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Tips for presentation: PowerPoint Tips

Introduction

 

 

PowerPoint, one piece of the Microsoft Office Suite, is perhaps the best-known tool for creating presentations. While everyone has seen dry presentations consisting primarily of text on slides, PowerPoint can do much more than this, including offering embedded content such as images, videos, audio files and even dynamic content from the internet.

General Advice

Slides should provide a visual accompaniment to your talk, not replicate everything you plan to say.

  • Use words sparingly.
  • Use images in place of words.
  • Use effective colors and fonts.

Add on Handout

Consider creating a handout for your audience. Handouts are a place to add information that won't fit in your talk, give your audience a place to take notes, and add polish to your presentation.

Infographic

Creating an Effective PowerPoint

Effective PowerPoint Slides

  • Use design templates
  • Standardize position, colours and styles
  • Include only necessary information
  • Limit the information to essentials
  • Content should be self-evident
  • Use colours that contrast 
  • Be consistent with effects, transitions and animation
  • Too many slides can lose your audience

For more information click here

Accessibility

Ensure your slides are accessible to people with visual impairments by:

  • Using large, sans-serif fonts.
  • Using high contrast colors.
  • Avoiding the use of color alone to convey meaning.

To learn more, see the tab on Accessibility or the following links:

Advice on Web

Locating Photos and Icons