Microsoft PowerPoint Rules

Microsoft's PowerPoint presentation software is a robust product that provides a presenter with numerous capabilities to enhance his presentation and make it memorable for his audience. However, there are some rules that should be followed or the memory will not necessarily be a positive one. The content of the presentation may be excellent and important, but if the appearance and basic assembly of the slide show is not appealing and understandable, the content can get lost in the noise.

Organization

Organize your presentation into logical pieces, presenting a digestible amount of material to cover a main point on each slide. Each slide should have a title at the top with the main point for that particular slide. Be sure that your slides are sequenced so that there is a sense of continuity that your audience can appreciate and follow. Get their attention with the first slide or two and close with a slide that hammers your point home. If the lecture format requires it, make your last slide a "Questions" slide.

Appearance

Use bullet points on your slides rather than a lot of text, and talk about the topic from your own knowledge base. This demonstrates that you are the expert and have command of the material. Use fonts that are big enough to read so that your audience does not have to squint to see what is on the slide. For titles, 40-point fonts are good, and a 24-point font works well for sub-titles and bullets. Do not give in to the urge to "fancy up" your fonts or you will risk sacrificing readability. Arial, Helvetica, Veranda and Tahoma are good font choices because of their sharpness and contrast. Use contrasting colors for the background and text for readability. Limit the number of bullet points to five to seven per slide or the "busy slide" factor will overwhelm your points and information will be lost.

Special Features

Choose the same background and colors for each slide for consistency. Occasional variance of font and type on a slide can make for a more interesting presentation, but be careful not to overdo this technique. Too much animation, including the built-in special effects can also detract. You want your presentation to be professional rather than cartoonish. When a special effect makes sense, use it, but sparingly.

Presentation Style

Talk to your audience rather than to your slide show. They are fully capable of reading the slides if you have followed the guidelines above and they want to hear what you know about the subject, so fill in the blanks for them in your oral presentation. This is what drives the bullet points on your slides home with your audience.

Handouts

Provide handouts of the presentation with note pages so that your audience can capture some of what you are saying and highlight the points of main interest to them. This gives them something real to take home and use to take some action, which is what the point of most presentations should be.

References

• University of Colorado: Guidelines for PowerPoint Presentations
• George Mason University: Creating an Effective PowerPoint Presentation
• Capitol University: PowerPoint Guidelines

Resources

• Microsoft: Microsoft Office PowerPoint Trademark Guidelines
• Microsoft Office: Presentation Templates