Do’s and Don’ts of
Powerpoint Presentations
Make your presentation easy to understand.
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Start with a slide that summarizes your presentation.
Key Pointss
PowerPoints are not the main attraction, YOU are.
Keep slides simple — text, graphics, art … everything!
Reiterate your summary/key points at the end
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Presentations Are Not About The Slides …
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… They’re about you.
Your presentation should compliment and amplify
what you’re saying
They are not a script and So don’t use slides Don’t use a PowerPoint
should not be read like one to present your notes unless you need to
or talking points
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Plan Before Writing
• Determine your story before making slides
• What are your key messages?
• What is the structure?
• Can/should you use videos, photos or graphics?
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Each slide should convey a single idea
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Headlines
Are the key takeaway from each slide
Limit them to a single line
Use them to make
a single
compelling point Avoid using all capital letters
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Avoid Information Overload
• No more that 5 bullet points per page
• If possible, limit each bullet point to a single line
• Don’t clutter your slides with text and/or graphics
• But you can use graphics, photos, illustrations in place of words
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In other words, don’t do this!!
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The Presentation Has To Stand On Its Own
It should be understandable without your narration.
Add a voice narration. Here’s how.
Ensure it’s accessible to students with disabilities. Here’s how.
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Presentation Habits That Annoy People
Moving/flying text or graphics
Annoying use of sounds
Overly complex diagrams or charts
No flow of ideas – jumps around too much
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More Annoying Presentation Habits
Text is too small to read
• Full sentences instead of bullet points
Speaker:
reads the slides like a script
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Chart A Course To A Bar (Graph)
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But not this …
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or this …
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Like This: No Explanation Required
Graphics should convey their point with minimal text
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Use The Right Colors And Fonts
Cool Colors Warm Colors
(blues and greens) (Oranges and reds)
for background for foreground/text
Helvetica, Arial, Calibri or Gill Sans (not Times NR)
-Be consistent
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Themes Vs. Templates
A THEME is a slide design made up of cohesive colors, fonts, and effects.
A TEMPLATE is a pattern or blueprint of a slide or group of slides that you
save as a .potx file. Templates can contain layouts, colors, fonts, effects,
background styles, and even content. Create your own. Here’s how.
Fight On!
Build themes on the USC Dornsife
powerpoint template. Download here.
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We’re almost done!
you
It’s about
,
not your slides …
The (almost) last slide!
And it’s not about the quantity of info …
It’s about
the quality of your story
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ADDITIONAL TUTORIALS
The Beginner’s Guide to Microsoft PowerPoint (in the classroom)
How to Create a PowerPoint Presentation
Top-Ten Slide Tips
11 Design Tips for Beautiful Presentations
What’s the Difference Between a Powerpoint Theme and Templates?
Download the USC Dornsife PPT templates here
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