The Ten Rules Of Power Point Presentations

Roberrt Morgan (c) 2000

1. NEVER, BUT NEVER, USE POWERPOINT'S BUILT IN BACKGROUNDS (CUSTOMIZE YOUR OWN)

2. NEVER PUT TOO MUCH TEXT ON ONE PAGE (LESS IS MORE)

3. A PICTURE IS WORTH MUCH MORE THAN A THOUSAND WORDS

4. AVOID TOO MANY STUPID ANIMATIONS AND FLYING OBJECTS -- THEY DISTRACT FROM YOUR MESSAGE

5. AVOID STUPID SOUNDS (LASERS, TYPEWRITERS, SQUEALING BRAKES, ETC.) -- THEY DISTRACT FROM YOUR MESSAGE

6. DON'T RELY ON POWERPOINT TO GIVE YOUR MESSAGE. STOP, INTERACT WITH THE AUDIENCE, CREATE A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE AUDIENCE, USE OTHER "VISUAL AIDS" AS WELL

7. DO WHATEVER YOU CAN TO MAKE YOUR POWERPOINT PRESENTATION UNIQUE (SOME WOULD SAY "IF YOU'VE SEEN ONE POWERPOINT PRESENTATION, YOU'VE SEEN THEM ALL")

8. KNOW YOUR PURPOSE -- IS THE PRESENTATION FOR A LARGE AUDIENCE, A SMALL GROUP, OR FOR INDIVIDUAL INTERACTIVE USE?

9. PRACTICE YOUR PRESENTATION BEFORE A FRIEND TO MAKE SURE THAT WHAT YOU THINK IS GOING TO HAPPEN, HAPPENS. AND THE NUMBER ONE, MOST IMPORTANT POWER POINT RULE:

10. ALWAYS, ALWAYS, BE SURE YOUR EQUIPMENT IS SET UP AND WORKING WELL BEFORE THE PRESENTATION. ALWAYS HAVE A BACK-UP…BE READY WITH SOMETHING ELSE IN CASE YOUR POWERPOINT PRESENTATION CAN'T BE SHOWN.