PowerPoint:
Presentation Tips
Based on “The Seven Deadly Sins of PowerPoint Presentations”
By Dr. Joseph Sommerville
Donna Harp Ziegenfuss
CTLE
Planning a Presentation
• Goals and objectives of the presentation
– Purpose and take away ideas
– Gather information, content, graphics
• Audience considerations
– Level of audience (prior knowledge)
– Attitude of audience
• Level of interactivity
• Time constraints
• Sketch out sequence
1. Presentation Templates
• Best to make your own template
design – not fit your presentation to
someone else’s design
– Does the template relate to your topic?
– Does the background interfere with
type?
– Does your topic need a slick graphic in
the background?
• Use Master Slides to create your own
2. Text-Heavy Slides
ABSTRACT
• Most research published on improving teaching practice and student learning outcomes in higher
education focuses on how faculty approach the public act of teaching, not on how faculty
privately design the instruction that they will implement in the classroom (Angelo & Cross, 1993;
Davis, 1993; McKeachie, 1994). Faculty receive little training in how to design instruction and
teach when they are doctoral students. In addition, the instructional design literature indicates
that when college faculty design courses, they do not follow a prescribed and systematic process
as recommended by instructional design experts (Diamond, 1998; Earle & Sheffield, 1995; Fink,
2003; Hiscock, 1997; Weimer, 2001). However, changing factors in higher education, especially
increased emphasis on accountability and assessment, are revitalizing an interest in course design
processes. Arreola, Aleamoni, & Theall (2001) contend that faculty must develop new skills sets,
such as instructional design, to adapt to the changing academic environment. Barr and Tagg
(1995) use the phrase “shift from an instruction to a learning paradigm” to refer to changes they
observe “taking hold” in higher education (p. 13). They state, “The very purpose of the
Instruction Paradigm is to offer courses. In the Learning Paradigm, on the other hand, a college's
purpose is not to transfer knowledge but to create environments and experiences that bring
students to discover and construct knowledge for themselves” (p. 15).
• Conversely, Hiscock (1997) states, “There is no point in trying to advise faculty on how to
improve their courses until it is known how they presently develop courses” (p. 216). Therefore,
this exploratory qualitative dissertation study identifies and describes the variety of ways that
faculty, at a single higher education institution, currently experience the process of designing
courses. A qualitative methodology called phenomenography, that is designed to investigate
variation in experiences, was selected for this study because, as a faculty developer, I am
interested in identifying the widest variation in how faculty approach course design so that I can
enhance my understanding and awareness of the process and be better prepared to help faculty
improve their approaches to course design and teaching practice.
• Findings from this study fills gaps in the higher education course design literature and also
provides faculty developers with a framework on which to propose and develop faculty
professional development opportunities that will help faculty adapt to the changing learning
environments of the twenty-first century.
Alternative to
Text-Heavy Slides
ABSTRACT
• Rationale
– Current focus on how faculty approach teaching
• Not on how faculty design
– Factors in higher education are resulting in change
• Barr & Tagg (1995) - “shift from an instruction to a learning
paradigm”
• Purpose
– Fill gaps in the higher education course design literature
– Provides faculty developers with a development framework
• Methodology
– Identify and describe the variety of ways that faculty currently
experience the process of designing courses
– Qualitative methodology called phenomenography
3. Standard Clip-Art
• Try Clips Online for
more professional
images
• Relevant to content
• Watch for distortion
• Can’t size photos from
the web (pixilation)
• Use a border to define
• Not moving images or
“beans”
4. Slide Transitions,
Animations & Sound Effects
• Use slide transitions and animations
sparingly
• The same for animation effects on
your text
• Never use sound effects like
“breaking glass” or applause
5. The Me Paradigm
• Make text visible, must be larger
than normal 12 point print text
• Think of audience and make sure all
the text and images are viewable
from a far
• Don’t talk to the screen – talk to the
audience
6. Reading
• An oral presentation should focus on interactive
speaking and listening, not reading by the speaker
or the audience.
• The demands of spoken and written language differ
significantly. Spoken language is shorter, less
formal and more direct.
• Reading text ruins a presentation.
• A related point has to do with handouts for the
audience. One of your goals as a presenter is to
capture and hold the audience’s attention. If you
distribute materials before your presentation, your
audience will be reading the handouts rather than
listening to you.
• Often, parts of an effective presentation depend on
creating suspense to engage the audience. If the
audience can read everything you’re going to say,
that element is lost.
7. Backup …Backup … Backup
• Bring your presentation in several
formats
– Flash drive (can make last minutes
changes)
– CD (more difficult to make changes)
• Use masterslides to make last minute
changes to the background easier
• Practice and rehearse (timing and
content)
Beyond the PowerPoint
• Make speaker notes
• Presentation skills (verbal & nonverbal)
– Voice projection
– Eye contact and hand movements
– Professional appearance
• Recruit a slide editor
– Typos, critique before the presentation
• Handouts or activities
Extra Resources
• Planning a presentation
• PowerPoint production tips
• Tutorials
– PowerPoint Basics
– More advanced features
– An animated tutorial on the Slide Master