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Powerpoint:: Avoiding Death by Bullet Point

This document provides guidance on effectively using PowerPoint presentations. It recommends: - Limiting slides to 6 bullet points with 6 words each to reduce cognitive overload - Using a large font size of 28 points for readability - Choosing high contrast color combinations like white text on a blue background - Keeping designs simple with minimal text and clear, relevant images - Restricting slides to 2 minutes of talk time each to maintain audience engagement The overall message is that PowerPoint should enhance presentations without replacing clear explanations or overwhelming viewers with excessive content. Concise, visually appealing slides can help structure talks if used appropriately.

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95 views19 pages

Powerpoint:: Avoiding Death by Bullet Point

This document provides guidance on effectively using PowerPoint presentations. It recommends: - Limiting slides to 6 bullet points with 6 words each to reduce cognitive overload - Using a large font size of 28 points for readability - Choosing high contrast color combinations like white text on a blue background - Keeping designs simple with minimal text and clear, relevant images - Restricting slides to 2 minutes of talk time each to maintain audience engagement The overall message is that PowerPoint should enhance presentations without replacing clear explanations or overwhelming viewers with excessive content. Concise, visually appealing slides can help structure talks if used appropriately.

Uploaded by

daspark
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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PowerPoint:

avoiding death by bullet point

Adam Warren

[email protected]
02380 594486

Learning and Teaching


Enhancement Unit
Edward Tufte

"Particularly disturbing is the


adoption of the PowerPoint
cognitive style in our schools.
Rather than learning to write a
report using sentences, children
are being taught how to
formulate client pitches and
infomercials.”
emergent properties

• deep hierarchy
– slide headings
simplisic
• bullet points thinking

enforced linear sequence


and also…

a crutch for presenters instead of a


a crutch for scaffold for learners
presenters instead
of a scaffold for
learners
• too many slides
• bad slide design
• unreadable text
a seductive technology • poor use of colour
that encourages style • plain text only
over content
• distracting effects
Why use PowerPoint?

• Provide structure
• Emphasise key points
• Show visual information
• Integrate multimedia
• Look professional
• Assist delivery
• Create handouts
How many slides?

• One slide = two minutes


• Plus Title and End slide
• Too many slides = ?
Too much text!

• One slide = two minutes talking


– this is a guideline, not a rule – but having 20
slides for a 20 minute talk:
• increases the risk that your ‘talk’ is reduced to
you reading out a list of bullet points
• increases the risk that you talk too long about
the earlier slides and run out of time
• increases the risk that you have to skip over
some slides to reach your conclusions
Keep it simple

• Six points per slide


• Six words per point

• Don’t overload slides


– use more, simple slides
Keep it readable

• Font size = 28 points


– 24 points is OK
– 18 point is too small

• Use easy-to-read fonts:


– Serif fonts like Palatino or Georgia
– Sans Serif fonts like Arial or Verdana
– Cursive fonts like Comic Sans
Keep it clear

• Use high-contrast colours


– mid-tones do not show up well
– avoid bright red
– colour-blind people
confuse red and green

• Use colour or bold or italic for emphasis


– CAPITALS and underline are hard to read
Black on white

• Very high contrast


• Visual stress
• Glare with data projectors
Off-white background

• Reduces contrast
• Reduces glare
• Gradients look good
White on blue

• Classic choice
• Minimal glare
• Yellow text also good
Be consistent

• Backgrounds
• Fonts
• Colours
• Transitions
• Less is More
Use strong images

You don’t need


to be an artist to
create simple
graphics – this
is just circles
and rectangles 75% of the world’s people

6% of the world health expenditure


Use photographs

Make sure they are


relevant to your talk and
are not simply decoration

This sculpture on the


Highfield campus is
Two Figures by
Barbara Hepworth
(Bronze, 1968)
Show trends, not data
e-Learning Techniques
% of tutors who use e-learning
0.0 20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0

static admin info


resources to support f2f
This chart was
esources that deliver syllabus
imported from
sources that support syllabus Excel.
course admin comms It needed some
comms to support learning editing to make
formative assessment the text large
useful %
summative assessment enoughnot to read%
useful
e-Learning in f2f sessions

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