PowerPoint GuideLines Engineering 10 PowerPoint GuideLines Bruce Mayer, PE Licensed Electrical & Mechanical Engineer BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu

Student Presentations During Meetings of 23Apr & 07May Order Set by Random Number Generator ANY Topic OK Engineering topic preferred if possible Counts as BOTH HW08 and EXTRA Credit Worth a Total of 6 pts And Do NOT have to do any more for HW08 HW08 alternative = Exercise 14.11 Write: Resume, Cvr Ltr, Thank You ltr Previous PPTs: PinBall Wizard, BreakDancing, Civil War Cannons, Hacky-Sack; but hadron collider, artificial heart valves

Student Presentation Logistics Done Using POWERPOINT 10-15 Minutes 5-10 Slides Inform Me of Your Intention by F/12Apr Bring Presentation on USB Drive Instructor Will load PPT file onto presentation computer Student will Deliver the Presentation with the Aid of LaserPointer Presentation Device

Student Presentation Logistics If MORE Presentations than the Allotted Time → will go down the list Will Do as many As Time Permits Similar to Where-n-Why MiniPresentations; Will Start at the top of the list and work down as far as we can ALL Student Presentations will be Placed on Presentation Computer for instructor Review

OnCampus PPT Prep Resource The Communications Studies Operation Maintains a COMMUNICATIONS LAB that is Available to ALL Students for FREE The “Comm Lab” Specializes in Helping Students with PowerPoint Presentations The Rm 803 CommLab Hours of Operation Students should double-check time; above refer to Fa11 hours Mon: 9-10:30, 12-3:15 Tue: 10:30-12, 1-2:30, 5-6 Wed: 9-10:30, 12-1, 2:30-3:15, 5-6 Thur: 10:30-12, 1-2:30

THE COMM LAB IS OPEN! What can Chabot students do in the Lab? Prepare for any presentation with a peer tutor. brainstorm topics organize ideas outline speeches prepare speaker notes prepare visual aides rehearse delivery, individually or in groups Record speeches for evaluation. Communication Lab >>> Veronica Martinez 9/12/2012 2:12 PM >>>

Chabot “Std” PPT Template The “Standard” Chabot College Template is OnLine at http://www.chabotcollege.edu/photos/downloadpowerpoint.cfm?filename=chabot1 I recommend using this

Presentation Training The BEST Presentation Training → Giving Presentations There is No Substitute for EXPERIENCE in this Regard PREPARE Carefully & Extensively Do a POST-MORTEM Evaluation Ask YourSelf: What could I have done BETTER

Student Presentation ScoreCard

Basic Power Point Guidelines Some tips to make your presentations presentable

Compliment or Insult???!!!

Why Use PowerPoint Many People don’t Like PPT They say it “Dulls the Senses” So does someone Writing-on and Talking-to the BlackBoard But it’s Basically an Automated OHP or DocCam Just like an OHP or DocCam or BlackBoard it can be MISused

Basic Rules for Presentations Contrast is important. For paper… Dark text on a light background.

Basic Rules for Presentations For projection… Light text on a semi-dark background The eye is attracted to the light on the screen

Basic Rules for Presentations Stick with a single background. The background is the stage for your information. Set the stage and leave it alone!

Basic Rules for Presentations Don’t try to dazzle the audience with graphics or style…but with the information. The medium is not the message. The information is the message.

Basic Rules for Presentations Balance. Do not center bullet points. It makes the text ragged. And hard to read and follow with your eyes.

Basic Rules for Presentations Balance. Generally, left-justify bullets. This keeps things neat.. and easy to follow.

Basic Rules for Presentations Balance. Centered graphics leave little room for text.

Basic Rules for Presentations Balance. Place graphics off-center. More room for text. Better balance. More pleasing to the eye. Left placement leads the eye to the text.

Basic Rules - Capitalization AVOID ALL CAPS – VERY HARD TO READ. First Cap – More Formal Harder To Type And More Decisions. This is an example of capitalizing the first word Less formal. Easier to type and fewer decisions

Use Restraint With Fonts Employ only a few...stick to familiar fonts Stay away from gimmicky fonts unless for a theme. Keep type sizes consistent. Serif vs. Sans Serif. Serif  Classic – Sans Serif  Modern DON’T USE ALL CAPS.

