- Informational
- Persuasive
- Instructional
Informational presentations are useful for reporting on research or giving a project update. Persuasive presentations can be used to make pitches to clients or supervisors. Instructional presentations, or “how-to” presentations, are formatted to teach, explain, or train.
In technical presentations, like most other genres of technical communication, good visual information design is essential. Visual aids are useful for increasing audience understanding of both the subject and the organization of a presentation.
Presenters should remember they have an array of options for visual aids from live demonstrations to interactive activities to old fashioned white boards; however, presentation software is the most commonly used option. Among the presentation software choices, PowerPoint is widely available and widely used in the workplace and in educational settings. Other software like Presi or Google Slides are becoming more popular and present may of the same opportunities and challenges that PowerPoint does.
PowerPoint can be a very effective tool for students and professionals if it is used appropriately for the purposes of a technical presentation. Unfortunately, effective use of this tool is not as intuitive as one would think considering its prevalence. To more effectively use PowerPoint often requires unlearning many of the common techniques displayed in the typical college class or even in the workplace.
Pitfalls of PowerPoint
Unfortunately, PowerPoint is controversial. Most students have experienced an ineffective PowerPoint presentation. In fact, a 2015 article on the website The Conversation claims PowerPoint “makes students more stupid and professors more boring” (Sorensen). Although this author and others make good points on the ineffectiveness of PowerPoint, others (Horvath & Lodge, 2015) contend that a tool is only as effective as the person using it. PowerPoint does not make students stupid and professors boring; rather, poor use of this tool makes for ineffective presentations and can lead to laziness in both the audience and the presenter.
One issue with PowerPoint is the preset templates and layouts Microsoft provides. These can guide a novice user to make inappropriate design choices that affect usability. For example, reversed text on a dark background can be challenging for audiences to read. Bullet points do not take advantage of the program’s visual potential. Purely decorative designs can distract from functional visuals and text.
Many of the problems with PowerPoint presentations are the result of a tool that is readily accessible being used by individuals untrained in rhetorical and visual design. Fortunately, students of technical communication can implement a change of strategy and follow a few guidelines to use PowerPoint more effectively.
Rethinking Bullet Points
The key to improving your use of PowerPoint as a presentation tool for technical or professional communication is to rethink the usual layout of presentations you have seen. Most poorly constructed PowerPoints have far too much text, usually in the form of bullet points covering, albeit in shortened form, everything the speaker is going to share. Your purpose should not be a mystery to your audience, but the audience cannot both read and listen to what you are saying at the same time. Rather you should treat your slides as true visual aids that primarily use something other than text to support your points.
Every substantive slide should present a visual that illustrates or supports the point you are making orally rather than summarizing or reiterating that point in text form. In other words, instead of the typical topic and bullet point slide layout, a more effective strategy for PowerPoint presentations slides can be to offer a claim and a visual support in the form of a photo, graph, illustration, chart, etc. (Alley & Neeley, 2005; Markel, 2009).
Sample slide with claim/visual support layout
This claim/support strategy accompanied by various orientation features creates a presentation that is free from visual noise, complimentary to the oral presentation, and easy for the audience to follow. Creating a PowerPoint presentation of this type requires significantly more thought and effort than a traditional summarizing bullet point format, but the payoff is worth the time spent.
Designing a Claim/Support Style Presentation
Although no one size fits all prescription exists for building an effective PowerPoint slide set for a professional or technical presentation, students can use the following steps and stratagems to guide their process.
1. Plan your presentation before making your slide set.
Rather than sitting down at the computer and opening PowerPoint to begin preparing for a presentation, you should start with your topic—the information you need share, the points you need to make, or the process you wish to teach—and determine what types of visual aids will best support your purpose. PowerPoint may not be the right fit for every purpose. If it is the best tool to employ, remember that the slide set is not your presentation in and of itself but rather a way to visually support your claims and guide your audience through the organization of your presentation.
Follow the same process you would for any piece of academic or professional writing. Research your subject, narrow your scope to fit the constraints of the assignment, analyze your audience, and draft your presentation around your main points. Once you have a strong, organized case to make in support of your purpose, you can begin creating the visuals that will most effectively enhance your claims.
The Power Of PowerPoint
You’ve gathered your material, organized your outline, and now you are ready to put together a presentation that will pack a punch. PowerPoint is a powerful tool in the hands of a wise designer. Once you understand a few basics, you, too, can put together a PowerPoint presentation that will be effective rhetorically.
Before You Begin . . .
As you begin the designing process, there are a few principles that need to be understood:
- The design should never distract from the message of the slide.
- The message of each slide should be short and simple.
- The color and font combinations should be conducive to your subject in order to aid your audience’s ability to relate to the material.
- The transitions should not distract.
- The PowerPoint slides should support instead of replace the verbal presentation.
Now that you have been introduced to these few basic principles, it would be helpful to investigate them further.
The Design Should Never Distract
You may have been conditioned to believe the bigger and brighter the design used, the more impressive. The flashing neon signs and bold coloured billboards distract you for a moment while delivering a message, but an effective PowerPoint presentation needs to communicate content without distraction.
