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Slide 2
About This Presentation Two versions Really Bad & Enhanced
Same info. Presented differently Extra Functions Click on any
enhanced slide for more information (go ahead and give this one a
try) Click to return to the previous slide
Slide 3
PowerPoint Design James Beil Office of Academic Innovation and
Effectiveness
Slide 4
PowerPoint Design James Beil Office of Innovation and
Effectiveness
Slide 5
Text! Choose the right font SANS SERIF fonts are much easier to
read than SERIF fonts. Some recommended sans serif fonts include:
Tahoma, Arial, Trebuchet, and Verdana. Using sans serif fonts
increase the readability of the text as well as increasing visual
appeal (Durso, Pop, Burnett, & Stearman, 2011; Earnest, 2011).
Pick the right size the smallest font size is 18pt. Even 18 is hard
to read sometimes. Generally, you want your title to be around 44pt
and your bullets to be 32pt. If you find that all of your
information will not fit on a slide using these guidelines, you
probably have too much text on that slide (Earnest, 2011). Use
simple bullet points As the amount of text on the screen increases,
so does searching time and errors. Reducing a sentence to a bullet
point is a great way to minimize these errors (Durso, Pop, Burnett,
& Stearman, 2011). Limit the amount of text per slide A Maximum
of 6 bullet points, 7 words per bullet, and 40 words per page.
Going over these limitations can make the slide seem cluttered,
unclear, and visually displeasing (Earnest, 2011). Use
abbreviations and symbols where possible Using abbreviations and
symbols will help to cut down the word count and clutter on the
screen. For example, use MLK instead of Martin Luther King, Jr.
(Earnest, 2011). Reduce sentences to key words PowerPoint is not a
teleprompter, it is a visual medium. Reducing even short sentences
to key words will cut clutter on the slide (Earnest, 2011; Garner
& Alley, 2011). Minimize highlights, bolds, italics, and caps
Only use these embellishments to really drive home a point or to
draw attention (Durso, Pop, Burnett, & Stearman, 2011). Use an
affirmative and active voice People more easily understand active
statements than passive statements and have more trouble processing
negatives rather than positives (Durso, Pop, Burnett, &
Stearman, 2011). Eliminate orphans When your text pushes a single
word on to the next line, this is called an orphan. Orphans eat up
space and can make slides harder to follow (Earnest, 2011). Choose
the right font SANS SERIF fonts are much easier to read than SERIF
fonts. Some recommended sans serif fonts include: Tahoma, Arial,
Trebuchet, and Verdana. Using sans serif fonts increase the
readability of the text as well as increasing visual appeal (Durso,
Pop, Burnett, & Stearman, 2011; Earnest, 2011). Pick the right
size the smallest font size is 18pt. Even 18 is hard to read
sometimes. Generally, you want your title to be around 44pt and
your bullets to be 32pt. If you find that all of your information
will not fit on a slide using these guidelines, you probably have
too much text on that slide (Earnest, 2011). Use simple bullet
points As the amount of text on the screen increases, so does
searching time and errors. Reducing a sentence to a bullet point is
a great way to minimize these errors (Durso, Pop, Burnett, &
Stearman, 2011). Limit the amount of text per slide A Maximum of 6
bullet points, 7 words per bullet, and 40 words per page. Going
over these limitations can make the slide seem cluttered, unclear,
and visually displeasing (Earnest, 2011). Use abbreviations and
symbols where possible Using abbreviations and symbols will help to
cut down the word count and clutter on the screen. For example, use
MLK instead of Martin Luther King, Jr. (Earnest, 2011). Reduce
sentences to key words PowerPoint is not a teleprompter, it is a
visual medium. Reducing even short sentences to key words will cut
clutter on the slide (Earnest, 2011; Garner & Alley, 2011).
Minimize highlights, bolds, italics, and caps Only use these
embellishments to really drive home a point or to draw attention
(Durso, Pop, Burnett, & Stearman, 2011). Use an affirmative and
active voice People more easily understand active statements than
passive statements and have more trouble processing negatives
rather than positives (Durso, Pop, Burnett, & Stearman, 2011).
Eliminate orphans When your text pushes a single word on to the
next line, this is called an orphan. Orphans eat up space and can
make slides harder to follow (Earnest, 2011).
