Many college and university students tend to underestimate the design of their PowerPoint presentations. But the reality is that a nice picture is worth a thousand words. Your job is to create a hooking presentation, choose the most suitable images, as well as fill it with the text that your target audience will read in excitement.
A well-designed presentation will help you to deliver your key message to your audience and make sure they comprehend what you’re trying to say. For that reason, we have collected some of the best tips on how to craft a PowerPoint presentation like a professional.
Less Is More
Even online PowerPoint experts working for any presentation writing service will tell you that a professionally custom made presentation shouldn’t include everything. You have to focus on the main topic because anything unnecessary will turn into a distraction. All the details that have nothing to do with the topic make the presentation less interesting and visually attractive. Needless to say, they make you look less professional as a presenter.
This rule is applied to both your text content and the images that you use. There’s no worse way to deliver a presentation than to read a range of slides as they appear. Your target audience can read, and chances are they will get bored after the third slide and start checking Facebook and Instagram accounts to find more interesting content. Make sure to stay away from including too much literal text on the slides, and your target audience will appreciate it.
Choose the Right Font
It is recommended to give your preference to a classy font instead of the ones from a creative category. The reality is that picking the wrong color can turn your text into an unreadable mess. What is more, in case the computer that you use to present your work doesn’t have the font you installed, PowerPoint will simply replace your font with something random. Now imagine how your perfectly arranged content is going to look like with the randomly chosen fonts. Choose wisely.
Don’t Use Loads of Transitions
When students are done with the PowerPoint presentations, they believe that the project comes off as static or boring. That’s when they decide to use transitions. But the reality is that different transitions aren’t the best option when it comes to “adding more life” to your presentation project. However, that’s not the best idea here. PowerPoint includes the most diverse transitions that are typically considered childish and distracting. If you choose the simplest effect like fading from slide to slide, your presentation will look appealing and non-distracting.
Don’t Include Text If Possible
More often than not, images can inform your target audience better than any text. And whenever possible, make sure to describe your points without making your audience read a bunch of lines. Instead, give preference to some well-designed images, such as charts or tables in order to convey the key messages in a clear manner.
If you choose the right images, you will be able to add some visual appeal to your presentation, as well as avoid text-heavy segments of information. Just one high-quality image that is related to your topic can make the difference between failure and success when you’re trying to make some point as a presenter.
When you’re working on your text, do not consider paragraphs and bullet points only. For instance, you may also include tables when they are appropriate. Before you write a paragraph or provide a list of points, ask yourself whether it is possible to present your idea in a line or bar chart as an alternative to the text.
Have a Trial Run of Your Presentation
It is highly recommended to have a trial run in order to make certain that your PowerPoint slides are properly arranged while the chosen animations work the way you expected them to. In order to present your work, make sure to go to the “Slide Show” and click “Play from Start.” You will see your work in a full-screen mode – exactly the way your audience is going to see it. As a result, you will be able to see if all the elements are arranged properly and whether all visual elements are appealing to the audience.
Ask Questions
Questions engage your target audience, hook attention, and arouse interest. So make sure to ask as many as possible. Ask a question and let the tension build up when people are trying to answer one and discuss the details. Quiz what they know to show that there’s so much more out there to discover.
Don’t Stick to All the Rules
Just like with any other project, there are times when you can break some rules. Make sure that the reason why you decide to break this or that rule is a good one. There’s nothing wrong with breaking some rules when working on a PowerPoint presentation. After all, it’s a creative type of work, and if making it more hooking requires breaking some rules – go ahead and do it. After all, you don’t want your audience to fall asleep before you switch to the second slide.
Keep Your Audience in Mind
Make sure to take some time and consider your potential audience. Find out who is going to take in your presentation to be able to include the right stuff on each slide. When you know what they would like to hear and see, you will have an opportunity to create a presentation that will move and engage them. Figure out where your audience is now (in terms of the current situation, their beliefs, and mindset), as well as where you would like them to be when the presentation is over. The more information is available about your target audience, the more chances you will have to narrow your work to the right facts, stories, and concepts.
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