae mature in 5 mo. into adult worms in heart Adult female worms give birth to microfilariae (juveniles) Mosquito ingests microfilariae while feeding on dog s s blood Microfilariae in blood Keep Your Presentations Short Assume- two minutes per slide, on average 20 slide show=40 minutes. RECOMMENDATION: 25 slides, maximum More than that may anesthetize your audience, or. They may not even view everything If you have a lot to show Make several short presentations Short presentations fit into our time-compressed schedules
Final Thoughts Fix itif you. have a hard time reading it. cannot understand it easily. know the presentation is too long. think the slide is too complex. This will solve most of your PowerPoint problems!