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Designing and Using PowerPoint Slides

An effective PowerPoint presentation is a valuable tool for any facilitator. When designed appropriately, PowerPoint presentations can help you provide structure to your workshop, highlight important information, and deliver workshop content. Below are some guidelines for creating effective PowerPoint slides.

Guidelines:

  • Your slides highlight key points or reinforce what you are saying.
  • Your slides are short and to the point, and include only key words and phrases for visual reinforcement.
  • Your text and images are placed within 95% of the PowerPoint slide in order for your presentation to fit on most screens.
  • Your margins, fonts, font size, and colours are consistent.
  • Your font size and style are readable even at the back of the room. Combining small font sizes with bold or italics is not recommended.
  • You use the same background on each slide.
  • You use images only when needed to avoid them becoming distracters instead of communicators.
  • You avoid cramming a lot of information onto a slide because you know the audience won’t read it.
  • You avoid automatic slide transitions.

 

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