As you begin your investigation regarding how to put together a PowerPoint presentation, you might be intrigued by all the bells and whistles offered within the PowerPoint package. You will discover funky background designs, crazy fonts, different shapes, and even high tech transitions. This article will help you discover what you need to know in order to avoid distracting design elements when developing a PowerPoint presentation. Have fun investigating all the options, but remember the design should never distract!
The Message Should Be Short and Simple
As the PowerPoint presenter, you have gathered and organized your material with the intention of impressing your audience. Before you begin the technical side of putting together your PowerPoint presentation, highlight the key words in your typed speech that you want your audience to remember. If you find yourself highlighting too many words or phrases, grab another colour of highlighter and go over your presentation again. With the second colour, highlight only those choice words and phrases you believe are key to communicating your presentation points. Those highlighted words will become your PowerPoint slides.
Don’t be afraid to put one or two bold words on a PowerPoint slide. If those bold words are the words you want your audience to remember, then design the slide in such a way that the words remain in a prominent place on the screen, while you emphasize the significance of those words during your verbal presentation.
As an example, if you are giving a lecture on teen smoking, then your first slide could be similar to the slide demonstrated in Figure 1.1.
Figure 1,1
Introductory slide for teen smoking presentation
While the slide in Figure 1.1 remains on the screen, take the time to explain to your audience that according to Marshall Brain (1997), the author of The Teenager’s Guide to the Real World, “On average, each minute of smoking reduces a person’s life expectancy by a minute” (n.p.). The bold slide above emphasizes the significance of “One Minute” as you develop the impact of smoking two packs a day on life expectancy.
Color and Font Combinations Should Be Conducive
Notice in Figure 1.1 the black background with white lettering and a sans serif font. Joe Mackiewicz (2007), in his article “Perceptions of Clarity and Attractiveness in PowerPoint Graph Slides,” helps PowerPoint designers understand the importance of colour choice when putting together a slide show presentation. Mackiewicz states, “Different colours generate different psychological and physiological responses” (147). Gribbons (1991) in his article on visual literacies offers that “Sharp contrast in colours draws attention.” Gribbons goes on to say, “Darker colours relate more significance than lighter colours” (46). The subject matter of teen smoking is a matter of significance that needs to draw the listener’s attention; thus, a black background satisfies the designer’s need to attract attention while emphasizing the significance of the subject matter.
Your subject matter and mood of your presentation will help to guide you regarding the colour choice of your presentation. Blue is a safe choice that satisfies most audiences. Choungourian et al. (1968) conducted research regarding the visual impact of colour; their data revealed that blue is universally liked, and the preference of blue by viewers has been labeled a “blue phenomenon” in the design industry. If you want to venture from the safety of a blue background, then, according to Mackiewicz, here are some other suggestions to consider:
- Warm colours are considered arousing, active, and lead to higher levels of anxiety.
- Cool colours are peaceful, calm, relaxing, and pleasant.
- Ratings for attractiveness also depend on sufficient contrast between background colour and slide details.
In Figure 1.1, the white lettering is a cool colour that provides sufficient contrast so that the slide is viewed as attractive by the audience. Other spot colours can also be effective; an example of this is the yellow in Figure 1.2. Remember that the choice of spot colours must provide a significant contrast so as to be viewed easily by the audience.
Font choice must also be a part of your design consideration. Hutton (1987) who is an expert on typography states, “Typeface plays a key role in conveying a message because character type can create visual images, association, and meaning through the perceptions of the viewing audience” (25).
Figure 1.2
Spot colour combinations for PowerPoint slides
In Figure 1.2, I chose two spot colours with a black background. The inclusion of the white boarder for this slide was done with audience appeal in mind. Bosley (1992), who did research on the psychological impact of design, explains that the use of a rectangular outline around the text will appeal to the males in the audience and the curved corners will appeal to the females in the audience. Also, the font style has a youthful element, reminding the audience that it is “teen” smoking that is being addressed. As you can see from the above example colour, font, and shapes must be conducive to the subject matter of the presentation as well as appeal to the viewing audience.
Your PowerPoint Presentation: Developing an Effective Design
Identify Different “Design” Options
Go back to the Home tab and choose a “New Slide”. Then go to layout and click. Select a blank slide and then go to the Design tab and have some fun.
Figure 2.2
Examples of different design options
In Figure 2.2 the grey background is subtle enough to add interest but not to distract, depending on your text choice, font size, style and colour. The centre slide requires a bold yellow with warm hues so the words are not overpowered by the blue background. The third slide expresses a more youthful perspective. If your audience is made up of teenagers, then the third slide will attract their attention.
It is important to keep in mind Shelton’s (1987) perspective as you investigate design options. Shelton, in his article “The Case For The Talking Head,” explains that “If we want audiences to perceive the information delivered as beneficial, we must make sure that our creativity in visual design does not itself become the message.” As you ‘play’ with the different backgrounds, you will see many bold patterns; however, I recommend you consider the question, “What makes an effective background for your particular audience?”
