How to do a Perfect PowerPoint Presentation

Communication is at the core of what research is all about. As such, PowerPoint presentation has become the major presentation tool that is commonly used. However, when used in an improper way, the slides can interfere with communication instead of promoting it. Apparently, researchers have identified various concepts that have substantial implications on how to create the most effective presentations. Individuals learn better from the visual aids and narratives compared to words alone. The main reason is because the human brain is equipped with separate channels that are used to process the visuals and verbal materials, which contribute to increased levels of understanding. In essence, communication is inhibited when the same words are spoken and displayed on a screen since some individuals cannot listen at the same time. Besides, there are certain groups of people that are only capable of holding very few pieces of information in their short-term memory at any given time (Grassian, & Kaplowitz, (2009). These are important concepts that should inspire a presenter to abandon slide after slide of bullet points and replace them using slides, which make use of visuals in an engaging and meaningful manner. Hence, the purpose of this guide is to assist people to do a perfect PowerPoint presentation.

The purpose of designing a PowerPoint presentation is to assist in comprehension. The traditional approach is flawed since the slides were packed with unfocused and text-heavy bulleted lists, which are more confusing to the readers. Apparently, studies suggest that individuals cannot process both textual and verbal information because both processes take place in the same part of the human brain. As such, the audience will make an effort to avoid getting overloaded through blocking the speaker’s voice, ignoring the text on the slide and toggling back and forth between reading and listening. In clear terms, large text slides and bulleted lists usually affect readers’ comprehension.

When writing a presentation, content is the most important part of the presentation. The content should be thoroughly researched with some different sources. When using visual images, it is necessary to ensure that they are appropriate to the points that one needs to make. Next, organization and transition is another important element that makes an effective PowerPoint presentation. There should be a logical flow from the beginning to the end.

Point to Consider when Designing an Effective PowerPoint Presentation

1. The template should be free from distracting items

When writing a PowerPoint presentation, it is important to strive for simplicity and readability. Most PowerPoint templates comprise of distracting elements, such as borders or shadings that can cause distraction from the message (Grassian & Kaplowitz, 2009). Therefore, it is necessary to design a template of your own that has a solid backing and is free from non-essential items, such as footers and logos. Further, it is necessary to remember that when designing a template, it is important to keep in mind that a designer should understand that he or she has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there that is left to take away.

1. The template should promote readability

It is important to select color combinations that make it easy for the audience to read and understand the slides. In situations where the audience is not able to read and understand the slides, then it means that the message has been comprised.

From the illustration above it is evident that, when one is presenting in a dark room, the light text background works well. However, when an individual is in a room with lights on, there will be a considerable ambient light. This will illustrate a dark text on a light background works better.

• Selection of the font

When designing presentations, use of Serif fonts, New Times Roman, will extend beyond the main shape of the letters. However, the Sans Serif fonts, such as Arial produce a cleaner, less cluttered, and have an easier to use a look. Hence, by limiting the font to two, the presentation will have a consistent look and feel. However, the limitation will not include the use of bold, since the alterations are considered to be similar to the base font. In is also important to be sure about selecting the standard fonts or embed the fonts into the presentation. Hence, when the fonts used are not installed on the machine used, it will substitute the font and potentially change the look of the presentation.

1. Use fonts that are 24 points of larger

When preparing a slide, it is necessary to note that when displaying the texts that are too small to read compromises the message. The result is that it frustrates the audience. When more texts are used than can reasonably fit on the screen, should be at least 24 points font. After which, it is necessary either to create another slide or rather make the text short.  Further, it is vital to ensure that the handout contains the detailed information and then use the presentation to highlight the lost important points.

 

Use high-quality photos, images, or diagrams which reinforce the verbal message

Studies demonstrate that communication is enhanced when a verbal message is combined with a powerful image on the screen. Today, many free high-quality photos are available on-line, with a plethora of professional photos that are available at very reasonable costs. When designing an effective PowerPoint presentation, it is necessary to avoid clip art. These can make the presentation to appear very outdated and unprofessional. When texts are incorporated in photos, they present a presentation that looks more unifies and has a pleasing message that is entirely separate.

A picture that prompts the gathering of people somehow that they will recollect. As a moderator, this ought to give you a chance to get energized and let the crowd see that you can smoothly riff on your exploration. Utilize maybe a couple of slides that simply message. Enormous content so individuals can read with you, and it is alright on the off chance that one read the content so anyone can hear. Picked very much expressed lines from your composition that have accurately picked words and bring home a punch line. Utilize this introduction style sparingly. This ought to give you a chance to mallet home the most immediate purpose of your exploration, utilizing the created dialect that conveys the key thing you need to impart. Once more, these ought to be the thoughts that the gathering of people may misconstrue.

Use of phrase an Abbreviated sentence

With the possible exception of short and direct quotes, keep full sentences in the oral presentation and of the screens. Researchers noted that humans are not capable of reading and understanding the text on a screen and listening to a speaker at the same moment. Therefore, it is necessary to understand that long and complete sentences are not appealing.

Use of bullet points

The most effective slides are often the ones that are often with the text. Thus, it is necessary to understand that the presentation is for the benefit of the actual audience. Nonetheless, bothering the audience with too much use of the bullet points will be of little benefit. As noted by other scholars, when one wants to use an outline to organize a presentation, it is vital to keep it on the paper rather than put on the screen with bullets.

Eliminate the use of headings and titles

When writing an effective presentation, it is necessary not to use headings or to introduce or identify the topic. In essence, it may be useful to call attention to the main findings in the cart graph. Otherwise, the heading will tend to be redundant; hence should be eliminated.

