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Avoid The Mistakes Of PowerPoint Rookies

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Office Computing January 2001 • Vol.12 Issue 1 Page(s) 62-65 in print issue	Add To My Personal Library
Avoid The Mistakes Of PowerPoint Rookies How To Make Your Slides Compelling & Concise

It's going to be another one of those meetings. As the lights dim and the projection system fires up, you realize that the person running the PowerPoint presentation has just discovered all the bells and whistles that the program has to offer: sounds, animations, flashing text, and a whole host of other special effects. It's too bad, but you're so overwhelmed by the patchwork of effects and features that you've lost track of the presentation's main topic. As you hunker down for a long afternoon, you resolve that you'll never produce a presentation that unsettles an audience as much as this one does.

How can you avoid the common pitfalls that many PowerPoint rookies fall into when they find out about all the jazzy features in the program? Come along, and we'll warn you away from the 10 most common mistakes made by PowerPoint users.

Clean Up Content & Flow

Sometimes the biggest difficulty you need to overcome in developing a presentation is getting started. You need to overcome writer's block and tailor the presentation to your audience's needs.

PowerPoint includes a tool that lets you stay on task and quickly develop presentations with sample content already in place: the AutoContent Wizard. To use this feature, choose File from the Menu Bar and click New. On the General page, double-click the AutoContent Wizard icon. Work through the pages of the AutoContent Wizard, making choices on each. When you finish, you'll have an outline for developing your own presentation. All you have to do is replace the sample content with your own.

Style, capitalization, and punctuation. Even if you rely on the AutoContent Wizard to initially develop your presentation, you can still make mistakes by using too many fonts, inconsistent punctuation, or strange mixes of uppercase and lowercase letters. To help catch and prevent stylistic errors, you can rely on a special version of the Office Assistant: PowerPoint's Presentation Assistant. The Presentation Assistant alerts you to problems and then offers helpful suggestions so you can fix the glitches.

To make sure your presentation follows proven design guidelines, PowerPoint includes standard style settings, such as the maximum number of fonts and bulleted points allowed per slide and the proper punctuation. However, you can customize these settings to meet your needs before you actually fire up the Presentation Assistant. To specify your settings, click Tools, select Options, and click the Spelling & Style tab. Click the Style Options button to display the Style Options dialog box. On the Visual Clarity tab, indicate the number of fonts, bullets, and lines, as well as the minimum size of font for title and body text; use the Case & End Punctuation tab to choose the case and punctuation. Click OK to choose the new settings and click Defaults to restore PowerPoint's original settings. Finally, make sure there's a check in the Check Style box in the Options dialog box and click OK.

The Presentation Assistant helps you fix design and stylistic problems.

After you've set the style options, you're ready to use the Presentation Assistant. First, display your presentation in Normal or Slide view and make sure the Office Assistant is turned on. (If the Office Assistant isn't shown, choose Help, Show The Office Assistant.) Whenever the Presentation Assistant detects any stylistic or grammatical problems, it'll pop up a light bulb, usually in the vicinity of the problem. For example, if you've used inconsistent capitalization in the title, the light bulb appears by the title placeholder. Click the light bulb to see the associated tip, complete with a suggestion for fixing the problem. If the Presentation Assistant detects that you've used too many bulleted points per slide, it'll offer to split the slide in two. Click the option button associated with that suggestion. Alternately, you can ignore the style rule for the entire presentation. To ignore the suggestions (but keep the rule in place for other slides), click OK.

Spelling shortcomings. If you've ever seen a presentation with misspelled or misused words, you probably found yourself doubting the presenter's credibility or attention to detail. So how do you keep yourself out of the same hot spot? You should proofread carefully to prevent getting presentation egg on your face, but you can also rely on PowerPoint's built-in features to help eliminate spelling errors.

You can correct spelling errors as they occur or all at once. To do your spell checking in one fell swoop, choose Tools, Spelling (or click the Spelling button). Whenever PowerPoint finds a misspelled word, a Spelling dialog box displays it in the Not In Dictionary text box. You can choose a replacement word from the Suggestions list by double-clicking it. To skip all instances of the word, click Ignore All. Click Add if you want to permanently place a word in the dictionary, such as company or personal names and technical terms that are related to your job.

