Post on 13-Jan-2016
Melanie Clay, University of West Georgia
Powerpointless
Waving Goodbye to Bad Presentations
Why We Love Powerpoint
Appeals to visual
interest
Organizes thoughts
So very easy to use
(and abuse)
PP Complaints Survey
Speaker reads
slides
Text too small
Full sentences
More Powerpoint Torture
Bad color choice
Moving/flying text
Annoying sounds
Just a delay
Let’s Make it REALLY UGLY
Only have to break
2-3 rules
Be inefficient, too!
Bad slides coming
up next
Important Characteristics of UGLINESS & POINTLESSNESS
Variety
Lots of
pictures
Visual and
sound
effects
REMEMBER: These are things NOT to do!
ANYTHING Goes with Text
Make it pretty and make it colorful.
THE SKY IS THE LIMIT
There are so many wonderful fonts to
choose from in Microsoft PowerPoint, so why
not just use them all?????????
REMEMBER: These are things NOT to do!
SPECIAL EFFECTS
Learn transitions and USE THEM!
Remember variety is the spice
And don’t forget the more pictures, the
better, too
REMEMBER: These are things NOT to do!
And the coolest tool of all:
YOU CAN USE THE LITTLE TYPEWRITER
TRANSITION TOOL WHEN YOU WANT TO SAY
EVERYTHING ON ONE SINGLE SLIDE – IT REALLY
DOESN’T MATTER HOW MANY WORDS YOU USE
– JUST MAKE THE FONT SMALL IF YOU NEED TO
– AND THEN YOUR READERS CAN HEAR THE
COOL TYPEWRITER SOUND AS THEY READ ALL
THE LITTLE WORDS. FOLKS REMEMBER THIS IS
A JOKE – Please don’t do this!
REMEMBER: These are things NOT to do!
Hot Tips for Great Text
Joy of Six
Six words per line
Six lines per slide
24-48 points
Usually no
punctuation
More Swell Text Tips
Contrast with
background
Please no fancy
fonts
AVOID ALL CAPS
Art & Graphics
Balance the slide
Complement, not
overwhelm text
No more than 2 per
page
White space is okay
Should create
feeling
Avoid glib clipart
Think photos or
artwork
Keep graphs &
charts simple and
readable
More on Art
Your Personal Style
Avoid the canned look
Keep it simpleKeep it consistent
Four Final Thoughts
Avoid distractions
Don’t read: connect
Timing – 3 slides/min
Persuasion not flash