The seven deadly sins of power point presentations
Sin #1 Letter fonts are ornate, or there are too many different fonts, styles, and font colors in a single presentation. Serif – with embellishment Sans Serif – without embellishment Explain the difference of serif and sans serif, examples follow on next slides
Examples of serif fonts: Computer tech Computer Tech
Examples of sans serif: Computer tech
Colors Limit use of colors to one or two in a presentation The primary colors are red, yellow and blue Avoid using red Difficult to read Some people are color blind to red Did you know that color blindness is passed on genetically?
Sin #2 Font sizes and/or graphics are too small. Titles : 35 to 40 or larger size font Text : 24 to 29 size font Make sure the back row can read words
Graphics Graphics that are too small cannot be seen by everyone in the room. Ask if students at the back of the room can see what the small picture is. Following their response, click to bring in large photo.
Save photo as: largest size available Photos The larger photo was saved as a 1 by 1 inch tag from google, but the one on the left was saved as large as possible. Make sure to click on “see larger size” and then save photo. Go to google images and show example. Save photo as: largest size available
Sin #3 the background is too busy or the colors lack contrast When a photo is used as a slide background, it is often difficult to read text Text color and background color need to have enough contrast for legibility
Background colors It is difficult for people to read when there isn’t enough contrast Light colors on dark backgrounds are not always the solution A contrasting color is easier for reading
When the background is too busy, it is difficult for people to read the text
Sin #4 Crowding too much information onto a single screen or transparency Keep screens simple and clear Do not crowd text Use short phrases and key words Six by Six rule No more than six lines of text per screen No more than six words per line
Sin #5 Leaving a screen unchanged for too long or not leaving a screen up long enough for the audience to take notes Solutions Reveal information progressively Use handouts of slides Don’t overcrowd slides with words
Sin #6 Overusing special effects (animations & transitions) Be consistent Don’t use too many different effects Audience will be more interested in effects than presentation
Special effect overload Effects are cool One per slide
Sin #7 Presentation is all text, no pictures Some people are visual learners Pictures and graphs make your presentation interesting