How to Make a Good Power Point

Personally, I find that power points are an incredible tool for conveying thoughts and data. They are dynamic enough to capture an audiences’ interest but also can lull that same audience to sleep. Consequently, I have found most power point presentations to have a lulling effect rather than a stimulating effect. It isn’t that I find the material that people are presenting innately boring, instead I think it is the methodology in which people present their findings in power points.

First off, people who write short novels on slides should expect to lose their audience. The best bet for a presenter is to condense the information and present it in large-visible fonts which can be read from every angle of the room. The general rule is the less content the better with sacrificing as little quality as possible. I also find that presenters tend to clutter their slides. Again, I think that for design purposes the simpler the slide the better. Audiences can experience the feeling of being overwhelmed when there is a bunch of text, irrelevant clipart, and flashy animations that add nothing to a presentation.

Also, I would do away with slide transitions and animations; I believe that these are childish additions and distract from the overall purpose of the power point as an informative tool rather than a piece of entertainment. Essentially, power points are not bad cartoons which I believe a lot of students make them into. Continuing on this theme of simplicity and clarity, bad power points often falter because they try to be to interactive with an inclusion of a broad range of color schemes and templates. This is a no-no. Color is good, but in my opinion more neutral colors are more satisfying then an array of rainbow colors. Staying with a beige-brownish color is a more “classy” and articulated design then hot-pink and dragonfly-blue. Simplicity, is more elegant and soothing which should attract the readers’ attention rather than distract.

In contrast, good power points have a design which is constant throughout the entirety of the works. It doesn’t deviate. Instead it keeps the same font, the same background, and the same neutral color schemes. Another important pointer is that the power point should be appropriate. Don’t bombard the audience with irrelevant smiley faces and avoid using clipart. Instead use pictures and diagrams pertinent to the data. This should give the power point a more professional feel. I also find short hyperlink videos to be a useful and dynamic way to grab the attention of your audience. Good power points find short relevant clips which support a conclusion or idea of the power point. It also validates your claims by showing the audience that you are not making everything up and have factual support. Also, inclusion of hyperlinks and references during the power point further the notion of validity. Another satisfying and professional approach to better your power point is to include various slide formats. Don’t change the overall theme or design instead change layout so you can incorporate diagrams, pictures, sub-titles, graphs, and charts.

In summary the following are things to avoid in making a power point:
(1) Too many colors – more distracting then attractive
(2) Difficult to read font – audience looses interest
(3) Long text or too many bullets - audience looses interest
(4) Clipart and animations
(5) Slide transitions

Also, five good pointers for a presentation
(1) Condense text – easy, readable, pertinent
(2) Make sure all included items are relevant and appropriate
(3) Be “Professional”
(4) Simplicity and Clarity over Quantity