PowerPoint presentations Dos and Don’ts Many students and adults are required at various times throughout their education and career give presentation on a topic to a class or group of their peers.  PowerPoint is a very useful tool to help make an effective presentation.  But it can also be misused. As a teacher and business consultant I have had to sit through many very poor PowerPoint presentations over time. It is important to remember that a PowerPoint presentation should be designed to enhance the overall presentation, to reinforce the points you wish to make and support your message.  It is not the presentation itself.  The following article will look at some of the more common mistakes made when creating PowerPoint presentation and delivering them to the audience.

1. First mistake – What you see is what you get.

This is not true and a common mistake.  The shades of colour shown on your computer screen are not necessarily the same as they will be displayed on your presentation.  Make sure you try your presentation with the projector before you present it to the audience.

2. Second mistake – Slides which are difficult to see or hurt the eyes.

The easiest way to avoid this problem is to use either light background colors with dark text or dark background colors with light text.

3. Third mistake – Bad colour choice.

Many studies have shown that colour influances emotion in the audience.  If you use unusual shades of colour this may generate a feeling of unease in the audience.  Think about your colour scheme.  Do some research on colour and the emotions it engenders.  Ask for comments from others before giving the presentation.

4. Fourth mistake – Difficult to read fonts.

Times New Roman does not project that well for PowerPoint presentations.  Good fonts to use are Arial and Helvetica.  Once again check the font when the presentation is shown through the projector not just the computer screen.

5. Fifth mistake – Text with shadows.

It is not a good idea to put text with shadows.  Shadows on text can make it very difficult for the audience to read.  Keep you text simple and easy to read.

6. Sixth mistake – Not numbering slides.

It is always a good idea to put numbers on your slides so the audience can refer to them or ask questions about specific slides.

7. Seventh mistake – Start the presentation before you have been introduced.

It is a good idea to start the presentation with a blank slide.  This way the audience does not see the first slide while the presentation is being setup.   It also means that if the computer has fallen asleep because it has taken a while to get the presentation ready, when you wake up the computer it will be on your first slide.

8. Eighth mistake – Choosing too many fonts.

Two or three fonts are more than enough.  It is important to try to keep your presentations simple, plain and attractive.

9. Ninth mistake – Using too many advanced features of PowerPoint

Try to be consistent.  The general principle is what you do on one slide, do on all slides.  It is not a good idea to try to use every element of PowerPoint in a single presentation.

10. Tenth mistake – Inability to read the printout

When making a printout of your presentation it is a good idea to go to the view menu and select grayscale.  Look at the slides in this view as this will show you how the slides will look from a black and white printer.

11. Eleventh mistake – Animations that do not work

Remember that when you create a slide elements will animate in the same order that they were created.  From the slide show pull down menu, if you click on custom animation, you can change this order.

12. Twelfth mistake – The slide show was not reviewed as a whole

After making your presentation make sure that as well as reviewing each slide you review the show as a whole.  Ensure themes and slides are consistent and achieve the desired effect.  Try to get someone else to see the show and give constructive criticism before the real presentation.

Common mistakes made when presenting your PowerPoint presentation.

With all the effort you put into creating the presentation, it makes sense to actually present it well. Following are eight of the more common mistakes people tend to make when giving a PowerPoint presentation, and how to correct them.

1. Mistake one – Facing  the screen instead of the audience

Speak to the audience do not speak to the screen.  The audience does not want to see the back of your head.  Your computer should face you as you look at the audience.  Remember what you see on the computer is the same thing the audience is seeing.  Try to keep eye contact with the audience this will help engage them in your presentation

2. Second mistake – Leaving the slide on the screen to long

Try not to leave the slide up on the screen for any longer than you are talking about the material on it.  A good rule of thumb is somewhere between about 30 seconds to 2 minutes. 

You can black out the screen by hitting the “B” key or the “W” key to turn the screen black or white.  To bring back you slide show just hit the same key again.

Research has shown that audiences remember your presentation better if they have a few seconds to read and digest a slide before you start talking.

3. Mistake three – The only way to go through my slide show is linear.  i.e. slide 1,2,3 etc.

You can jump to any number slide by just pressing the numbers on the numeric key pad i.e. slide 15 press 1 then 5 and then enter.  This is a way good to return to slides if the audience asks a question.

4. Mistake four – There is no way to point to things without pointing at the projection.

This is not true. If you press control  ”P” a pen will come onto the screen.  Hold the left mouse key down while moving the pen around the screen.

5. Mistake five – The audience is very impressed by all the animations and other special things I use.

A good point to remember is ‘less is more’.  The audience wants to understand the point behind your presentation.  This point is not to be entertained with a ‘busy’ slide show.  Keep your slides fairly simple.

6. Mistake six – The lighting in the room will not make much difference to my slide show.

Check the room and environment in which you will be presenting.  i.e. it is no good checking at night if your presentation is in the day and there are lots of windows.

Try to ensure that any lights that directly hit the projection screen are turned off.  However do not give your presentation in a completely dark room. This takes the focus to the screen and away from the speaker. Once again practice and get another person to sit where the audience will be and give constructive criticism.

7. Mistake seven –  All the audience will get back promptly from a break.

If you give a break during presentations or are presenting after a break try to allow a little more time for the audience to return.  Having people enter during your presentation is very distracting for you and the audience.

8. The PowerPoint pop up menu is a help to my presentation.

Turn of the presentation pop up menu.  It is a distraction and adds nothing to your presentation.  You do this from the tools pull down menu, then to view and uncheck both the pop-up menu on right mouse click and show pop-up menu

Final note: Try to have fun while giving your presentation.  The audience will appreciate the care you have put into developing a good presentation.  Relax and good luck.

It's Academic is published and owned by International Tuition Services Limited

International Tuition Services Ltd is the owner of ITS Tutorial School (ITS) Hong Kong - Registered School No: 566985