PowerPoint Presentations: the Good, the Bad and the

downright Ugly!

Colin Mayfield December (2010) Email: mayfield@uwaterloo.ca

The worst PowerPoint slide ever made?:

This was voted the worst PowerPoint slide ever in a recent survey!

General Presentation Options:

Text should be around 24 to 30 points

There should be between 7 to 10 lines maximum per page

Ideally the points should be short, concise and summaries of the material

Slide should stay visible for about 1 to 2 mins on average

People cannot view, read, listen to you talk and assimilate complex information at the same time.

Use emphasis and animation sparingly !

General Presentation Options:

Text should be around 24 to 30 points

There should be between 7 to 10 lines maximum per page

Ideally the points should be short, concise and summaries of the material

Slide should stay visible for about 1 to 2 mins on average

People cannot view, read, listen to you talk and assimilate complex information at the same time.

Use emphasis and animation sparingly !

General Presentation Options:

Text should be around 24 to 30 points

There should be between 7 to 10 lines maximum per page

Ideally the points should be short, concise and summaries of the material

Slide should stay visible for about 1 to 2 mins on average

People cannot view, read, listen to you talk and assimilate complex information at the same time.

Use emphasis and animation sparingly !

General Presentation Options:

Keep the style consistent

Keep the background uncluttered and simple

Pick reasonable colour schemes (black/white, blue/white, blue/yellow, etc)

If you do present a complex diagram, try and simplify the explanation and highlight parts as you explain.

Psychologists tell us that people do not really multitask – they do constant focus changes (listen, view, read, think, sleep).

Repeat important points in a different way

First impressions are powerful. The first 2-3 minutes of the presentation are the most important.

Get closer to your audience by moving away from or in front of the podium.

Try looking at individuals rather than scanning the group. Make eye contact…..

Eye contact can be powerful…………………………….Or quite intimidating…………

Blank the screen to white or black if you want full attention on your talk versus the slides.

Some other hints:

Technical:

If you use video, make the video large enough (75% of the screen?) and check that it plays when required. Don’t rely on an Internet connection to play the video – download it.

If you use photographs, try and keep the resolution of the image to around 800 x 600 (max) or it will take a long time to load. Many image programs (Photoshop, etc) allow you to resize images.

If you use an animated graph or diagram, keep it simple and “loop” it so that it replays till you stop it. Adobe Flash is good for simple animations.

Content and Style:

Make sure you know the content and organization very well ….. Practice is the only way to do this. Summary cards might help.

Do a very brief introduction of yourselves at the beginning

Lay out the organization of the talk at the beginning ---- then follow it.

Talk fairly loudly and not too quickly – don’t mumble towards the presentation screen. NEVER read from the screen but DO check that the correct slide is there.

A room full of people has terrible acoustics – it absorbs sound more than an empty room.

Try and surprise the audience occasionally --- it keeps them awake !

Try and get some feedback or interaction with the audience ….. But don’t overdo it and make them restless … it is your seminar, not theirs.

Content and Style:

Make sure you know the content and organization very well ….. Practice is the only way to do this. Summary cards might help.

Do a very brief introduction of yourselves at the beginning

Lay out the organization of the talk at the beginning ---- then follow it.

Talk fairly loudly and not too quickly – don’t mumble towards the presentation screen. NEVER read from the screen but DO check that the correct slide is there.

A room full of people has terrible acoustics – it absorbs sound more than an empty room.

Try and surprise the audience occasionally --- it keeps them awake !

Try and get some feedback or interaction with the audience ….. But don’t overdo it and make them restless … it is your seminar, not theirs.

And now for some truly awful examples of bad slides………..

Bad presentation

This is a Title

#1

Overly Dramatic backgrounds

Introduction

Outline

Topic 1

Topic 2

Topic 3

Overview

Summary

Conclusions

Really distracting animations

This is an image of Amman, jordan – for no particular reason!

