Don’t Overuse Effects or Overcrowd Slides.
o Don’t let people focus on the “gee whiz” aspects of your program. You want them to focus on the content of your presentation and on you as the deliverer of that content.
o Use your slides to illustrate your speech, not to replace your handouts. Don’t cram them with information that belongs in a handout.
o Limit your points on a slide to 3 to 6 points.
o Avoid sub-headings. Instead, break major points into separate slides.
o Stick with the same backgrounds, styles and transition effects throughout your presentation.
o Think carefully before using animations, sound and video. It’s best to use those effects sparingly—they’ll have more impact.

Use Bulleted Points Effectively.
o On each slide use 3 to 6 bullet points and a single, simple graphic that illustrates the slide title.
o Bring points onto the slide one at a time with no special effects and “gray out” points after finishing with them. This approach gives better control and pace.
o In a presentation, typically don’t use sounds or movie clips. However, sound and video work perfectly for specific presentations. Music clips, for example, work very effectively for some situations.
o Basically, know your audience. PowerPoint gives you plenty of tools to fit your style.

Think Like Someone in Your Audience.
o Picture what your audience will be seeing and hearing.
o Spend more time on content than on design issues. You can be creative but don’t be silly.
o Make sure that your slides are readable. Use large fonts. If you can’t fit all your points on a slide without moving to a smaller font, break the points up onto separate slides.
o Colors matter because they have specific cultural connotations.
o Font styles and graphics choices set your professional image, so be smart in your choices.

Never Forget Your Conclusion Slide.
o Create a concluding slide that includes 3–5 summary points.
o Focus on the final impressions that you want to create in these points.
o You can never emphasize or restate your main points too often.

Don’t read your presentation.
o Compose your presentation for the ear—with shorter sentences, action verbs and simple grammar.
o Get comfortable with your material so you aren’t dependent on notes or reading a script.
o If you use notes, keep them short, highlight points you want to make, and use them as memory joggers, not as a script.

Slide Design Elements
• Repeat design elements on each slide: layout, color scheme, and bullet style
• Keep titles and text spaced consistently.
• Be brief. Use bulleted phrases rather than sentences.
• Limit lines to 6-8 per slide.
• Leave space between lines for easier reading.
• Keep the typeface on your slides consistent.
• Use no more than 2 typefaces in your presentation.
• Sans Serif is recommended.
o Serif – characters have a curl or tail: Bookman, Garamond, Courier
o Sans Serif – characters do not have curls: Arial, Tahoma, Comic Sans
• Avoid using all CAPS, except on title slide.
• Use Bold, Italics, or Color for emphasis.
o High contrast color for titles and text is easier to read.
o White or yellow on dark backgrounds.
o Black or dark blue on light backgrounds.
• Avoid busy backgrounds.