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Tips to Create Powerful PowerPoint Presentations
Tips to Create Professional PowerPoint
Presentations
By Sharon Housley
Presentations are an integral and important
part of any business. Whether designed for training
purposes, introducing new products, or discussing corporate
hierarchy, PowerPoint presentations serve a valuable
purpose in both the business world and in the educational
fields. In order to maximize a presentation's impact,
it needs to be polished and well executed. The following
tips can aid you in taking your PowerPoint presentation
to the next level.
Use Templates
There are a number of websites that provide
professional-quality PowerPoint templates at very reasonable
prices. Match the template's theme to the topic that
you are speaking about. If you are unable to locate
an appropriately-themed template, use a generic template
that contains professional quality graphics and images.
For example, templates can be found at "PPT Templates"
( http://www.ppt-templates.net
)
Contrast
In order for the audience to discern the
text contained on the slide, be sure to contrast the
colors used in the presentation. That way, the text
will be easy to distinguish from the background. Avoid
using colors that blend into the background or that
are difficult to see, such as yellow.
Bullets
In the presentation, use bullets as talking
points. Resist the temptation to fill the PowerPoint
slides with excessive text. Graphical Presentations
should be graphical in nature. Use charts and graphs
to illustrate concepts and ideas, and to show data results.
Graphs are far more powerful for illustrating trends
or surprising results than mere words can be.
Consistent
Each slide in a presentation should have
a consistent look and feel. Use the same fonts, colors,
and backgrounds throughout the presentation. The continuity
of the presentation will give it a professional appearance.
Type Face
The easiest fonts to read are Sans-Serif
fonts. The fonts used in the presentation should be
large enough to be seen from the audience, and a minimum
font size of 32 is usually recommended. Dark text on
a light background is typically the easiest for audience
members to read.
Relevant
It goes without saying the PowerPoint
presentation should contain relevant information that
is topical in nature.
Minimize Transitions
Presentation software can now do all
sorts of fancy and creative scene transitions. But in
business-related situations, most presenters will want
their audience to focus on the content of the presentation,
rather than on fancy graphic transitions. In order to
keep the focus where it should be, minimize the use
of transitions and animations within the presentation.
Limit
Don't over-do the slides, and do not make
too many slides. At a minimum, you should be able to
speak about each slide for one full minute or more.
Include URL
If you are presenting a business presentation,
be sure to include your website URL on all slides. The
URL can be included subtly and unobtrusively in the
bottom-right or bottom-left corner. By including your
URL on each slide, your identity and brand will be passed
along as well if the slides are later printed and circulated
to others.
Test The Presentation
It is important to actually test your
presentation visually on a projector and screen if possible,
rather than testing it only on a computer monitor. The
projected visuals appearing on large screens can often
be drastically different than they appear on a computer
monitor, especially if cheaper or less-powerful projectors
are being used. For example, text and background colors
may look just fine on the computer monitor, but may
not be nearly as visible and readable when projected
to a large screen.
Presentations are common place, but they
are not always professional. Use the above tips to maximize
the impact of your PowerPoint presentation.
About the Author:
Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.com
software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds
and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for
RecordForAll http://www.recordforall.com
audio recording and editing software.
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be greatly appreciated send an email to sharon@notepage.net
.
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