Sometimes it sucks to be an audience to a drawn-out and boring slideshow. It sucks, even more, when you are the one presenting it. The fact is, bad PowerPoint presentation happens a lot, and more often than not, the presenter is as much of a victim as the souls listening to the long onslaught meted on the topic at hand. You need to know how to prepare for and come up with an excellent PowerPoint presentation. The following tips are going to be helpful to you, especially if you have at one point experienced frustration from a poor PowerPointpresentation.
- Formulate a script
PowerPoint presentation requires preparation and planning, the way you would for an essay. Most of the presentations in PowerPoint for not have rhyme or reason. As such, you need to make yours stand out from the rest. The idea of using PowerPoint is to create an illustration and expand on what you are talking about to the audience. Know what you want to say and identify the best way to visualize it. Even if you are an expert, outlining your presentation is crucial especially when you are putting the slides together.
Ensure that your script follows good story-telling techniques. In other words, you give at a beginning, middle and a conclusion. You can have an arch that builds up to a clear and scintillating climax. Let the audience anticipate the next slide to find what next and leave them drooling for more.
2. Deal with one thing at a time
What the audience sees on the screen should be the one that you are talking about. Audiences tend to read the screen as soon as the slide comes on. If you have three or four points that you are making, the audience will be several steps ahead of you as they wait for you to catch up instead of listening to what you are saying. You can plan your presentation such that points can be revealed one point at a time. Charts can appear in the subsequent slides and be referenced when you get data displays. Remember you are controlling the flow of information so that you are in sync with your audience.
3. Avoid paragraphs
Sometimes authors put everything they want in one slide, making the presentation clumsy and boring. The slides illustrate your presentation. They are meant to underscore what you are saying. As such, you should refrain from using paragraphs in your PowerPoint presentation. These programs have functions that display notes on the presenter’s screen that is not sent to the projector. Alternatively, you can use note cards, a separate word processor document, or memory. If for some reason you put it on your presentation, do not stand with your back facing the audience to read it.
4. Design is crucial
You need to pay attention to the design. PowerPoint presentation has different ways to avoid visual flashes toyour slide. Do not dress up your page with effects but focus on the simpledesign basics. You can:
- Use san serif on the body text with fonts like Arial or Calibri
- Use decorative fonts only for headings on the slide and only if they are easily legible
- Put dark text on a bright background
- Alight text to the left or right
- Avoid clutter that is a headline, a few bullet points and maybe an image. Anything else makes the slide too clumsy.
5. Use the images sparingly
Images added visual interest and engaged the audience. Others feel that they are a distraction. As such, you should use images only when necessary and add important information or cement your point. When using PowerPoint, refrain from utilizing the built-in clipart.
6. Think outside your slides
Your slides are only part of your presentation, not the major part. Think of your presentation manner, like how you hold yourself, your outfit, and your movements around the room. During your presentation, you are the focus, irrespective of how aesthetic and interesting your slides look.
7. Give it a gook
Like any form of writing, you have to capture the attention of your audience using a good hook. You can open with an intriguing remark or something that will instantly clue the attention of your audience to what you are saying.
8. Ask questions
Questions pique curiosity and arouse the attention of your audience. They also engage the audience, so if possible, ask them. A question and answer session can go a long way.
9. Break the rules
If there is a good and compelling reason for you to do this, then it is acceptable.
Always speak as if you are conversing with a friend. Keep up a lively and personable tone, and if that is hard, you can practice before you make your presentation. Take a public speaking class to
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