You can also correct spelling errors on the fly. First, make sure the Check Spelling As You Type feature is turned on. Click Tools, Options, and then click the Spelling & Style tab. Check the box for Check Spelling As You Type and then click OK.

After this feature is on, PowerPoint flags misspelled words by placing a wavy red line beneath them. To fix the problem, right-click the misspelled word and choose a replacement word from the shortcut menu.

Cluttered Slides

Another common problem people make when developing presentations is trying to jam so much on a slide that none of the points are emphasized or even noticed. Avoid this problem by carefully considering if a slide, slide element, graphic, or text will really help hammer your ideas home or if it's just fluff.

However, if you simply have too much text to squish onto one slide, try splitting the information evenly between two slides. PowerPoint lets you perform this action efficiently. First, click the Outline View button to display your presentation as an outline. Position your cursor to the right of the bullet or text that you want to shift to the next page, and press ENTER. Click the Promote button on the Formatting toolbar (or press SHIFT-ENTER) until a new slide icon and number appears.

Using sans serif fonts for titles and serif fonts for body text creates a pleasing look that's easy on the readers' eyes.

Font foibles. Once you discover all the fancy fonts available in PowerPoint, you might be tempted to use several in your presentation. After all, variety is the spice of life, right? When you're creating a presentation, however, it's best to limit yourself to two or three fonts. If you crave variety, try changing the font attributes, such as size, bold, or italics, instead of introducing a new font.

Additionally, make sure that the fonts you use are large enough to see. Title text should be a minimum of 36 points, and body text should be at least 24 points for your audience to avoid serious eyestrain. Additionally, make sure a good color contrast exists between the text and the slide background to aid visibility.

You'll also want to use the correct font style. Sans serif fonts, such as Arial or Comic Sans create a clean look for title text, and serif fonts, such as Times New Roman, are best for body text because they are more legible. Additionally, you should try to match the font to your message. Use Comic Sans, for example, when you want to keep the tone light; Times New Roman works well for conservative audiences. And forget using a Script or Old English; these fonts are difficult to read.

You can also use the Replace Fonts feature to experiment with fonts until you find a pleasing combination. This feature helps you to swiftly replace one font with another throughout your entire presentation. To use it, choose Format, Replace Fonts. In the Replace Font dialog box, choose the font you want to replace from the Replace drop-down list. Choose the new font from the With drop-down list. Click Replace and then view the results in your presentation. When you find the fonts you want, close the Replace Font dialog box.

Using capitalization incorrectly (mixing up uppercase and lowercase letters) is another potential pitfall for many presentation developers. It's OK to use all uppercase letters for a title, but it's better to use sentence case (capitalize the first letter of the phrase only) for the body text. If you need to change case for selected text, choose Format, Change Case. Select the case you want and click OK.

Color Confusion

Without trying too hard, you can create a presentation with gaudy, inappropriate, or hard-to-see color combinations. And make sure you don't inadvertently use your competitor's corporate colors.

You can avoid designing a color-challenged presentation by relying on PowerPoint's built-in templates. These templates include professionally designed color and font combinations. To use a template for a new presentation, choose File, New, and then click the Design Templates tab. Click a template to preview it; double-click to select it.

If you want to change the template you're using for an existing presentation, choose Format, Apply Design Template. Double-click a new template in the Apply Design Template dialog box. One word of warning: When you apply a new template to a presentation, it may cover up existing objects, such as clip art or graphs. To avoid such errors, proofread every slide with the new template in place before taking your show on the road.

Not So Special Effects

PowerPoint 2000 includes a dizzying array of multimedia effects: slide transitions, animations, videos, sound effects, and so on. But a sprinkling of these effects is all you really need to drive home your main points. Overloading a presentation with special effects or too many slide transition effects creates a hodgepodge result that's sure to confuse or irritate your audience.

Use keywords to find just the right clips for your presentation.

Too many graphics. There's really only one reason to include graphics such as clip art, drawings, charts, and AutoShapes in a presentation: to emphasize your main points, not to detract from them. Including unrelated graphics, or too many of them, can water down an otherwise effective presentation. Additionally, since graphics tend to be memory-hungry, using an overabundance of them can bog down the presentation's display.