Easy to read (48 pt) Choose Fonts Wisely Italics are more difficult to read. Use bold when you want some words to stand out. Font size Easy to read (18 pt) Easy to read (24 pt) Easy to read (32 pt) Easy to read (48 pt)

Avoid Text Overload Having too much text on the screen can defeat the purpose of using PowerPoint. The slides begin to look like a jumble of text, making slides difficult to read and unrecognizable from each other. People will either try to read everything or copy everything down or they will lose interest. List only the key points. If you have more info to include use more slides or create handouts.

Animate Bullets & Graphics Use Simple Animation to “Walk Thru” the Slide for the Audience Audience tends to Read the ALL text when the Entire Slide Appears Detracts Focus from the SPEAKER (you!) Reveal Bullet Points ONE-at-a-TIME EXPLAIN in YOUR WORDS the MEANING of the Bullet

2D→3D Visualization Aids Using Labels on MultiView Drawings to Visualize the 3D form Label surfaces; e.g., Label vertices; e.g., 1,3 1 S 1 S 3 3 S

Use Solid Colors instead of fill Patterns on Charts Patterns on bars or pie slices cause confusion. Solid colors convey a clear bold message

Use Simple Tables to Present Numbers Don’t OverDo the AMOUNT of Data presented in tables Try not to make footnotes too small

Basic Rules That You Must Have to Have a Good Presentation. One of the most common mistakes in creating a presentation is to place too much information on the screen. This can cause the reader to become distracted from the speaker…just like you are now. Audiences are much more receptive to the spoken word.

Basic Presentation Mistakes. Too much information. Reader gets distracted Audiences are much more receptive to the spoken word.

Basic Rules 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. Simply Animate Bullets & Graphics

Basic Power Point Guidelines Build the Story…don’t give them too much info at once. Stick with the same transition. Be creative but leave some color choices to professionals. Try Stick to the “6-6” Rule Six words per line  Six lines per page 

Choosing a Color Scheme Beginners Should Stick with Power Point defaults or company standard templates. What may look good on your computer may be unreadable when projected. Remember to use strong, contrasting colors for Text.

The Color Wheel Colors separated by another color are contrasting colors (also known as complementary) Good CONTRAST Adjacent colors (next to each other) harmonize with one another. e.g. Green and Yellow Good BLENDING

Use Contrasting Colors Light colors on dark background. Dark colors on light background.

Background – Bad Avoid backgrounds that are distracting or difficult to read from Always be consistent with the background that you use No More than two Background forms

Clip Art & Graphics A few excellent graphics are better than many poor ones. Photographs can be powerful. Use sparingly!

Martin Luther King Jr. Religious leader Civil rights activist Author Poet Minister

Martin Luther King Jr. Religious leader Civil rights advocate Author Poet Minister

Good Chart  Clear & Concise

Bad Chart  Busy & Unclear

Some Comments The Previous Tips are Good for General Interest Presentations 6 Words per Line, 6 Lines per Slide is Easy to Follow, But Builds a NON-Archival Slide If Handouts are Made, Audience MUST MAKE NOTES This is at Least as Distracting as Too Much Text Slide Set is not FREE STANDING

Comments cont. You Don’t Want the Medium to Overwhelm the Message, But… Presentation Should Show Respect for the Audience by Being NEAT and Well ORGANIZED Rehearsed Ahead of time if Needed Made Available Either In HardCopy OnLine

Comments cont. Technical Presentations Tend to be Graphics-Heavy c.f. Guest Speaker Presentations The MOST Difficult Task in Slide Construction → Balancing Information Overload The slides look “Busy” Insufficient Information Leaves audience “in the dark”

Summary Need Careful Preparation Keep the Presentation Simple Avoid “Busy” Slides Too Much Text, Confusing Graphics Keep Information Well Organized Do NOT read from your slides verbatim Remind the audience of key points at the end of the presentation