Creating a "professional" presentation with Microsoft PowerPoint or similar programs

[Duckster]

Hey Smogon! I have a question for any of you who have done well in highschool or have faced similar challenges in College.

I've had to make several Powerpoint presentations already this year for various subjects (Tourism, History, Geography, etcetera), yet what seems to happen every time is that even though my mark is usually quite respectable, I can't honestly look at my presentation and say that it would be feasible anywhere outside a classroom setting. I have enough experience with the program to make a slide show, however it seems that my artistic capabilites are hindering me from acheiving that A+ grade.

Problems I face when using the program are often as minor as what background I should choose, and more often than not I seem to pick the wrong one. An example would be choosing a detailed image to set as my background then inserting text overtop. If you've ever used this program I think you'd understand how dark text on any image turns out quite illegible, however using any font colour other than black seems a little childish in my opnion (unless its solid for the whole presentation, and not like, lime green). Another thing I just simply can't do is have a good mix of images and text on a single slide. And after its all done my finals projects always look rather gimmicky.

Because of this most of my presentations usually turn into parodies of themselves in the end, and even if the information and the mark is sufficient, I can't help but wonder what's going to happen if I'm going to need to make one of these things again in University.

Maybe its because I haven't had any professional training with this. Any tips or advice? Or perhaps any tutorials I should know of? Any help would be greatly appreciated, as well as similar troubles you might have with presentations even if they aren't slideshow related! Thanks Smogon!

 

[Shiv]

From personal experience, I always prefer to keep presentations simple. I use at best one of the pre-defined templates in Microsoft Powerpoint and as long as you don't overclutter any of the pages, it does pretty well. 3-4 bullet points max per page and it looks really good!

 

[User 12783]

PowerPoints should mostly and only be used as a visual aid. You shouldn't be reading off them or having any sentences on them, that is why there are stuff, such as an essay or report. You should just use a simple pre-defined template already on Microsoft PowerPoint and a picture or a couple of pictures on each slide. Then you present all the information not the PowerPoint.

 

[Doomsday]

I agree with Sikh, though I do like to include a very summarized text of whatever I'm presenting so people can write down stuff easier, but that's what I usually do. Mostly pics, some little easy text on the side here and there.

EDIT: I also like to include some comic relief by the middle or on the end of the presentation!

 

[Brain]

From experience, especially from actually looking at presentations:

- Background should be plain and not vivid. Subtle gradients are fine too, but nothing distracting. If you think you or your professor may want to print out the slides for some reason, definitely pick white.
- Text should be high contrast with the background. Ideally black. You can use other dark colors for emphasis or titles, but do it parsimoniously.
- Not too much text on a slide. Points should be short, almost telegraphic.
- All images should be pertinent. It should be possible for you to say something about each of them, even if you choose not to. Corollary: no cliparts.
- No transition animations. Ever.
- Presentation should be consistent (always the same layout, same colors, same font size as much as possible).

Pre-defined templates are usually good enough. Basically, a good presentation should support your speech, it should not detract from it. Background images, cliparts, transition animations and unnecessary images are distracting, which is why it's best not to use them. Long sentences are also distracting because while they read them, people will be less receptive to what you say.

 

[Blue Ditto]

Follow the advice above. Although, if you're adamant about using an image for a background, I'd suggest filling in the textboxes with color and making it somewhat transparent. That way, you can keep your black font (which won't be transparent if you're worried about that), and it'll be readable, but you can still somewhat see the image in the back and everything works out.

As for how to do it...I don't remember the exact details but on one of your toolbars you can add the button "fill in" or something of the sort; click a textbox once and then click that button and it'll be like filling in the background for a slide. Something like that...

 

[Aeolus]

I'd just really like to emphasize Brain's point about limiting the amount of text on a each slide. I've read articles that go to the extreme of "no more than four words per slide." Personally I think that is a bit to restrictive. Text should be in bullet point format... never a paragraph. You have to be sure that you have more to say than what can be read on the slides.

 

[Duckster]

Thanks for all of your input! I'm convinced that this next presentation I do will utilize a simple layout, because to be honest, all of the best powerpoints I can remember had very simple layouts as well!

I know what makes a good presentation overall, so no worries there. One thing I'm skeptical about though is that my teacher did assign a powerpoint presentation for the class. I'd feel that by keeping it very simplistic and focusing my efforts elsewhere I'd not be doing what I was supposed to do. However, if this program was intended to be used as a simple visual aid and nothing more, then I shouldn't have anything to worry about!

 

[Mekkah]

If you aren't sure if the goal is to present properly or to emphasize the making of a PowerPoint, perhaps ask your teacher?

 

[Proto]

Most of the Powerpoint Presentations I see in high school are down right horrible. Paragraphs of text and the presenter just stands in front of the screen and reads the damn thing...

If you're going with a solid color background (which I highly recommend), stick with a black background and white text, rather than the traditional white background with black text. I find that the words stand out a bit more, and it's not so blinding on the audience's eyes.

Most of my slides consist of the standard bullet points, and they usually don't form complete sentences and are just phrases to elaborate upon. On the side that doesn't have any text, I usually have an image or chart directly relating to the information I'm talking about. Please, for the love of god, do not use clip art. It really makes your slide show look and feel more juvenile and it doesn't help explain the information.

As for slide transitions, I personally never use them. When I move to a fresh slide, the only thing showing is the title. I bring each bullet point up individually with a simple fade in animation. I find that having all the bullets at once distracts the audience from your actual presentation, and it's really a simple thing to avoid.

I guess the most important thing to remember is that a PowerPoint is only a tool to help you with your presentation, and that you are still the person giving the information to the class.