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Using PowerPoint

This is important! Your PowerPoint slides are NOT your presentation. They are an OUTLINE of the ideas, topics, and/or main points you will discuss throughout your presentation.


Keep Information Brief and to the Point

  • Be mindful not to display all your information on your slides
  • Your audience will read what you have written, but the more words you have, the more time they will spend reading and not focused on you
  • Help your audience keep focused on you by providing brief and to the point information
  • Only list about five points/slide and reveal each point one at a time, so your audience knows exactly where their attention should be focused


Font Size

  • Use a font size of at least 18
  • This ensures those audience members sitting in the back will be able read the information on your slides


Colour

  • You can totally use colour in your presentation, but make sure it isn’t distracting
  • You want your audience to be focused on YOU, not the bright pink butterflies in the corner
  • Use colour to highlight titles, major points, or to show how information is organized and/or related

    EX: A major point is displayed in dark blue with a sub-topic point in dark grey


Pictures and Visual Aids

  • Your audience will find pictures and visual aids more engaging than text
  • However, make sure these visual aids (pictures, graphs, cartoons, etc.) have a reason to be included in your presentation (i.e., They are related to the information you are discussing)


Be Aware of Plagiarism

  • If you do include words, a visual aid, or anything else that is not a product of your own thoughts, you need to cite it just as you would in a paper
  • Include a little line of information at the bottom of the slide noting the source


Proofread

  • Just as you would with other assignments, be sure to proofread your slides before putting that information on display


You can check out Slides Carnival for additional, free PowerPoint templates. They have lots of engaging and clean templates meant for professional presentation.

Cuseo, Joseph B, Aaron Thompson, Michele Campagna, Viki Sox Fecas. Thriving in College and Beyond: Research-Based Strategies for Academic Success and Personal Development. Dubuque: Kendall Hunt Publishing Company, 2016.