Tips for a Lecture With a PowerPoint

An effective PowerPoint lecture can help keep your audience engaged.

Microsoft's PowerPoint presentation software is a popular tool for presenting visual information to supplement a lecture. PowerPoint's simple templates, intuitive interface and cross-platform compatibility make it a fixture in classrooms and boardrooms. The key to a successful PowerPoint lecture is to treat the slide show as a visual supplement to an already well-developed oral presentation. Never allow it to become a crutch for the presenter or a distraction for the audience.

Aesthetics: Keep the Layout Simple and Consistent

An audience can process the information on slides better if they don't meet with an entirely new layout on each page. Choose a design that works for you and insert the information into this set format. Principles of a good layout are simplicity and readability. Make sure that the slide is simple to scan and the text color differs dramatically from the background color. PowerPoint offers a variety of templates to save you time and make your presentation more cohesive.

The Text-to-Talk Ratio

An appealing and effective PowerPoint lecture often can be distinguished from an ineffective one with a single glance at the slide layout. A slide with concise bullet points and interspersed images is almost invariably better than a slide crammed with small text that looks like the transcript of the lecture itself. Slides work best as a means of summarizing talking points while keeping the presenter on track. If the lecturer ends up reading verbatim from a text-covered screen, the audience is probably capable of doing the same reading, making the lecture itself superfluous.

Sound and Fly-Ins: Avoiding Distractions

The 2010 version of PowerPoint has many dynamic features. It can embed videos in slides and compress the user's own audio files for quick playback. Transitions between slides and animation effects are extensive and often elaborate. These tools can all be useful in enlivening your lecture, but they are most effective when they relate in some obvious way to the lecture's content. Avoid making a new transition for every slide or adding sound effects for every new bullet point or image. You risk distracting the audience from the most important part of the lecture: the words coming out of your mouth.

Reinforcing Ideas With Images

Some lecture topics translate into pictures better than others, but most can benefit from a few well-chosen photos, illustrations or diagrams. If possible, interact with images and make them part of the lecture itself. Use a laser pointer to draw attention to certain parts of a diagram or scene. Discuss an image as an example of the topic you have just introduced. The more the slides connect to your words, the more the audience will enjoy your lecture as a seamless interface of audio and visuals. Don't forget to find large images that will not becomes stretched or pixelated when inserted into a slide.

References

• George Mason University: Creating an Effective PowerPoint Presentation
• Microsoft" PowerPoint 2010 Features and Benefits