Five Quick and Easy Ways to Use PowerPoint Effectively

Text © Robert Barry Francos / FFanzeen, 2020

Images from the Internet

The Microsoft Office tool PowerPoint has been around for quite a while, and now there are other software as well, but currently, PowerPoint is still the main platform used by most companies for meetings, lectures and presentations.

As someone who has used PowerPoint extensively for years and has seen numerous presentations, I have learned that there are a few key factors that can make or break a successful slideshow.

1. Keep it Big:

Whether the slideshow consists of projecting an image on a computer screen, across the room, or in a large auditorium, it is important to remember that the further back someone is sitting, the harder it is to read smaller text. If you take your chair and move it six feet back from the screen right now, you will probably have trouble reading the writing. This is especially true in a large setting where the image is projected.

While you cannot fit as much as you may want on a slide, that is okay because you are there to present information, and if the text is too small to be read by the entire group, then the slideshow is not effective. Be big, be loud, be “heard.”

The suggested size for a title is 44 pts, and for text, try not to go below 20 pts.

2. Keep it Simple:

The biggest mistake people make when it comes to PowerPoint slides is trying to put too much on a single page. The more text that is put on the page, the denser it is and the harder it is to read. A better approach is to use the slides as “chapter titles” rather than printing all the information. For example, if you are discussing meals, you might have a bullet point that says “Breakfast,” for which you will verbally fill in the information. Then “Lunch,” etc.

One way to handle this is as follows: if you have ten bullet points for example, rather than putting them all on one slide, have five on the first one, and continue it onto a second page.

You should not put all the information on the slide, because you want the people listening to you, not reading what’s behind you. The audience cannot read and listen at the same time. Remember, you can put all that information into the notes section, and then print it as a hand-out at the end.

The best and most effective slideshow I have ever seen was presented by a surgeon and art philosopher named Leonard Schlain (d. 2009) at a conference that consisted of no text except for the title slide. The rest were close-ups of sections of classical paintings, which expressed exactly the points he was making.

3. Keep it Consistent:

Because of its high visual aspect, presenters naturally may want to show some kind of artistic leaning to keep the viewers attention, which is correct. However, it is important to keep much of the document consistent within the presentation. For example, keep the typeface somewhat consistent, rather than switching around from a Serif font to a Sans Serif one either on the slide or even within the presentation. This distracts away from what is being said. It may work somewhat if staying close, such as using Arial for the title and Calibri for the text. They are both Sans Serif, so the eye will accept it easier. However, using, say, Arial (Sans Serif) for the title and Times New Roman (Serif) for the text is dissonant, and will take away from your message.

Getting back to Simple for the moment, I would recommend staying away from Serif fonts generally in a slideshow if you can, and continue with the easier-on-the-eye Sans Serif. Again, you want to make the text easy to read for those in the back of the room.

Consistency can be subtle. For example, I saw a presentation that consisted of twenty-five slides, and nearly all were three bullet points, a bolded subtitle, followed by a colon, and some descriptive text. It was simple and easy. However, on the twenty-third slide only, rather than the subtitle being bold, it was underlined. I talked to members of the audience later, and no one seemed to have noticed it consciously, but I observed that on that particular slide people coughed and chairs squeaked as the audience shifted. They did notice it subconsciously and it caused them to squirm in their seats.

4. Keep it Oral (at first):

One of the most common errors in a presentation is when the moderator merely reads what is on the slide that is being projected. If you are just going to repeat the slide, why are you even there?

As I said earlier, it is more effective to use your slides as emphasis, such as a guide or chapter heads rather than having all the information presented, which can be given out in handouts with the extra text in the Notes section.

An exception to this rule is for quotes, which is part of the larger presentation point being made.

5. Keep the Title Un-orphaned:

Having an “orphan” in a title is common practice, but it is unattractive. An orphan is an old newspaper term for when you have a single word in a title that hangs down onto a second line, as follows:

Today is the First Day of the Rest of Your
Life

This is easily fixed by placing the Insertion Point (cursor) where you want the break to be, such as before the word “Rest,” and then holding down the CTRL key and hitting the Enter key. This places what is known as a “soft return,” meaning you are forcing a break in the text, but retaining the information within the paragraph:

Today is the First Day of the
Rest of Your Life

This give the page a more balanced look and will enhance the slide.