Effective Powerpoint Checklist

Powerpoint is a support tool; it is not the focus of a presentation. You are. The following are five main principles; a list of don’ts and do’s to create a great slide deck set.

1. First and always, do your audience analysis.
2. The slide deck is for the audience – help them ‘see and feel’ your message. Focus on creating an emotional and meaningful experience for the audience. Pre-select the emotion you want the audience to feel and organize your stories, colors, pictures, body language, and words that emotion.
3. Keep it simple.  The rule is Big, Bold, & Brief – BBB.
4. Practice your talk to fit the time allotted, so that you will not run long. Audiences do not like to be kept longer than the expected time.   Practice with your technology for ease of use. Additionally, have a backup technology plan as technology can malfunction.
5. Tell a story every 10 minutes to (1) re-gain their attention, and (2) to help the audience connect with an important point.
6. One common rule is 10 slides for 20 minutes in a 30-font size.

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 Don’ts

• Do not use the Powerpoint as your speech notes.
• Do not have typos.  Brains are drawn to find them, leaving you with damaged credibility.
• Do not use animation. Simple is better.
• Do not use offensive colors. Color means different things in different cultures.
• Do not italics
• Do not use all capitals.
• Do not use overly designed slides. They detract from your message.
• Do not use too many slides. It is distracting.
• More is not necessarily better.
• Patterned backgrounds can be distracting.
• Do not confuse slides with documents.  If you need to deliver detailed information, create a handout.

Do’s

• Spell check.
• Limit the number of colors used.
• Use the same font, no smaller than size 24.
• Limit punctuation.
• Use bolding to guide the audience’s eyes.
• One main idea/point per slide
• Use larger fonts to demonstrate importance.
• Use human faces with appropriate emotion. Humans are drawn to look at them.
• Select the color, font and font size carefully.
• Be consistent and predictable.  Use structure to create trust with your audience.
• Use curiosity and novelty. Audiences like that.
• Eliminate clutter words. Fewer words on a slide are better.
• Use white space to ease of readability
• Use bolding to guide the audience’s eyes to the important.
• Use high-contrast colors – dark font on light background or light font on a dark background. It is reported that black background slides causes more attention on the speaker.
• One large picture is much better than several small ones.
• Be careful with humor – what is funny to one is often not funny to another.
• Murder your darlings – just because you like something does not mean it is appropriate content for that audience, in that situation, at that moment in time.
• Use the ‘NOTES’ area to capture what you want to say on each slide.