I’ve always had a bit of a love and hate relationship with PowerPoint presentations. Despite their effectiveness, many people still perceive them to be cumbersome and old fashioned. I have just read a book by Cliff Atkinson, writer of ‘Beyond Bullet Points’, who believes PowerPoint to be the software device that’s insipid rather than inspiring. Nevertheless, PowerPoint remains a cornerstone of contemporary education delivery. Thus, if you wish to avoid inflicting death by PowerPoint, let’s look at what you can do to keep your presentations slick, informative and alive!

Consider each presentation as a series of small details, just as if it was a Website

Shape the structure of your PowerPoint presentation like a website. Everyone pays enormous attention to detail concerning the branding of their website – your presentation should be the same. Aesthetic concerns are paramount, and your presentation should look polished and well-designed. Use a theme going throughout and avoid the use of bright contrasting colours, as they will distract your audience from what you’re trying to convey.

Stay away from the ClipArt!

Utilise high grade graphics from stylish stock image sites to add a vibrant quality to your slides. There are several sites where you can buy photos for as little as $1 – a sound investment! Some personal favourites of mine include Stockxpert, Shutterstock and iStockPhoto, however there are lots more out there, so if you are curious, do a search on Google for “Royalty Free Stock Photography”.

Less is More

Don’t fill up your slides with non relevant text – make them simple and straightforward. Sometimes actions speak louder than words. With PowerPoint, your primary goals is to convey these actions through your images. The presentation is a visual guide of what you’re dicussing – not something in place of the presenter. Even if it’s a simple line or quote, less is often more.

Use 3D

Give your diagrams extra character by making them three dimensional, and they will grab hold your viewers attention much more than any flat, boring diagrams. This works really well with pyramids, and it will make your objects leap off the page, instead of being static and boring.

And Finally… Don’t Over Animate

Going animation crazy and overdoing the movement on your presentation is definitely not a good idea. Having items whizzing in and out from all over the place, moving sideways and bouncing up and down – will only confuse people. Should you wish to employ animation in your presentations, stick to simple and stylish fading in and out. Leave the flying about to your favourite cartoon characters!

Follow these simple steps and your presentation should be a pleasure to watch, rather than an uncomfortable coffee break, and if you decide that all of this sounds like too much hassle – hire a virtual assistant to do it for you!

Michelle Dale is The Managing Director of Virtual Miss Friday, an accomplished Executive Virtual Assistant Service which helps companies of all sizes reach their commercial targets. Want to get more information about online business building success strategies that really work? Then why not get involved with the Campaign for FREE Virtual Assistance now!

Tags: (virtual assistant, Education, training)

This entry was posted on Friday, May 29th, 2009 at 7:54 pm and is filed under Education. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.