Slide 6
Sans Serif Fonts (Samples)
Slide 7
Text Sans serif fonts 18pt or larger Simple bullet points 6
bullet points 7 words per bullet 40 words per page Sans Serif Serif
Sans Serif 18pt Serif Sans Serif 16pt Serif Sans Serif Serif
Earnest, 2011 Garner & Alley, 2011 Durso, Pop, Burnett, &
Stearman, 2011
Slide 8
Voice Use an affirmative and active voice People better
understand: Positive statements Active statements Durso, Pop,
Burnett, & Stearman, 2011
Slide 9
Orphans Your text pushes a single word on to the next line,
this is an orphan. Orphans eat up space and make slides harder to
follow. Earnest, 2011
Slide 10
Text (cont.) Abbreviations and symbols Only Key words
Embellishments Use minimal Voice Orphans Earnest, 2011 Garner &
Alley, 2011 Durso, Pop, Burnett, & Stearman, 2011
Slide 11
Visuals! Choose the right template for a good foundation Since
plain white slides are least preferred by students, it is important
to consider using a template to enhance learning. If you are
building a PowerPoint from the bottom up, a template can set the
framework for a professional and effective presentation. However,
there are some templates, especially older templates, that fall
short on delivering a professional and effective presentation.
Furthermore, remember to avoid backgrounds that could potentially
hurt the audiences eyes [bright lime green] (Apperson, Laws, &
Scepansky, 2008; Earnest, 2011). BAD templates: Soaring, Whirlpool,
High Voltage, Marble, Fireball, and Blue Diagonal. Good bright
templates: Bold Stripes, Network, Profile, Echo, Eclipse, Layers,
and Level. Good dark templates: Circuit and Refined (Earnest,
2011). Choose the right template for the right occasion Not all
templates will work for every presentation. The projector and the
amount of light in the room can influence what template to choose.
For example, dark templates are best utilized when the room is very
brightly lit, the screen has lights shining directly on it, or the
colors of the pictures/logos clash with bright colors. Bright
templates, on the other hand, are best presented in dim settings
(Apperson, Laws, & Scepansky, 2008; Earnest, 2011). Use high
contrast text colors If using a dark background, use bright text
coloring. Also, avoid red-greed complements; most common color
blindness (Durso, Pop, Burnett, & Stearman, 2011; Earnest,
2011). Be consistent whatever your design, be as consistent as
possible throughout the slides. For example, if you decide to move
the title to the upper-left portion of the slide on one slide, move
it there for every other slide. This helps reduce searching for
information on the slides. Also, if you capitalize the first letter
of every bullet on one slide, do so for the rest of the slides.
This helps to draw attention to the beginning of each bullet-point;
then you could deviate from this pattern to emphasize an important
point (Durso, Pop, Burnett, & Stearman, 2011) Use Images By
using relevant and illustrative images in conjunction with text,
your audience will learn more (Garner & Alley, 2011). Choose
images wisely Ask yourself: Does this image enhance the information
on this slide? Does this image fit my color scheme? (not essential
but preferred) How big is this image? (Minimum 800X400 for
backgrounds, 400X200 for in-slide images) How well does this image
fit into my slides? (is it too long? Too tall?) How big is the
images file size? (too many large images can crash PowerPoint)
(Durso, Pop, Burnett, & Stearman, 2011) (Garner & Alley,
2011) (Z. Schaefer, personal communication, September 19, 2014) (J.
Beil, personal communication, September 19, 2014) Choose clip-art
wisely In general, pictures are preferred over clip-art. However,
if you still want to use clip-art, just remember that older
clip-art was poorly drawn and rendered and does not fit with todays
technological advances. Using a clip-art graphic from before
Windows 7 is probably not a good idea. However, old clip-art can
sometimes be used ironically to grab the audiences attention and to
get a cheap laugh. Http://office.microsoft.com has free clip-art
and images (Earnest, 2011).Http://office.microsoft.com Size
pictures with text appropriately Remember that pictures are useless
if they are not large enough to interpret. This is especially
important if the image has text. Remember the text rules when
sizing images with text and make the text in the picture at VERY
least 18pt (Earnest, 2011). Avoid the void Above weve highlighted
the importance on cutting back the amount of text on a slide; now
the caveat to those rules. Use your space wisely. If you have
followed the guidelines above, there should be a great deal of
space left on your slides. Dont waste this space. Some suggestions
for balancing your slides and avoiding the void: Increase your text
size Increase the size of your images Add an Image Move elements on
slide to better balance the slide (Z. Schaefer, personal
communication, September 19, 2014) (J. Beil, personal
communication, September 19, 2014)
Slide 12
Visuals! Continued!! Size pictures appropriately Use caution
when increasing the size of an image. All too often are images
oversized and appear grainy when projected. Also, stretching images
too far vertically or horizontally can skew the perspective.
Finally, enlarge your picture enough so that your audience can
actually see what is happening in the picture (Earnest, 2011).
