Tips on Making a PowerPoint Presentation
There are lots of features in PowerPoint that allow slide designers to introduce movement and sounds on slides and, unfortunately, these features tend to be overused. Any graphic, sound or video should add value to the point being made, and not there simply because it could be done.
Text movement
Text movement can also cause difficulties. It is difficult to read text as it is moving. The text needs to stop before people can really read it, and this increases the time they are looking at the screen and takes away from the time focused on the presenter. Use text movement with caution.
Dropping into the program
It doesn't look very professional if, during or after the presentation, the audience sees the PowerPoint program displayed on the screen. This happens if you advance past the last slide. You can solve this simply by duplicating your last slide. If you advance one too many it won't matter as the image is the same.
Seeing the slide clearly
So audiences can see the details of your slide clearly, there needs to be a lot of contrast between the text and background colours. A dark blue background with white or yellow text usually works well. Because the text looks good on your computer screen does not mean it will look fine when projected. Most projectors make colours look duller than they appear on a screen. It is always useful to check how the colours look when projected to make sure there is enough contrast.
Pointer showing
It can be distracting for the pointer or little arrow to appear on the screen when the presenter is speaking. To prevent this from happening, after the Slide Show view has started, press the Ctrl+L key combination.
Blank screen
Sometimes you may wish to block the image on the screen completely so you have the attention of the audience. To blank the screen with a black image similar to shutting off the projector, just press the B key on the keyboard. Press the B key again to restore the image. If you want to use a white rather than a black image, press the W key each time.
How well do you really know PowerPoint?
What are the two most useful features within PowerPoint?
The use of the 'B' key
What happens in show mode (i.e. during a presentation) when the presenter presses the 'B' key? It is probably the most important feature of PowerPoint. Why?
Because a presentation is delivered by a living, breathing person, the contribution they make to the totality of a presentation is crucial. Sometimes the full attention of the group must be on them, on what they are saying and how they are saying it. Steps need to be taken to make this so. Press the 'B' key and the screen goes blank, so that attention necessarily must then focus on the presenter. Too often, audiences are left staring at an image on a screen that is, for the moment, irrelevant to what is being said. The facility to blank out the screen is invaluable. Press the 'B' key again and the blanked image lights up again. So simple, yet relatively few people seem to know or use it. You might also like to try the 'W' key which turns the screen white.
The ability to locate a particular slide
So, somewhere in your presentation you have a killer slide; the slide that summarises the value proposition; the one slide you need to show the CEO, after which they will be interested, or not! How do you get there?
If you think that the process is 'Esc', followed by Slide Sorter, scroll down, double click the slide and then press Slide Show; then you don't really understand PowerPoint.
You need to be familiar with your slides, but if you want to jump to, say, Slide 24, perhaps to answer a question, hit the numbers '2' and '4' and then the 'Return' key, and up comes Slide 24. Again this is an invaluable, and often little used, feature. Also try the 'Home' key for going to the first slide or the 'End' for the last slide (try pressing F1 whilst in show mode and PowerPoint will bring up a list of in-show commands).
PowerPoint is surely something that must be regarded as an essential working tool. As such, we must be familiar with it. This is especially so for sales people and their sales pitches. Most sales people are drivers (that is a comment about owning cars not a personality type, although.. .!). There will be few, if any, buttons on the dashboard of their cars for which they do not know the function. Maybe PowerPoint should be regarded in the same way.
