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The ability to deliver a perfect presentation doesn’t solely depend on how you transmit information, but also on how well you implement the elements into your presentation to increase the engagement quotient. In truth, a well-designed and well-structured presentation demonstrates a perfect balance of text with other components while focusing on your audience’s needs and preferences. Below, we have highlighted the principal elements and tips to make the most of them to create an engaging PowerPoint (PPT) presentation. Check them out!
1. Texts
Before you search for Microsoft Word templates for free download, understand that the purpose of text is to complement your speech, not to replace it. Overfilling your PPT slides with a truckload of information will lead to a snoozefest and distract the audience. Instead,
- Keep the sentences short and to the point
- Use five bullet points or five sentences per slide
- Do not exceed five words per line
- Add extra margins and use half of the slide for placing objects
- Stick to sans-serif fonts such as Calibri, Verdana, and Arial
- Highlight the key facts and text
- Use the font size of 20pt for headers and 18pt for body text.
2. Design
Let’s say you want to create a PPT on maintaining a work-life balance. You should first focus on finding a simple design that facilitates communication effectively. Next, use a combination of 3 or 4 colours to create symmetry. Here are a few additional design tips you can consider:
- Use light text on a dark background or vice versa
- In case of an image background, add a border or shadow around the text in any PPT shape.
- Use vibrant colours while focusing on the purpose and audience preference
- Leverage PPT shapes to go beyond the standard shapes
- Create custom shape points, if required, to fit the dimensions to your preference
- Stick to the context when choosing visuals for your presentation
- Stay consistent with the image style to keep the audience hooked and eliminate distractions
- Combine diagrams, screenshots, or schemes with the device mock-ups to make your PPT more appealing and powerful.
- Use graphs and doughnut charts to present data with text and draw comparisons.
- Keep the tables simple and easy to follow without unnecessary borders, outlines, and colours.
As for images, always use high-definition photos to support the context of your presentation. You can also insert GIFs into your presentation, only if the context permits. The last thing you want to do is add funny GIFs to your financial year results PPT. Furthermore, you will find a variety of templates like relationships, cycles, hierarchies, and pyramids. Use these formats to replace boring bulleted lists and make your slides visually appealing.
3. Navigability
Navigability focuses on how you present the slides and control the playback. You must ensure that everything, including notes, images, animations, transitions, and other elements, aligns with the primary objective of your presentation and the audience’s preferences. Remember these essential hacks to make your slides easy to navigate.
- Stick to a simple “fade” effect instead of using a variety of transitions to avoid distractions.
- Enable the “Presenter View” feature to keep track of the time and upcoming slides, access the speaker notes, and use the laser pointer.
- Create an outline of your presentation to set the tone and include three types of slides, such as:
- Welcome slide: Place the title and description of your presentation with your credentials.
- Menu slide: Place the content of your presentation in this part for easy access during the Q&A session.
- Summary slide: A summary of the key ideas to help you close the presentation.
4. Back Up
Always save your PPT in a PDF file to avoid compatibility issues. However, specific media files such as animations, transitions, and GIFs might not work. To solve this issue, upload your presentation into Google Slides, a cloud-based app for seamless and safe access.
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Conclusion
A powerful PowerPoint presentation takes ample time, careful planning, and undivided attention. The goal is to create an attractive presentation that conveys the primary idea. So, whether you are a student or a business executive, follow these tips to make a presentation with the desired impact and high recall value.
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