Create your own margins Sometimes projectors will not project the
entire slide on the screen; cutting off potentially important
information. Therefore, it is a good idea to keep the outer
boundaries of the slide blank (Durso, Pop, Burnett, & Stearman,
2011). Use a maximum of 5 to 6 colors or shapes on graphs and
charts This is primarily to help the audience quickly process the
information (Durso, Pop, Burnett, & Stearman, 2011). Place
relevant information near the relevant image Visually establishing
connections between concepts will help eliminate searching and
increase understanding (Garner & Alley, 2011). Create borders
and shadows If an image does not already have a border or the
background of the picture does not blend with your slides
background, you need to add a border and a shadow to make the image
look more professional (Earnest, 2011). Spread your bullets
Visually balance your bullet points on the slide to increase
readability (Earnest, 2011). Make it easy on yourself In order to
help yourself remember to cite your sources, as a part of being
consistent in slide design, put your citations in the same space on
every slide and do NOT animate them. This will leave the citations
on the screen for the maximum amount of time and make it easy for
you to find them when you want to cite them.
Slide 13
Templates BAD: Soaring, Whirlpool, High Voltage, Marble,
Fireball Good (bright): Network, Profile, Echo, Eclipse, Layers,
and Level Good (dark): Circuit and Refined Earnest, 2011 Apperson,
Laws, & Scepansky, 2008
Slide 14
Consistency Be consistent throughout Ex. If you move the title
to the upper-left corner of the slide on one slide, move it there
for every other slide. Reduces searching for information Capitalize
first letter of each bullet point Distinguishes each bullet Durso,
Pop, Burnett, & Stearman, 2011
Slide 15
Easy Citations Keep your citations in the same spot on every
slide Reduce YOUR searching time Dont animate citations Maximize
screen time Cite sources as you go
Slide 16
Visuals The right template Good foundation Right Situation High
Contrast Text Consistency Easy Citations Earnest, 2011 Garner &
Alley, 2011 Apperson, Laws, & Scepansky, 2008 Durso, Pop,
Burnett, & Stearman, 2011
Slide 17
Picture Perfect Image enhance info.? Image Size? 800X400
backdrop 400X200 in-slide Does it fit? Too long/Too Tall? Garner
& Alley, 2011 Z. Schaefer, September 19, 2014 Durso, Pop,
Burnett, & Stearman, 2011
Slide 18
Sizing Oversize/stretch Grainy Perspective Picture with text
Text 18pt Events in image Whats happening? Earnest, 2011
Slide 19
Avoid the Void Use space wisely Minimize blank spots
Suggestions: Increase text size Add more details Increase image
size Add a picture Reposition slide elements
Margins Projectors cut borders Lose important info. Cause
confusion Suggestions: Blank boundary Preview on projector Durso,
Pop, Burnett, & Stearman, 2011
Slide 22
Borders and Shadows Add border and/or shadow: Image has no
border Background does not blend Slide = clean look Needs no border
or shadow Background blended Earnest, 2011
Slide 23
Visual Balance Spread bullets Increase readability Balance
slide elements Equal distribution Resize text & Images *Avoid
the void* Equal voids Earnest, 2011
Animations! Avoid splitting relevant text and images Your
audience can benefit when related text and images are presented at
the same time. This helps to highlight the relationship between the
text (Garner & Alley, 2011). Present key points individually
Presenting key points individually helps keep students engaged in
the presentation. You can do so by setting the animations to come
in one bullet at a time; if each bullet is a different idea. This
helps to break the chunk of time students spend copying slides into
smaller, less overwhelming, and more manageable chunks (Apperson,
Laws, & Scepansky, 2008). Avoid using too many animations
Animations should be used to enhance the presentation, not distract
from the information. Using too many animations can quickly
overwhelm an audience. Be consistent Use the same simple animations
throughout the presentation to keep a professional look. Keep it
simple Complex series of animations can be used to help explain and
highlight graphs, charts, and images. However, in general, they are
just there to bring the text on the screen. Remember that just
because the option is there to make the text swirl all around the
screen, you do not need to use it. Remember to double-check
Animation sequences can easily get mixed up. Remember to preview
your animations before finalizing each slide. Apply slide
transitions Slide transitions are often forgot about in most
presentations. Truly, they can be distracting when done wrong.
However, by using the same guidelines as the in- slide animations,
slide transitions can provide much of the same positives as
in-slide animations. Remember, be consistent, keep it simple, and
double-check. Save animations for last Animations can be great
tools to enhance a PowerPoint, however they are truly
non-essential, in most cases, to enhancing the presentation. Also,
the following point will further illustrate why setting animations
should be the last thing you do to a PowerPoint presentation.
Prepare for the worst Animations require additional resources from
the computer. If the computer you are using is already slow or you
dont know FOR SURE how well a computer performs, it is a good idea
to make two versions of every presentation; one with your
animations and one with no animations. If you saved your animations
for last, just save the first copy with no animations, add your
animations, and then save the animated presentation under a new
file name. Practice Having two versions of your PowerPoint is
great, but it wont save you if you dont preview your presentation
on the computer you are presenting from.
