Doing PowerPoint
Right!
Alan Parks, M.Ed.
Director, College Success
Programs
University of Maine
Purpose
This presentation:
 examines the use of multimedia to convey
information, and
 explores the why, what, and how of doing it
right.
Questions
Why present?

Why are you doing your presentation? Is it
to…
 Git
‘er done?
 or...
 Successfully and effectively convey your
content?
Why use multimedia?

Why are you using multimedia to conduct
your presentation?
 Wouldn’t
talking be easier?
 Can’t they read the handout?
Ponderderables
How do we learn best?

Consider the different ways we learn, such
as:
auditorily
 visually
 tactilely
 kinesthetically
 other ways?

What about sensory differences?

Consider learning modality differences
 What’s
the impact of blindness when we use
multimedia to present?
 What about deafness?
 What about those who are hard-of-hearing?
 People with learning disabilities?
 People with mobility or motor differences?
What prevents access?
Low contrast/background interference
 Small text, bad font choices
 Too much text
 Unexplained graphics
 Too much action or sound

What prevents access? (cont)
Unscripted or uncaptioned audio content
 Bad room lighting – too dim, too bright
 Background noise
 Poor use of physical space

Too much text
•
Too much text and too many
columns overwhelm the audience.
The font has to be small when
there’s too much text.
People with certain learning
disabilities struggle with overly
busy pages.
Too many columns can mean that
the user doesn’t know where to
start reading.
Lots of graphics add to the busyness to the page. And don’t forget
to use spelchecker!
Keep the layout simple and clean.
•
•
•
Too much text and too many
columns overwhelm the
audience.
The font has to be small when
there’s too much text.
People with certain learning
disabilities struggle with overly
busy pages.
Too many columns can mean
that the user doesn’t know
where to start reading.
Low contrast/background
interference
Can you read this?
 Can you read this?
 Can you read this?
 Can you read this?
 Can you read this?

Solutions

Finally!
Use multimedia to…

Deliver content from a universal design
perspective, which:
 provides
multiple pathways to learning, and
 helps assure access to content for ALL
members of your audience.
Slide standards

Adhere to the following standards to
ensure that slides are visually accessible
to as many audience members as
possible:
Slide standards-2
Use the PowerPoint default font of 44point bold font for headings
 Use 32-point font or higher for bullets (36
pt. is best)
 Include no more than 6 lines of text on
each slide

Slide standards-3
Use the title area for each slide.
 Use a unique title for each slide.

 Note
that we have used “Slide Standards”,
“Slide Standards-2”, and “Slide Standards-3”.

Use appropriate PowerPoint templates
whenever possible, avoiding text box
inserts.
Why follow standards?
Use of these standards assures that
screen readers can navigate successfully.
 These standards allow you to easily
extract text for handouts and to format
your PPT file for the Web.

Font Choices
This is Arial, a sans-serif font—a good choice.
 This is Times New Roman, a serif font.
 This is Curlz MT, a cursive font. Ouch!
 This is Castellar, a font with no
lowercase.
 This is Gil Sans Ultra Bold Condensed. Ugh!
 This is Verdana, another good choice.

Unexplained graphics

How would you describe this picture?
Unexplained graphics-2

90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0

East
West
North

1st 2nd 3rd 4th
Qtr Qtr Qtr Qtr
Graphics need
explaining!
Graphs and charts
require special
descriptions.
Explain graphs/charts
with narrative or data
tables.
Too much action or sound
Text that flies in,
 spins around,
 and bounces
 can be annoying, distracting.
 Same for sound.
 Some sounds can even trigger PTSD!
Dentist’s drill
 Right?

Detailed graphic description

Figure 2. shows an oval
rock. The top of the rock
is in its natural state, but
as we go down towards
the bottom, bits of the
rock have been chipped
away, until the bottom
has become thin, pointed
and sharp. End of Figure
2.
Uncaptioned audio content
Silly sounds need no explaining or
captioning.
 Sounds that convey content do.
 Audio (voice) content always needs
captioning.
 Solutions:

 Provide
scripts of audio content
 Caption videos (HiSoftware’s HiCaption
Studio, NCAM’s Magpie, YouTube, etc.)
Bad room lighting
Lighting that is too bright may impede
viewing of presentation.
 Lighting that is too dim may impede
audience from being able to write notes or
view handouts.
 People with low-vision may be especially
impeded in dim lighting.

Bad room lighting, cont.

Solutions:
 Check
with audience and adjust lighting.
 Dim lighting near screen; have brighter
lighting at the back of the room.
Background noise
What did he say? Huh?!
 Try to control for outside noise.
 Ask audience to be respectful and avoid
side conversations.
 Reduce ventilation noise.
 Turn off projector when not needed.
 Other ideas?

Use of physical space
Allow adequate space between tables and
chairs.
 Theater-style, classroom-style, circles, or
other configurations? What works for your
audience and your content?
 Consider the needs of people in
wheelchairs or with other mobility issues.

Outputs
Handouts
 CDs
 Web

Outputs: Handouts

Provide handouts so that:
 audience
will have material to write on or
doodle on during presentation, and
 will be able to review and process at a later
date.
Outputs: Handouts
Minimum 12-14 point, depending on font.
 Sans-serif fonts are often easiest to read.
 Light-colored paper (not white) reduces
glare.
 Provide large-print (18+ points) for people
with low vision.

Handouts-2

What is the best version of PowerPoint to
print for handouts?
–Same view as slide on screen;
requires maximum paper, toner, etc.
 Handouts –Small view of 2-6 slides per page;
reduces paper; difficult to view. Never print
more than 2 slides/page.
 Slides
Handouts-3

What is the best version of PowerPoint to
print for handouts?
Pages – Useful if you use Notes
section.
 Outline – Best access to text, but hard to
control font, size, etc.
 Notes
Handouts-recommendations
In Normal or Outline View, copy outline.
 Paste into a Word document.
 Edit for maximum readability (14-18 pt,
sans-serif font, etc.)
 Add picture, chart, graph descriptions.
 Print on light-colored paper.

Outputs: CDs

Provide CDs for those who prefer
additional time to process content
or who need electronic access to
content.
Outputs: CDs, cont.

Include:
 Original
PPT
 Word document (from Handout version)
 Text-only or RTF copy of Word document
 Your personalized ReadMe file (text-only),
with contact, copyright, and other information.
Outputs: Web
Add your PPT to your Web site.
 Comply with “Section 508” guidelines for
accessibility.
 Use Illinois Accessible Web Publishing
Wizard
(http://www.accessiblewizards.uiuc.edu/)
or LecSharePro
(http://www.lecshare.com/) to put your
PPT on the Web in accessible format.

Sample PPT on the Web
A PPT on the web, converted using
LecSharePro:
 http://www.lecshare.com/overview/html/index.
htm
Other Resources
Describing graphics:
http://www.w3.org/2000/08/nbamanual/Overview.html
 APHA PowerPoint Guidelines:
http://www.apha.org/NR/rdonlyres/AC448
D71-9051-4060-A540639FBA761371/0/AccessiblePresentations
2006.ppt

Summary
Consider your audience’s needs.
 Plan your materials carefully so you can
make handouts, CDs, and other versions.
 Actively control your presentation
environment for noise, sound, light, space,
comfort, etc.

Contact Information
Alan Parks, Director
College Success Programs
5725 East Annex
University of Maine
Orono, ME 04469-5725
 207/581-2320 (V), 207/581-2325 (TTY)
 www.umaine.edu/csp,
alan.parks@umit.maine.edu