This document discusses best practices for using PowerPoint presentations effectively. It notes that PowerPoint can be overused and lead to "death by PowerPoint" if not done properly. Some key tips include keeping presentations simple with clear content, choosing fonts and designs that will display properly on different devices, and focusing on informing the audience rather than showing off PowerPoint features. The document advocates the "KISS" (Keep It Simple, Stupid) principle to avoid distracting slides and overly complex presentations.

1. Making The Most Of
Presenter PowerPoint
Darren Ingram
September 2014
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

2. Image: FPPT.com
Introducing PowerPoint
Soon to celebrate its 25th birthday - bringing misery,
magic and misunderstanding to the world.
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

3. A New Solution
To An “Old
Problem”?
• Old-style presentations
were harder to produce,
especially for a larger
audience.
• Today anyone can have a
go. Sadly, it shows.
• Not all presentations need
presentations.
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram
Image: Google

4. It Used To Be The Joke
• I have got my slides back from
our family holiday - would you
like to come and see them
tomorrow?
• No, there’s not that many, a
few (hundred) boxes.
• Yesterday’s “Slide Sadist” is
today’s “PowerPoint Pest”.
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram
Image: EHOW

5. Who Is Your Audience?
• Why are you presenting?
• Who will be watching and listening?
• Why will they be watching and listening?
• Is it in your interests to INFORM or IRRITATE?
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

6. • 09.00 - a random, anonymous “look-a-like” hotel
meeting room.
• You might have travelled for a couple of hours to
get there, or stayed overnight working late,
possibly working late in the hotel bar.
• The room is hot, you are possibly cramped together
like battery hens.
• Do you really, truly want to be here? Who says
“conference life” is glamorous?
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

7. • The lecturer or speaker is talking about a highly
technical, possibly esoteric subject such as
economic theory or the market share of integrated
circuits for use within sub-USD100 electronic
assemblies in ASEAN countries.
• They are talking in a monotone voice, possibly to
their shoes or through a rusty tin can that is barely
amplified.
• They are also inflicting on you “Death by
PowerPoint”.
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

8. © 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram
Image: Altmetric

9. Use Your Tools Wisely
• The skill is how you use your tool, rather than
necessarily the tool itself.
• PowerPoint should be a support for you, not your
support.
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

10. I HATE PowerPoint*
This “build in” was deliberate and does not reflect the usual presentational style of the speaker.
*Other presentation programs are available. PowerPoint is just especially annoying.
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

11. • It is not the fault of the tool itself, it or any other
slide show presentation program can be technically
brilliant at what they do.
• It is invariably the fault of the person wielding the
presentation.
• Of course, the software developers of the various
programs do deserve a bit of a kicking for
changing things, adding fluff and generally making
it more and more difficult to achieve the basic stuff
at times.
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

12. Death By PowerPoint
• Can everybody read and understand your slides?
• Are they even trying?
• What is the point of your slides?
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

13. Don’t Believe Me?
Following images are taken at random from a recent Google search - this is preceded by another “ironic” use of “build in” - it gets irritating doesn’t it!
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

14. © 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

15. © 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

16. © 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

17. Incompatibility!
• Here follows a great example of incompatibility. You
can embed a video, it plays back on one client but
not on others and neither via a “shared” web view.
• The video is worth watching and the address can
be found in the very small text underneath IF it
doesn’t play.
• How many people would test their “magical
creations” between versions, platforms and
systems?
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

18. The full c 6 min video can be downloaded from http://youtu.be/tTLu4YM0c0A
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

19. Good Editing Tip!
If possible check your presentation afterwards (but
before you deliver it) on a different device, i.e. iPad.
You WILL probably see errors that you did not notice
on your big screen.
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

20. Save The Day!
• Adopt “KISS” principles.
• Resist playing with every
effect, transition, font and
colour.
• PowerPoint can be dual-use,
you can skip slides
and let people refer to
them offline.
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

21. © 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram
Image: Google
Image: PraxisNow
Image: Wikipedia

22. I Am Not A Lone Wolf
• Some rules might need to be
broken.
• Some are fairly common
sense.
• Some come with experience
(or enduring presentations).
• Some might just be eye-openers.
• Some may have you
scratching your head (ignore
“stock fonts”).
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2007/01/really_bad_powe.html
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

23. There is no one, true
PowerPoint
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

24. Here I break
my own rules?
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

25. Sometimes it is better to go to
a lowest common denominator
- another reason for “KISS”
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

26. PowerPoint - The new
“Hoover”?
• Many people already talk about a “PowerPoint
Presentation” when they are not using PowerPoint.
It is becoming generic.
• Even if PowerPoint is used to present, it might not
be originated within PowerPoint.
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

27. Chained To The Desk
• PowerPoint & equivalents are no longer chained to
the desktop or laptop. Edit on your tablet & phone.
• Browser-based presentation programs (Google
Docs/Slides, Emaze, Prezi, Slide Rocket, etc.)
• Hybrid solutions: PowerPoint/Keynote “in the
cloud”.
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

28. Reasons to “KISS” #34
• Version incompatibility, possibly even within the
same company. Recipients might not have the
same version or wish to download viewer apps.
• Learning curve between different versions.
• Do you really need that embedded 500mb video
file at 1080p or that 20mb high-res image that
could print a house-sized poster?
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

