How To Make a Sweet PowerPoint And Keep Your Audience Awake

PURPOSE The purpose of this module is to give you a chance to find out all the wonderful things PowerPoint can do and how to make a presentation that will blow everyone away instead of boring them to tears. There are two products for this module: Your PowerPoint presentation, and A brief summary document in which you explain and analyze the design choices you made.

THE PRODUCT AND PROJECT TWO Because you need some kind of content for your PowerPoint Because you will be working on your Project Two at the same time The content of your PowerPoint is going to be your rhetorical analysis—the content of Project Two. This will kill two birds with one presentation (nice mixed metaphor, eh?)

REQUIREMENTS Between 10 and 20 slides, no more or less. At least 3 different screen captures of the media you are analyzing At least 2 uses of imaging transitions within a slide (so 2 slides need to use imaging transitions) Between slide transitioning only if it adds meaning but does not distract Text entrances that enhance meaning ONLY Your own original background

STEP ONE: THE TEXT Large amounts of text are a no-no. Make an outline of your paper Decide if your information would be more effective in a different order when you present Determine where your thesis or main point would be most persuasive – should you move it to the end to let your viewers be deciding as you go? – Do you want to tell them how to think right away?)

TEXT CONT’D Once you have made an outline, divide your outline into “slides” – What should go on each slide? – How can this be sensibly divided? – Do you need a header on every slide? – Could your header just say “Cont’d”?