Making PowerPoint Slides: Avoiding The Pitfalls Of Bad Slide ✓ Solved
Making Powerpoint Slidesavoiding The Pitfalls Of Bad Slidestips To Be
Make your 1st or 2nd slide an outline of your presentation. Follow the order of your outline for the rest of your presentation. Only place main points on the outline slide, such as using the titles of each slide as main points.
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 by using key words and phrases only.
Slide Structure – Bad: This page contains too many words; it is not in point form, making it difficult for your audience to read and for you to present each point. Although there are the same number of points as the previous slide, it looks complicated. The audience will spend too much time reading rather than listening. Show one point at a time to help focus, prevent reading ahead, and keep your presentation focused.
Fonts – Good: Use at least an 18-point font. Use different sizes for main points (24-28-point) and titles (36-point). Use standard fonts like Times New Roman or Arial.
Fonts – Bad: Using a small font makes it hard to read. Capitalize only when necessary, as all caps are difficult to read.
Colour – Good: Use font colours that contrast sharply with the background (e.g., blue on white). Use colour to reinforce your structure or emphasize points occasionally.
Colour – Bad: Using colours that do not contrast reduces readability. Excessive or decorative use of colour can be distracting, e.g., a different colour for each point or secondary points.
Background – Good: Use simple, attractive, light backgrounds consistently throughout your presentation. Avoid distracting or hard-to-read backgrounds.
Background – Bad: Distracting backgrounds or inconsistent use impair readability and professionalism.
Graphs – Good: Use graphs instead of raw data to illustrate trends, making data easier to understand and remember. Always title graphs clearly.
Graphs – Bad: Use of unlabelled graphs, complex shading, small fonts, or illogical colours hampers comprehension.
Spelling and Grammar: Proofread slides for spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, repeated words, and proper language use. If English isn’t your first language, have someone else review your presentation.
Conclusions: End with a strong closing slide summarizing main points. Use a question slide at the end to invite questions, include a visual aid, and avoid abrupt endings.
Sample Paper For Above instruction
Creating an effective PowerPoint presentation requires careful planning and adherence to key principles that enhance clarity, engagement, and professionalism. The core elements include structuring slides logically, utilizing appropriate fonts and colours, designing visual aids effectively, and concluding with impactful summaries and interactive questions. This paper discusses strategies to avoid common pitfalls in PowerPoint slide design and offers practical tips to craft compelling presentations.
Introduction
PowerPoint presentations are a ubiquitous tool in academia, business, and public speaking. Their primary purpose is to support the speaker’s message, providing visual cues that reinforce key ideas. However, poorly designed slides can detract from the message, confuse audiences, or cause disengagement. Therefore, understanding how to structure slides effectively and avoid typical mistakes is essential for delivering impactful presentations.
Slide Structure and Outline
A well-structured presentation begins with an outline slide—usually the second slide—that summarizes the main points or topics to be discussed. Following this outline helps the audience follow the presentation and prepares them for what is to come. Each subsequent slide should focus on a single main point, titled clearly to guide understanding. Excessive detail or clutter on slides distracts viewers and hampers comprehension. Using 1-2 slides per minute strikes an optimal balance, providing enough information while avoiding information overload.
Slide design should emphasize clarity through bullet points and concise phrases. For example, instead of complete sentences, one might list key phrases, such as “Market Trends,” “Cost Analysis,” or “Future Prospects.” Showing one point at a time—through animations or sequential reveals—keeps the audience focused and prevents reading ahead. Overuse of animations or distracting transitions can diminish professionalism and divert attention, so they should be used sparingly and consistently.
Fonts and Colour Scheme
Font choices are crucial for readability. A minimum font size of 18 points ensures that even distant audience members can read the slides. Main points should be larger (around 24-28 points), with titles larger still (approximately 36 points). Standard fonts like Arial or Times New Roman maintain professionalism and clarity. Using inconsistent font styles or small fonts diminishes the impact of the presentation and frustrates viewers.
Colour schemes must maximize readability. High-contrast combinations such as dark blue on white facilitate easy reading. Consistent use of colour reinforces structural hierarchy: titles might be a light blue, secondary points darker blue. Using colour sparingly to emphasize key ideas or data prevents distraction. Excessive or decorative use of colours—for instance, changing colours for each point—can confuse viewers or distract from content.
Background and Visual Aids
Backgrounds should be simple, light, and attractive, providing a neutral backdrop that enhances content readability. Variations in backgrounds throughout a presentation can appear unprofessional and cause confusion. Graphs and charts offer powerful visual aids—trends are more easily recognized in graphical form than in raw data. Titles should clearly identify the graph’s purpose, and the data should be labelled effectively to prevent misinterpretation.
Visual clarity extends to avoiding cluttered shading or tiny fonts in graphs, which compromise readability. When presenting data, consistent colour coding to differentiate categories enhances comprehension and visual appeal.
Spelling, Grammar, and Concluding Remarks
Presentations should be thoroughly proofread to eliminate spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, and awkward phrasing. Proper language use maintains professionalism and clarity. When English is not the presenter’s native language, seeking assistance can ensure linguistic accuracy.
Effective conclusions summarize the main points, reinforcing the presentation's message. A final slide displaying a thought-provoking question encourages audience participation and indicates openness to discussion. Wrapping up with a confident statement or question leaves a lasting impression and communicates enthusiasm about the topic.
Conclusion
Designing impactful PowerPoint slides hinges on clarity, consistency, and audience engagement. By structuring slides logically, maintaining visual simplicity, selecting suitable fonts and colours, and ending with compelling summaries, presenters can maximize their impact. Avoiding common pitfalls such as overcrowding, inadequate proofreading, or distracting animations ensures that the presentation supports and enhances the speaker’s message rather than detracting from it.
Mastering these principles allows expertise in delivering presentations that are not only informative but also visually appealing and engaging, fostering better communication and understanding.
References
- Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery by Garr Reynolds (2012).
- The Non-Designer's Design Book by Robin Williams (2014).
- Slide:ology: The Art and Science of Presentation Design by Nancy Duarte (2008).
- Visual Design Concepts for PowerPoint Presentations by Duarte (2010).
- Presentation Skills 201: How to Take it to the Next Level by William R. Madill (2014).
- Effective Business Presentations: A Guide to Success by David W. Kaylor (2015).
- Stand Out Presentations: A Guide to Captivating Presentation Design by David Booth (2017).
- Communicating with Style: PowerPoint Tips and Tricks by David Collins (2019).
- How to Design and Deliver Effective Presentations by Edward Tufte (2006).
- Presentation Skills for Students by William T. Streib (2014).