There is a reason why the word PowerPoint is so often heard as part of the phrase “Death by PowerPoint”. Here are five of the worst PowerPoint mistakes and how to avoid them.
1. Slide Stuffing
PowerPoint is best used for highlighting key points, ideally you want to keep to a maximum of 6-8 lines per slide with at most 6-8 words per line. If you want to write detailed information provide it as a handout or an e-mail attachment.
There are three reasons why this matters. The first is that overloading slides with information makes them harder to read from close-to never mind from the back. There is simply too much information for readers to be able to make out the pertinent details comfortably.
The second is that as meeting rooms get bigger, people sit further away from the projection surface. Enlarging slides is a bit like enlarging pictures, as you increase the scale, the detail is lost. This may not matter too much with certain pictures, but it matters a lot with letters. If you put less information on the slides to begin with, you can make the letters bigger if need be, which makes enlargement both less necessary and less of an issue.
The third is that slide-stuffing is generally a sign that the presenter is in danger of making one of the most common and frustrating mistakes of all, that of simply reading the slides without adding any value. If the information can simply be read off the screen by the presenter then it can simply be read off a handout by the audience, which raises the question of why the presentation is necessary at all.
2. Putting creativity before clarity
There are numerous options for creativity in PowerPoint and used judiciously they can go a long way towards spicing up a presentation, particularly if it is on a fairly dry topic. Over-used however, they will simply obscure the content, which defeats the purpose of the presentation.
Be careful with the use of colour. Remember that the colour you see on your screen is not necessarily going to be the exact colour you see when your presentation is projected or printed. That means that relying on shades of colour to put across a point can be confusing.
On the subject of confusing, most text should be in clear fonts and without shading and it is best to keep to at most two or three fonts per slide, ideally per presentation.
Finally, be very careful with your use of animations. While they can be a fun way to liven up a presentation, they often turn into the corporate equivalent of the nodding dog in the back of a car. Some people will find them mildly entertaining when they first see them, but the novelty will quickly wear off and some people just loathe them no matter what. If you feel like your presentation needs an animation to liven it up, then that's probably a sign of a more fundamental flaw, which you would do better to address.
3. Getting separated from your audience
All presentations should start with a brief introduction, during which you should introduce yourself and the subject of your presentation. Apart from anything else this gives people the opportunity to double-check that they are attending the right presentation. Always have a title slide.
Make sure each individual slide is numbered and refer to the slide you're on every four or five slides so that people who're making notes can refer to them, for example if they want to ask questions later.
4. Forgetting the spell-checker
The basic rules of English apply to PowerPoint presentation as much as they do to e-mails and word documents and PowerPoint does have an integrated spell-checker. As well as fixing spelling errors, make sure the spell-checker does not erroneously change correct spellings such as names.
On the subject of names, make absolutely sure any products or people mentioned in your presentation are referred to in your presentation, have the correct names and titles.
5. Misusing sound
There are two parts to this, the first is misusing PowerPoint's sound effects, the second is failing to appreciate the importance of the spoken word during a PowerPoint presentation.
Sound effects are similar to animations in that they can add fun but very rarely add value and unless you are very careful at least some of your audience members are going to find them annoying.
The most important sound of all during a PowerPoint presentation is the sound of the presenter's voice, which should be clearly audible to the back of the room. One of the advantages of using manual controls is that presenters can suit their pace to their audience. It is crucial that presenters speak clearly and it can be useful to have water nearby to help with this, particularly for longer presentations.
About the Author:
Hollie Miller provides Microsoft Powerpoint training for Acuity Training. In her spare time she loves to go to the gym and dress making.
1. Slide Stuffing
PowerPoint is best used for highlighting key points, ideally you want to keep to a maximum of 6-8 lines per slide with at most 6-8 words per line. If you want to write detailed information provide it as a handout or an e-mail attachment.
There are three reasons why this matters. The first is that overloading slides with information makes them harder to read from close-to never mind from the back. There is simply too much information for readers to be able to make out the pertinent details comfortably.
The third is that slide-stuffing is generally a sign that the presenter is in danger of making one of the most common and frustrating mistakes of all, that of simply reading the slides without adding any value. If the information can simply be read off the screen by the presenter then it can simply be read off a handout by the audience, which raises the question of why the presentation is necessary at all.
2. Putting creativity before clarity
There are numerous options for creativity in PowerPoint and used judiciously they can go a long way towards spicing up a presentation, particularly if it is on a fairly dry topic. Over-used however, they will simply obscure the content, which defeats the purpose of the presentation.
Be careful with the use of colour. Remember that the colour you see on your screen is not necessarily going to be the exact colour you see when your presentation is projected or printed. That means that relying on shades of colour to put across a point can be confusing.
On the subject of confusing, most text should be in clear fonts and without shading and it is best to keep to at most two or three fonts per slide, ideally per presentation.
Finally, be very careful with your use of animations. While they can be a fun way to liven up a presentation, they often turn into the corporate equivalent of the nodding dog in the back of a car. Some people will find them mildly entertaining when they first see them, but the novelty will quickly wear off and some people just loathe them no matter what. If you feel like your presentation needs an animation to liven it up, then that's probably a sign of a more fundamental flaw, which you would do better to address.
3. Getting separated from your audience
All presentations should start with a brief introduction, during which you should introduce yourself and the subject of your presentation. Apart from anything else this gives people the opportunity to double-check that they are attending the right presentation. Always have a title slide.
Make sure each individual slide is numbered and refer to the slide you're on every four or five slides so that people who're making notes can refer to them, for example if they want to ask questions later.
4. Forgetting the spell-checker
The basic rules of English apply to PowerPoint presentation as much as they do to e-mails and word documents and PowerPoint does have an integrated spell-checker. As well as fixing spelling errors, make sure the spell-checker does not erroneously change correct spellings such as names.
On the subject of names, make absolutely sure any products or people mentioned in your presentation are referred to in your presentation, have the correct names and titles.
5. Misusing sound
There are two parts to this, the first is misusing PowerPoint's sound effects, the second is failing to appreciate the importance of the spoken word during a PowerPoint presentation.
Sound effects are similar to animations in that they can add fun but very rarely add value and unless you are very careful at least some of your audience members are going to find them annoying.
The most important sound of all during a PowerPoint presentation is the sound of the presenter's voice, which should be clearly audible to the back of the room. One of the advantages of using manual controls is that presenters can suit their pace to their audience. It is crucial that presenters speak clearly and it can be useful to have water nearby to help with this, particularly for longer presentations.
About the Author:
Hollie Miller provides Microsoft Powerpoint training for Acuity Training. In her spare time she loves to go to the gym and dress making.
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