We come to college to learn. Not do we only get educated about our major, but also how to be adults in the real world. We have to learn to act and appear professional. Appearance isn’t all about what shoes and tie you are wearing. PowerPoints also show just how professional you are and how seriously you take your work. Here we present to you the World’s Worst PowerPoint. So, please do take in consideration to NOT make your PowerPoints like this one below!
Design Aesthetics
Design can be a tricky thing to work with, depending what you are presenting and who you are presenting to. Do not use loud colors. Using bright colors such as lime green and yellow are not easy on the eye and can be unsettling to your viewers. Be aware of colorblind combos too. Do not stretch or use low-resolution pictures. The PowerPoint does not look clean and professional otherwise. Choose easy to read fonts, just keep it simple.
Animations and Transitions
Slide transitions and animations are fun to play with. Let’s not put all of them in our presentation, though. They can be very distracting and make the PowerPoint appear messy. Try to avoid them if possible, or keep it to just one style of animation and transition for the whole presentation.
Information Layout
It is good to have your presentation full of good information, but don’t put it all on your PowerPoint. Just emphasize the main points on the slides in bullets. (No large paragraphs) The audience should be focused on listening to you present and not reading off of your slides. Use large, easy to read fonts, at least 30pt.
Check Grammar
Don’t forget to double-check your grammar! Having one simple mistake can degrade your whole presentation. Don’t just depend on spell check. Look over it yourself and have a friend check for you as well.
A few more things to keep in mind while presenting with a PowerPoint is to not read off the slides – talk to your audience! Cite your sources, whether it is on your slide or verbally. Leave time at the end of your presentation for Q&A. Always keep a backup of your power point, be prepared that something may go wrong. Lastly, just keep the power point simple – it’s just a tool.
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