This document provides tips for effective PowerPoint presentations and common mistakes to avoid. It discusses using images to engage audiences, clearly summarizing main points, using the audience's energy, and avoiding long blocks of text. The last slide is an opportunity to restate key contributions and provide contact information for follow up. Overall, the document offers advice on how to craft lively presentations that inform and persuade audiences rather than bore them.

1. PowerPoint
Like the Force. Can be used for good
or evil

2. Why are you presenting?
To persuade
To inform
You are telling a story!

3. A rogue’s gallery of
common slide issues
Flickr: PopCultureGeek.com

4. An all too typical slide
• Wolverines are giant weasels, and there aren’t any in
Michigan
– Anderson 2000; Smith and Buttmunch 1998; Axelrod and Strawman
2005; Santa and Bunny 2008
• How many levels should I go down?!
– As many as it takes to make the font unreadable, duh!
• This bullet should have been on the next slide
– But I want it on this slide because it’s HARD to hit the new slide
button!
• ZOMG, how many bullets can I fit on one page?
• This format is probably good for handouts, not for
presentation
• When you have lots of text, the audience is reading the slide,
not listening to you!

5. Holy crap! I love fonts!
• Comic sans will likely get you mocked in
the backchannel (though I don’t hate it)
• Serif fonts can make it hard to read if the
projector is crappy!
• Changing fonts all over the place is
distracting!
• CAREFUL WITH COLOR TOO!

7. How to bore your audience to death!
Flickr: Samael Kreutz

8. Don’t know your audience.

9. Read your slides to your audience

10. Be overly timid
and shy.

11. Some ideas for
presentation success!
Flickr: kslavin

12. Use the energy of
your audience!
Flickr: Mavis

13. Don’t bury your
main points
Flickr: a2gemma

14. Images trigger
the brain
Flickr:

15. Transmit your
excitement!
Flickr: Andreas-photography

16. Summarize points
For the win For the loss
• Use the energy of the • Texty slides
audience • C&P from paper
• Make the point clear! • Too much animation
• Use images when you can • Speak to slides
• Sign-post points • Misjudge audience
• Be Mousey

17. Last slide can accomplish a lot
• Maybe include major
contribution
• Contact info
• Cliff Lampe
• cacl@umich.edu
• Twitter: @clifflampe
• Slideshare: clifflampe