Writing efficient slides
PPT Slide Author: N. Devilez
Cette photo par Auteur inconnu est soumise à la licence CC BY
1. Are my slides visual aids and not
visual impediments?
Crucial
considerations • clear and visible with good
contrast
when writing
slides • font size large enough to read
from back of room
• figures/images fill the slide
(minimal wasted space)
• LIMITED amount of slides
(ideally 1 to 2 per minute)
2. How much text is too much text?
• Remember that your audience
Crucial will be listening AND watching
considerations • If you put up a slide with lots of
words, most people will focus on
when writing reading instead of listening to
you. Also, you may get tempted
slides to start reading your slides!
ALWAYS ASK YOURSELF:
• Do I need full sentences on this
slide?
• Would a single phrase or even
one word be sufficient, given
that I can explain it verbally?
3. Aren’t images more appropriate to
convey information?
Crucial
OF COURSE, THEY ARE!
considerations
when writing • In some cases, you may not need
text at all!
slides
• With pictures, the audience is able
to continue listening more easily
while they view the slide.
• As long as pictures can prompt you
to make the points you need to
make, they are a great way to reduce
the text clutter in a presentation.
4. Should the tables/graphs/images
designed specifically for a PPT
presentation and not simply copied
Crucial and pasted from texts or
manuscripts?
considerations BULLSEYE!
when writing • Data slides must be clearly
slides explained and articulated, e.g.,
axes, units, error bars, statistical
tests
• Pixelized images are the worst,
choose good definitions!
• Recreate the figures if they are not
clear, are of different colours, etc.,
to create harmony
• You cannot afford to be lazy in this
section; we’re talking about your
results!
5. Should you be the one controlling
the pace of new information?
Crucial YES, ABSOLUTELY!
considerations
when writing • With a book, the reader controls
the pace. In your presentation, you
slides do.
• If you want to make sure that quick
readers don’t get ahead of the
points you’ll be talking about, don’t
provide all of your text at once.
• Instead, animate each line or bullet
point so it appears when you’re
ready to discuss it.
5. Should you be the one controlling
the pace of new information?
Crucial ONCE AGAIN, IT IS VITAL!
considerations • Be careful that your title doesn’t
reveal the conclusion of the slide.
when writing
slides • E.g., if you bring up a slide that is
entitled “Protein A is required for
proper heart function”, the
audience will immediately know
the results of your experiments
• Consider mentioning your research
question or your experiments
instead. That way you can lead the
audience through the data and
provide the conclusion at the end.
6. The Captain Obvious corner:
more suggestions
• If you are using text (for example, a
Crucial bulleted list), be sure that the text is
easy for the audience to read.
considerations
when writing • Check carefully for spelling errors,
which can be very distracting to the
slides audience.
• Consider adding some space
between lines or paragraphs (an
empty 10 pt line is quite effective).
• Watch your parallel structure. If
most items in your list are full
sentences, make sure all items are
full sentences. (Note that this list
includes items that all start with a
verb.)
6. The Captain Obvious corner:
more suggestions
• Choose a font that looks professional and
clear (aka NOT Comic Sans) and a large
Crucial font size whenever possible. Just because
something can easily be read while
considerations sitting at your computer doesn’t mean it
when writing will be visible to the audience in the back
of a large room.
slides
• While there is no firm rule, aim for at
least a font size of 24 (except if it is only
meant to be consulted on a computer,
like for this slideshow J)
• Overall, remember that your slides don’t
have to explain themselves
• Finally, remember that a good
presentation requires a good presenter
to fill in the important details for the
audience.
References
• https://www.aje.com/arc/writing-slides-for-your-research-presentation/
• Judging Criteria for 14th IEC Student Presentation Awards
