General do's and don'ts of Powerpoint help please?

[sky13]

Definitely use nice large font - the size of the font does depend on where the presentation is though (and how large the screen is relative to the size of room). I find I generally use around 20-24 point font for most of my bullet points and 30+ point for titles/headings but it does vary.

Depending on what version of powerpoint/computer/etc I am using:
- If it's an older version of powerpoint (that doesn't have the presentation mode where you can see upcoming slides and notes and timing), I will print out my slides as a handout for easy reference during the presentation. I will say though that it's been a few years since I've used a version of powerpoint like this though.
- More recently, I've been on the Office 365 variant of powerpoint, which has a presentation mode, so I no longer print out my slides for my own reference.

If you are using your own computer for the presentation, it may be worth making sure that your computer is able to talk to the projector well before the presentation. This includes making sure that cables are compatible (USB-C, HDMI, VGA) and that the computer and projector are able to get the right settings.

Have a backup of presentation in a USB stick or downloadable format in case of any issues! We once had a speaker whose laptop refused to communicate with our presentation system, and so we had to get his presentation on one of our laptops before he could give his talk.

[gl20]

- no animation
- minimal words

If you want the audience to focus on what you’re saying the last point is paramount, otherwise you’ll see everyone looking at the screen reading away rather than listening to you.

Animation or ‘slide builds’ can be a distraction and break your presentation flow as it’s easy to forget what bits of a slide still need to pop up.

Hope it goes well

[Poppycat]

As others have said, always have printed or other form of back up eg USB. I was with a colleague in France when incompatible technology failed us on a pitch. Could have been a disaster if we'd not taken copies.

Don't assume that different office versions will support any animations you add in. This one caught me out on a presentation I had to deliver as part of an interview. Check any hyperlinks work independently of wifi or network access too, just in case. Hotel conference room wifi access can be incredibly unreliable.

Pet hate is text cramped up to the far left of the slide, plenty of space around the text makes it easier to read as do reinforcing bullet points rather than a transcript of what you are saying.

I use the presenter notes a lot now which gives you the option to add any prompts you might need or a preview of the next "flying" bullet point or slide that the audience can't see and means you don't have to keep turning over scribbled notes... which I always have as a back up 😀

Give yourself set up time to faff about with wifi, unfamiliar projectors focus, height or distance from screen issues and check before hand that the projector has the right connection cables for your lap top (HDMI etc) (Experienced all of these!)

Good luck

[Buzz n' Piglet]

The new PowerPoint will suggest themes and layouts based on what your content is.

Practice using presenter mode before you use it

Get a clicker so you can stand or walk around.

[KarenG]

1 Tell them what you are going to tell them
2 Tell them
3 Tell them what you told them


Has always served me well for people actually remembering the PPT