Illegible text on background • Welcome to the December 2009 edition of our eNewsletter published exclusively for clients of

the Quinn Automotive Group ( BMW Toronto, BMW Toronto Motorrad, MINI Downtown, Parkview BMW, BMW Waterloo and MINI Waterloo).

It's hard to believe that the 2009 holiday season is upon our doorstep already. For many of us, the holiday season is a time that is anticipated with both joy and anxiety; the anxiety created when we go to the crowded shopping malls to purchase those holiday gifts. In this edition, we want to help you with that! Come into our retail location for hassle free shopping! This newsletter is loaded with gift ideas for the BMW / MINI enthusiast. Give a gift they'll love, not only during this holiday season, but for years to come.

The Quinn Automotive Group hopes to bring the magic of the holidays to those in need of assistance in 2009. CP24/CHUM Christmas Wish in Toronto and the Fire Fighters Toy Drive in Waterloo have become one of the last hopes for many to give a child a Christmas; The Daily Bread Food Bank of Toronto and The Food Bank of Waterloo Region supplying non-perishable food items to those who might go without a meal. With your help, we can help perform a Christmas Miracle with these organizations. Please bring in a non-perishable food item or a new unwrapped toy to one of our retail locations by December 23rd so that we can bring joy to those in need this holiday.

We would also like to take this opportunity to thank you for your valued business. We appreciate having you as our customer and look forward to serving you again in the New Year. We wish you and your family a joyous Holiday Season and Best Wishes for the New Year.

Sincerely yours,The BMW MINI eNews team.

Strange Font choices

Really Obnoxious Backgrounds

• Gratuitous Graphics

UN Exchange rates 2009 Effective: 1 December 2009

Total Countries in list: 204

Total Changes: 138

Dec-09 Dec-09 CURRENCYCODE COUNTRY (changes only) (full list) NAMEAFN AFGHANISTAN 48.720000 48.720000 AFGHANIALL ALBANIA 91.400000 91.400000 LEKDZD ALGERIA 72.010000 DINARAOA ANGOLA 86.520000 86.520000 KWANZAXCD ANGUILLA 2.700000 E.C.

DOLLARXCD ANTIGUA 2.700000 E.C. DOLLARARS ARGENTINA 3.800000 3.800000 ARGENTINE PESOAMD ARMENIA 387.000000 DRAMAWG ARUBA 1.790000 ARUBAN GUILDERAUD AUSTRALIA 1.077000 1.077000 AUSTRALIAN DOLLAREUR AUSTRIA 0.664000 0.664000 EUROAZN AZERBAIJAN 0.803100 AZERBAIJAN MANATBSD BAHAMAS 1.000000 BAHAMIAN DOLLARBHD BAHRAIN 0.375000 BAHRAINI DINARBDT BANGLADESH 68.550000 68.550000 TAKABBD

BARBADOS 2.000000 BARBADIAN DOLLARBYR BELARUS, REP.OF 2727.000000 2727.000000 BELARUSIAN RUBLEEUR BELGIUM 0.664000 0.664000 EUROBZD BELIZE 2.000000 BELIZE DOLLARXOF BENIN 435.555000 435.555000 CFA FRANCBMD BERMUDA 1.000000 BERMUDIAN DOLLARBTN BHUTAN 46.430000

46.430000 NGULTRUMBOB BOLIVIA 7.000000 7.000000 BOLIVIANOBAM BOSNIA 1.298670 1.298670 CONVERTIBLE MARKABWP BOTSWANA 6.580000 6.580000 PULABRL BRAZIL 1.710000 REALBND BRUNEI 1.380000 1.380000 BRUNEI DOLLARBGN BULGARIA 1.299000 1.299000 LEVXOF BURKINA FASO

435.555000 435.555000 CFA FRANCBIF BURUNDI 1230.000000 BURUNDI FRANCKHR CAMBODIA 4162.000000 4162.000000 RIELXAF CAMEROON, REP. OF 435.555000 435.555000 CFA FRANCCAD CANADA 1.050000 1.050000 CANADIAN DOLLARCVE CAPE VERDE, REP. OF 73.220000 73.220000 C.V. ESCUDOKYD CAYMAN ISLANDS 0.810000 C.I. DOLLARXAF CENTRAL AFR., REP. 435.555000 435.555000 CFA FRANCXAF CHAD 435.555000 435.555000 CFA FRANCCLP CHILE 490.000000 490.000000 CHILEAN PESOCNY CHINA, PEOPLE'S REP. 6.810000 RENMINBICOP COLOMBIA 1959.000000 1959.000000 COLOMBIAN PESOKMF COMOROS 326.667000 326.667000 COMORIAN FRANCXAF CONGO

435.555000 435.555000 CFA FRANCCDF CONGO,DEM.REP. 890.000000 890.000000 FRANC CONGOLAISNZD COOK ISLANDS 1.370000 1.370000 NEW ZEALAND DOLLARCRC COSTA RICA 559.050000 559.050000 COSTA RICAN COLONXOF COTE D'IVOIRE 435.555000 435.555000 CFA FRANCHRK CROATIA 4.830000 4.830000 KUNACUP CUBA

1.000000 CUBAN PESOCUC CUBA (CONVERTIBLE) 0.916670 PESOEUR CYPRUS 0.664000 0.664000 EUROCZK CZECH REPUBLIC 17.270000 17.270000 CZECH KORUNADKK DENMARK 4.940000 4.940000 DANISH KRONEDJF DJIBOUTI 177.000000 DJIBOUTI FRANCXCD DOMINICA 2.700000 E.C. DOLLARDOP DOMINICAN REP. 36.160000 36.160000 DOMINICAN PESOUSD ECUADOR 1.000000 U.S. DOLLAREGP EGYPT 5.450000 EGYPTIAN POUNDSVC EL SALVADOR 8.750000 SALVADORAN COLONXAF EQUATORIAL GUINEA 435.555000 435.555000 CFA FRANCERN ERITREA 15.000000 NAKFAEEK ESTONIA 10.384000 10.384000 KROONETB ETHIOPIA 12.590000 12.590000 BIRREUR EUROPEAN UNION 0.664000 0.664000 EUROFJD FIJI 1.880000 1.880000 FIJI DOLLAREUR FINLAND

0.664000 0.664000 EUROEUR FRANCE 0.664000 0.664000 EUROEUR FRENCH GUIANA 0.664000 0.664000 EUROXAF GABON 435.555000 435.555000 CFA FRANCGMD GAMBIA 26.800000 26.800000 DALASIGEL GEORGIA 1.660000 LARIEUR GERMANY 0.664000 0.664000 EUROGHS GHANA 1.430000

1.430000 GHANA CEDIEUR GREECE 0.664000 0.664000 EUROXCD GRENADA 2.700000 E.C. DOLLAREUR GUADELOUPE 0.664000 0.664000 EUROGTQ GUATEMALA 8.320000 8.320000 QUETZALGNF GUINEA 5500.000000 5500.000000 GUINEAN FRANCXOF GUINEA-BISSAU 435.555000 435.555000 CFA FRANCGYD GUYANA

202.000000 GUYANESE DOLLARHTG HAITI 41.750000 41.750000 GOURDEHNL HONDURAS 18.900000 LEMPIRAHKD HONG KONG 7.750000 HONG KONG DOLLARHUF HUNGARY 178.000000 178.000000 FORINTISK ICELAND 125.000000 ICELANDIC KRONAINR INDIA 46.430000 46.430000 INDIAN RUPEEIDR

INDONESIA 9490.000000 9490.000000 RUPIAHIRR IRAN 9905.000000 9905.000000 IRANIAN RIALIQD IRAQ 1175.000000 IRAQI DINAREUR IRELAND 0.664000 0.664000 EUROILS ISRAEL 3.780000 3.780000 SHEKELEUR ITALY 0.664000 0.664000 EUROJMD JAMAICA 89.650000 89.650000 JAMAICAN DOLLARJPY JAPAN

87.700000 87.700000 YENJOD JORDAN 0.708000 JORDANIAN DINARKZT KAZAKHSTAN 148.510000 148.510000 TENGEKES KENYA 74.450000 74.450000 KENYAN SHILLINGAUD KIRIBATI 1.077000 1.077000 AUSTRALIAN DOLLARKPW KOREA D. P. REP. OF 139.000000 NORTH KOREAN WONKRW KOREA, REPUBLIC OF 1150.000000 1150.000000 SOUTH KOREAN WONKWD KUWAIT 0.280000 KUWAITI DINARKGS KYRGYZSTAN 43.600000 43.600000 SOMLAK LAO, PEOPLE'S DEM.R 8471.000000 8471.000000 KIPLVL LATVIA 0.472000 0.472000 LATSLBP LEBANON 1500.000000 LEBANESE POUNDLSL LESOTHO 7.490000 7.490000 LOTILRD LIBERIA

70.000000 LIBERIAN DOLLARLYD LIBYAN ARAB JAM 1.200000 1.200000 LIBYAN DINARLTL LITHUANIA 2.310000 2.310000 LITASEUR LUXEMBOURG 0.664000 0.664000 EUROMOP MACAO 7.980000 PATACAMKD MACEDONIA,FORM.YUG.R 40.950000 40.950000 DENARMGA MADAGASCAR 1970.000000 MALAGASY ARIARYMWK MALAWI 141.450000 141.450000 KWACHAMYR MALAYSIA 3.380000 RINGGITMVR MALDIVES, REP. OF 12.750000 RUFIYAAXOF MALI 435.555000 435.555000 CFA FRANCEUR MALTA 0.664000 0.664000 EUROEUR MARTINIQUE 0.664000 0.664000 EUROMRO MAURITANIA 260.170000 260.170000 OUGUIYAMUR MAURITIUS

29.350000 29.350000 MAURITIAN RUPEEMXN MEXICO 13.250000 13.250000 MEXICAN PESOMDL MOLDOVA, REP. OF 11.000000 LEUEUR MONACO 0.664000 0.664000 EUROMNT MONGOLIA 1434.000000 1434.000000 TUGRIKEUR MONTENEGRO 0.664000 0.664000 EUROXCD MONTSERRAT 2.700000

Way too much text!!!!

Ideal is 7 to 10 lines maximum

If you want to make people dizzy – keep changing the colours and background images

If you want to make people dizzy – keep changing the colours and background images

If you want to make people dizzy – keep changing the colours and background images

If you want to make people dizzy – keep changing the colours and background images

If you want to make people dizzy – keep changing the colours and background images

• Then add animation !!!!

Use large images of dense web pages that cannot be read !

Make sure they spill over the edge of the page so some text is cut off

Or make the images so small they are microscopic

Summary:

Simple is good

Few, rather than many, colours are good

Organization is good

Animation is usually not good

Repitition can be effective (or boring …….)

Complex, unusual or small fonts are usually not good

Diagrams and images could be good (or not……)

Summaries are good

Timing should be immaculate

Time should be left for questions

Summary:

Simple is good

Few, rather than many, colours are good

Organization is good

Animation is usually not good

Repitition can be effective (or boring …….)

Complex, unusual or small fonts are usually not good

Diagrams and images could be good (or not……)

Summaries are good

Timing should be immaculate

Time should be left for questions

Spelling checks are almost always required

Summary:

Simple is good

Few, rather than many, colours are good

Organization is good

Animation is usually not good

Repitition can be effective (or boring …….)

Complex, unusual or small fonts are usually not good

Diagrams and images could be good (or not……)

Summaries are good

Timing should be immaculate

Time should be left for questions

The worst PowerPoint slide ever made?:

Maybe not……….