Death by PowerPoint

The ultimate dull

life experience

Have you ever been an audience participant viewing an endless PowerPoint presentation...
counting minutes and slides until the ordeal is finally over? Your only hope is that you haven’t
snored too loudly.
If you are in a position that involves some type of public speaking, using PowerPoint, consider
some of the following tips to avoid this calamity yourself. The appreciation of your audience will
be truly heartfelt.

What a presentation should do STAGE 1: Before you begin

Preview or review Know your subject
Tell them what is coming, or tell them what you · Read
have covered. · Research
Outline or elaborate · Takes notes
Show the main topics, or give additional details · Organize your thoughts
for a topic. · Put an outline on paper
Inform
Give them information but don’t overwhelm What is your intent
them with your wealth of knowledge. · Are you trying to persuade, convince, or
sway opinions?
· Are you going to inform, tell them this is how
it is done, or instruct?
The three stages of a presentation · Are you calling them to action, convince them
to take up a cause, or to get involved?
Before you begin
Before sitting down at the computer, plan and
organize your thoughts and topics.
During the creation process
What should you consider as you start to design
your actual presentation?
· Creating slides
· Adding a template design
· Adding animation
· Adding transitions
As you present
What should you consider during the delivery
process?

Death by PowerPoint Page 1 Created by Gwen Woods,

UMKC IS Training & Communications
Death by PowerPoint UMKC IS Training & Communications

STAGE 2: During the creation process Consider the audience when working
with fonts.
Consider the content and purpose · Limit the different types of fonts
used per presentation to three.
Fonts
Have I clearly defined my purpose? · A good rule of thumb is to use a
Define the main purpose for this presentation. serif font (type with flourishes i.e.
Have I outlined the pertinent issues or Times New Roman) for the title and Fonts
topics? a sans serif font (without flourish-
Organize the topics to be covered. Make sure es i.e. Arial) for the body or vice Fonts
the topics are in logical order. versa.
Have I focused on quality and not quan- · Consider using fonts within fami- Fonts
tity? lies for emphasis and variety (i.e.
Do not create too much verbal “fluff”. More Arial, Arial Black, Arial Narrow, Arial Fonts
actually can be said with less. People who don’t Rounded MT Bold).
know the topic tend to dance around the sub- · Font size should be at least 18 Fonts
ject, and not address the topic head-on. points. The default sizes are
- Titles - 44 points Fonts
- Text - 32 points
Design Issues - Subtext - 28 points
Fonts
· DO NOT USE ALL CAPS. This for-
Create the basic presentation mat is very difficult to read. After
seven consecutive capitalized Fonts
Create the basic presentation in black and
white, using the default template with no frills. words, the audience is forced to
Make sure your intended message is conveyed reread. Fonts
before adding backgrounds, animations, and · Use a font appropriate for the
transitions. audience. A script font would not Fonts
be suitable for a group of
Consider the audience when choosing wrestlers.
backgrounds
Consider the environment of the room in which Intersperse graphics with text slides
you will be presenting. Will it be dark? Use a Have no more than three contiguous text slides.
light colored background with dark text. Will the The audience will begin to lose interest. Insert
room be light? Use a dark background with light an appropriate graphic or chart.
text.
Keep bullet slides minimal
Consider the audience when choosing a Do NOT enter your entire speech. Try to limit
color scheme each bullet or text slide to no more than six
Use a color scheme that is fitting for the audi- lines with six words per line (try to keep each
ence. What a red background might indicate to item on one line). Begin each bullet item with
one group might not hold true with another. The the same part of speech (i.e. noun, verb, adjec-
color red would indicate loss to a financial tive).
group, but a group of nurses would associate it
with healthy blood. The color green would indi- Be consistent
cate profit to the financial group, but would sug- The presentation needs to flow smoothly. If it
gest infection to the nurses. does not, the audience will become distracted.
Use the same background template for each
Do not use slide numbers slide. Use animations and transitions sparingly,
Would you want to know you have endured 58 and limit sound effects. Simple is elegant.
slides and you have 97 to go?

