Intro
Want to create an effective PowerPoint presentation? These tips will take your class or business demonstrations to the next level.
When creating PPTs, the focus should be on content delivery. The point of any presentation is to get the message to your audience. There are many other ways to captivate them besides overflooding slides with images and animation. That’s why it is important to know how to make a good PowerPoint presentation and manifest your ideas in the best way possible.
Types of PowerPoint Presentations
How to make good PowerPoint presentations? First of all, decide on the type of your presentation. The type is determined by the audience, setting, message, and purpose.
So, you need to create a good PowerPoint presentation. Before jumping into content creation and design, it’s worth deciding which type of PPT is right for you. The presentation type is the form where the author puts their message.
One of the keys to a good presentation is knowing the audience. PPTs come in many forms, and each serves its purpose. You should design slides taking into account the preferences of your audience to reach for greater impact. For example, a formal, minimalistic format works best for professional settings.
The approach to creating a presentation for informal events is different. Tips for presentation in such cases include using A-V effects, animation, and the like. Following the demands of your audience aids in creating effective PowerPoint presentations.
Where are PowerPoint presentations most commonly used? Business and education. The following types of presentation will perfectly fulfill the purposes of these two fields.
Informative PPTs
To-the-point and objective, informative PPTs are used to introduce new ideas. The purpose of this type of presentation is to educate the audience, i.e. to give information. For informative PPTs, you will use slides and other tools to make the message as comprehensive as possible.
For example, teachers often assign topics involving heavy research. Students should then look for relevant information to support their arguments. This data must substantiate the issue and explain the concept adequately. Finally, you will have to present the findings to your class.
Your PPT is to be informative and simplified. Your audience typically has little to no idea about the subject. Therefore, it is up to you to present your topic in a way that boosts comprehension. One of the best PowerPoint presentation tips for informative slides is to be objective. You should share the research without overloading your opinion. Instead, students should stick to the facts when creating an effective presentation in PowerPoint.
Argumentative/Persuasive PPTs
Simply put, persuasive PPTs are the opposite of informative presentations. The focus of the latter is on disseminating information. However, the objective of an argumentative/compelling PPT is to argue a point. Unlike informative presentations, you are required to share your opinion on the subject. Your take on the topic is the core of the PPT.
The purpose of persuasive presentations is to convince the audience of your POV. Therefore, you require research and presentation skills to make your project impactful. One of the qualities of a good presentation is the effective use of animation. Students can also add A/V elements and clips to make their slides more persuasive.
Group PPTs
Advisors and team lead sometimes assign multiple people to a single project. Such cases are expected when a single party's project requirements are excessive. For example, one student/worker may be unable to adequately cover the research and design. They may also not have time for editing and delivering the presentation. Hence, creating a PowerPoint presentation in terms of a big project requires a whole team of interested people.
Tasks like these are complicated and often involve work delegation. So, the workload is divided evenly in a group presentation. For example, one person handles the research while the other controls the editing. Similarly, the participants operate design, display, and formatting equally. Sometimes the project advisor delegates these roles based on the members’ skills.
One of the qualities of a good PPT is innovation. Group presentations are the best setting to incorporate creative PowerPoint presentation ideas. The best PowerPoint design tips come from multiple skill sets. You have more creative ideas and skills in a group climate. With such clear work delegation, you can create polished, professional PPTs.
Things to Know About PowerPoint Presentations
One of the key PowerPoint presentation tips is to know that these formats are not set in stone. You are free to integrate elements from different PPT types into your project. What makes a PPT good is how well you fuse these formats. Fortunately, you can always turn to professionals to make your PPT. One of the tips for making a PowerPoint presentation is incorporating personal anecdotes. These additions give your project an authentic and creative touch.
Key Elements of Powerpoint Presentations
What makes a PowerPoint presentation good? Learning its components is a key to creating a slideshow that stands out.
PPT Slides
In any PPT, professionally crafted slides matter the world. Therefore, you should master this tool to make good PPTs. Keep in mind the limit of slides, don't make the audience look at the clock. If you have never dealt with creating presentations, then, as the most important tip, try to think of the slides as blank canvases. But instead of ink or paint, you will fill it with presentation content.
Presentation Content
You can add everything from images and plain text to animation and video. These things you add to a PPT slide are your content. You should try to evaluate your info from different perspectives. This approach will help the audience get the most out of your project.
Design/Format Edits
You need to format your presentation once your slides and content are ready. This step is often intentionally or unintentionally omitted, resulting in unremarkable slideshows. However, formatting is what will set professional presentations apart from amateur ones.
Editing and decorating your slides is a sure key to creating effective presentations. For example, making crucial sentences bold makes them more appealing. This addition will make the text stand out. Similarly, aligning your in-slide text makes it neater and more pleasing to the eye.
One PPT tip is reusing the formatting of presentations that have received positive reactions. Microsoft Office lets you save the format and style as templates. So if you have a professional design, you can use this tool to keep them for your future projects.
How to Make an Effective PowerPoint Presentation: 7 PowerPoint Tips
There are many comprehensive guides for experts on how to create presentations. However, they are often written in complex language that is not always understandable to amateurs. In this article, a few must-to-follow tips have been highlighted that will take your PPT skills to the next level.
Choose the Right Font Size
Visibility is one of the key elements of PowerPoint presentations. Even the best content can fail if the audience cannot read it. Using PowerPoint presentations effectively thus means making the text legible.
You can adjust the font size depending on the group or venue size. However, headers should not be smaller than 20 pts. The slide text also should not dip below 18 pts. One of the best practices for PowerPoint design is to have large and clean fonts.
Don’t Overstuff Your Slides
Simplifying content is essential when learning how to improve PPTs. An overabundance of content depreves the slide of focus. The audience also will not react positively to such demonstrations. For example, overstuffed tables can divert attention from the main point. If used excessively, these will overtake the central message.
Thus, it is crucial to simplify your tables and graphs as much as possible. One of the tips for effective PowerPoint presentations is learning to curate. You cannot add every table to your slides. Instead, include only the most relevant and important figures. Likewise, when using a table, you should choose only the most significant examples.
The best professional presentation tips will tell you to focus on comprehension. So, the main point of your PPT should be to get the message across. In your presentation, this means getting rid of unnecessary borders and outlines.
Learn to Condense Written Text
Learning how to make professional PPTs? Don’t forget about summarizing!
Using minimal words is one of the best practices for PowerPoint presentations. Minimizing your text will help you create the most potent content. Condensed presentations only include the most impactful terms, phrases, quotes, and sentences. These slides will also summarize the message effectively using a limited number of words.
Such a presentation helps retain the audience's focus, driving the message deeper. The key to text condensing is summarizing the info into bullet points. You can also use simplified graphs to replace the written text where possible. Less words, more meaning!
Add High-Quality Pictures
Did you know that humans process images 60,000 times faster than text? Studies show that people react faster to pictures than to words. So, incorporating images can make your presentation more memorable. However, you need to avoid overused stock images when creating PPTs. Instead, choose high-quality pictures that complement the text.
Add Animation Only When Possible/Needed
Animations and graphics can add value to your PowerPoint presentations. However, being heavy on these touches can also distract audiences from the main message. Additionally, it may be inappropriate in a professional setting.
Assigning professionals to create presentations may help avoid such issues. But if you plan to make the PPT on your own, you should edit and design slides no worse than the experts. For example, formal settings require professional editing and formats. Meanwhile, animations may be welcome in informal class assignments.
Use Uniform Formatting
Do not mix designs when making a presentation. Eclecticism can affect quality. In addition, it may create wrong impressions at work or in class. To keep your presentation looking neat, it's worth using proper alignment. Presentations need to be appropriately spaced, with uniform font style and size. You should choose between Verdana, Calibri, and Helvetica for the best results.
Make the Content Eye-Catching
PowerPoint presentation slides provide an opportunity to express your creativity. So, you should not hesitate to use attractive edits when possible. If the assignment allows it, you can choose bold, contrasting colors. Engaging accents will help your presentation stand out.
Create a Narrative
The best PowerPoint presentations have a coherent storyline. This is because the audience reacts better to a straightforward narrative. So, connecting all your slides with the message throughout is essential. Adding anecdotes, problem-solution descriptions, and strong examples will improve your narration.
Outro
PowerPoint presentations can be used in both education and business. PPTs make it easy to share important info with a large audience. Presentations also open up the floor to discussions and interactions. For some students, this tool may seem tough to master. Even experts may have trouble completing their slideshows. In such cases, you can order your PowerPoint presentations on trustworthy sites.
