Volunteer. Educate. Advocate. PowerPoint: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Center for Microfinance, Nepal September 15, 2008

Volunteer. Educate. Advocate. What’s good? Versatile and attractive: can use video, pictures, graphics Easy; you can focus on the audience Portable (but needs power supply) Can be put on website Eliminates note-taking

Volunteer. Educate. Advocate. What’s Bad? Too slick: can create barriers between you and the audience. Overused/poorly used: both the presenter and the audience can become passive. Poor presentation of text can cause audience to miss points.

Volunteer. Educate. Advocate. What’s ugly? Poor use of: 1.Colour 2.Font 3.Graphics/photos/media 4.Space

Volunteer. Educate. Advocate. Use of Colour Don’t overuse it. No rainbows! Make sure text will be visible in the presentation room. Avoid using opposite colours for background and text: i.e. red and green. Use the mood of colours to your advantage.

Volunteer. Educate. Advocate. Text Spell check: Just do it! Slides with fewer words allow for greater comprehension of the material. Better to have more slides with fewer words than crowding text onto one slide. Avoid capitalizing text: IT’S REALLY DIFFICULT AND TIRING TO READ

Volunteer. Educate. Advocate. Font Use the same font throughout your presentation. Use a minimum 24 point font size. Use a simple, sans serif font like Ariel. Use a standard font (like Ariel) if you are planning to use another computer for your presentation.

Volunteer. Educate. Advocate. Photos and Graphics Make sure they advance the purpose of the slide. Word art can be distracting. Text expressions: Subtle choices like “appear” are good. Avoid exciting choices like “boomerang”. Transitions: experiment with dim text.

Volunteer. Educate. Advocate. Delivery Maintain contact with audience. Don’t stand in front of the screen and block the view. Don’t present slides out of order. Review and practice your presentation at least once before delivery. Turn off your mobile phone!

Volunteer. Educate. Advocate. Be prepared! Personally check your presentation equipment beforehand to avoid embarrassing delays and mistakes. Make sure you bring a backup of the presentation on pen drive, CD/DVD, or e- mail. Bring a hard copy of the slides.

Volunteer. Educate. Advocate. Use a Conclusion Slide Avoid the ubiquitous “Thank you” slide. Leave with a strong impression, emphasizing a few of your main points. “Any questions?” slide can be useful for training. Use this slide before your conclusion.

Volunteer. Educate. Advocate. Conclusion Slides with fewer words allow for greater comprehension of the material. Review, practice and check equipment to spot potential problems and create flow. Use photos, graphics and other media only when they advance the purpose of the slide. Remember your audience!