PowerPoint – love it or hate it – its here to stay.

Sure, I can hear you say – there are other tools that you can use to create a presentation. OK I know that, but in general, whatever software you use its going to be ‘misused’ at some point.

When thinking about a presentation, use more pictures than words. Your slides should never carry the whole presentation. Start by creating your slides with all the key points on the slides, keep this as your handout version i.e. it has the fuller explanation of everything you need to get across.

Next, slash and burn most of the words, use headings, colour, graphics, photos to get the message understood. Of course, you may not be able to eliminate everything, but be ruthless. People have come to hear you, not see a bunch of text on screen that they could have read at their own desk.

What good is the B button?

While I’m on a rant about PowerPoint, (actually I am a fan of the software), did you know that you can use the B button on your keyboard to make the screen black? So, imagine if you will, that you want the group to discuss a point, or take a break, then press the B button and the slide is no longer visible. Yay, we can rest our eyes. 

Did you know that the W will do something similar? Only it makes the screen white! Using these buttons gives you more control and allows the focus to go from the large screen back to the presenter.

Special Effects?

Animation and sounds may make your presentation “cutesy” and could negatively impact your credibility if they are overused. Think about the impact you want to create. Also think about your audience – are they children – then go ahead a use a lot of animation.

One last rant: Use good quality images that have been sourced either from free sites or you have paid for, nothing worse than seeing the image large on the screen with the copyright symbol or the graphic of the copyright owner showing – this tells people you don’t know what you are doing. Buy the image or get a free one. This will also ensure that your image maintains its impact and resolution when projected on a larger screen.

*OK I now the plural of thinking is thoughts, but I wanted to capture your attention!

Carol

July 2022