Tips for Preparing a Professional Presentation

The first thing that gives a professional touch to any presentation is the design

1. Keep Your Audience In Mind What do they know? What do you need to tell them? What do they expect? What will be interesting to them? What can you teach them? What will keep them focused? Answer these questions and Prepare your slides

Compose Slides 2. Compose Slides Avoid too much text on the screen. Keep it simple. Make bulleted points easy to read. Keep text easy to understand. Use concise wording. Bullets are focal points. Presenter provides elaboration. Keep font size large.

Compose Slides 2. Compose Slides Six words per line. Six lines per page. Don’t copy & paste slides from different sources. DON’T USE ALL CAPS. Do not center bullet points. Italics are more difficult to read. Use bold when you want some words to stand out.

Use Contrast 3. Use Contrast Contrast is important. Dark text on a light background, e.g. black text on a white background

Use Consistency 4. Use Consistency Consistently use the same font face and sizes on all slides. Match colors

Add Images 5. Add Images Have more images in your slides than text. But do not use images to decorate! Images can reinforce your message. Use images to visualize and explain. A picture can say more than a thousand words

Add Images 5. Add Images. Place graphics off-center. More room for text. Better balance. More pleasing to the eye. Left placement leads the eye to the text.

6. Use Simple Tables to Present Numbers Use tables for your number BUT Not too many

7. Practice Know your slides inside out. Speak freely. Speak with confidence – loud and clear. Don’t speak too fast. Maintain eye contact with the audience