This document provides 10 tips for using PowerPoint effectively: 1) Use an outline to structure your presentation; 2) Arrange your slide layout with 6 or fewer points per slide shown one at a time; 3) Use a simple background with good contrast; 4) Use contrasting colors for text and background; 5) Use a standard font size of 28-32 points for body text and 36-44 for titles; 6) Space out points on slides to use all the space; 7) Avoid animated text effects; 8) Use visuals like graphs, diagrams and photos instead of just text; 9) Title all visuals; 10) Have an extra blank slide at the end as a backup.

2. What we’ll cover today
• PowerPoint
• Secrets For Using PowerPoint Effectively:
• Outline
• Slide layout
• Background, Color, Font style,Font size
• Spacing
• Moving texts
• Visuals

3.  PowerPoint can be a highly effective
tool to aid learning, but if not used
carefully, may instead disengage students
and actually hinder learning.

4. Here are some Secrets For
Using PowerPoint
Effectively

5. The most important part of any
presentation is the content, not the
graphical appeal.
An outline will give your
audience a good idea of the
structure of your
presentation. It will also give
them an idea of when you are
nearing the end of your
presentation.

6. 2. Arrange your slide layout
• Use point form, not complete sentences
• Maximum of six points per slide
• Show one point at a time
• prevent reading ahead
• help keep your presentation focused

7. Slide layout
• Do not use distracting animation
• Do not go overboard with the animation
• Use consistent animation

8. Slide layout
• Slide transitions should not be distracting
• Be consistent with transitions –
never Random
• Worst effects – ‘Checkerboard or Comb’

9. CHECKERBOARD

10. COMB

11. 3. Use a simple background
• Use backgrounds that contrast with
text/imagery.
• Use the same background consistently
throughout your presentation.
• Avoid backgrounds that are distracting or
difficult to read from.

12. 4. Use Contrasting Colors
There need to be a lot of contrast between the
text color and the background color.
 Dark background with light text
– Usually use a medium to dark blue background
and white or yellow letters.

13. Light background with dark
letters

14. 5. Use a standard font
It is preferable to use san serif fonts such
as Arial or Tahoma.
Avoid using a mixture of fonts and avoid
complex fonts like comic sans or impact.

15. 6. Use a big enough font
Use different size to show hierarchy.
Use most text at a 28 or 32 point size, with titles
being 36 to 44 point size.
Font size less than 24 point is too small to be
reasonably read in most presentation situations.

16. 7. Use all the space
• If you have a set of points
• space them out on the slide
• rather than in one corner
The use of white space increases readability and your
audience’s ability to scan slides quickly and return
their focus back to you, the speaker.

17. 8. Stop the moving text
FLY IN SPIRAL IN ZOOM
Avoid using flying in, spiral or zooming in
your text.
This makes the presenter wait longer between each
point and makes the audience focus more on the
movement than on what is being said.

18. 9. Use visuals instead of text
slides
Instead of using slides that only contain text, use
visuals such as graphs, diagrams, photos and
media clips to engage the audience.
90
80
70
60
50 East
40 West
North
30
20
10
0
1st Qtr 2nd Qtr 3rd Qtr 4th Qtr

19. Graphs
• Use graphs rather than just charts and
words
– Data in graphs is easier to comprehend
and retain than raw data.
– Trends are easier to visualize in graph
form
• Always title your graphs

20. January February March April
Blue Balls 20.4 27.4 90 20.4
Red Balls 30.6 38.6 34.6 31.6
Items Sold in First Quarter of 2002
100
90
80
70
60
Blue Balls
50
Red Balls
40
30
20
10
0
January February March April

21. Photos
• Choose pictures that highlight your point.
• Use a screen capture if appropriate.

22. Clip Art
• Clip Art used to be a great way of making
a presentation visual – particularly when
computers were less powerful.
• Clip art can look very dated compared to a
colour photograph specific to your
presentation.

23. 10. Have Slides at the End of
Your Presentation
The last slide you speak to should not be
the last slide in your presentation file.
The final slide should be a blank slide so that if you
go through all the other slides, you have a final
backup from dropping into the program.