Presentation Style Guide

Over the next several days I will be making entries from a presentation style guide. These are tips that I believe you will find very helpful when putting your presentations together. Enjoy!

Preparing your presentation

• Prepare your presentation in advance so that your ideas are logically organized and your points clear. Write a detailed outline of your presentation. Address the essential points and leave the details for publication.
• Presentations are most readable when using a dark background (blue, for example) and bright lettering (yellow or white).
• Use the absolute minimum number of words in the title, subtitle and captions. Remember that standard abbreviations are acceptable.
• Avoid using small fonts. In general, 28 point and larger fonts will be easy for everyone to read, while anything smaller than 20 points will likely be illegible from the back of the room.
• Use bold characters, not fancy serifs.
• Graphics must be well-designed, simple, and readable by everyone in the audience. It is worthwhile to use professional preparation services, if possible.
• Use a few graphics as needed that can be discussed in the time allotted. As a general rule, use one graphic for each one or two minutes of presentation time.
• Devote each graphic to a single fact, idea or finding. Illustrate major points or trends, not detailed data.
• Do not show long or complicated formulas or equations. Each graphic should remain on the screen at 20 seconds.
• Table preparation - Do not use more than three or four vertical columns and six to eight rows. If there are any more columns or rows, the information will not be readable. Do not use ruled vertical or horizontal lines; they distract the eye and clutter the graphic. Whenever possible, present data using bar charts or graphs instead of tables.
• Graph preparation - Generally, do not use more than one or two curves on one diagram; a maximum of three to four curves may be shown, but only if well separated. Label each curve; do not use symbols and a legend. Do not show data points unless scatter is important.
• Colored graphs are very effective. Color adds attractiveness, interest and clarity to slide and viewgraph illustrations and should be used whenever possible. If you use color, remember that contrasting colors are easier to see.
• Consider breaking up a complex slide into a series of slides, to make it more intelligible.
• Critically examine every graphic and view them under adverse light conditions before presenting at a meeting. It is sometimes impossible to provide excellent light conditions at meetings.
• It is often helpful to step 8-10 feet back from your computer screen and make sure that your slides are readable.
• An introductory and concluding graphic can greatly improve the focus of your talk.
• Make use of the Slide Master capability of PowerPoint, to standardize the look of your presentation. That way, if you need to change the bullets or fonts, they can be changed globally, and you won't have to edit each slide individually.