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Volume 10, Number 1: October 29, 2003

Who's Talkin' Here? You or Your PowerPoint Presentation?
by Nick Dvoracek, UW-Oshkosh

 

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Presentation software (Powerpoint seems to be a pretty common example) is a terrific tool to support live presentations. But like most tools, it can create a strong framework to hang your message on -- or it can confuse your message by building diversions and distractions.

Many Powerpoint presentations are a continuous drone of title point point point. Everything has the same emphasis, whether it's the initial warm-up joke or the thesis. One simple way to break the monotony is to use the title slide layout to subdivide your presentation and cue your audience to major changes.

However, slide transition effects can be a double-edged sword. Random use of flashy effects can give your presentation the character of a Menard's commercial. If you use dissolves, fades, and wipes in moderation, you can then attract attention to your main points or to a change of topic using the more noticeable transitions like covers, pushes, and newsflash.

Of course, using pictures, charts, and diagrams also breaks up visual drone and can save your audience some of the cognitive labor of visualizing your verbal arguments -- but that's not applicable to all presentations. Avoid the temptation to add clip art for its own sake. Unless an image expands or clarifies what you're saying, it makes it harder for the audience to decipher your message.

An experience I often have as an audience member occurs when the speaker displays a list of items on a slide and then proceeds to expand on each item. By the third or fourth item, I lose track of which item on the list is being explained. Looking up at the static list, I'm given no help in getting back on track, and I've lost even more of the explanation trying to use the slide as a guide. Using the Animations schemes (referred to as Preset text animation in older versions and as builds in even older versions), you can display your points one at a time, keeping the audience in sync with your commentary. You can set this effect on any individual slide from the task pane or under the Slide Show menu or for the whole show at once from the Slide Sorter view.

I often hear the objection from presenters that they don't want to be that tied to the mouse, and I suppose that's something that is a matter of individual style. I've talked to presenters who, in order to free themselves from the mouse, set the sequence to advance automatically after a specified period of time rather than on mouse clicks, but that seems a little risky. One unanticipated slip and you're out of sync.

Be careful to keep the sequences low key. Microsoft has seen fit to provide some truly annoying animation schemes (they use the term "exciting"). Fade, dissolve, and wipe right are effects that get the job done, without calling attention to themselves and overshadowing your message.

A common criticism of Powerpoint presentations in the business world is that the presenter just reads what's on the slide. In academia, a more common problem is putting something on the screen and talking about something else. A projected image is a strong visual attraction, particularly in a room dimly lit to optimize the display. It can be a stressful audience experience when the visual field is drawn to the bright colorful screen, but the audio is coming from the dark about something not directly relevant to the display. If you have a part in your speech where nothing is necessary on the screen, create a low contrast slide with just your presentation title to cover the gap, or create a blank slide with a black background. If discussion occurs that leads away from what is on the screen, pressing the "B" key while in the presentation mode, will blank the screen. Tapping any other key or the mouse will bring it back. Wearing light colored clothing might also help the audience keep track of you. And great advances have been made with the brightness of projectors. If you have the chance before your presentation, try out the slides with the lights on. You may not have to dim the lights at all for the audience to see your screen display.

Another common conflict comes when the presenter displays a quote or other bit of text and then provides a commentary while expecting the audience to read it. It's nearly impossible to read and listen at the same time. How many times have you lost track of the story on Headline News because you were reading the crawl at the bottom of the screen? Either pause and let the audience read, or better yet, read the passage aloud, providing a multiple sensory input for the message.

The primary point is that you are the presentation, and what's on the screen is there to support what you're saying, not to provide a show of its own.

Visit http://idea.uwosh.edu/nick/handouts.htm for more ideas on how to accomplish some of the above.

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