Giving a powerpoint presentation? Tips on doing it well
- Brief and to the point
- A picture paints a thousand words
These phrases sum up two key elements in what makes a powerpoint presentation effective. We are all very busy, with lots to think about and remember. It’s the same for the people listening to you. Here are tips on how to produce a powerpoint presentation that people will listen to and remember.
In any presentation you will be talking to a varied audience who will only have partial knowledge of the issues you are presenting. So it’s important to design slides that are clear and easily read by all members of the audience.
- The ideal slide is one in which the message can be understood in five seconds. Don’t try to squeeze too much information into each slide. You will lose your audience if they can’t read your message.
- Limit your slides to no more than you can easily show in the time allotted for your presentation. A good rule of thumb is that you should have no more than two or three slides per minute.
- In your presentation, try to use more pictures than words. This will help you avoid the major pitfall of simply reading slides to your audience. Choose graphics which emphasise your major themes.
- Use the council’s standard font – Arial, and use a minimum size of 16 point for slides you plan to present on a screen.
- Don’t use all capital letters in titles as they are harder to read. Instead use upper and lower case.
- For greater visual impact use bold for your main points or major headings.
- Eye-catching presentations use sound, animation and video clips. These can emphasise important points – but quality is better than quantity. Using too many flashy elements can lose your audience as easily as a dull and boring presentation. Use colour to focus attention but don’t overuse it. Use the council’s standard template as the basis of your presentation and build from there.
- Make hand-outs of your presentation to give to your audience. It means that your audience does not have to take notes or copy slides as you talk.
- Tell your audience that hand-outs will be given out at the end of the presentation, so that they know they will not have to take notes, and can give the presentation their full attention.
Contact
If you feel you need more advice, contact the Communications Team on workingtogether@argyll-bute.gov.uk