We've all sat through some pretty horrific PowerPoint presentations. Too much text. Tiny font. Confusing graphs. Dizzying slide transitions and effects. Cheesy clip art. Poor color combinations. The list goes on and on.
But don’t blame PowerPoint just because some slide shows are bad. Blame the presenter. When used appropriately, PowerPoint is an effective tool for increasing student attention and participation.
Here are a few basic guidelines for creating more effective presentation slides:
- Is your presentation organized and easy to follow?
- Is there possibly a more effective way to present the main point of this information to students?
Have you answered the following questions for each slide in your slideshow?
- How does this slide contribute to this lesson?
- Is the font easy to read?
- Is it easy to quickly identify the main point of this slide?
- Are there any unimportant or unnecessary words?
- Are the text and slides balanced?
- If you use text, are there fewer than six bullets?
- Does each bullet contain less than six words?
- Will the colors display well in your classroom?
- Do you have more than one major idea on this slide? (If so, separate this slide into multiple slides.)
- Can you replace any text with an image?
- If animation is used, does it contribute to, or distract from, the associated class discussion?
- Do your slides sufficiently “cue” you to know what is coming next (within your slide show)?
- Can every word on every slide be seen regardless where the student is sitting in the classroom?
- Is there another approach you might take to increase student participation?
- Is there another way to introduce this topic or subtopic?
- Do your slides create and encourage “a dialogue” with your students?
- Have you varied your presentation and approach throughout this slide show?
- Do your slides invite your students to think critically?
- Have you checked the slide transitions within your slide show?
- Have you avoided slide transitions that detract from your message?
- Have you consistently applied transitions throughout your entire slideshow? (Stick with one or two basic transitions instead of sampling the entire set of transition options.)
- Have you printed a copy of your slide show for easy access during class (using either the 9-slides-per-page or 6-slides-per-page print option)?
Have you practiced:
- Slide transitions?
- Introduction of slide elements (such as bullets and images) using animation?
- Your entire slide show?
Finally, have you evaluated your slide show following class (to see what you might improve before you give it again)?
Excerpted from the 20 Minute Mentor titled How Can I Improve My PowerPoint Presentation Skills?
