PowerPoint remains one of the most popular tools for creating presentations. Well-designed slides enhance a presentation while poorly made ones can detract from your message. In this guide, we’ll explore the steps to create effective PowerPoint slides that drive your points home.
Overview of PowerPoint Slide Design
Great slides should:
- Complement and reinforce the narrative.
- Maintain visual consistency and flow.
- Be concise with relevant information.
- Balance text, images, and whitespace.
- Make complex data understandable.
- Engage the audience and keep them focused.
Poor slide design is characterized by walls of text, cluttered layouts, complex charts, and inconsistent styles. Taking time to craft slides using proven design principles is key.
Steps to Creating Great Slides
Follow these steps when building PowerPoint slides:
1. Start with the Outline: Organize the presentation outline first with main topics and key points under each one. This provides a structure for slides.
2. Choose a Template: Select a template that aligns with your branding or sets the desired tone. Consistent styling creates cohesion.
3. Construct the Story: Each slide should support your central narrative. Build your storyline across slides using placement, imagery, data etc.
4. Design Visual Coherence: Use a layout grid, columns, and master styles to maintain consistency between slides. Align elements.
5. Include Relevant Visuals: Use appropriate charts, graphs, illustrations, icons and photos to complement points - not just for decoration.
6. Write Concise Text: Minimize text by making every word count. Use short phrases, sentence fragments, or bullet points rather than paragraphs.
7. Size Content Appropriately: Charts and text should be large enough to read from the back. Limit content density.
8. Add Design Flair: Use subtle design elements like colors, borders, shadows, and textures to add interest without distracting.
9. Check Accessibility: Use color combinations, fonts, and contrast ratios that aid readability including for the colorblind.
10. Review Flow and Transitions: Ensure your slides have a logical flow. Review transitions - test movement, timing, and effects.
Top PowerPoint Slide Tips
Keep these best practices in mind:
- Have a singular focus per slide to drive home one point.
- Divide information-dense slides into two simpler ones.
- Limit text to 6-7 lines or 40-50 words per slide.
- Put key takeaways in slide titles and leads.
- Use consistent fonts, colors, styles, and alignment.
- Only animate content that enhances the message.
- Include proper attribution for creative commons imagery.
- Proofread meticulously and run accessibility check.
- Get feedback from reviewers before presenting.
Common Slide Mistakes to Avoid
Don’t make these common PowerPoint mistakes:
- Text-heavy paragraphs on slides - use phrase fragments.
- Fancy animations that distract rather than add value.
- Unclear titles that don’t summarize slide content.
- Low contrast between text and background colors.
- Too many different fonts, colors, and misaligned elements.
- Charts and graphics not labeled or explained.
- Bullets that are paragraphs rather than concise points.
- Slides packed with too much information.
- Generic clipart that adds no value to the message.
Following slide design principles and best practices consistently will elevate your presentations. PowerPoint offers tremendous tools - use them effectively.
Conclusion
Well-designed slides are vital for impactful and memorable presentations. By planning effectively, minimizing text, maximizing visuals, and maintaining consistency, you can develop slides that effectively drive home your key points and engage audiences. Treat slides as an enhancement to the narrative rather than just information carriers. With compelling visual storytelling and design, your presentations will stick in your audiences' minds long after completion.
