Are You Abusing PowerPoint?

Many people think that they have become experts when using Microsoft PowerPoint. I can admit that out of the other Office products, it is the easiest to just use right out of the box. Just because you think you know what you are doing, doesn't mean that your audience isn't cringing with every slide. Basically, there are rules to developing an effective PowerPoint presentation. Knowing the rules gives you the knowledge to build more informative and effective presentations.

Many people are intimidated about the present bullets. Just because they are there and handy for you doesn't meant that you should use them. I've seen slides that have bullets for each sentence of a paragraph. Bullet points are just that; they highlight the main point of a subject that you will cover more intensively through talk or other information handed to your group. Use bullets when it is appropriate to do so. If your slide requires text in paragraph form, then don't be afraid to turn the bullets off.

While we are on the subject of paragraph form, most people use PowerPoint as if it is Word. The concept behind PowerPoint is that is was supposed to be used as a graphical enhanced electronic note card. Yes, there are some speakers who put their entire speeches on note cards, but good ones do not. They use note cards, and PowerPoint, he correct way. The slides are supposed to just touch on the subjects; jarring your memory of what is supposes to be covered next. People don't want to read your entire presentation. If they did, what do they need you for?

It is a good ideal to go through and know your presentation and speech beforehand. No one wants to be embarrassed about a misplaced slide, or misspellings of words. If you are using a pre-made presentation, practice going through the slides, making sure you is hitting all the high points that the presentation points out. You will quickly lose the audience's attention and your credibility of being knowledgeable about your field if you spend a large amount of time struggling through the slides.

Spend as more time on your content than you do on the visual presentation. PowerPoint has all those cool tricks such as animations, schemes, and transitions. If you spent more of your time trying to wow your audience on 'pretty' you can make it look instead of focusing on the points you are trying to make, you make yourself look foolish and incompetent. Don't forget the reason for presentation in the first place; to give informative data to your audience.

This doesn't mean that you should slack with it comes to the visual presentation. You want your audience to be entertained and comfortable with watching your slideshow. Be considerate of them by making your side visually pleasant. Don't use fonts that are too small or hard to read. Anything below 18-points is way too small. Also make sure the backgrounds and foreground blends well. Go for colors that complement each other on the screen. Be cautious for people with poor eyesight or is colorblind.

Last, but not least, try graphics and charts. Instead of using bullets to point out main topics, show it visually with pictures and charts, and then talk about them. Many business associates and stakeholders identify better with charts than they do with text anyway. For certain audiences, it is the concept of "show don't tell".

In conclusion, the first step for building an effective PowerPoint presentation is to first know your audience. Know the type of information that will appease them. Then research and develop your content. After you have written out everything you want to cover, summarize it into main points. These main points are what you will want to put in your slideshow. Next, add some color and graphics to add appeal. After all this is done, if you are knowledgeable about PowerPoint, add some pizzazz (such as animations and transitions), if you please.