Create Perfection in Your Next Powerpoint Presentation

PowerPoint presentations are made to support speeches, discussions, and help visualize complicated subjects. Many speakers find a PowerPoint presentation an indispensable tool as it helps in making the audience understand what the topic being discussed is. But the question that keeps on ringing is this - how to prepare the perfect PowerPoint presentation?

A presentation can be dependent on the subject and or preference of the person who will conduct it. However, a poor presentation can cause problems, no matter how good the subject or the speaker is. It may lead to the confusion of the audience, or worse, putting them to sleep in the middle of the discussion. A bad presentation can root from many things - it may be caused by a cluttered presentation due to too much graphics on the slides, or too much text that can either bore or distract the audience.

In preparing the perfect PowerPoint presentation, the following items need to be taken into consideration:

1. Presentation Outline - generating a presentation outline helps in keeping the slides on relevant to the subject that will be discussed. This will serve as a run down of all the main topics that need to be included in the entire presentation and help create a more logical flow of what to present.

2. Design Layout - this gives the presentation the personal, yet professional touch. If there is a need to play with colors, consider the key points below so that the audience do not have to strain and do a guessing game with the content of the presentation:

Consistency is the Key - it is important to use consistency, especially with the type of font and its sizes. All content text should be at least 24 points so that all content text are reader friendly. Keep in mind that the header text shouldn't also be too large for the slides. It is also important that all texts have the same color. The theme for the entire presentation should be consistent for all slides.

Avoid clutter - clutter will only render the presentation useless. Images are acceptable to reinforce or complement the message of the presentation. But keep in mind that they are not meant to be decorations, but visual aids. Pictures should be limited to avoid clutter. The same rule should be applied to the use of animation.

Remember to KISS (Keep It Short and Simple) - do not put everything that will be discussed on the presentation; only keywords and talking points are needed in the slides. This involves observing the "joy of six" - use only six words per point, and six points per slide.

Less is more - limit the slides to a maximum of ten slides. If they can be cut down even more, do so.

3. This is a Visual Aid - The presentation shouldn't do the talking because they are there to support and not to do the discussion. Details are for discussion, and keywords should be for the presentation. If the slides will do the talking, it would be better for the audience to just read the slides rather than have someone do the reporting for them.

4. Audience Impact - it is vital to consider who the audience is and what the impact of the message will be for them. Knowing what they need to know, what they can expect, what they can learn, and what will keep their attention can also contribute in deciding on what the theme of the presentation should be.

When doing a presentation, it is far more important that the audience grasp the message that is being delivered. The presentation is a channel in making sure that the message reaches your target and help them understand what is being discussed. Keeping these tips in mind will definitely ease worries, and prepare the perfect PowerPoint presentation.

Websites for Additional Presentation Software and Templates

  1. Brainshark
  2. Crystalgraphics - 3D Graphics and Animation
  3. Mary Nelson Documents & Graphics Services
  4. Microsoft Office - Microsoft PowerPoint
  5. 35mm Color Slides from PowerPoint files
  6. Powerbacks - Presentation Backgrounds and Graphics
  7. PowerPlugs
  8. PowerPoint in the Classroom
  9. The Presentation Team: Presentations PowerPoint & Multimedia
  10. PresentationPro.com
  11. Presenters Online
  12. Talking Point Graphics
  13. WebSiteEstates.com