Tips for Effective PowerPoint Presentations LeRoy Ostrander High School Communication

Fonts Select fonts such as Arial or Helvetica Avoid Times New Roman or Palatino or italicized fonts as they are difficult to read Use no font size smaller than 24 point Use different colors, sizes and stiles for impact only. Do not use all UPPER-CASE except for titles.

Bullet points 6X6 rule One thought per line No more than six words per line No more than six lines per slide

Background v. font colors Use dark text on light backgrounds Use light text on dark background Dark background are sometimes difficult to read

Test your Font Stand back six feet from monitor Can you read the slide?

Graphics and Design

Graphics and Design Keep the background consistent and subtle Use quality clipart Use clipart sparingly Only if it is relative Only if it enhances

More on Design Limit the number of graphics on each slide Use the same style of graphics on each slide Leave an empty space around graphics and text Limit the number of transitions (like one!)

Design III Check graphics on a projection screen before presentation Avoid flashy graphics and noisy animation effects

Color

Color tips Limit the number of colors on a single screen Check you colors on a projection screen Use no more than four colors on one chart

Presentation

Presentation Check your presentation for grammar and spelling mistakes Do not read the presentation… speak from your bullets Give a brief overview at the start Finally, review important points Bulleted points appear one at a time Use wireless or wired mouse

Presentation Use wireless or wired mouse Do not turn your back to the audience Sound effects? Wait until the sound has finished to speak

Citing Sources in presentation “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt” (Lincoln).

Don’t forget your Works Cited page Entered your sources on the noodletools.com Print and export This might be a good time to print a hard copy of your works cited! Cut and paste from a word document to your PowerPoint page. This should be your final page

Works Cited “Overview of the White House.” The White House Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2009. <http://www.whitehousemuseum.org/‌overview.htm>. Sidey, Hugh. “This Old House.” Time 11 Nov. 2000: 116+. Academic Search Premier. Web. 14 Dec. 2009. <http://web.ebscohost.com.proxy.elm4you.org>. “The White House.” Mr. Lincoln’s White House. The Lincoln Institute, 2009. Web. 14 Dec. 2009. <http://www.mrlincolnswhitehouse.org/‌content_inside.asp?ID=3&subjectID=3>. “White House Time Lines: The West Wing.” The White House Historical Association. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2009. <http://www.whitehousehistory.org/‌whha_timelimes/‌timelines_west-wing.html>.

Save, Save, Save Send your PowerPoint to my hotmail address via an attachment mjjevne@hotmail.com Or save your PowerPoint on a flash/thumb drive

And Print A copy of your PowerPoint From file menu, select PRINT In the lower left-hand corner chose “HANDOUT” from the drop-down window Then, select the number 4 from the “handout” frame. Order? Horizontal is just fine! And then click on OK!

And print some more… BEFORE YOU GIVE YOU SPEECH! SUBMIT… HANDOUT OF YOUR POWERPOINT HARD COPY OF YOUR OUTLINE (THIS MEANS YOU’LL NEED TWO COPIES OF YOUR OUTLINE) Print a hard copy of your MLA formatted works cited page from the Word document.