PowerPoint Presentations

When creating or giving a PowerPoint presentation, there are a few things to avoid like putting too many words on one slide.  Your presentation should reinforce what you have to say not repeat it.  Avoid cheesy sound effects and any other superfluous effects for professional presentations.  Do not read from the screen; use cue cards and talk to your audience.  Do not give hand-outs before the presentation, otherwise nobody will have a reason to listen to you.  Lastly, avoid low quality images and make sure they are relevant to your topic.

The presenter has a huge impact on the quality of the PowerPoint presentation.  If you have an upbeat, interactive speaker whose presentation highlights main points and shows visual examples, such as pictures and graphs, then the presentation will be a success.  I have seen a couple really great ones, but the speaker had the biggest impact.  You want somebody who says everything you need to know.  The presentation is just a back-up and a way to stay organized and moving forward.

PowerPoint presentations are fun to create for class projects as a supplement to your main discussion.  They keep your audience involved and most importantly, interested.