Rhetoric Of PowerPoint Julia Romberger English 435/535

Presentation Overview Physical Presentation PowerPoint Content PowerPoint Visuals

Physical Presentation Individual Group

Individual Presentations Pay attention to your location relative to the screen. Do not talk to the screen; you can point to things. Do not just read slides; use them to organize your talk.

Group Presentations When presenting in groups... Work collaboratively; have one person work the technology while the other speaks. Do not distract audience from the speaker.

Power Point Content Forecasting Main Points Wrap Up Transitions

Introduction or Forecasting Discuss the purpose / goal of talk; give context/specifics unique to your project. Provide an overview slide with main points of presentation (use these points as headings).

Main Points Include research background and your research questions. Explain how you conducted your research. Give a summary of your data. Cover conclusions drawn from data.

Wrap Up Summarize all main points. Give a reminder about talk’s purpose. Indicate what action you want the audience to take (if any). Ask for questions.

Transitions Are connectors that join the various slides in your presentation together. Serve to orient the viewer. Should be consistent.

Power Point Visuals Fonts Color Special Effects Images Repetition Appropriateness

Fonts Make slide titles stand out with a larger font or different color. Use large font size for text; it should be large enough to fit six to seven words across. Use sans serif font (Arial); if text heavy, use serif (Times).

Color Make a strong contrast between background and text. Use a dark text with a light background, and a light text with a dark background.

Special Effects Power Point allows you to include special effects. To include effects: –G–Go to “Slide Show” on tool bar; –G–Go to “Animation” It isn’t recommended that you use slow or noisy special effects.

Images Use images to help make your point. You can import images from other sources. Adjust the size and placement of image box and text box.

Repetition or Visual Sets Repeat slide layout throughout the entire presentation. – Such as text placement, font (size and color), background, and special effects This will orient your listener.

Appropriateness Use appropriate backgrounds, images, and special effects for your presentation. Make only one point per slide. Use as little text as possible. (As a start, use the 1 idea /6 words/6 lines rule)

Rhetoric of PowerPoint This slide show has covered: Physical Presentation PowerPoint Content PowerPoint Visuals Questions?

Rhetoric of PowerPoint For more on visual design, The Non- Designer’s Design Book by Robin Williams is recommended.