What is a Good PowerPoint Presentation?

Attraction and concentration of the audience on presentations are rarely accomplished easily. This is not necessarily because of the presenter but simply because of the unattractive slides shown. However, cases of a too avant-garde and unconventional approach does not suit the billing and cause more questions then answers.


According to Krieger, S. (2010), she has laid out 12 tips for creating better presentations which starts off with the most important step; selecting or creating your own theme to give an edge towards your layout. A theme contrives of a coordinated set of fonts, colours, and graphic effects that could be used to enhance the intended information much more clearer and attractive towards the audience. 


In relation to this, Russell, W. (2010) tips the usage of contrasting colours for text and background such as dark text on a light background and vice-versa. She also discourages the usage of white backgrounds and recommends us to use colours like beige or another light color that will be easy on the eyes. 


As for the context of the slides, (AssociatedContent.com 2008) declared that slides should not have too much text. It is better to keep the text to a title and several bullet points. This is to keep it light on the eyes of the audience and not make your presentation draggy. 


Moreover, Marquez, Z.L. (2010) stated also that to make a good PowerPoint presentation, make sure that the slides are easy to read and as supported by Putnis and Petelin (1996), they stated that we should make sure in the document design there are recognisable pattern or flow of information. 

As you can see above, this is what my groups presentation slide looked like and by the layout, context, and colour, it is apparent that this is a not a good slide. The most obvious mistake is the amount of text used in the context. This could have been fixed with a substitute in the form of an image or picture. All in all, this slide is a good example of how not to do your presentation as it is not simple and unattractive.

Reference

Putnis, P. & Petelin, R. 1996, 'Chapter 7 : Writing to communicate,' in Professional communication : principles and applications, p.254. (UNISA electronic library).

Marquez, Z.L. 2010, How to Make a Good PowerPoint Presentation, Enzine Articles, viewed 28 August 2010, (http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Make-a-Good-PowerPoint-Presentation&id=4313178).

AssociatedContent.com 2008, How to Make a Great PowerPoint Presentation, Associated Content, viewed 28 August 2010, (http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/645261/how_to_make_a_great_powerpoint_presentation.html?cat=59).

Krieger, S. 2010, 12 Tips for Creating Better Presentations, Microsoft.com, viewed 28 August 2010,                                                 (http://www.microsoft.com/atwork/skills/presentations.aspx)

Russell, W. 2010, 10 Tips for Creating Successful Business Presentations, About.com, viewed 28 August 2010, (http://presentationsoft.about.com/od/powerpointinbusiness/tp/bus_pres_tips.htm)