Houston Academy of Medicine - Texas Medical Center Library Effective PowerPoint Presentations Lee Andrew Hilyer, MLIS Spring 2005

Houston Academy of Medicine - Texas Medical Center Library Learning Objectives 1.Become familiar with the PowerPoint interface 2.Discuss some important concepts 3.Create your own PowerPoint presentation 4.Use templates, animation schemes and transitions in your presentations 5.Learn the basics of slide show control 6.Learn some techniques to make your presentations more professional Note: You should be familiar with Windows 2000 or XP in order to achieve maximum success!

Houston Academy of Medicine - Texas Medical Center Library Concepts & Definitions  slide  workspace  notes pane  outline pane  objects (text boxes, shapes, lines, photos)

Houston Academy of Medicine - Texas Medical Center Library Slide Workspace Outline/ Slides Pane Task Pane Toolbars Drawing Toolbar Text Box (Placeholder) Notes Pane

Houston Academy of Medicine - Texas Medical Center Library Create your own presentation!  Title Slide  Bulleted List  Text & Content  Simple Chart  Blank (Use the Drawing tools)  Ending Slide

Houston Academy of Medicine - Texas Medical Center Library Templates  Use templates to add some “pizzazz” to your presentations.  Use carefully! Watch out for “style over substance.”  Make sure template is appropriate to your subject and to your audience.  You can also create your own template to reuse in future presentations. For presentations/slides, use light text on a dark background For handouts/transparencies, use dark text on a light background

Houston Academy of Medicine - Texas Medical Center Library Animations  Text can “fly in” from any direction. TText can appear letter-by-letter...  Or, word-by-word.  In most instances, avoid sound effects or use other sources such as CD tracks.  Use sparingly to emphasize or highlight important points.

Houston Academy of Medicine - Texas Medical Center Library Bad Animation  Do not use distracting animation  Do not go overboard with the animation  Be consistent with the animation that you use formatting/Presentations-Tips.ppt

Houston Academy of Medicine - Texas Medical Center Library Transitions  Transitions affect an entire slide  Use them with a single slide for emphasis...  Or with an entire presentation for “polish”, especially if the presentation is destined for a kiosk or other unattended display

Houston Academy of Medicine - Texas Medical Center Library Slide Show Controls  Avoid fumbling with a mouse – use to begin a slide show.  Use to end a slide show.  Press B to display a black screen.  Press W to display a white screen.  Press A to access additional slide show controls.  Press to view available slide show commands.

Houston Academy of Medicine - Texas Medical Center Library Design Tips  Generally, no more than six (6) words per line  In most cases, no more than six (6) lines per slide  One or two (1 or 2) concepts per slide  Avoid background patterns that can make slides hard to read (gradient fills, especially).  Limit use of special effects  ALWAYS include an “end slide.”

Houston Academy of Medicine - Texas Medical Center Library Presentation Tips  Do NOT read every word from every line of every slide. BORING!!!!  Practice your entire presentation several times, either alone or with an audience.  Time yourself (2 minutes per slide) – adjust as necessary.  If possible, visit the room where you’ll be presenting beforehand.  Have a glass of water handy for when your throat gets dry.

Houston Academy of Medicine - Texas Medical Center Library More Tips  Slow down your rate of speech and avoid distracting gestures or speech patterns  Make eye-contact with your audience and avoid turning your back on your audience if possible.  If using a laser pointer, don’t wiggle it around – ANNOYING!!! In fact, try not to use one at all.  Darken the screen during long pauses.  Clear a slide after discussing it.  Never say “I hope I haven’t bored you today” or something similar.

Houston Academy of Medicine - Texas Medical Center Library Good content makes a good presentation. Final Thoughts Consider:  Is PowerPoint the best tool for my presentation?  Is a presentation even necessary? Would a short meeting or written report work better?  For technical or statistical data, consider a handout instead of, or in addition to a presentation.

Houston Academy of Medicine - Texas Medical Center Library Questions? Lee Andrew Hilyer, MLIS Photocopy/Interlibrary Loan Department

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Houston Academy of Medicine - Texas Medical Center Library Ross, Catherine S. and Patricia Dewdney. Communicating Professionally. 2 nd ed. New York: Neal-Schuman, In TMC Library. “Presentation Tips from Dale Carnegie.” Teaching Well with PowerPoint (Note especially the section entitled “Workshop Handouts (PDF)” Siwinski, Carol. “Rubric for Multimedia Presentation” Microsoft Office Assistance Center Hadfield-Law, Lisa. Effective Presentations for Health Care Professionals. Oxford: Butterworth-Heineman, In TMC and TDB Libraries. Bibliography