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If you’re in business, you will either be the victim of a bad PowerPoint presentation or possibly be the perpetrator who exposes others. I know one of my worst experiences was going to see a computer company who presented a show that had different colors of text and backgrounds on every slide. Not only was it distracting from what they were trying to present, but it was tiring just to watch. I happened to see the same presentation done at a later date via a webinar where, because of the colors and high resolution, images looked horrible and cheapened the message they were attempting to present.
So I decided to revise a set of tips I used when teaching business students how to use PowerPoint.
Tip 1: Use a consistent template and color scheme.
Impress your audience with simplicity. Do you have a corporate logo? If so, you should have this on each slide. This helps your audience feel that this is more of a professional presentation. Colors can also give the same impression. Where I work, we have a specific branded color scheme we use for marketing materials. It may be useful to define your presentation’s style guide before you create the presentation. When you do, focus on the following items and keep them consistent as your presentation develops:
- What font color and graphic will be used on your title slides? You should have one for each logical section of your presentation.
- What bullets will you use? Will they be graphics or standard circles? What will subtopic bullets look like?
- What colors will be used to emphasize your main points, and what color for supporting text?
Once you have decided these, set up your slide master so you automatically get the right look each time you add a slide to your presentation.
Tip 2: Use graphics, video and sounds that are relevant to the subject matter
Nothing is worse than seeing animated graphics on a slide that have nothing to do with the subject of the slide. You may be tempted to be gimmicky and put funny videos (like Keyboard Cat) or wacky sounds like typewriter keys typing. Just remember: if you’re going to add these elements to your presentation, they should be there to reinforce your topic and help the audience remember, not to give them a distraction that sticks while the intended message does not.
For example, I did a customer service presentation a while ago and decided to include a little “Jeopardy!” game at the end to review what we covered. I had a little animated picture of the “Jeopardy!” set with my face pasted onto Alex Trebek’s body, and had it slide in from the side saying, “This is Jeopardy!”
So, was this a distraction or was this helpful? In my case, it was helpful. I started by just saying, “Okay, let’s review,” and when this slide appeared, it caught them all off guard and caused a couple of chuckles. It helped people relax, and they knew exactly how we would review without any detailed explanation on how to play.
The review went well, and weeks later I was still getting called Trebek, but the conversation about the subject matter continued and caused more discussion on the subject, therefore helping spread the information to those who missed my presentation.
So choose graphics, videos, or sounds that have a purpose, rather than the latest Keyboard Cat video. Not sure what I’m referring to? Check out the link to see one of my favorite Keyboard Cats.
Tip 3: Don’t supersize the content on the slide
Presentations typically need to convey very in-depth information to an audience and you may be tempted to put an entire spreadsheet of data or a form on your slide. Resist the urge! Do not go into that Forever Knight! If you have to ask yourself how you can get your spreadsheet to look better onscreen because the text is way too small to be seen… JUST DON’T INCLUDE IT.
It is generally a good practice to NOT include them on your slide, but instead create a link to them, so you can open them onscreen and then close out when you’re done. So what is the difference? Isn’t it still going to be hard for the audience to see? No, the biggest advantage of using the actual software and file is you now have control over zooming in to areas of interest or even walking the audience through how you actually fill out the form or update the spreadsheet. It is always more effective when you can demonstrate or emphasize specific data, in case you receive unexpected questions.
Tip 4: Use the notes and handouts feature
I had on pet peeve in school as a student and it was note-taking. I was never very good at focusing on writing things down. When I did take notes, I wasn’t as engaged in the lecture and lost out on understanding some of the key elements because I was fussing with my notes. The next time you find yourself presenting to an audience, my recommendation is that you do the note-taking for them.
When you create each slide, you likely need to make notes for yourself on what to cover in the presentation, so why not give a copy to your audience so they can refer to it later? If you happen to be doing this as a webinar, print the slide notes or handouts as a PDF file and offer to e-mail it to them after the presentation.
If you tell your audience at the very beginning that there is no need to take notes because you have done it for them, they are likely to be more relaxed and able to focus on what you have to say.
Tip 5: Be prepared before you need to present
Before presenting, there are some basic questions you need to ask yourself, such as:
- Will I be using my computer, or one provided?
- If using another computer, is their software version compatible with my presentation or will it mess up the look and/or my animations?
- Will I be presenting using a projector or other external monitor?
- Do I wish to see my notes on the screen while others do not?
- Does my presentation link to other files or the Internet? Is there an available connection?
- How will I be controlling the presentation?
All of these questions are very important for giving presentations.
The most helpful way you can prepare yourself for a presentation on your PC, laptop, or another computer is to make sure you have all of your files in one main folder. By keeping your presentation and all linked supporting files in one folder, they can be easily moved to another location or machine without the need to re-link them.
Take the time to learn different ways to run your presentation. Some people prefer to use the arrow keys, spacebar, or Enter key to advance the slides. I use a combination of many things. I have yet to give a presentation that went perfectly from start to finish. Sometimes I pressed Enter too many times or someone asked if I could go back to previous slides to talk more on a topic. Keeping a slide printout with slide numbers is extremely useful to have on-hand. This way, if you need to jump to a specific slide, all you need to do is type in the slide number and press Enter. This will allow you the flexibility to jump around or shorten your presentation on the fly if needed, without it looking like a mistake.
There are many navigation shortcuts for presentations that most people don’t know exist. To get a quick list for reference, open any presentation and launch the Slide Show mode. Press F1 at the top of your keyboard to get a Help window. This window will contain keyboard shortcuts specific to navigating presentations. Press your “Print Screen” button, go back to a blank slide, and then click Paste. Now all you need to do is print this slide and you have a convenient reference tool.
Here are this week’s tips:
- How to modify a master slide
- Setting up a color scheme
- Inserting Sound into a Presentation
- Printing Note Handouts
- Printing a List of Navigation Shortcuts
Music courtesy of Clayton & Fulcrum