To make sure you're using only pictures that emphasize important data, rely on the Clip Gallery's keywords. Keywords are topical words that you can use to locate certain types of clips. To use keywords to locate appropriate clips for your presentation, click the Insert Clip Art button on the Drawing toolbar to display the Insert ClipArt dialog box. In the Search for Clips text box, type a keyword, such as teamwork, and then press ENTER. When you find the clip you want, click it and choose the Insert Clip button from the pop-up menu.

You should maintain a consistent look for your presentation by using clips with the same artistic style or with similar colors. To do this, click a clip in the Insert ClipArt dialog box that has the look you want, then click it to display the pop-up menu. Choose the Find Similar Clips button and click either the Artistic Style or the Color & Shape button.

A Lack Of Uniformity

It's unsettling to view a presentation that isn't uniform in structure or design. PowerPoint includes several tools you can use to give your presentation a consistent appearance.

Maintain consistency by sticking to clips with the same style.

You can use PowerPoint's templates to quickly develop a presentation with pleasing fonts and design elements. To create a new presentation based on a template, choose File, New, Design Templates, and then double-click the template you want. To change the template for an existing presentation, right-click a slide outside of a placeholder, then choose Apply Design Template.

Another way you can maintain design cohesiveness is by using PowerPoint's pre-set slide layouts. The 24 AutoLayouts include placeholders, or pre-designed areas, to accept text or graphics. Using AutoLayouts not only helps you quickly create new slides, but also ensures that your slides look similar in design. To choose the slide layout for a new slide, click the New Slide button to display the New Slide dialog box. Double-click the AutoLayout style that you want for your new slide.

You can also change the slide layout for an existing slide, although some of the existing elements might not display as you expect. Display the slide you want to modify and then click Format, Slide Layout. In the Slide Layout dialog box, double-click the Auto Layout you want.

Finally, you can use Slide Masters to place an element, such as your corporate logo, on all of your slides. To do this, choose View, Master, Slide Master. Make revisions to the Master slide, such as inserting pictures or changing bullet style, and when you're finished, click the Normal (or Slide) view button. The changes will appear on all of the slides.

Poor Preparation

One sure way to fall flat during a presentation is to give the talk without practice. The best presenters make their talks appear effortless, but only because they've practiced.

Take advantage of PowerPoint's Slide Show and its shortcuts to help prepare your presentation. For example, you can use slide show keyboard commands to navigate through your slide show instead of distracting your audience by popping up the shortcut menu on-screen. To see a list of the slide show shortcuts, view your presentation as a slide show and then press F1.

The slide show shortcut keys let you create a professional and polished look.

You also may want to arrive early for your presentation and check the equipment and meeting room so you can correct any glitches, such as the visibility and legibility of your presentation. For example, if the color contrast is poor, you can change the template or the color scheme used for the template. To modify the color scheme, choose Format, Slide Color Scheme, then double-click the color combination you want.

You can also use the Rehearse Timings feature to practice the overall length of your presentation, as well as how long you're dwelling on each slide. (If you're talking for more than two minutes per slide, you're probably talking too long.) To use the Rehearse Timings feature, choose View, Slide Sorter so you can see your presentation in Slide Sorter view. Click the first slide to select it and then click the Rehearse Timings button. Talk about each slide just as if you were actually giving the presentation, clicking the mouse to move to the next slide. When you're finished, choose Yes in the message box to see your slide timings in Slide Sorter view.

The next time you create a presentation, follow the tips we've outlined here. When you're standing before your audience, you'll know that your presentation is top-notch.

by Linda Bird

Building Better Slides

As you build your presentation, keep the following design principles in mind.

� Include the body text (bulleted point) information in short, to-the-point phrases, not complete sentences.

� Plan three to five text slides per major concept.

� Use just one main concept per slide.

� Use the minimum number of elements on a slide that will effectively convey your messages.

� Limit each slide to six or fewer bulleted points that support the main idea.

� Use five or fewer data series per chart.

� Avoid too many objects, such as clip art or AutoShapes, on a slide.

� Explode a pie slice or change data series chart color to emphasize the most important data.

� Avoid juxtaposing red and green, such as in chart series. Approximately 4% of the population is colorblind and will have difficulty viewing the information.

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