Advice for Creating PowerPoint Presentations or Training

This post is a list of suggestions I pulled together from my own experience and the experience of others about creating better PowerPoint presentations and trainings.  Enjoy!  Comments are welcome.

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Fonts

·         Stick to sans-serif fonts—those without the “squigglies,” such as (Arial, Franklin Gothic Book, Tahoma, Verdana, etc.)

·         Keep size at least 22 pt. so people don’t have to strain to see

·         Find a readable color and stick to it throughout; about 10 percent of any audience will have trouble distinguishing reds and greens

·         Don’t change font styles throughout the presentation; stick with one

·         Avoid using bullets

·         Keep a light background with a dark font; if you want to switch this, remember that good contrast is the goal

 

Design

·         Don’t change font styles throughout the presentation; stick with one

·         Keep a light background with a dark font; if you want to switch this, remember that good contrast is the goal.  Remember that about 10 percent of any audience will have trouble distinguishing reds and greens.

·         One slide per idea in an online training

·         Minimize text; let graphics set a representation

·         Keep use of colors simple and visible; minimize the number of colors and ensure they are appropriate and easy to view

 

Visuals

·         Empty space = good

·         Don’t overuse graphics; just enough to do what you need done

·         Be professional in your use of graphics; e.g., pictures are preferred over clip art – let the tone you want determine your choice

·         Avoid transitions (animations) with graphics; if necessary use only one style of animation throughout to create consistency

·         Ensure graphics are large enough to be seen easily

 

Audio

·         Avoid using PowerPoint sounds—they are tacky and annoying (at best)

·         If using music, remember that PowerPoint cannot fade sounds in and out; if you use music it will abruptly end when you turn it off

·         PowerPoint has a slick narration function

·         Record narration in the quietest room possible so you don’t get background noise (like HVAC sounds)

 

General

·         Good communication is essential and should take precedent over everything else

·         Bells and whistles distract the learner; KISS (Keep It Simple Silly)

·         Utilize the “Master Slide” feature to control format, color, font, numbering, etc.)

·         Proofread carefully; nothing says “uninformed” like spelling and grammar errors

·         Emotion helps people engage and retain information; unfortunately, it is difficult to build emotion into a stand-alone training.  Difficult, but not impossible.  Put some heavy thinking into how to engage the learner—music, video, story, etc.

·         Make some sort of job aid or takeaway available; not necessarily a copy of your slide deck, but something that will help the learner recall what you were teaching.

·         Remember that the ability to absorb information peaks at about 10 to 15 minutes; use this knowledge to keep your presentation short, or to break it up by interspersing some activity between segments.

·         Keep things moving—the faster the better.

 

 

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