Powerpoint presentations

The use of power point presentations is increasingly common, so it’s important to be aware of some recommendations and avoid some mistakes. It is common to use the slides as main point of the presentation. That’s the first big mistake – PowerPoint should only be a complement to oral discourse. In Microsoft’s own website there is a warning: the most effective presentations are often the simplest. The site of PowerPoint also advises not to use more than five words per line and no more than five lines per slide.

One tip that may help is the 10/20/30 rule, invented by Guy Kawasaki: a presentation should be no more than 10 slides, presented within 20 minutes and use always a source greater than 30.

Speak slowly, try not to read what is written on the slides, look at the audience.

The purpose of the presentation is essential in determining what can and can not be done. If you’re giving a speech or display data in a meeting or school work, the main thing is going to be succinct and to the point. Avoid the use of transitions, effects, music, colors and images that can distract the audience. So, choose to write on topics and use graphics and images to convey the information.

Recommendations:

Each slide should have a heading
Write for topics
Introduce a concept for slide
No punctuation
Eliminate verbs, articles, adjectives that are not essential
Use graphs and tables in text replacement

Common Errors:

Much information per slide
To many words per row
Use and abuse of animation effects
Excessive use of colors