Best Practice for Creating PowerPoint Presentation Slides

The Purpose of Slides:

The slides serve as an outline of your presentation and are not your script.
Keep your presentation focused on your key learning points. Attendees will
become frustrated if your presentation deviates from the information provided in
the program. Be sure to organize your presentation with your audience in mind.
The most important guideline for any presentation is to keep it simple. That
means the visual material (slides) that you will present to attendees must be easy-
to-follow as you proceed through each phase of your presentation. The layout for
each slide should be clear and not crowded with an abundance of detailed
information. This makes it easy for the attendee to listen to you and to follow the
points you are making.

Visual Appeal:

Colors:
Use color strategically to enhance the content on the slides, drawing attention to
important items while not distracting the audience from your content and presentation.
Use light backgrounds with dark text; its harder to read light text on dark
backgrounds
Use a basic layout that gives you a lot of room for your content; dont waste
space with large logos or decorative graphics on every slide
Use color to highlight or emphasize words, but use this feature in moderation
Draw the audience to an important area of the visual with a headline, arrow,
color, etc.
Text:
Bullet points should be highlights, not content, otherwise your participants will read
the content and not pay attention to what the instructor is saying. Instead of putting
bullets on every slide, put questions and exercises on your slides to encourage
participation and collaboration.
Avoid sentences and paragraphs; use simple phrases or key words
Each slide should contain between 4 and 5 short bullet lines of copy, or one
graph, chart or table
Use no more than six lines per slide and no more than 6 or 7 words per line
Limit your character number to 40 characters per line or lesee
Remember, the fewer words the better!

Font:
Font sizes must be consistent with PowerPoint defaults as set in this
PowerPoint template.
Use sans serif fonts like Arial and Tahoma; these fonts are easier to read than
serif fonts like Times New Roman
Make your slide titles at least 32 pt and your body text at least 20 pt
 View your PowerPoint slides at 75% as you develop them to ensure that your
text and graphics will be legible to the audience

Layout and Graphics:

Be sure to include an introduction slide which includes the title of your
presentation, name, credentials and contact information
At the beginning of your presentation, list the key learning points
Never include more information on one slide than can be easily assimilated in
30 seconds or less.
Choose art carefully and use graphics to educate, not decorate
Use photos instead of clip art whenever possible
Check with staff if you will be embedding a video presentation
Use the Notes section of each slide for your speaker notes and additional
content

Review Your Work:

Always run a spelling and grammar check as well as reading through the
information as spell check can miss technical/medical language as well as
homophones.
Make sure your key learning points are discussed in your slides
Reevaluate each slide for purpose/significance in the Slide Sorter view (for best
comprehension)
Consider the audience perspective during evaluation of the presentation

Preparation:
Failing to prepare means preparing to fail
Practice your presentation with a friend or colleague before your session.
Avoid last-minute changes to your presentation and get a good nights sleep
instead.
Arrive at least 15 minutes prior to the live presentation. If possible, check your
equipment in advance (projector, microphone, etc.). Practice and time the
presentation with the slides several times prior to going live
Begin and end on time, and dont forget to allow time for questions.

Speaking Tips:

Voice, Tone, and Body Language:

Speak clearly, loudly and at a pace at which your audience can absorb what you
are saying. Enunciate carefully and use varying tones of voice to emphasize
points; varied intonation will help listeners stay focused on your message.
Maintain eye contact; its critical to your credibility and the audiences comfort.
Try to talk with the audience, not at them; look at the people, not at the
equipment, the floor or the exit sign.
 Smile! Its a natural way of warming up your audience and making them feel
comfortable. Good posture (standing straight, feet flat, arms by your sides)
communicates confidence.
Infuse the verbal presentation with personal enthusiasm (passion)
Avoid assumptions and saying you already know this and skip over the slide
Avoid walking in front of the screen and overuse of a laser pointer
Be positive, be enthusiastic, relax and have fun!

Keep your Audience Engaged:

Personalize your presentation by introducing yourself before you begin, and enjoy
the opportunity to interact with your peers.
It is better not to read slides verbatim. Expand on the material.
Provide overviews/recaps within your presentation.
Try to keep the big picture fresh in the listeners mind by not allowing them to
become bogged down in details.
Use signal phrases to refocus interest. Periodic use of phrases such as this is
fundamental or this is critical to my point can draw the audience in and
increase moments of true concentration.
Watch your time. Set yourself 10 minute goals so you dont end up with 10 slides
to cover in three minutes.
Always direct the presentation to the audience, not the screen, and get the
attendees involved as much as possible