So, I think it is safe to say that we have all experienced near death or a great nap during a PowerPoint presentation. Once the lights go dim and the countless words fill the screen, our attention is lost. After reading a few articles and remembering my own bad experiences with boring PowerPoints, I have made a list to help everyone from making the same mistakes.
TIP #1: DO NOT use an entrance animation that takes longer to display than the whole presentation should last. Nothing is worse than letters falling one by one in a 16 word sentence.
TIP #2: DO NOT read off of the slides! This should be a given, but everyone makes this mistake. It's boring, and it makes us think that you didn't even prepare your presentation. This is a sure way to make the audience doze off.
TIP #3: DO NOT use obnoxious background and colors. If you are going to use a bright color, it is more presentable with a darker background with a brighter font. Nothing is harder to read than a red background with orange letters!
TIP #4: KEEP IT SIMPLE, including the font. I know that there are tons of cutesy fonts, but your first priority is delivery, then design. If no one can read it, it makes it hard to present your point.
TIP #5: DO NOT overload with the sounds provided on Word. I know that the cha-ching and the boring sounds can be fun, but it can be rather irritating in a presentation.
Hopefully, these tips will help both you and I prevent from presenting any more sleep-igniting presentations!
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Tip number one is so true! I often see people getting annoyed with how long THEIR OWN presentation anamation is lasting. I think it's important to rehearse your presentation with the powerpoint to make sure the transitions work with what you're trying to convey.
ReplyDeleteI chose your presentation as one of my favorites. Your delivery was awesome-- I loved the fact that had very little text on your slides and just used pictures to supplement what you were saying, instead of letting a bunch of text on the slide be teh star of your presentation. You seemed passionate and really got me interested in neurology. Great job!
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