The document discusses common mistakes in using PowerPoint, emphasizing the importance of design and effective communication over flashy transitions and excessive text. It highlights the negative impact of overloading slides with information and stresses the value of storytelling in presentations. The author provides guidelines for creating successful PowerPoint presentations, including having one idea per slide and minimizing distractions from animation and sound.

1. Dean Shareski October 26 th, 2007

2. Why would we use PowerPoint?

4. How folks butcher PowerPoint (it’s not your fault)

6. Templates…they look cool

7. Bullets…easy for me to organize

8. PowerPointlessness The tedious use of flashy transitions, graphics and sound effects while making a slide presentation that is pretty much lacking in thought, meaning and value.

9. Overload…Here’s everything I know

10. Reading the slide The other big mistake many people make is putting a lot of text on the page and the reading it like the audience was stupid This is true of kids and adults Research tells us that we actually will be less likely to remember it this way So let’s stop cramming our slides with text and for sure stop reading them!

11. Solutions

12. It is easy to dismiss design — to relegate it to mere ornament, the prettifying of places and objects to disguise their banality. But that is a serious misunderstanding of what design is and why it matters. Dan Pink

13. No Templates

14. Blogs Good blogs are always updated Blogs which are not are rarely read

17. The following 20 slides are courtesy of Nick Dvoracek of the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh http://idea.uwosh.edu/nick/usingppt.htm

18. issues Background

19. Background issues Contrast Use light objects on a dark backgound

20. Background issues Contrast Or dark objects on a light backgound

21. Low contrast is difficult to read Even with strongly contrasting colors Low contrast is difficult to read Even with strongly contrasting colors

22. ( Darker than background) What looks good on your monitor (Lighter than background) May not look good projected High contrast has more impact !

23. Frame text for emphasis and readability Frame text for emphasis and readability

24. the art of storytelling

25. What makes a good story?

30. A picture is worth a 1,000… American Soldiers

31. Emotion

32. Humor

33. Use a detailed script or outline

34. Dean’s Rules for Successful PowerPoint Presentations

35. 1 idea per slide

36. Animation and Sound Used minimally

37. Black Screen

38. Remote Mouse

39. Presenter View

42. Don’t provide a handout until you’re finished

45. STEVE JOBS BILL GATES

48. Presentation Gurus Godin Atkinson Lessig

49. Image Resources Clipart.com Flickr Morgue File

50. Dean Shareski http://ideasandthoughts.org [email_address]