A great speaker sets his goals before a talk. Said Dr. Hausfeld, “If you keep in mind that your main purpose is to educate your audience in a way that will improve their daily lives and do so in a way that is entertaining, engaging, and thought provoking, then you will surely leave a lasting and positive impression.”
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December 2016Karen Appold is a freelance medical writer based in Pennsylvania.
7 Rules of Thumb for PowerPoint Presentations
- Minimize text. You don’t want your audience to be so busy reading slides that they don’t listen to you.
- Use large fonts. Make text easy to read.
- Use bullet points. These will serve as an outline for what you want to say and will help guide your talk.
- Don’t read slide text. Give your audience more information than what they can already read on the screen.
- Add graphics. Photos, cartoons, and logos make slides more visually intriguing.
- Vary slide design and layout. Keep them interesting and unpredictable.
- Don’t overdo the number of slides. Experts recommend 11 to 15 slides for a one-hour presentation.