Tips on powerpoint presentation

lpoolm

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Hi, I have an internal interview in work and have to do a powerpoint presentation.
It has been many years since I have done one of these!
I am not worried about looks with a few basic animations/pics etc i know there is plenty of youtube vids for this!
My question though is any tips on how what I do with regards to not just reading what is on the screen?
I know there is nothing worse then reading whats showing on each page but what else do I do?
Any tips please. I have a day to complete!
 
Don't make any of the slides too fussy. Bring up short points and talk around these. Keep slide transition gimmick free. Lastly, relax.
 
Write bullet points for the screen and then elaborate on them - you can add notes in the section below the presentation which nobody can see. When you print it off read your notes
 
Write bullet points for the screen and then elaborate on them - you can add notes in the section below the presentation which nobody can see. When you print it off read your notes


This. The points you bring up on your presentation should only be a few words, allowing you to then elaborate on each point in greater depth. It also ensures that the focus is still on you, as the presenter.

Do lots of practise run throughs so you know exactly what you're going to say on each point. Ask a few people to read through it and read it yourself as if it was being presented to you. Does everything seem clear? Is there anything that may raise a question? If so, find the answer for that question just in case :)

Keep backgrounds, titles, body text all consistent. Same font, same size, same style of bullet points, everything. It shows an eye for detail.
 
Write bullet points for the screen and then elaborate on them - you can add notes in the section below the presentation which nobody can see. When you print it off read your notes

Exactly what I have done and unlike someone else that did similar, it is a bonus if you know something about what you added to start with.
Watching someone die of their feet while not being able to expand on their own points is awful
 
Keep it relatively short. My old company used to love 30+ slide PowerPoint presentations. Boring as hell and you lose the room.
 
The 8 by 8 law.

Each slide should be no more than 8 words to a line and no more than 8 lines down.

If your slide is a big chunk of text either you deliver the information or give it out as a handout. No way could someone at the back who's forgot their glasses read a huge chunk of text.

Have light coloured text on a dark background. Not the other way round. Black text on a white background is glaring. Use something like yellow text on a dark blue background or dark green.

Use a large enough font to be read by those at the back. Get in early and check that's possible.

Avoid over use of different fonts, fades and whatever else. You don't need any of it.

On the last slide on the last bit of text/bullet point place a full stop. Your audience won't notice it but it's a signal to you, that you are at the end.

You should be doing the teaching/presenting not the powerpoint. It's an aid for you. No different to you using a white board. You should be able to deliver the lot without it but it is better with it.
 
Thank you, appreciate all the info!
Will help a lot.
 
Get an extendable pointy stick, everyone loves an extendable pointy stick.
Or a laser pointer. Better yet, use the mouse cursor to point. Sticks and lasers can show if your hand is shaking. Place the pointer on the bit you are highlighting or highlight it yourself by dragging and then take your hand away.

You've highlighted and not shown hand shake.
 
The 8 by 8 law.

Each slide should be no more than 8 words to a line and no more than 8 lines down.

If your slide is a big chunk of text either you deliver the information or give it out as a handout. No way could someone at the back who's forgot their glasses read a huge chunk of text.

Have light coloured text on a dark background. Not the other way round. Black text on a white background is glaring. Use something like yellow text on a dark blue background or dark green.

Use a large enough font to be read by those at the back. Get in early and check that's possible.

Avoid over use of different fonts, fades and whatever else. You don't need any of it.

On the last slide on the last bit of text/bullet point place a full stop. Your audience won't notice it but it's a signal to you, that you are at the end.

You should be doing the teaching/presenting not the powerpoint. It's an aid for you. No different to you using a white board. You should be able to deliver the lot without it but it is better with it.
6 x 6 for me.

As others have said, the shorter the better.

And no animations, slide builds etc. It’s so old fashioned.
 
Be yourself. I always use more pics and graphics than words and keep bullets to a minimum. Keep slides to a minimum. Also have a run through and be sure on what you want to say. If you are presenting numbers, graphs, results, etc. the be sure you know then by heart.

Good luck!
 
No stupid gimmicks but I think a nice fade applied sparingly adds a nice touch.

As above, key notes on a slide such thst they remind you about the full spiel you can then speak through directly with the audience
 
Best presentations I've seen have had very few words on the screen at all, and no lists or bullets and any data is presented very simply, avoiding loads of numbers by using simple bar charts or line graphs. This style keeps the audience engaged, and gives you flexibility to talk in your natural style. Look at the audience rather than down at a screen or notesm you will be able to see if you are losing anyone and engage with those that you can see have something to say. Try to present what you know and can answer questions on rather than what you read up on the day before, use the presentation to talk about what you have done and how you did it, what you want to do/improve and how you will do it.

The worst presentations are the ones where the audience could just read the slides themselves, copy & paste from other documents and the slides are full of lists, numbers, tables and complex charts and have animated text flying in from the sides or pictures spinning in and out.
 

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