Slide 26
Text w/ Images Goat on the edge (Example) Visual illusion
(Example) Text and image together i.e. as text enters, present
corresponding image Highlights relationship Great for visual
learners Garner & Alley, 2011
Slide 27
Points Individually Present key points individually Increases
engagement Breaks copying into chunks Less info. lost to copying To
do: Open animation pane Right click on animation Select effect
options Click on text animation tab Under group text, Select 1 st
level paragraphs Apperson, Laws, & Scepansky, 2008
Slide 28
Over-animated/Simple Too many animations Distracting
Overwhelming Simple animations Only needed to bring-in info. Easy
to manage Smooth flow
Slide 29
Animations Text w/ images Points individually Over-animated
Keep it simple Double-check Garner & Alley, 2011 Apperson,
Laws, & Scepansky, 2008
Slide 30
Slide Transitions/Animations Animations are non-essential
Animations can: Overwhelm Enhance Crash a slow computer Animations
last Save a non-animated version before applying animations
Slide 31
Animations (cont.) Slide transitions Animations last Practice
and Prepare Garner & Alley, 2011 Apperson, Laws, &
Scepansky, 2008
Slide 32
Videos! Insert (Embedding) videos when possible It is not
efficient to stop the full-screen presentation, pull up the web
browser, search for your video, and then FINALLY hit play.
Embedding a video in a presentation eliminates a lot of wasted
time; all you need to do is click within the presentation. However,
embedding videos can be tricky. You need to have the video saved
somewhere on the computer you are using, a flash drive, or a CD. If
you save the video to a computer at home and insert it into the
presentation, it will show up, but not when you present. Why?
PowerPoint assigned a location to retrieve the video. So if you
save your video to a flash drive, shared drive, or CD, make sure
that you use that flash drive, CD, or have access to the shared
drive when you present. Prepare for the worst Just like the
animations, videos take up a considerable chunk of the computers
resources. Therefore, it is important to have a backup plan for
videos as well. If you have an embedded video, make sure that it
will work on the computer you are presenting from. If it doesnt
work within the presentation, or you are streaming directly from
the web, you should have your video(s) pulled up on a web browser,
loaded, and at the correct start time. This is especially important
as most online videos require you to watch an advertisement before
the video begins. These advertisements can take upwards of 20
seconds from your presentation. Having your video ready before you
begin presenting also means you wont be searching through other
videos with similar names. Finally, previewing your videos before
your presentation will let you know if the computer is actually
able to play the videos, if you need to adjust the sound levels for
the video, and whether or not you should play the video in full-
screen mode or not.
Slide 33
Sounds! Use sounds to highlight key points Using sounds can
highlight key points and, when used sparingly and purposefully, can
capture/recapture the audiences attention (Apperson, Laws, &
Scepansky, 2008). Resist overusing sound Using sounds in your
presentation can be used to grab the audiences attention, regain
their attention, and highlight important information. However,
overusing sounds will completely nullify these advantages. If every
bullet on your slide comes in with a BANG then you are probably
overusing sounds in your presentation. Embedding sounds Just like
videos, if you embed a sound, youll need to make sure that you
embedded that sound correctly. Embedding a sound follows the same
rules as embedding a video. Prepare for the worst Just like
animations and videos, sounds take up computer resources and it is
important to preview your sounds before beginning your
presentation. Previewing your sounds will let you know if the
sounds are working, if the computer can handle processing the
sounds, and whether or not you need to adjust the volume.
Slide 34
Embedding Increase efficient transitions to videos To do:
FIRST, video/sound must be saved to portable source Such as: Flash
drive, shared drive, CD THEN, insert video using the insert tab on
the toolbar Insert from portable source with video on it EX. If you
save your video to a flash drive, you need to add the video from
THAT flash drive and make sure to use THAT flash drive, with the
video on it, when you present. (Save the PPT on the same flash
drive)
Slide 35
Videos and Sound Embed when possible Prepare Preview Highlight
Apperson, Laws, & Scepansky, 2008
Slide 36
Final Thoughts Control Text Visuals Consistency Preparation
Purpose If you need to break or bend a rule here or there to fit
your needs, its up to you.
Slide 37
References Apperson, J. M., Laws, E. L., & Scepansky, J. A.
(2008). An assessment of student preferences for PowerPoint
presentation structure in undergraduate courses. Computers &
Education, 50(1), 148-153. Durso, F. T., Pop, V. L., Burnett, J.
S., & Stearman, E. J. (2011). Evidence-Based Human Factors
Guidelines for PowerPoint Presentations. Ergonomics in Design: The
Quarterly of Human Factors Applications, 19(3), 4-8. Earnest, B.
(2011). Save Our Slides: PowerPoint Design That Works. Kendall/Hunt
Publishing Co. Garner, J. K., & Alley, M. (2011). PowerPoint in
the Psychology Classroom: lessons from multimedia learning
research. Psychology Learning & Teaching, 10(2), 95-106.