PowerPoint Tip Sheet

Presenter Guidelines

Practice, practice, practice - speaking in a relaxed manner following your PowerPoint talking points, pointing to the display when necessary, and engaging the participants in discussion.
Arrive early to test equipment and make sure the room is properly set up (comfortable for your audience, and with note-taking materials).
Have a backup plan ready in case equipment isn’t working properly.
Bring hand-outs of your slides. The number of slides per page depends on the type of presentation and the amount of note-taking you plan for the audience.
The more note-taking, the more active their minds, the more engaged they are, and the more they’ll remember.
One slide per page works well for instruction, particularly with learning activities.
Two to six slides per page works well for use as a reference, with little note-taking activity.

Use the slides as a guide or outline to your topic, with illustrative graphics – not as the full text of your speech. Do not read the slides to the audience. Quote a bullet point as necessary for emphasis of important points only.
Move around, beside the podium, never blocking the display screen from the same audience angle.
Move when you want participants to focus on you – as for a discussion.
Stand still when you want participants to focus on the screen or take a moment to write.
Use a laser pointing device if possible, or on-screen pen.
Gesture to screen when you want direct participants’ attention there.
Use a remote device to advance the slides (right-clicking the mouse will work) or an assistant discreetly seated at the computer stand far to one side of the screen and away from you.

Structure your material with an introduction, progression through information, and conclusion. A good concluding slide may be "Questions and Answers" or "Thank you!" and your contact information.
Use an agenda stating key points and headers stating the topic of each slide.
The introduction should state the purpose of the session.
An overview should display core concepts only.
Keep bulleted lists parallel grammatically within the slide – all starting with a verb or a noun, for example.
For a long or complex concept, display it over several simple slides rather than one with many bullets and sub-bullets.

Font Size:
28 + for Title
4 + for Content
Use a sans serif font (Verdana or Arial) for titles and brief text
Use no more than 2 fonts per slide.
Use a common font to prevent cross-platform problems.
Avoid ALL CAPS and underlining.
Whether you use dark type on a light background, or vice versa, make sure the amount of contrast doesn’t cause eye strain.
Limit each slide to one idea, or sub-concept in a series of slides on a complex concept.
Avoid complete sentences in your bullet points.

Keep “bells and whistles” to a minimum – just what keeps the audience focused on the current point or emphasizes the major point of several on a slide.
Keep transitions simple and consistent throughout the presentation
To focus on the current point, “dim” the previous old points on the slide.
Place text on the left; graphics on the right.
Show data graphically, in charts clearly with clear color distinctions.
Use bullet-point text to explain the numbers in charts and tables.
Stick to a single style for each element of the design – background, graphics, color scheme, animation
Choose art carefully (logo for branding, clip art for a light touch)
Choose a template where words are easily distinguished from the background.
Avoid busy backgrounds; a monochromatic background is best.
Select a template and color scheme that makes sense with your presentation topic.
Size graphics representing statistics so they and their text labels are easily readable.

Phone: 813-546-1113
Email: trude@diamondwrite.com