Many freshers have joined our group very recently, and as part of their mentoring programs, each of them had to give a 10 minute long presentation on the scope of their mentoring assignment, what they are going to do, a brief look at the technologies to be used etc. etc.
I sat through all of them and at the end of it, actually ended up having a list of TO-DOs and the NOT-TO-DOs as far as preparing powerpoint slides is concerned. I am not talking about the "talking skills" or the "rendering" part, that is a different domain altogether - and takes more of personal capabilities, confidence, attitude etc. than mere TO-DOs. And I am discounting all the fresh graduates from that aspect - some people like me take time to get over their stage and people fear :-) So I know how it is and I am not even going there.
So here are some of the points to remember:
1. Use a good, pleasing template
Should be peaceful to the eyes of the reader. Please don't have a total black background with white text on it - so irritating to the eyes!
2. Be uniform, consistent as far as the font, font size, style, bullets are concerned
Microsoft PowerPoint gives you a lot of options I know - but that does not mean you have to try and use a different one in each slide. Consistency and uniformity is the way to go!
3. How much text to put on a slide?
There might be a lot you want to say, but make sure you do not clutter up the slide with your entire speech poured on it!
The other extreme, just two points in small font on one big slide with lots of white, blank space - again a no-no.
The whole idea is - Be crisp, short, to the point (words that make a lot of sense especially when you are making presentation slides)
4. Use animation wherever possible
While I say that, I also want to say what my manager rightly mentioned: Don't overdo it, don't have a cartoon character come running from somewhere and pointing at something on your slide :-)
But yes, animation used in just about the right proportion goes a long way in making an OK presenation an impressive one! (If not anything, you are going to have people wonder how you managed to get that animation :-))
5. Have an agenda at the start of the presenation
This will help you decide the direction of the presentation while you are making one and ofcourse at the time of giving the presentation as well. And then, it also helps the listeners know what is in store for them.
6. Agenda and the Contents of the presenation should go hand-in-hand
This seems obvious, but I have seen presentations where the agenda said one thing, and I, as a listener, kept on waiting for that one thing in the agenda that had interested me and well..that point never showed up later!
7. Full-stops come at the end of a "sentence" please
Yes - I have seen a lot of people putting a full-stop at the end of a point. A point is not a proper sentence and should not be ended with a full-stop. Definitely not at the end of the labels in an architecture diagram!
8. Flow of the presentation is important
Remember - you, the presenter, decide the direction of the presentation. People rely on you to take them in the right direction. You are the captain of the ship. Make sure the flow of the presentation is such that you take people along with you, get them interested in what you are saying and kind of come up with slides and content that they expect to be seeing next.
9. Spelling and grammar mistakes
Creates a very bad impression unnecessarily. You may be a great orator, but when I see obvious english mistakes in your slides - I am going to remember..yes - this is the guy who does not understand the difference between "Its" and "It's, Their and There, the importance of a 'a' and a 'the' at the right places".
It is just about being a little more careful really, isn't it? But I have observed that many people just don't care! And this "not caring", "casual" attitude may be "cool" sir, but I am not impressed.
10. A Thank you - Any Questions? slide is a good way to end the presentation (in some cases after References slide)
You are done, you have talked what you wanted to - leave the floor open for people to ask questions and doubts.
And of course - it is ok if you cannot answer them. "Lets take it offline" is a good way to handle questions or better still "I haven't really looked into this aspect in detail.. I will get back to you on this".
Next time you make a presentation, think before you write :-) And I am sure you have already started thinking of many more TODOs that I have perhaps missed.
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Nice compilation, Arati! I have a few more suggestions below on making better presentations:
1) Ask yourself - what is the message I want to give the audience? Is my presentation doing that? A status update to your management, a technical presentation to your team, and a marketing/sales presentation to your customer on the SAME product/topic will NOT be the same! Most people do not pay attention to the audience - they present what they LIKE to present!
2) You already mentioned animation. Couple it with great pictures, screenshots and diagrams that bring out the message. Rather than a slide of text explaining your cool UI, show your UI and then have animation on it to point out the cool features. And by animation, I do not mean Tom and Jerry running all over your UI! Simple bubbles, arrows and text boxes appearing on the screen as you point out stuff looks great!
3) Be politically correct. Using statements like "there is a problem with SQL Server" when talking to Microsoft or at a Microsoft sponsored event is bound to get your some brickbats from the audience. Instead, tone down and talk about "disadvantages" or "limitations", which are well accepted.
4) Use humour, quotes, nice cartoons and stuff like that on 1-2 slides in the presentation to make the experience much more enjoyable to your audience!
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