Tips for Creating Electronic Presentations

Outline Overview / Basics Content Visual Effects Presentation Organization and Coherence 2

Overview / Basics Some general recommendations

Overview / Basics Know your alternatives; examples include –PowerPoint –PreziPrezi Be organized –Title goes first –Agenda or outline comes next Always begin with an outline/agenda and stick to it Use only main points in your outline/agenda –Number your slides 4

Overview / Basics Tell a story Keep it relevant Proof your slides for: –spelling misteaks –the use use of repeated words –grammatical errors you might have make If English is not your first language, please have someone else check your presentation! 5

Content Elements that make up any presentation

Content: Slide Structure Write in bullets Avoid wordiness Include 4-5 bullets per slide Use parallel structure 7

Content: Slide Structure to Avoid This page contains too many words for a presentation slide. It is not written in point form, making it difficult both for your audience to read and for you to present each point. Although there are exactly the same number of points on this slide as the previous slide, it looks much more complicated. In short, your audience will spend too much time trying to read this paragraph instead of listening to you. 8

Content: Credit Take credit for the presentation –Your name and affiliation goes with the title –Introduce yourself to the audience before moving on from the title 9

Content: Credit Give credit to sources –“If you use a direct quote, put it in quotation marks” (Dunning, 2006) –You also need to give credit when you paraphrase (Dunning, 2006) –Include the reference at the bottom of the page or on a final “bibliography” page 10

Content: Timing Allow an average of 2 minutes per slide –30 seconds if you have a few quick bullets –5 minutes if you have a graphic to explain Include transitions from one slide to the next Speak slowly Allow for audience questions Remember to leave time to breathe 11

Content: Special Effects Use sound and animation sparingly –They can be very distracting –Use sound only if it supports your main point –Be consistent with the animation you use 12

Visual Effects What should your presentation look like?

Visual Effects: Color Use sharply contrasting colors –Dark on light is better than –Using a font color that does not contrast with the background color is hard to read Using color for decoration is distracting and annoying. Using a different color for each point is unnecessary –Using a different color for secondary points is also unnecessary Trying to be creative can also be bad light on dark 14

Visual Effects: Font Use large fonts Use different size fonts for main points and secondary points –This font is 24-point, the main point font is 32-point, and the title font is 44-point –Do not go smaller than 18 point Use a standard font like Times New Roman or Arial 15

Visual Effects: Font If you use a small font, your audience won’t be able to read what you have written (this is 16 point) CAPITALIZE ONLY WHEN NECESSARY. IT IS DIFFICULT TO READ Don’t use a complicated font Sans-serif is better than font with serif 16

Visual Effects: Font Use a color of font that contrasts sharply with the background –E.g., dark blue font on white background Use color to reinforce the logic of your structure –Ex: Dark blue main topic and orange secondary topic Use color to emphasize a point –But only use this occasionally 17

Visual Effects: Background Use backgrounds such as this one that are attractive but simple Use backgrounds which are light Use the same background consistently throughout your presentation 18

Visual Effects: Background – Bad Avoid backgrounds that are distracting or difficult to read from Always be consistent with the background that you use 19

Visual Effects: Graphs Use graphs rather than charts and words –Data in graphs is easier to comprehend & retain than is raw data –Trends are easier to visualize in graph form Always title your graphs 20 Bad: Chart Good: Graph

Visual Effects: Graphs – good 21

Visual Effects: Graphs – bad 22

Visual Effects: Graphs – bad Minor gridlines are unnecessary Font is too small Colors are illogical Title is missing Shading and 3D effects are distracting 23

Presentation Organization and Coherence What follows is typical content and organization of a slide presentation. The BSB encourages students to use the BSB template. 24

This is your first slide: Put Your Title and Name Here

Introduction –Note that this is not usually a separate slide; this should be done while the title is up Who you are What this presentation is about Your credentials for talking about this Recognize experts in the audience Know your audience!!! 26

Agenda Presentation agenda –What you are going to tell them List outline of presentation –How long you expect it to take to cover the material –When to ask questions (during the presentation or at the end) and how much time is allotted for them Sample agenda and presentation follows  27

Agenda Executive Summary Background Details Conclusion/Recap Questions 28 [Note that this is a sample agenda for a sample presentation; you may need other topics]

Executive Summary Briefly do the following: –Tell the audience what the main point or bottom line is –List facts, assumptions and caveats –Reference prior work done and conclusions reached –Explain why conclusions reached from prior efforts are different (where applicable) Try to keep this to one slide This will all be more fully developed later 29

Background Review the issue Explain prior research Give credit Explain why we are talking about this issue Identify what the significance of this issue is with respect to current events This may take many slides 30

Details Give a short overview of the approach used Explain why this approach was used Where appropriate show model used Where appropriate, give a short overview on data used –List sources for all data –Include dates for when data was pulled This might be better labeled “Analysis” “Model” “Methodology” or something else This may take many slides 31

Details Show results (again, may require multiple slides) –When using graphs ensure axes are properly labeled –Avoid placing too much information on one slide –Arrange information in so that it transitions smoothly 32

Conclusion Use an effective and strong closing –Your audience is likely to remember your last words Use a conclusion slide to: –Summarize the main points of your presentation –Note limitations –Suggest future avenues of research 33

Questions Leave time for the audience to ask questions Be precise in answering questions Where necessary seek clarification Be honest if you do not know that answer Give the audience information on what happens next 34

Thank You! Contact information for further information:

References Dunning, A. E. (2006). The Art of Professional Presentation. Downloaded from delines/Professional%20Presentation.doc delines/Professional%20Presentation.doc Much of this slide presentation has been adapted from International Association of Science and Technology for Development (IASTED) 36