1. Making PowerPoint Slides
Avoiding the Pitfalls of Bad Slides
Source: SEE-U 2005, rev TKittel 2/29/08
SEE-U 2005, rev TKittel Feb 08

2. Tips to be Covered Presentation Title & Outline Slide Structure
Formatting - Fonts, Color, & Background
Graphs
Spelling & Grammar
Conclusions and Ending Up
References
Oral Presentation

3. Title Slide
Your presentation’s title should tell your audience what your talk is about
Succinctly, what’s the comparison or issue, what organism(s), and generally where
Use a subtitle to add information if needed.
Include your name, course name, semester

4. Outline Make your 1st or 2nd slide an outline of your presentation
Ex: 2nd slide in this PowerPoint
Follow the order of your outline for the rest of the presentation
Only place main points on the outline slide
Ex: Use the titles of each slide as main points

5. Slide Structure – Good Use 1-2 slides per minute of your presentation
Write in point form, not complete sentences
Include 4-5 points per slide
Avoid wordiness: use key words and phrases only
Split information between slides to avoid crowding a slide

6. Slide Structure - Bad
This page contains too many words for a presentation slide. It is not written in point form, making it difficult both for your audience to read and for you to present each point. Although there are exactly the same number of points on this slide as the previous slide, it looks much more complicated. In short, your audience will spend too much time trying to read this paragraph instead of listening to you. And oh yeah, don’t crowd a slide up – split your information on a given topic over to a 2nd slide if it’s that important! Don’t overflow either.

7. Slide Structure – Good Show one point at a time:
Will help audience concentrate on what you are saying
Will prevent audience from reading ahead
Will help you keep your presentation focused

8. Slide Structure – Good
Use the notes frame in the ‘Normal’ view to write up more complete information for each slide
Include details of each point you’re making
Cite sources here, or in small font on the slide proper such as:
Source: Smith & Jones include full citation in your References slide at end.
- Smith & Jones 2005

9. Slide Structure - Bad Do not use distracting animation
Do not go overboard with the animation
Be consistent with the animation you use

10. Fonts - Good Use at least an 18-point font
Use different size fonts for main points and secondary points
this font is 24-point, the main point font is 28-point, and the title font is 36-point
Use a standard font like Times New Roman or Arial

11. Fonts - Bad CAPITALIZE ONLY WHEN NECESSARY. IT IS DIFFICULT TO READ
If you use a small font, your audience won’t be able to read what you have written
CAPITALIZE ONLY WHEN NECESSARY. IT IS DIFFICULT TO READ
Don’t use a complicated font

12. Color - Good
Use a color of font that contrasts sharply with the background
Ex: blue font on white background
Use color to reinforce the logic of your structure
Ex: light blue title and dark blue text
Use color to emphasize a point
But only use this occasionally

13. Color - Bad
Using a font color that does not contrast with the background color is hard to read
Using color for decoration is distracting and annoying.
Using a different color for each point is unnecessary
Using a different color for secondary points is also unnecessary
Trying to be creative can also be bad

14. Background - Good
Use backgrounds such as this one that are attractive but simple
Photos can be interesting but often difficult for reading overlying text
Use the same background consistently throughout your presentation

15. Background - Good Use backgrounds which are either:
Light, with dark (not black) lettering, as in the previous slides
Best for poorly shaded rooms
Strictly white can be too stark or blinding
Or

16. Background - Good Or backgrounds which are:
Dark, with light lettering
Especially good for a very dark room
Classic look is deep blue with white or light yellow lettering

17. Background – Bad
Avoid backgrounds that are distracting or difficult to read from

18. Images - Good
Add images or simple graphs to text slides to illustrate your point
Adding a relevant photo can also provide visual relief
Images added for this purpose, need not be discussed
Colorado Treeline – Google Earth

19. Graphs - Good Use graphs rather than tables and words
Data in graphs are easier to comprehend & retain than raw data
Trends are easier to visualize in graph form

20. Graphs - Bad

21. Graphs - Good
Number of Items Sold

22. Graphs - Good Formatting
Always title your graphs – so it’s clear what’s shown
Label axes
Unless meaning obvious (e.g., months)
Use a large enough font
This is a common issue for axis tick labels

23. Graphs - Bad

24. Graphs - Bad Minor gridlines are unnecessary Font is too small
Colors are illogical
Title is missing
Shading is distracting

25. Spelling and Grammar Proof your slides for:
speling mistakes
the use of of repeated words
grammatical errors you might have make
For example, “data are” not “data is”
If English is not your first language, please have someone else check your presentation!

26. Conclusion Use an effective and strong closing
Your audience is likely to remember your last words
Use a conclusion slide to:
Summarize the main points of your presentation
Suggest future avenues of research

27. Questions?? Ending your presentation:
End with an invitation for your audience to ask questions
End your slide show on your conclusions slide
This will allow your audience to consider your key points
Avoid ending a presentation abruptly

28. References Include references on very last slide
Show only if asked a question re your sources
Use any common style found in journal articles – but be consistent in their formatting
Example for journal article
Kane, D.L., Hinzman, L.D., and Zarling, J.P Thermal response of the active layer to climatic warming in a permafrost environment. Cold Regions Science and Technology, 19:
Example for chapter in a book
Field, C. B., Raupach, M. R., and Victoria, R The global carbon cycle: integrating humans, climate, and the natural world. In: C. B. Field and M. R. Raupach (eds.). The Global Carbon Cycle. Washington: Island Press. pp

29. Oral Presentation Practice, practice, practice
Makes your presentation come off smoothly, dynamic
Helps tune your timing
Indentifies unnecessary & redundant information
Make a test run with the projector
Check that slides are clear given the room’s lighting
Slides too bright? Contrast poor?
Check slides are readable from the back of the room