Eight Awesome Starts to a PowerPoint Presentation

Make your PowerPoint Presentations stand out. Use these eight tips for a solid start to your presentation.

What’s the Point?

PLAN PLAN PLAN!!  Remember to keep the main thing the main thing. Use your slides to keep you on track.

  • What is the Main Objective?
  • What is the Strategic Objective?

Less Is More

Your slide show shouldn’t include EVERYTHING!  That includes too much text and too many graphics.

Your audience can probably read 😉 It’s time for you to present, not ask them to read.

Your Fonts!

Readability over Fancy Fonts (No Comic Sans or Papyrus!!)

Here are some fonts to consider for your presentation.

  1. Verdana
  2. Calibri
  3. Palatino
  4. Tahoma
  5. Georgia
  6. Gill Sans
  7. Corbel
  8. Segoe
  9. Palatino Linotype
  10. Lato

Make Bullet Points Count

Support the presenter, don’t overwhelm the audience. It’s your job to speak to the technical points, no need to put them on a slide.  Develop a handout if you want the audience to have notes for later.

Limit Transitions

Decide when too much of a good thing isn’t.  Run it by a colleague.  I like transitions, that said, I can go overboard which ends up UNDERWHELMING my audience.

Do you need that Paragraph??

Use Charts and Pictures instead of blah, blah text.

Color Me Beautiful

  • Use color to add interest, make a point and evoke feelings.
  • For example, green can mean good and red can indicate a problem.
  • Make sure to take advantage of PowerPoint’s color palettes so you are not grabbing warm and cool colors that will not marry well.

Slide Sorter View

Spend time looking at your slides as a whole presentation in the Slide Sorter View.  This will help you consider how your slides are working together.

Use Templates

While PowerPoint offers a variety of templates, they may feel tired and rote.  Consider creating your own template, using the Slide Master View.

Remember, the most important part of the presentation is YOU! Use the tips provided in the workshop to plan and create your slides and notes, practice your presentation, then find your Fab Five so you can get help if you get nervous.  If (or when) a mistake is made, DECATASTROPHIZE! (Is that a word?!) We are all human and you are probably the only one that is going to remember that mistake.

Happy Presenting!!

For more tips and tricks from Stephanie Hutcheson, check out her tutorials on her website.

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