How to Make an Effective PowerPoint Presentation (Part 1)

What makes a PowerPoint presentation effective? Why are some PowerPoint presentations described as highly engaging and others infamously referred to as “death by PowerPoint”? 

The methodology you adopt when utilising PowerPoint is vital because your PowerPoint presentation will shape how your content is received. PowerPoint is a valuable tool that, when used correctly, has been scientifically proven to increase the persuasiveness of a message. Yet, the problem is that PowerPoint rarely is not used correctly. 

Scientific Principle #1: The Human Brain Has Limited Cognitive Abilities

Scientific research has confirmed that the human brain has the mental capacity to process only a limited amount of information at any given time. There is a consensus within the scientific community that after the brain’s threshold is surpassed, its cognitive capacity to grasp information is severely diminished.  

The typical PowerPoint presentation contains forty words per slide. The wordiness of most PowerPoint slides thwarts its persuasive impact and produces a dangerous mix of boredom and confusion in those subjected to it.

Most PowerPoint slides are unnecessarily complex and exhibit an irresponsible dependence on text because most presenters use PowerPoint as their presentation notes. The presenter frequently reads PowerPoint slides to the audience during the presentation. In contrast to this naïve and detrimental approach, PowerPoint slides should always be designed to enrich the audience’s understanding of the content being communicated. In short, since the brain can only process a small amount of information at once, keep your PowerPoint slides uncomplicated and use text sparingly. 

Scientific Principle #2:  The Picture Superiority Effect 

The second scientific principle that can transform a PowerPoint presentation from dull and bewildering to engaging and memorable is known as the Picture Superiority Effect. The Picture Superiority Effect is the scientific construct that describes how the human brain thinks in terms of pictures; therefore, images are more easily understood and remembered than words.

Consequently, when creating PowerPoint slides, incorporate pictures to visually illustrate what you are verbally stating. 

However, a bad PowerPoint presentation does stand out as a distraction. Whether it’s a million lines of text, a disjointed flow, ugly photos, or poor design, bad PowerPoints detract from the overall message you’re trying to get across (while also undermining your credibility as a professional or speaker). 

What Makes a PowerPoint Presentation Effective?

Knowing how to use PowerPoint and work within it quickly is helpful.

More important is making a good presentation that hits all your goals and delivers it effectively.

 Prepared to Win. Researched, planned, and prepared professionally, so, you can deliver the right message to your target audience effectively.

Designed Correctly. With points that are illustrated, and visually stand-out, without overwhelming your audience or unnecessarily complicating your message.

Practice to Perfection. Rehearsed and timed so your points land as practice with your live audience.

Delivered with Poise. Presented with a relaxed inner-calm and confident outward projection, while communicating warmth, excitement, and energy.

Free from Mistakes. Devoid of cheesy clipart, nonessential flashiness, miscues like reading directly from promoters, and other easy-to-avoid problems.

Consider this your all-inclusive guide. We’ll look at preparing your presentation, how to design it in PowerPoint, and how to practice and nail your delivery successfully come presentation time. We’ll also address what not to do in these PowerPoint presentation tips so you can sidestep any big mistakes.

Before even opening PowerPoint, start by addressing these things. These PowerPoint tips will ensure that you're fully prepared for your presentation.

Presentation Preparation Tips

Know Your Stuff

Your presentation isn’t about your slides alone. It’s about the message you want to get across. Before filling in stats, and data, think about the narrative that'll be discussed, why and in what order.

Write it Out

Start on a Word or Google doc, and “storyboard” or script the entire presentation to give you an idea of how the information presented will “flow” and how viewers will see it in sequence.

Highlight What’s Most Important

A presentation covers the most crucial pieces only. Whatever you’ve been working on that led to this—a paper, a work project, a new product design—doesn’t need to be shared in its entirety. Pick critical points and put the rest in an “Appendix” to refer to during the Q&A session at the end.

Know Your Audience

How you talk to a room full of medical professionals should be distinct from how you address a room full of young entrepreneurs. Everything is different. Your topic selection, the language you use, the examples you give to illustrate points, and the little bits of humour included should be tailored specifically with your target audience in mind. 

Knowing your audience well - their fears, wants, and desires—is the first step towards making a PowerPoint presentation that persuades them.

Rehearse!

It’s never too early to get used to the rhythm of your presentation and take note of points you want to emphasize. While saying it aloud, you’ll begin to develop a “feel” for the material and notice that some things work well while others don’t and might need to be worked around.

Design Your PowerPoint Presentation Better

Second, your PowerPoint slides are available only to you (the information you bring and how you present it). A PowerPoint can be disengaging or distracting (regardless of the content quality) if not designed well. Here are some presentation design tips to ensure this doesn’t happen to you. 

Keep Your Slides Simple

This is one of the most essential PowerPoint presentation tips when designing your slides. Keep in mind that less is more (effective.) A cluttered slide is distracting. It confuses an audience: Which part of the slide should I focus on? Should I read the slide or pay attention to the presenter? On the other hand, a simple, visually appealing slide will engage your audience, keeping them on track with your main points.

Limit Words on Your Slides

Piggybacking on the last point—less is more effective. If possible, avoid bullets altogether. Otherwise, minimize them to just a few simple words. The audience should be listening, not reading.

Use High-Quality Photos and Graphics

One of the essential tips for PowerPoint presentations is to use high-quality photos and graphics. People are likelier to take you seriously if your presentation is visually appealing. Users view attractive designs as more usable. Similarly, they'll consider a more attractive PowerPoint more effective. 

Use Accurate and Relevant Charts and Graphs

Charts and graphs can also be distracting if they're not used right. Make sure your information design is simple and clean, so the audience doesn't spend the entire time trying to decipher what your X-axis says.

Use High-Quality, Fresh Templates

Have you seen the old PowerPoint template that looks like worn paper and uses ink splashes? Yes, so has your audience. Templates can be distracting if they're too basic or the design feels dated. You need one with helpful design options. 

Choose Appropriate Fonts

Fonts are an essential part of engaging your audience. Fonts and typography choices subconsciously affect viewers, causing them to characterize your company's presentation and brand either positively or negatively. Make sure that you're choosing fonts that are professional and modern!

Choose Colour Well

Like font choice, colours cause specific subconscious reactions from viewers. Choosing an outdated colour combination for your presentation will render it ineffective.

Clean + Simple Formatting Makes All the Difference!

Just remember, less is more. The focus is on you and your message, not your slides.

Make Sure All Objects Are Aligned

A straightforward way to create a well-designed presentation is to make sure all items on a slide are intentionally aligned. To do this, hold down Shift + select all the objects you want to include, choose Arrange in the options bar, and apply Alignment Type.

Limit Punctuation

This isn't the place for exclamation points. You emphasize your points (while speaking). Don't enlist punctuation to do this for you. (Leave these at home: !!!)

Avoid Over-Formatting Your Points

This PowerPoint presentation tip is simple: there's no need to have every word of every bullet point capitalized or all your bullet points in upper case. If possible, drop bullets altogether. Again, the simpler, the better!

Rose Davidson is an entrepreneur, podcast host, producer and trainer, online event manager, Livestream presenter and producer, Amazon #1 International bestselling author (2020) and BRAINZ Magazine Executive Contributor and award winner (2021), international speaker, and a co-founder of Healing Through Love, a domestic and family violence awareness initiative started in Adelaide, Australia.

Rose has a burning passion for supporting others to creatively fulfil their passions through online services; whether it be video production, consulting or coaching clients looking at branding themselves using content where they can project themselves as experts via podcasting or online events.