Chapter 13: How good are your PowerPoint slides?

Table of Contents

1. Aims and introduction
2. Slide 1: Which of these font styles are easy to read?
3. Slide 2: Is this good use of colours and animation?
4. Slide 3: How could you improve this text-based slide?
5. Slide 4: Is this the best format in which to present this information?
6. Slide 5: Is there an appropriate amount of text and graphics on this slide?
7. Slide 6: Is this the best format in which to present models?

Aims and introduction

Aim
The aim of this activity is to provide training in preparing high-quality PowerPoint slides to support the delivery of an oral presentation.

Before you attempt this activity
Please read Chapter 13 "Delivering an effective oral presentation" in the associated textbook: Communication Skills for the Biosciences.

Introduction
Visual aids such as PowerPoint slides can be very effective in supporting the delivery of your material orally. However, the visuals must always be designed so that the key messages of your talk are conveyed clearly. You should therefore aim for slides that are simple in design and avoid common mistakes, such as overloading the slides with too much text or graphics (or a combination of both) or using distracting animations.

This exercise includes a selection of PowerPoint slides for you to review. Study each slide and identify the flaws in each. Once you've identified the flaws then consider how you could re-design each slide to improve its clarity and visual appeal.