Back to: Effective Presentation Skills
Good visual and audio-visual aids can enhance a presentation to the extent that studies have found increases in information retention of up to 50 percent.
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Bad visual aids can make a presentation unbearably tedious. One major risk is that the presenter becomes secondary to the slides. Do not narrate your PowerPoint. It should not duplicate your verbal presentation. Do not use it as a prompt or script for your own presentation: that is the purpose of private speech notes. Speak to the audience, not the screen: the visuals should support the speaker, not vice versa. Resist stock clipart.
Use visuals to give a big picture quickly: graphics, pictures, cartoons, bar charts, and key words. Use your own words to elaborate. Visuals should be simple, clear, and with a defined purpose: to support the presenter. They should be large enough to be seen by the whole room. Text should be brief and minimal: single words and phrases. While there is text on the screen, the audience will be reading it, not listening to you.
Clear, simple pictures, graphs, charts and illustrations are most effective. Do not crowd the screen: use lots of white space. Animations and reveals should be subtle and used for particular effect. Maintain styles and continuity between slides. Use simple typefaces, and no more than two fonts. If possible, have a colleague turn the pages so you are free to move around and concentrate. Use bold colour. Make eye contact with the audience: do not turn to the screen. Keep up the pace and keep talking as the slides are changed. Practice with them. Make sure they look attractive and professional.
Think laterally with visuals. Consider using a cartoon or striking photograph to illustrate a point rather than writing it out in text bullet points to repeat verbally. Coordinate them carefully with your presentation: don’t confuse the audience by talking on one subject while they are looking at a slide illustrating something else.
PowerPoint: do’s and don’ts
