Engineering 1
Chp.8
PowerPoint
Bruce Mayer, PE
Licensed Electrical & Mechanical Engineer
BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu
Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering
1
Bruce Mayer, PE
BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu • ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt
Basic Power Point Guidelines
Some tips to make
your presentations
presentable
Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering
2
Bruce Mayer, PE
BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu • ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt
Basic Rules for Presentations
 Contrast is important.
 For paper…
• Dark text on a light
background.
Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering
3
Bruce Mayer, PE
BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu • ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt
Basic Rules for Presentations
 For projection…
• Light text on a semi-dark
background
• The eye is attracted to the
light on the screen
Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering
4
Bruce Mayer, PE
BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu • ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt
Basic Rules for Presentations
 Stick with a single
background.
• The background is the stage
for your information.
• Set the stage and leave it
alone!
Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering
5
Bruce Mayer, PE
BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu • ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt
Basic Rules for Presentations
 Don’t try to dazzle the audience
with graphics or style…but with
the information.
 The medium is not the
message.
 The information is the
message.
Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering
6
Bruce Mayer, PE
BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu • ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt
Basic Rules for Presentations
Balance.
 Do not center bullet points.
 It makes the text ragged.
 And hard to read and follow with your
eyes.
Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering
7
Bruce Mayer, PE
BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu • ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt
Basic Rules for Presentations
Balance.
 Generally, left-justify bullets.
 This keeps things neat..
 and easy to follow.
Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering
8
Bruce Mayer, PE
BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu • ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt
Basic Rules for Presentations
Balance.
Centered graphics leave little room for text.
Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering
9
Bruce Mayer, PE
BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu • ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt
Basic Rules for Presentations
Balance.
• Place graphics off-center.
• More room for text.
• Better balance.
• More pleasing to the eye.
• Left placement leads the
eye to the text.
Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering
10
Bruce Mayer, PE
BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu • ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt
Basic Rules- Capitalization
• AVOID ALL CAPS
– VERY HARD TO
READ.
• This is an example
of capitalizing the
first word.
• First Cap –
• More Formal
• Less formal.
• Harder To Type
And More
Decisions.
• Easier to type and
fewer decisions.
Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering
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Bruce Mayer, PE
BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu • ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt
Use Restraint With Fonts
 Employ only a few..stick to familiar fonts
 Stay away from gimmicky fonts unless
for a theme.
 Keep type sizes consistent.
 Serif vs. Sans Serif.
 DON’T USE ALL CAPS.
Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering
12
Bruce Mayer, PE
BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu • ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt
Choose Fonts Wisely
 Italics are more difficult to read.
 Use bold when you want some words
to stand out.
 Font size
•
Easy to read (18 pt)
• Easy to read (24 pt)
• Easy to read (32 pt)
• Easy to read (48 pt)
Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering
13
Bruce Mayer, PE
BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu • ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt
Avoid Text Overload
 Having too much text on the screen can
defeat the purpose of using PowerPoint.
The slides begin to look like a jumble of
text, making slides difficult to read and
unrecognizable from each other. People
will either try to read everything or copy
everything down or they will lose
interest. List only the key points. If you
have more info to include use more
slides or create handouts.
Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering
14
Bruce Mayer, PE
BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu • ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt
Use Solid Colors instead of fill
Patterns on Charts
 Patterns on bars or
pie slices cause
confusion.
50
40
30
20
 Solid colors convey
a clear bold
message
10
0
1st Qtr
Blue
Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering
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2nd 3rd Qtr 4th Qtr
Qtr
Red
Hatch
Other
Bruce Mayer, PE
BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu • ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt
Use Simple Tables to
Present Numbers
Use
Tables
This row
For Your But Not
Numbers too Many
10
90
100
This row
0.6
0.4
1
This row
1
2
3
That row
1
2
3
Try not to make footnotes too small
Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering
16
Bruce Mayer, PE
BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu • ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt
Basic Rules That You Must Have
to Have a Good Presentation.
One of the most common
mistakes in creating a
presentation is to place too
much information on the
screen. This can cause the
reader to become distracted
from the speaker…just like
you are now. Audiences are
much more receptive to the
spoken word.
Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering
17
Bruce Mayer, PE
BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu • ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt
Basic Presentation Mistakes.
• Too much information.
• Reader gets distracted
• Audiences are much more
receptive to the spoken word.
Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering
18
Bruce Mayer, PE
BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu • ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt
Basic Rules
Keep it simple..
 Make bulleted points easy to read.
 Keep text easy to understand.
 Use concise wording.
 Bullets are focal points.
 Presenter provides elaboration.
 Keep font size large.
Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering
19
Bruce Mayer, PE
BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu • ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt
Basic Power Point Guidelines
 Use builds…don’t give them
too much info at once.
 Stick with the same
transition.
 Be creative but leave some
color choices to
professionals.
 Six words per line.
 Six lines per page.
Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering
20
Bruce Mayer, PE
BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu • ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt
Choosing a Color Scheme
 Stick with power point defaults.
 What may look good on your computer
may be unreadable when projected.
 Remember to use strong, contrasting
colors.
Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering
21
Bruce Mayer, PE
BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu • ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt
Use Contrasting Colors
 Light colors on dark
background.
• Dark colors on light
background.
Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering
22
Bruce Mayer, PE
BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu • ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt
Clip Art & Graphics
 A few excellent graphics are better than
many poor ones.
 Photographs can be powerful.
 Use sparingly!
Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering
23
Bruce Mayer, PE
BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu • ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt
•Religious leader
•Civil rights
activist
•Author
•Poet
•Minister
Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering
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Bruce Mayer, PE
BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu • ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt
Martin Luther King Jr.
•Religious leader
•Civil rights activist
•Author
•Poet
•Minister
Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering
25
Bruce Mayer, PE
BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu • ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt
Some Comments
 The Previous Tips are Good for General
Interest Presentations
 6 Words per Line, 6 Line per Slide is
Easy to Follow, But
• Builds a NON-Archival Slide
– If Handouts are Made, Audience MUST MAKE
NOTES
 This is at Least as Distracting as too Much Text
• Slide Set is not FREE STANDING
Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering
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Bruce Mayer, PE
BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu • ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt
Comments cont
 You Don’t Want the Medium to
Overwhelm the Message, But…
 Presentation Should Show Respect for
the Audience by
• Being NEAT and Well ORGANIZED
• Rehearsed Ahead of time if Needed
• Made Available Either
– In HardCopy
– OnLIne
Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering
27
Bruce Mayer, PE
BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu • ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt
Comments Cont.
 Technical Presentations Tend to be
Graphics-Heavy
• c.f. The Auto Emissions Presentation
 The MOST Difficult Task in Slide
Construction → Balancing
• Information Overload
– The slides look “Busy”
• Insufficient Information
Engineering-10: Intro to Engineering
28
Bruce Mayer, PE
BMayer@ChabotCollege.edu • ENGR-10_Lec-11_PowerPoint_Tips.ppt