Preparing PowerPoint Presentations

Preparing PowerPoint Slides

Keep it simple.

• Think of your PowerPoint slides as “billboards” conveying the major points of your presentation. Present only one to two major ideas per slide. You can provide clarification or transitions in your verbal presentation.
• The least effective visuals are crowded, complex lists of numbers or words. They strain the eyes and attention of your audience. By the time you get to your point, the audience may no longer care what it is. Bulleted key ideas, simple graphs, charts or tables are much more effective because they quickly communicate your major ideas. You can include important details in your oral narrative.
• If your methods are complicated, show a concrete illustration of it in a visual diagram, flow chart, concept map, or table rather than a lengthy list of procedures.

Design every slide for the back-row viewer.

• Fill the slide with the statement/diagram/chart/graph. Use sharp bold lines and print clearly with characters large enough to be read by the people in the back row.
  Choose colors of high contrast (black on white is much easier to read than red on black).
• Use large font sizes to label all parts of graphs, charts and tables (e.g., column headings, units of measure, axes of graphs, etc.) so that the audience clearly understands what they are looking at.
• Design using a consistent background and color scheme throughout presentation (a background of your own creation or pre-made template). This gives your presentation continuity, providing a visual thread or theme for your viewers. Avoid busy-looking backgrounds which distract your audience.

Use color, slide transitions, and animation for emphasis of your science, not ornament.

• Thoughtfully planned use of color can emphasize relationships and organization throughout your presentation.
• Use only simple slide transitions which do not distract the audience from the contents of your slide.
• Use animation only if it helps to emphasize an important point you want to make. Flashing words or endless animation loops are distracting and draw audience away from your point.
• In summary, use color, transitions, and animation that engage your audience rather than distract them.

A well-executed visual aid is simple, informative, and pleasant to view. Have a friend look over your slides before your presentation. If she/he can grasp the key points without extensive explanation from you, you have probably prepared effective visual aids.

Figure legends. There is usually no need for figure legends in a PowerPoint presentation. The words are usually too small to read. Instead, use a large, descriptive title for your figures and a well-displayed key for your different treatments.

Inserted pictures. If you grab a picture from an online article, scanned text figure, etc., you must cite the website and/or publisher appropriately below the picture.

Last presented slide. End your talk with a simple slide that summarizes your conclusions. Prepare a slide that lists your references, but don’t show it to your audience as part of your formal presentation. This reference list is important for your instructors in evaluating your presentation, but usually is not interesting to your audience. You may, however, be asked about your information sources immediately after your presentation, and so you could refer to your reference slide on such an “as-needed” basis.

Delivering Your Presentations

We list specific tips below, but perhaps our most important advice is to PRACTICE, PRACTICE, and PRACTICE before you present your research.

Introduction. Always introduce yourself and your collaborators, or let teammates introduce themselves.

Make the most of your figures. Verbally present figure axes—both the label and units. Explaining axes allows the presenter to slow down and define the variables of interest and also clarifies the data manipulations for the audience. Do not rush through slides showing your data; allow your audience time to process all of the information shown. Direct their attention to trends/differences that you used to make a decision about your hypothesis or research question.