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Death by PowerPoint UMKC IS Training & Communications

Practice, practice, practice Physical Do’s and Don’ts

There is no such animal as too much practice. Do not turn your back to the audience
Know your stuff! Practice in front of a mirror. A backside is not normally a pretty thing. Face
Record or videotape yourself, and then evaulate. the audience.
Practice in front of a family member or friend. Look at the audience
Look around the room slowly as you are speak-
ing. Do not direct your entire presentation
STAGE 3: As you present toward one person. Spread the wealth around.
Do not talk too fast
A fear of public speaking is normal and can Talking too fast shows you are nervous, and you
even be beneficial. As long as you are familiar just want to finish as soon possible. Slow down,
with your subject matter, that should provide and enunciate clearly.
needed confidence. Have fun with your presen- Be aware of your body language.
tation. If you don’t, no one will. Consider Your body language is considered unspoken
humor, if appropriate. words. You communicate non-verbally by using
posture, gestures, facial expressions, and man-
nerisms.
DO
· Stand straight
· Smile
· Relax
· Maintain good eye contact
· Use your hands moderately to express your-
self
DON’T
· Place your hands in your pockets or behind
your back
Are you on the same page? · Fidget
· Cross your arms
Assure active slide is relevant to what · Blink your eyes rapidly
you are talking about · Clear your throat frequently
Don’t talk ahead of the current slide, or advance
while you are still talking about the previous
slide. Make sure what you are talking about is Know your audience
relevant to the current slide contents.
Fill in the gaps in the outlines There are three types of audience members. Try
Your presentation should be an outline. Expand to remember to appeal to all of them.
on these points. Use PowerPoint’s Speaker
Notes feature for your cheat sheet. Visual
Interact with the active slide These folks react to the physical appearance of
Walk over to the slide. Point out objects such as the presentation itself and any graphics includ-
charts, graphs, or diagrams. ed.
Be enthused Auditory
Use voice inflection. Do not talk in a monotone. These people react to the contents and how it is
Convey your interest in the topic to your audi- delivered verbally.
ence. Kinesthetic
These folks react to the emotional impact of the
presentation.

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Death by PowerPoint UMKC IS Training & Communications

The Main Point Theory Interact with the audience

You may be able to use the main point theory. Ask questions
Consider it a miniature introduction, body, and Don’t be afraid to admit that you don’t know an
summary. answer. Volunteer to get back to the person with
the answer, and then do it! This will not dimin-
Tell them what you are going to tell ish your credibility.
them Ask for comments
We are going to learn how to create a new slide Sometimes the comments may be a little tough
in a PowerPoint presentation. on the ego, but they could improve future pre-
Tell them sentations.
Click the New Slide button, and then choose the
appropriate layout.
Tell them what you told them
We have just created a new PowerPoint slide.

Utilize grabbers 90
80
Use any of the following to keep interest flowing
during your presentation: 70
Stories - make sure they are factual. 60
Examples - relevant cases to validify your point. 50
Analogies - similar situations to the current 40
example.
30
Statistics - use charts, graphs or diagrams.
These say more than words, or tables, or 20
spreadsheets. 10
Shock - an element of surprise. 0
Suspense - keep them waiting with baited 1st Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr 4th Qtr 5th Qtr
breath.

Keep it simple!
Occam’s Razor (scientific and theory building)

One should not increase, beyond what is necessary,

the number of entities required to explain anything.

“There are times when expertise leads to wordiness, and the audience is
bombarded with too many long-winded explanations....The greater the
vocabulary, the harder it is to get to the point....For some reason, when
a presenter has a great command of a language, it takes them longer to
get to the heart of the matter.”
Tom Mucciolo, 2001, Using Microsoft PowerPoint 2002, Indianapolis, IN: QUE, p. 492

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