Powerpoint

Powerpoint presentations can be an important tool in many ways: they can enhance your speech with visuals such as charts and they can help your audience by providing an outline of what you are talking about. However as Professor Belisle pointed out, powerpoints are often poorly done and therefore do not help presentation but hurt them. Out of the useful websites we were provided in class, I have compiled a list of five guidelines I feel are important:

1. Watch out for what color the back ground of your powerpoint is. Neon colors and really bright colors (such as reds and oranges) are distracting and can be hard on readers' eyes. 

2. BE CONSISTENT. Consistency is key when creating a professional powerpoint. Be consistent with fonts, colors, etc. 

3. Steer clear of cheesy clip art. Cheesy clip art makes powerpoints look unprofessional and can dampen the credibility of the presenter. 

4. Don't make your powerpoint too wordy. Powerpoints are not supposed to be your ENTIRE presentation on screen- they're only supposed to be a simple outline. You're not trying to distract your audience from your presentation, you're trying to help them follow along. 

5. Do not make the font on your powerpoint too big. This can be distracting and overbearing to your audience. 

One thing that annoys me about bad powerpoint presentations is when powerpoints are too wordy and people presenting are just reading off of the screen. I think this is a sign of the presenter being unprepared and not knowing their material. And that makes the presenter lose a lot of their credibility. 

Thanks,

Erin Camp

ecamp@trinity.edu