29. There ARE
people still
running old
versions perfectly
happily!*
Is your whizzy, animated
presentation really adding
something to them?
What is more important?
Your service or product or
concept or your ability to
play about with PowerPoint?
Text from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_PowerPoint (partially obscured)
*The use of the word “happily” can be very subjective for Microsoft Office users. See “Stockholm Syndrome” in the dictionary.
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

30. Opinions Differ,
Possibly?
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

31. Look At the
Emperor’s New
Clothes?
Many people are waking up to
the fact that “Death by
PowerPoint” (and others) is not
pleasant.
!
http://orbitingfrog.com/
2013/08/21/on-the-awfulness-of-
powerpoint-keynote-prezi-and-
everything-else/
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

32. PowerPoint History
• The development and change can be interesting
for some. Not all development and change is
necessarily positive and necessary.
http://www.robertgaskins.com/powerpoint-history/
http://www.free-power-point-templates.com/articles/
history-of-powerpoint-the-amazing-facts-you-did-not-
know/
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

33. Best PowerPoint* Tip?
*Other presentation software is available
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

34. © 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

35. Advanced Tips?
Some of the “advanced tips” being promoted online
fill me with fear. Please, just because you can do
something, it doesn’t mean you must.
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

36. Transition Speed Change
• In PowerPoint 2013 click on
“transitions” in the menu bar.
• Here are some very
customisable options.
• Better still, maybe you should
be in control of your
presentation and advance
your slides yourself?
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

37. Add & Edit A Graph
• Hardly rocket science but
easier than ever with
PowerPoint 2013.
• “Insert” / “Chart” / Select Chart
Type / Modify Data.
• Old school linked files still
supported but most people
don’t need “instantly updated”
slides.
• KISS again. Review needs.
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

38. • Create Custom Animations?
http://blog.laptopmag.com/powerpoint-2013-
custom-animations
• Merge Shapes to create “logos”?
http://blog.laptopmag.com/powerpoint-2013-tips-tricks?
slide=5
• Slide Zoom (limited use, but design better?)
http://blog.laptopmag.com/how-to-use-powerpoint-
2013s-slide-zoom-feature
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

39. Excel Integration
• For those times when you
REALLY need to link Excel and
PowerPoint, there are
resources such as this:
http://blogs.office.com/
2012/08/21/tips-for-turning-your-
excel-data-into-powerpoint-
charts/
• Remember you might not want
to share that Excel file with
everybody. Another plus for
“KISS”.
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

40. You can spend weeks on a presentation.
Not all presentations need “Apple-esque”
levels of detail.
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

41. CONTENT IS KING
STYLE IS QUEEN
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

42. PRESENTATION IS
EVERYTHING
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

43. Advanced
Colour
Matching
• If you really need this and
cannot deal with it in
another program…
http://blogs.office.com/
2012/10/18/
powerpoint-2013-
eyedropper/
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

44. You Can Play All Day
• Add Youtube Videos
http://www2.palomar.edu/pages/
atrc/2013/09/17/how-to-embed-youtube-
video-in-powerpoint-
2013/
• Add Twitter Feed
http://lizgross.wordpress.com/
2013/06/05/how-to-add-a-live-twitter-
feed-to-your-powerpoint-presentation/
• Add Weather Updates
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/
add-weather-updates-powerpoint-
43868.html
Image: Pixabay
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

45. But…
• If your CONTENT is poor
• If your PRESENTATION is uninspiring
• If you overuse EFFECTS
• If u make sloppy ERORS and don’t try and check it
• If you add stupid CLIP ART…
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

46. People might:
“switch off”
“go away”
“ignore the message”
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

47. Or think you work for
the NSA!
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

48. © 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

49. Are you still
awake?
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

50. Plan For The Unexpected
• Your computer might die on you!
• Stick a copy on a USB key.
• Stick a further copy “in the cloud" if you can
(Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive).
• Make a “plan D” version as PDF and keep in your
email (if not too big).
• You can save the day with a bit of planning.
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

51. Ssshhh… a little
secret!
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

52. © 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

53. © 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

54. Of course if you want
to be difficult…
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

55. There's more
than one way
to skin a cat.
(Idiom)
!
There is more than one way
of achieving an aim
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

56. Image: https://www.eng.iastate.edu/docs/cluerh/office.png
Linux users can often use virtualisation if they really MUST
and other tools are not available.
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

57. Google Docs
iCloud/Keynote
PowerPoint Online/Microsoft OneDrive
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

58. © 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

59. This Man
Can Be/Is
Inconsequent
• Sometimes you must “mix
styles” and break rules.
• Audiences can vary.
• There can be “Great Tools”
to help (Presenter Notes,
Timers, Laser Pointers)
• Presenting Is An Art: We
Are ALWAYS learning.
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram

60. Questions?
Disagreements?
Darren Ingram
!
darren@ingram.fi
linkedin.com/in/DarrenPIngram
about.me/DarrenPIngram
© 2014 Darren Ingram. All links are correct at the time of publication. No endorsement or specific recommendation is made unless clearly stated. DarrenIngram.com About.me/DarrenPIngram