In brief, here are 12 basic characteristics to address when you are creating a PowerPoint presentation:
- Choosing a theme
Keep it simple, avoid bright colors, patterns or obnoxious decorations - Fonts
Limit your font variety, make sure it is large enough to read, use sans serif fonts, no not type in ALL CAPS - Color
Use sparingly, make sure your text is legible, don't use color for emphasis - Text/ Content
Keep text per slide to a minimum, explain visuals/graphics, use the notes area to explain your bullets - Images/Graphics
these will help illustrate concepts, use only visuals that support your content, obey copyright laws, use notes to explain visuals - Length
Keep as short as possible, chunk your content, Narrated presentations aim for 8 min or less, non-narrated 15-20 slides max. - Interaction
Break up content with questions for reflection (before or after a slide), include a brief, self check quiz - Notes
Make your PPT available for printing, include Notes when and if you generate a PDF - Errors
check your facts, spell check, get a second pair of eyes to review - Animations/ Transitions
Don't use them - Narration
Increases interest, retention and understanding (if done properly), provide transcripts - Video
use sparingly, obey copyright, Provide transcripts and/or closed captioning
For more information and resources check out my Delicious links on the topic:
