PowerPoint Presentation Tips for ISP 120
- Use
the PowerPoint slides as an outline, not to display the full text of your
presentation.
- Have
an introductory slide that tells us what your main points will be.
- Have a
conclusions slide at the end that tells us what the take-home message is.
- Use
data to answer questions and support your main points; do not rely on
speculation or opinion.
- Include
figures and tables to help your listener see the data you are
interpreting. Make sure the main
points are clearly visible in the graph or table you present.
- Include
pictures where appropriate to help make a point or keep the listener’s
interest, but do not go overboard.
- Above
all, focus more on the content of your presentation than on the style
of the presentation. The main goal
of a presentation is to communicate a few main points to your audience,
and PowerPoint bells and whistles should be used only when they help
accomplish that goal.
Some useful and amusing resources:
- Tips
for making a really bad PowerPoint presentation: http://www.plasticsurgerydr.com/rpp.html
- Why
Edward Tufte things PowerPoint is evil: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.09/ppt2.html
- What if Abe Lincoln had a
PowerPoint presentation at Gettysburg?
(by Peter Norvig)