The document provides tips for creating effective PowerPoint presentations, noting that the presenter should consider their audience and main message before building the presentation. It distinguishes between presentations meant as tutorials to be viewed independently versus those meant to accompany a live presentation, and offers advice on writing style, using images and graphics, citing sources, and avoiding common mistakes like reading slides verbatim. The document also includes examples of effective PowerPoint presentations on business topics and nonprofit events.

1. An Introduction

3. Building a Good Presentation
Before starting, consider:
Who is my audience?
What do I want to communicate?
What is my BIG take-away message?
How do I want to organize my presentation?

4. Two Kinds of Power Points
Tutorial or Notes for Later
Presentation for Now
You want people to view your slides as
notes independently.
You are giving a presentation that
requires photos, graphs, and other images
to support it.

5. Ways to Use Power Point
In the classroom:
Tutorials
Games
Flash cards
Student presentations,
projects, portfolios
Personal use:
Slide shows of baby photos,
weddings, vacations, other life
events
In business:
Team training
Marketing plans
Other presentations

6. Writing
You don’t have to use just sentence fragments.
You don’t have to use bullets.
But please, don’t write an essay.

7. Negative Space
Can help you
communicate.

11. Better Than

12. Words

14. Want to see a GREAT Power Point?
https://www.udemy.com/blog/best-powerpoint-presentations/

15. Common Mistakes
If you’ve ever sat through a Power Point presentation, you
might find that some people type all the words they’re going
to say on the slide, and then they read them word for word.
This is really not the point of Power Point, nor is it the point of
any type of presentation!
Plus, it’s really annoying to read all the words on the screen.
Don’t you think so?
Let me know if you disagree.
It might help me make a better presentation in the future.

16. Common Mistakes
• Using images to decorate your slide
• Makes it look cluttered and unprofessional

17. Common Mistakes
Silly transitions and animation—They look
kind of…silly
Remember your audience! Keep it
professional, not distracting

18. And After

19. Our business
Our annual revenue was $86,000 in the
first year
30% of that was from the sale of our
signature product, the “Mr. Fluffy” dog
shampoo
The remaining 70% came from sales of
“Little Fluffy” puppy shampoo and doggrooming services
Our largest expense was personnel
Our second largest expense was
manufacturing
Our third largest expense was consulting
services

20. Mr. Fluffy Dog Grooming
Expenses
Revenue
Personnel
Mr. Fluffy
Little Fluffy
Services
Manufacturing
Consulting

21. Copyright Considerations
What images do you have the right to use?
• Images you take yourself
• Clip art from Power Point
• Creative Commons Images, with attribution
• Check out:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
• Images from morgueFile
• Check out: http://morguefile.com/

22. Final Thoughts
 Using contrasting colors instead of
colors that are too similar
Which of these are good ideas?
 Writing exactly what you want to say on
your slide
 Practicing before your presentation
 Using lots of pictures on every slide
 Citing the sources of your images and
information
 Demonstrating information with graphs
and photos
 Using as many animations and transitions
as humanly possible

23. Upcoming Computer Classes
Company &
Investing
Information Online
Introduction to Word
November 5
October 30
Discover
Familysearch.org
Intermediate
Internet Searching
November 8
November 12
Files and Folders
Google Products
November 13
November 19
For more information, ask at the Reference Desk!

24. Sources
Library photos, courtesy of Glenview Public Library
Presentation photo, courtesy of Maxim Bouev
Before and After Disaster Photo, courtesy of FEMA
Ways to Use Power Point photo, courtesy of United States Marine Corps