10 Tips for large Powerpoint presentations

Ah, Powerpoint. How we ever do without it? It 'became a key part of economic life that the thought of getting up in front of an audience and not using it seems almost heretical.

But such is the ubiquity of the PPT, which more often than it is or abused (ie used when it is not really necessary), under-utilized (ie users are not taking advantage of its most interesting features) or, more commonly, improperly ( for example used in a bad way that takes away the message that the speaker is trying to convey).

Obviously, as you use PowerPoint depends on what you are presenting, but you should always remember that there is to complete / reinforce what you are saying, and to graphically display the information in a format that makes it quick and easy to understand. If slides are not doing this, you're better off without them.

Therefore, to ensure that the slides do their work and contribute to an effective presentation, impressive and memorable, here are my 10 tips for better presentations ...

1. Looks are important!

The best presentation of the world can be undone ugly, poorly designed slides, so make sure that the slides are aesthetically pleasing. A clean and simple design is best, and not be afraid to let a lot of empty space. Do not use bright colors, and take care to ensure background colors and fonts work well together.

2. The Rule 30pt

Presentation Guru Guy Kawasaki (http://blog.guykawasaki.com) came up with this great idea - never use a font smaller than 30pt. Why? To ensure you do not commit the worst sin of all Powerpoint slides and fill with text. Remember, the slides are there to supplement your talk, do not replicate - if you're just going to read the slides, you can also just send to your audience via e-mail!

3. Choose your font Care

Do not limit yourself to boring fonts like Times New Roman, Arial or Verdana - there are millions of fonts out there. View our selection of standard Windows or visiting a site like http://www.1001freefonts.com to find something different. An original, less common font adds impact to the presentation and shows you've got a bit 'of care to put it together. Whatever you choose, a clean, modern, sans serif fonts work best.

4. Not Walt Disney

... In order not to use animation too! Various transitions, moving images and text flying in from all corners are annoying, distracting and unprofessional. As with every aspect of the presentation, be consistent.

5. Underline!

The emphasis function (located in the Custom Animation) is one of PowerPoint's best kept secrets and if used effectively can make an appropriate presentation in a slick and impressive. Make a point important to stand out to change the color or the reduction of the surrounding text is easier and has greater impact than using a laser pointer. But of course, as with animation, do not overdo it!

6. Use professional images

There are many good free photographs and images available on the Internet that there is no excuse for using cheesy clip art. Google Image Search is a gold mine, and there are also some great sites for free stock photos of everything, like the superb stock.xchng (www.sxc.hu).

7. Give everyone a break

Incorporate the relevant video and / or audio presentation gives you a break from the language and gives the audience a break to listen to you and looking at the slides. It can be used to illustrate a particular subject, to play in the background while you all take a coffee break, or as a bit 'light comic relief. http://www.youtube.com is a great source of video and the use of a free FLV downloader is easy to embed YouTube clips on your slides.

8. Slides secrets

Every good host knows the value of a Q & A session after the presentation, and a way to make unforgettable your questions and answers is to use "secret" slides. Anticipate the kinds of questions that might be asked (or 'plant' questions prepared in advance), prepare some slides to illustrate your answers, and put on after the closing slide. Then, when asked such a relevant question, simply type the slide number and PPT will take you there. The public will be impressed with the presentation and accuracy of the prediction of their questions.

9. Turn it Off!

Many presenters use PowerPoint as a comfort blanket and would be lost without it, but unless you're extraordinarily handsome or beautiful, or have the charisma of Dean Martin, it is likely that your audience will spend more time looking at the slides that look and listen to you. The deactivation of the slides (or just turn off the projector press the 'b' on your laptop - 'w' turns them again) is a brilliant attention grabber and ensures that people's attention is 100% focused on you. It can also be used to bring back an unruly audience at the end!

10. Follow Up

People have short attention spans and within minutes you turn off the projector, the majority of your audience will have forgotten most of the presentation. Help refresh your memory by turning the presentation into a great tool for follow-up. Save it as a file. Pps file and email it to participants or add it to your website as a download, or better yet, record your presentation (provided that this is not a 3-hour epic) and turn it into a podcast.

These are techniques that work for me regularly, but type "PowerPoint tips" into Google and you will find thousands of others - let me know if you find any real gems! ......