1. BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt 1 Bruce Mayer, PE Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering Bruce Mayer, PE Licensed Electrical & Mechanical Engineer BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu Engineering 1 Chp.8 PowerPoint

2. BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt 2 Bruce Mayer, PE Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering Some tips to make your presentations presentable Basic Power Point Guidelines

3. BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt 3 Bruce Mayer, PE Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering Basic Rules for Presentations  Contrast is important.  For paper… Dark text on a light background.

4. BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt 4 Bruce Mayer, PE Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering Basic Rules for Presentations  For projection… Light text on a semi-dark background The eye is attracted to the light on the screen

5. BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt 5 Bruce Mayer, PE Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering Basic Rules for Presentations  Stick with a single background. The background is the stage for your information. Set the stage and leave it alone!

6. BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt 6 Bruce Mayer, PE Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering Basic Rules for Presentations  Don’t try to dazzle the audience with graphics or style…but with the information.  The medium is not the message.  The information is the message.

7. BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt 7 Bruce Mayer, PE Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering Basic Rules for Presentations Balance.  Do not center bullet points.  It makes the text ragged.  And hard to read and follow with your eyes.

8. BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt 8 Bruce Mayer, PE Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering Basic Rules for Presentations Balance.  Generally, left-justify bullets.  This keeps things neat..  and easy to follow.

9. BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt 9 Bruce Mayer, PE Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering Basic Rules for Presentations Balance. Centered graphics leave little room for text.

10. BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt 10 Bruce Mayer, PE Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering Basic Rules for Presentations Balance. Place graphics off-center. More room for text. Better balance. More pleasing to the eye. Left placement leads the eye to the text.

11. BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt 11 Bruce Mayer, PE Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering Basic Rules- Capitalization AVOID ALL CAPS – VERY HARD TO READ. First Cap – More Formal Harder To Type And More Decisions. This is an example of capitalizing the first word. Less formal. Easier to type and fewer decisions.

12. BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt 12 Bruce Mayer, PE Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering Use Restraint With Fonts  Employ only a few..stick to familiar fonts  Stay away from gimmicky fonts unless for a theme.  Keep type sizes consistent.  Serif vs. Sans Serif.  DON’T USE ALL CAPS.

13. BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt 13 Bruce Mayer, PE Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering Choose Fonts Wisely  Italics are more difficult to read.  Use bold when you want some words to stand out.  Font size Easy to read (18 pt) Easy to read (24 pt) Easy to read (32 pt) Easy to read (48 pt)

14. BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt 14 Bruce Mayer, PE Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering Avoid Text Overload  Having too much text on the screen can defeat the purpose of using PowerPoint. The slides begin to look like a jumble of text, making slides difficult to read and unrecognizable from each other. People will either try to read everything or copy everything down or they will lose interest. List only the key points. If you have more info to include use more slides or create handouts.

15. BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt 15 Bruce Mayer, PE Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering Use Solid Colors instead of fill Patterns on Charts  Patterns on bars or pie slices cause confusion.  Solid colors convey a clear bold message

16. BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt 16 Bruce Mayer, PE Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering Use Simple Tables to Present Numbers Try not to make footnotes too small

17. BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt 17 Bruce Mayer, PE Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering Basic Rules That You Must Have to Have a Good Presentation. One of the most common mistakes in creating a presentation is to place too much information on the screen. This can cause the reader to become distracted from the speaker…just like you are now. Audiences are much more receptive to the spoken word.

18. BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt 18 Bruce Mayer, PE Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering Basic Presentation Mistakes. Too much information. Reader gets distracted Audiences are much more receptive to the spoken word.

19. BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt 19 Bruce Mayer, PE Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering Basic Rules Keep it simple..  Make bulleted points easy to read.  Keep text easy to understand.  Use concise wording.  Bullets are focal points.  Presenter provides elaboration.  Keep font size large.

20. BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt 20 Bruce Mayer, PE Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering Basic Power Point Guidelines  Use builds…don’t give them too much info at once.  Stick with the same transition.  Be creative but leave some color choices to professionals.  Six words per line.  Six lines per page.

21. BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt 21 Bruce Mayer, PE Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering Choosing a Color Scheme  Stick with power point defaults.  What may look good on your computer may be unreadable when projected.  Remember to use strong, contrasting colors.

22. BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt 22 Bruce Mayer, PE Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering Use Contrasting Colors  Light colors on dark background. Dark colors on light background.

23. BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt 23 Bruce Mayer, PE Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering Clip Art & Graphics  A few excellent graphics are better than many poor ones.  Photographs can be powerful.  Use sparingly!

24. BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt 24 Bruce Mayer, PE Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering Religious leader Civil rights activist Author Poet Minister

25. BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt 25 Bruce Mayer, PE Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering Martin Luther King Jr. Religious leader Civil rights activist Author Poet Minister

26. BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt 26 Bruce Mayer, PE Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering Some Comments  The Previous Tips are Good for General Interest Presentations  6 Words per Line, 6 Line per Slide is Easy to Follow, But Builds a NON-Archival Slide –If Handouts are Made, Audience MUST MAKE NOTES  This is at Least as Distracting as too Much Text Slide Set is not FREE STANDING

27. BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt 27 Bruce Mayer, PE Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering Comments cont  You Don’t Want the Medium to Overwhelm the Message, But…  Presentation Should Show Respect for the Audience by Being NEAT and Well ORGANIZED Rehearsed Ahead of time if Needed Made Available Either –In HardCopy –OnLIne

28. BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt 28 Bruce Mayer, PE Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering Comments Cont.  Technical Presentations Tend to be Graphics-Heavy c.f. The Auto Emissions Presentation  The MOST Difficult Task in Slide Construction → Balancing Information Overload –The slides look “Busy” Insufficient Information