Communicative Presentation Slides. In this lesson, you will learn nine tips for designing and using professional slide shows with computer-assisted visual aides, such as Google Slides, Keynote, PowerPoint and Prezi. Tip #1: Choose a simple temperate. Your slides are a presentation tool not an art exhibit. Limit background graphics next to the periphery, the four boarders. This will leave more space in the middle for your text, your content. Avoid writing any text near the boarders because projectors sometimes cut off words. The template should be audience appropriate, age and gender neutral. Not everyone loves flowers as much as I do and no one wants to be treated like a kid. Choose a plain font. Cursive and ornate fonts are hard to read. Tip #2: Use high-contrast colors because big projectors don't capture color accurately. This is a picture of my cat. His name is Jack. Jack looks gorgeous on my high-resolution computer. On a big screen however the colors are muted. To minimize this issue use high contrast colors. This video has dark text on a light background. Alternatively, you can choose light text on a dark background. The first way is better. Colors are more accurate and if you need to print your slides, it is ink friendly and photocopies are clearer. Tip #3: Increase the font size. Tiny print is probably the most common design error. Aim for a minimum font size of 32-point. But this can be higher, depending on the size of the room. Make your words easy to see for everyone in the back of the room. Tip #4: Add visual evidence to support your assertions. Pictures add color and variety. Real photographs and concise diagrams will help the audience to understand, enjoy, and remember your presentation. However, select pictures carefully. This is too small to see and read. This is bigger, but too blurry. This is visually clear, but mentally confusing. Visual evidence also includes highlighting graphics. A few arrows and circles can really make important ideas stand out. Tip #5: Write only the keywords. Short phrases are more effective than long sentences. Even direct quotations should be short and sweet. To keep your keywords organized, use numbers, letters, bullets. Proofread your slides to make sure that they look professional. Correct any spelling errors, grammar mistakes, and formatting inconsistencies. For example, the colors in these two sample slides are different and the fonts are different too, that's not good. They should look the same. Tip #6: Don't talk to yourself. Any effective presenters have the bad habit of reading their slides. It's boring. That's because they have written too many details. To prevent this, say your details. Don't write everything you will say. Face the audience and elaborate on the key words you put on the screen. Explain them in different words, give reasons and examples from your mind. This will make you sound more natural and enthusiastic. Tip #7: Animate wisely. Too many animations will cause a headache. If there are too few, you're killing suspense. Instead of listening to you, the audience will be reading your slide. Therefore, add value to your slides. Animate each main point, then elaborate on it. Animate, elaborate. Animate, elaborate. Animate, elaborate. Animate, elaborate. Choose simple animations that won't be distracting. Avoid sound effects, they're useless, maybe even annoying. Avoid dizzying effects too. Tip #8: Stand parallel to the screen. Don't block your slides by standing in front of the projector screen Even if you're positioned beside it, people in the corner may not be able to see your slides. Your body should be parallel to the screen. Whenever you move to a different part of the room, check the line of sight for people who are sitting in the corners. If possible, use a clicker to give yourself more freedom of movement. Tip #9: Have emergency plans. You should have three copies of your slides. It's best to put the slides on a flash drive or zip drive because it's easy to plug and play. In case the computer cannot read your flash drive, have the file stored on a cloud service for remote access. In case the computer cannot connect to the internet either, have a printed copy of your slides so that you can still give your presentation using the white board. Arrive early to the event to give yourself enough time to test out the equipment and handle any technology problems. In this lesson, you learned that communicative presentation slides are clear, interactive, and fail-safe.
