Information Sheet 1.4.

3
Designing Presentation Slides

Learning Objectives:
After reading the INFORMATION SHEET, YOU will be able to:
1. Know the best practices in presenting slides

Introduction
When designing presentation slides, you need to find a balance between keeping the interest of
your audience and maintaining their attention, while not distracting them form your key message.
The aim of presentation slides is to enhance learning and understanding, by supplementing what
you’re saying (not be the main focus of your talk).
BELOW WE DISCUSS THE BEST PRACTICES FOR DESIGNING PRESENTATION SLIDES
1. KEEP IT SIMPLE

If your slides are more important than what you’re saying then your message will lose
impact. Your slides must be an accompaniment and not distract from your words.

• Avoid slides with lots of text

• Ideally you should only include main speaking points in the form of short and concise
bullet points on your slides.
• Don’t fill up empty spaces with unnecessary elements as this won’t help the audience
understand what you’re saying.
• Ensure you have a clear and simple background.

2. DECIDE YOUR PRESENTATION’S SLIDES RATION

You must decide which ratio for your slides will best suit the context of the presentation;
• A 4:3 ratio if beneficial for presentation slides that need to be viewed across multiple
devices.
• A 16:9 ratio should be used conference presentations.

3. HAVE A TITLE PAGE THAT STANDS OUT

Create a visually engaging title page so the audience is interested and ready to listen
before you begin speaking

4. LIMIT TRANSITIONS AND ANIMATIONS

Using lots of animations is distracting and amateurish. It doesn’t add much meaning to
your presentation and it’s boring for the audience if they are watching constant
animation.
5. USE VISUAL AIDS

Visual aids are chosen depending on their purpose, for example, you may want to:
• Summarize information
• Reduce the amount of spoken words
• Clarify and show example
• Create more of an impact by making the audience feel a certain emotion.
• Emphasize what you’re saying
• Make a point memorable
• Enhance your credibility
• Engage the audience and maintain their interest
• Make something easier for the audience to understand

6. USE HIGH-QUALITY GRAPHICS

Main points can be illustrated with images but these images shouldn’t be a stretched low-
resolution phot as this will look sloppy. Also, avoid using Clip Arts as it’s likely the
audience has already seen the images and it generally looks unprofessional. Ensure that
you use simple photos that relate closely with your speech.

7. ALTER IMAGES TO FOCUS ON ELEMENTS

If an image is not the focal point consider decreasing its opacity and if it’s the current focus
then make the image more pronounce. Masking can be a useful way of achieving these
results and it can also be used to direct attention to something important within an image.
It looks more professional than highlighting or using arrows etc.

8. USE PANNING FOR LARGE IMAGES

You may want to show a large image in your presentation, such as, a web page. Consider
using the Chrome extension to capture this. This will prevent you from scaling the image
and distorting it. Instead you’ll be able to pan as you talk about it.

9. USE SUITABLE CHARTS AND DIAGRAMS

Present data using charts and diagrams because they display data in a visually compelling
way and you’ll avoid overwhelming the audience compared to, for example, presenting a
list of statistics. Tables are useful for side-by-side comparisons of quantitative date but
charts are generally better as they are quicker to understand and they clearly emphasize
significance

10. AVOID USING AUTOPLAY FOR VIDEOS

Instead of allowing auto play ensure that you have to click something for the video to play
as this will give you more control
11. USE COLOR
Research suggest that using color increases people’s motivation to read and their
enthusiasm for a presentation. Colors also evoke emotions and can improve
understanding by, for example, highlighting certain themes in specific colors.
Avoid using too many colors in your presentation as this can look cluttered and
unprofessional and keep your color themes continuous.
There are website that can help you pick color schemes, such as, Adobe, color CC shown
below

12. CHOOSE FONTS CAREFULLY

Avoid using Serif fonts, such as Time New Roman because: they’re designed to be used in
text-heavy documents, they’re easier to read in smaller sizes and they cannot be seen well
when projected. San-serif fonts, such as Arial are usually better for presentations.

A popular choice of font is Gill Sans but whatever font you choose make sure it looks
professional and can be read from the back of the room.

Avoid using custom fonts that are unlikely to be on all computers because this can be
problematic on the day of your presentation.

13. Create consistent slides

The slides should have the same design, including color scheme, font size, font type etc.
this makes the presentation flow better and emphasis that each slide is part of same story
you’re telling so this consistency will help with understanding and it’s less frustrating for
the audience.

14. SORT YOUR SLIDES

Use the Slide Sorter View to confirm that your presentation’s structure is effective. Slide
Sorter shows you how logical the flow of your presentation is and it’s easy to re-arrange
your slides in this view.
15. PRESENTATION SLIDES COME LAST
Design your presentation slides after deciding on your message and your supporting
evidence. Remember that the slides enhance the experience but the actual speech needs
to stand out on its own

16. PRE-MADE TEMPLATES

Experts do not agree on the use of pre-made templates but if you do use a pre-made
template ensure that there is consistency and that it looks professional.

17. 10-20-30 SLIDE SHOW RULE

Guy Kawasaki, an entrepreneur and author, suggests that slide shows should follow a 10-
20-30 rule:
• There should be a maximum of 10 slides
• The presentation should last no longer than 20
• The font size should be a minimum of 30pt