Cray User Group

How to Prepare a Slide Presentation

 

Please read and follow these guidelines. If you use PowerPoint, please use the template for which you will find a link below.

Planning

Before you make a presentation, consider this wise Chinese proverb:

"Tell me, I forget. Show me, I remember. Involve me, I understand."

Your goals as a speaker are to make listeners understand, remember, and act on your ideas. To get them interested and involved, include effective visual aids. Some experts say that we acquire 85 percent of all our knowledge visually. Therefore, an oral presentation that incorporates visual aids is far more likely to be understood and retained than one lacking enhancement. And remember that presentation slides summarize; they do not tell the whole story. That's the job of the presenter. Your slides should provide an aid to the audience as they hear you present your ideas. Slides are not a script that the presenter reads to the audience.

  • Keep all visuals simple: spotlight major points only.
  • Use the same font size and style for similar headings.
  • Apply the Rule of Seven. For the most readable slides, use no more than
    • seven words on a line,
    • seven total lines, and
    • 49 total words.
  • Keep bullet points to no more than five levels.
  • Use the layout provided in the PowerPoint template for your title page and for all slides.
  • If you import text by linking to or copying from another document (e.g., Word or Excel), be sure the imported text uses the correct fonts: Arial and Arial Black.
  • If you use dynamic effects (e.g. fades, zoom, etc.), please remove these effects before preparing the PDF version of your sildes for publication in the conference Proceedings.

Building Bullet Points

When you prepare your slides, translate the major headings in your presentation outline into titles. Then build bullet points using short phrases. Avoid using numbered lists unless the numbers provide significant information—e.g., a hierarchical order from first to last. Bullet points are for parallel concepts, all of which relate to the title of your slide.

One of the best features about electronic presentation programs is the "build" capability. You can focus the viewer's attention on each specific item as you add bullet points line by line. The bulleted items "fly" in from the left, right, top, or bottom. They can also build or dissolve from the center. As each new bullet point is added, leave the previous ones on the slide but show them in lightened text. In building bullet points or in moving from one slide to the next, you can use slide transition elements, such as "wipe-outs," glitter, ripple, liquid, and vortex effects. But don't overdo it. Experts suggest choosing one transition effect and applying it consistently.

Fonts

  • For proportional text, use the fonts specified in the PowerPoint template: Arial and Arial Black.
  • For monospaced text use Courier.
  • Use the point sizes set in the PowerPoint template
    • 40 for slide titles
    • Bullet points
      • 30 for level one
      • 28 for level two
      • 24 for level three
      • 22 for level four, and
      • 20 for level five.

Working with Color

  • Generally, it's smart to use a color palette of five or fewer colors for an entire presentation.
  • Use the same color for similar elements.
  • Use dark text on a light background for presentation in a bright room.
  • Use light text on a dark background for presentation in a darkened room.
  • Use dark text on a light background for transparencies.
  • Avoid light text on a light background (e.g., yellow text on a white background).
  • Avoid dark text on a dark background (e.g., red text on a blue background).

Tips for Using Slides

  • Be sure that everyone in the audience can see the slides.
  • Show a slide, allow the audience to read it, then paraphrase it. Do NOT read from a slide.
  • Rehearse by practicing talking to the audience, not to the slides.
  • Bring backup floppy disk or pen-drive in case of equipment failure.

PowerPoint Template

Click on this link to download the PowerPoint template you may use to prepare your slides. (Depending on which browser you use and its preferences, you may have to click and hold down the mouse button to download this file or you may have to change your preferences to download rather than display files with a .ppt extension.) This template may be opened with Apple's Keynote presentation software.

Contact the CUG Office for technical assistance in using PowerPoint.

For assistance with the content of your presentation, contact your SIG Chair.

(revised Tuesday, December 18, 2007)