Visual support.
WHAT SLIDES ARE FOR
Supporting what you say.
WHAT THEY ARE NOT FOR
Containing what you say.
WHY
An audience reads faster than you speak, and then stops listening.
WHAT TO PUT ON A SLIDE
One idea Few words An image, chart or diagram that carries it
WHAT TO PUT IN YOUR NOTES
Everything you intend to say.
WHAT TO AVOID
Paragraphs Small text Elaborate transitions Charts nobody can read from a distance
WHAT TO TEST
Readability from the back of the room.
HOW
Stand well back from your own screen.
WHAT TO PREPARE SEPARATELY
A document, if the material will be circulated.
WHY
A presentation and a document are different things, and one rarely serves as the other.
WHAT TO CHECK BEFOREHAND
That the file opens on the actual machine That fonts and media work That you have a portable copy as a fallback
WHAT TO BE ABLE TO DO
Deliver it without slides, if they fail.
