Datasheet
⻬ Make sure your text is large enough that it can be read even by the
audience members in the last row.
You don’t want to make anyone in
the audience squint to read your slides!
⻬ Make sure that you use just the right amount of visual content to get
your message across.
Don’t use too little and certainly don’t use too
much.
• Don’t add 16 pictures when a few are enough.
• Use only relevant content; don’t waste your audience’s time and
energy (or yours, for that matter) on images that have nothing to
do with the topic of discussion.
⻬ Make sure that any sounds you insert in your presentation all play
at the same volume.
You don’t want the sound on one slide to be low
and then follow that with a sound that’s loud enough to wake up your
ancestors.
Correct spelling, accurate grammar,
and good word choice
Nothing is as embarrassing and shameful as a misspelling on a slide —
especially considering that PowerPoint includes an excellent spell checker.
But even beyond the spell checker, make sure that the spellings work for the
country and audience you are presenting to. Thus,
color is perfectly fine in
the United States, but make that
colour if you’re presenting in the United
Kingdom or in India.
Avoid repeating the same word on a slide when possible. For example, if you
see a phrase like “report results in weekly reports,” you need to do some edit-
ing! You can use PowerPoint’s thesaurus (accessible on the Review tab of the
Ribbon) to find alternatives if you find yourself repeating certain words.
Don’t read the slide aloud to your audience while you’re giving your presen-
tation. Slight differences in language and wording can make all the difference.
Audiences want you to take the content further by sharing your experiences,
opinions, and ideas on the subject.
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Chapter 1: PowerPointing with the Best of Them
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