Use of animation, slides, audio and video

When animation, slides, and video are used, they should be used only to reinforce the concept. Besides, there should be no examples provided since it would be difficult to illustrate them in a written format. Studies indicate that there has been a movement on the screen. This should ensure that the attention of the audience is immediately removed or drawn to the movement, hence breaking the concentration within the presentation content. Usually, audience judgment presentations on their interests in the content, may not illustrate how many features are deployed in the slides.

Highlight the most important information

The most important information should be highlighted by the use of tables and graphs. Therefore, the rules of good design will be the same as for the printed documents. However, it is necessary to consider the pace when presenting the only as much data, that can easily be read and understood. The audience will be able to discern the information. However, if there is a complicated information to be presented, then this is the best point to use the slide transition that can be used to build the graphs and then focus on the attention of the audience.

Handout

When creating an effective PowerPoint presentation, it is vital to creating a handout and presentation that ends up failing in many attempts. Therefore, slides should be visually designed to enhance the presentation. In addition, handouts should be well written, especially in comprehensive reports. These should contain very detailed information, such as charts, analyses, and references.

Develop passion for the topic

Regardless of how well the slides are designed, the success or failure of the presentation will be vested on how effective the presentation engages the audience. However, if the audience may not tell the topic that is being presented to be interesting, then eventually it will not be interesting to them. However, the slides should be able to enhance the local presentation. In addition, it is vital to note that the use of bullet points may make the presentation not to be passionate.

Conclusion

PowerPoint presentation is a standout amongst the most intriguing, astonishing and innovative sorts of scholarly written work, which can be utilized as a part of schools,  and colleges [presentation. PowerPoint presentation comprises of bright slides with a particular substance. Students have a chance to impart their slides to others to better comprehend the issue or topic examined in the class. Students ought to know about the centrality of Microsoft PowerPoint presentation in the learning procedure. They ought to be prepared to create proficient looking slides with a specific end goal to exhibit these slides as show in the classroom. Students ought to realize that PowerPoint presentation gives compelling apparatuses that assistance to improve the learning procedure, making it astounding and engaging. It is permitted to join different points of interest into PowerPoint presentation keeping in mind the end goal to make it brilliant and educational. Students ought to take after specific rules to make an intriguing PowerPoint presentation. Students ought to give careful consideration to the accompanying points of interest: hues and outline, content, design, and liveliness (Lowe, 2013). When in doubt, understudies have issues with content written work since a few understudies neglect to choose the key focuses. It is important to maintain a strategic distance from an inordinate measure of data. In the meantime, PowerPoint introduction is a charming movement. In this slide, you can propose that more work is required in this space. Maybe there are some outstanding parts of the examination address that you couldn’t exactly get to or something about your inspecting procedure that may have one-sided the results. Maybe your decisions lead inflexibly to more inquiries, and you could distinguish some of these particularly if you will probably go ahead with this or on the off chance that you need to impact the direction of different scientists in the room. This penultimate slide permits you to answer the 10,000-foot view question, and it ought to condense the takeaway thoughts that will intrigue even individuals who couldn’t care less about your specific contextual investigation. They can be expressed, however like your slide of research inquiries; they will take a considerable measure of drafting and redrafting. Undoubtedly, you may rethink your determinations the night before an introduction, to highlight conclusions you expect your group of onlookers will be especially intrigued by. This is the place you can say huge things in regards to the scholarly legitimacy or wide effect of your work.

This is only a blueprint structure. The outline components are up to the understudy, similar to the execution. On the off chance that a laser slide pointer, grasp it and lay it on the side of the platform, so the red speck looks stable on the screen. Follow lines gradually on the screen: from the gathering of people perspective, a fast, anxious slice of the laser over the screen just makes you look apprehensive. Limit the liveliness and don’t install video – they break the gathering of people’s consideration from the audience (Kapterev, 2011). Delicate, tender blur ins look great; quick moving is swiping moves with senseless sound impacts are diverting. When concentrate visual culture and are breaking down a solitary, essential video curio, it may be fine to stop your formal introduction and let the gathering of people watch the question of your request. However, embeddings YouTube joke recordings, portions from other individuals’ addresses or recordings from a field site implies you are surrendering the consideration. Unless you do a full setup and afterward investigation of an installed video, it is once in a while worth shaking your group of onlookers and surrendering the minutes you need to exhibit your thoughts, and the hazard that the gathering of people will focus on the video and decipher it in surprising ways. Utilize maybe a couple of slides that are only a photo that the sort of what is provocative and can trigger an entire slew of contemplations from the audience.

 

References

This is not about referencing other individuals’ work, it is about your work and it ought to recognize a portion of the written work you’ve done in this area. It doesn’t just need to list distributed things, it can list working papers, co-wrote articles or compositions that are inevitable, under survey or in an arrangement. It is awesome on the off chance that you have a wrote or co-composed piece on the theme you are introducing on. Be that as it may, when the majority of us are introducing new research it hasn’t turned out in print, so the length of your references are significant to the exploration they ought to be recognized here. On the off-chance that you haven’t distributed, then maybe list your colleagues and move the funder data from the first slide to this slide. Rehash your different data from the first slide, and afterward list a few things or the URL of a site where individuals could discover more about your work. This slide can remain up amid the question and answer period, and it is vastly improved than the last slide that says “Farewell,” “thank you” or more awful, “blade.”

References

Grassian, E. S., & Kaplowitz, J. R. (2009). Information literacy instruction: Theory and practice. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers.

Kapterev, A. (2011). Presentation Secrets: Do what you never thought possible with your presentations. Indianapolis, IN: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Lowe, D. (2013). Powerpoint 2007 for dummies. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons.