The Pros & Cons of PowerPoint Presentations

Pros they keep the speaker organized they present the material in a legible, neat fashion students can print out PP slides ahead of time and take notes next to each

slide printout during the lectureCons

important points and large amounts of in-depth information are often reduced to bulleted points

presenters sometimes read directly from the PP slides students’ attention is on the PP slide and not the lecturer they offer little opportunity for intellectual digression, since slides are

presented in sequence presenters are often tempted to include trite clip art in their PP slides

and this takes the attention away from serious subject matter

Tips- for successful PowerPoint presentations

keep font style and color usage consistent throughout the presentation no more than 15 slides simple, light-colored backgrounds work best with dark text. Use color

sparingly and for impact. Avoid colors on opposite positions of the color wheel

avoid pictures or busy template backgrounds and trite clip art if possible choose a common font that is easy to read (Arial or Times New Roman

are good) use a dark-colored text with a 28 point or larger font use italics or color rather than underline to emphasize a point keep the total number of words per slide to a minimum (5-6 lines) avoid slang and check for spelling and grammar errors do not use ALL CAPS, they are more difficult to read use a consistent transition throughout the entire lecture; for example a

slow fading in and out of the letters between each slide do not use sound bites with transitions limit your use of the slide to a guide (outline only) for your presentation always face the audience when showing the overhead/slide distribute a copy of the slides (print 3 to a page/Handouts in PP print

option) to students ahead of time if possible and encourage students to take lecture notes in the column provided next to each slide

pictures, movie and audio clips can enhance PP lectures but use sparingly and only for impact

Have a backup plan in case of a power outage or equipment failure!

document.doc, updated 6-27-07 km