Proper Preparation In PowerPoint

It is often said that preparation is the most important part of a job. The decorator fills, sands and primes before applying paint, and in a busy restaurant the chef doesn't start peeling potatoes when you order chips, there are lots already prepared.

So it is with your PowerPoint presentation; careful preparation can make the difference between a successful slide show and a disaster.

One of the most useful tools in the preparation of a slide show is the Slide Master. This allows you to set up the style of your slide show before you begin the design of your presentation. Any graphics that are going to be placed on every slide, company logos for example, can be set up in here along with other factors such as font size and colour. This is a far more efficient than formatting each slide individually.

They say a picture paints a thousand words, so make your presentation heavy on the graphics and light on text, and go for striking images. You want your audience to listen to what you are saying, you do not want them to be distracted by having to read lots of text while you are speaking. Keep the writing down to no more than a sentence per slide and you'll keep your audience onside. Bullet points do have a place in a PowerPoint presentation, but don't overdo them as these can give your audience the impression that this is the only part of the presentation they need to remember. Try to produce a well-balanced presentation that flows, rather than one punctuated with stops. Remember, PowerPoint is a visual aid to accompany what you say; don't make it as dull as an airport departures board.

It is important that you do your research well and get your facts right. A presentation that contains inaccuracies is unprofessional and smacks of hurriedness or laziness. Be thorough and you will avoid scenarios such as this.

Presenter: "As John Lydon said in the Public Image song, Rise, 'anger isn't energy'. And he was right, too because..."

At this point the presenter's assistant tugs at the presenter's shirt sleeve and they go into a whispered conversation. The presenter, looking somewhat abashed, resumes.

Presenter: "Ahem. Where was I? Oh yes, as John Lydon said in the Public Image song, Rise, 'anger is an energy'. But he doesn't know what he's talking about."

So remember, check your facts.

And, of course, be sure to rehearse your slide show before the big event. Go through it carefully to ensure that the slides are in the correct order and look out for typos and other glitches. Imagine the horror of standing in front of your audience, becoming ever more flustered because the slides are not in the correct order. Don't wait until the presentation to discover such an error, check everything in advance and approach the presentation with confidence.

PowerPoint is a fantastically versatile application that is a world away from its predecessor, the projector. The PowerPoint presentation is a standard part of conferences and seminars of today, so being trained in its use is a worthwhile step. With it, audio video and animation can be used to make presentations that will hold your audience's attention and thus get the message you want to communicate across. And it will all run more smoothly if you take time over the preparation of it.