Making Presentations

3 goals of a presentation

• Inform
• Educate
• Persuade

3 ways the audience learns

• Seeing
• Hearing
• Doing

PowerPoint slideshows include:

• Texts
• Charts and Graphs
• Photos and Graphics
• Audio, Video and other sound

Rules for good presentations

• Keep slides simple and easy to read
• State your purpose
• Add images to support your points
• Relax and use a friendly speaking style
• Don't just read the slides to your audience

What kind of colors should you use to make slides easy to read

• Use light-colored backgrounds with dark text
• Use dark backgrounds with bright text

Large Fonts make slides easy to read

• Limit how much text you put on each slide
• Make the text clean and big

How to Organize your presentation effectively

• State your purpose: make it clear what you want the audience to know
• Present information in multiple ways
• End with a summary

Supporting Images - Photos, graphics and charts

• Keeps the audience interested
• Reinforce key messages
• Help Visual learners understand

Avoid cluttering your slides with images

• Avoid slide clutter
• Don't use too many colors

Relax and be Friendly

• Avoid reading your slides word for word
• Don't talk too fast
• Be sure to add information and examples in your own words
• Allow time for note-taking
• Answer audience questions
• Practice your presentation

The Best presentations have

• Easy to read slides that support what is being said
• A clearly stated purpose
• Graphics, photos, and other visual objects used judiciously 
• A speaker who is relaxed and confident