Examine The Element Of “Animation”
To be able to experiment with the Animation section of the PowerPoint package, you will need a few slides already in place. Those slides will appear when you click on the Animation tab (see Figure 1.3).
As you take the different transitions for a test-drive, it is important to keep a sharp eye out for what doesn’t work rather than what does work If your perspective is to eliminate flashy transitions and irritating sounds options, then you will be ready to put together an effective and professional PowerPoint presentation that will support your message. Edward Tufte (2011) in his article entitled “PowerPoint is Evil” states, “If your words or images are not on point, making them dance in colour won’t make them relevant. Audience boredom is usually a content failure, not a decoration failure” (n.p.).
Investigate “Slide Show” Choices
Years ago, many classrooms were subjected to the inevitable slide show used as a creative element by school teachers. The lights would go off in the classroom, and the fan of the projector would start to whirl. The teacher, desperately trying to reference her notes by the glow coming from the projector, would begin her prepared speech hoping to help her students understand the subject matter on the slides. With each clunk of a new slide, students in the classroom would slouch further down in their chairs, taking the opportunity to catch up on some sleep. For those readers who have actually had to endure just such a slide show, your temptation will be to pass by the “Slide Show” tab because you have no desire to give your audience an opportunity to catch up on their sleep.
Don’t let the name of the tab derail you; instead, discover what this tab has to offer because it is about production rather than design. At the top of the page you is an icon with the label “From Current Slide”. Figure 2.3 is a screenshot of the PowerPoint slide with the tab “Slide Show” selected. Notice in the bottom right hand corner that the same icon is present. If you click on the little icon at the bottom of the page, the PowerPoint will fill the entire page and the slides can be moved forward with the arrow button on the keyboard.
Figure 2.3
PowerPoint with the tab “Slide Show” selected.
The pleasant aspect of the PowerPoint Slide Show is that the glow, whirl, and clunk of the old slide shows are gone. If appropriate and effective slides are part of your Slide Show presentation, then you will find this tab to be a helpful in the final production.
Recognize The Importance Of Editing In The “Review” Section
The Review tab allows you to sit back and analyze each slide, making sure you have the best word selection for the message you are trying to communicate.
Consider the slide in Figure 2.4 to the left (“Considering the best word section”). You might ask yourself if the word “first” is your best choice. If you want to consider your options, then put your cursor on the word “first.” Next, click on the Review tab and then click on the Thesaurus icon. In the “Search for” box at the top of the right hand column, the word “first” will appear.
What follows are synonyms that might work more effectively. You can use the Thesaurus to help you consider other words for ‘take’ and ‘step’ as well. Below are some alternative phrases:
- Take the initial step!
- Make your primary move!
- Seize your initial opportunity!
Consider The Final Touches Applied Through The “View”
Although the View tab comes towards the end of the tab options, you will find it useful to reference from time to time throughout the process of putting together your PowerPoint presentation.
The first icon on the ribbon is labeled normal. This is an important tab because it brings you back to the original screen. The second icon, Slide Sorter, allows you to see all your slides at one glance. If needed, you are able to select one of these slides to copy and paste. This might be a useful element if you want to add the slide to your notes.
These instructions are meant to inspire as you consider some of the elements needed in designing a rhetorically effective PowerPoint presentation. Don’t be intimidated by all the options, rather enjoy the process of creating memorable slides. It is time to put the power back into PowerPoint presentations!
Myths and realities of public speaking
Speaking in public is not like killing lions
From an evolutionary biology perspective, our bodies have developed to respond to stress in advantageous ways. When we needed to run from a bear, hunt a lion, or avoid a snake, our bodies predictably got us prepared with a surge of adrenaline (Burnham & Phelan, 2000). Hunters who didn’t respond well to stress or failed at hunting were less likely to live long enough to reach maturity and reproduce. Thus, we have the successful hunter to thank for our genes.
We can create the perception that speaking in public is like defeating the lion and really get ourselves worked up. Or, we can choose to see it as a natural extension of communication with others. Speaking in public itself is not inherently stressful, but our response to the stimulus can contribute to or reduce our level of stress. We all will have a stress response to a new, unknown, or unfamiliar stimulus. Nevertheless, the butterflies in our stomach are a response we can choose to control by becoming more familiar with the expectations, preparation, and performance associated with speaking in public.
You don’t have to be perfect
Letting go of perfection can be the hardest guideline to apply to ourselves. It’s also in our nature to compare ourselves to others. You might forgive a classmate for the occasional “umm” during a speech, but then turn right around and spend a lot of mental effort chastising yourself for making the same error in your presentation. We all have distinct strengths and weaknesses. Knowing yourself and where you need to improve is an important first step. Recognizing that Rome wasn’t built in a day, and that you won’t become a world-class speaker overnight, may be easier said than done.
It may help to recognize that your listeners don’t want to see you fail; on the contrary, they want you to do well because when you do, they will be able to relax, enjoy, and understand your presentation. You might be surprised to know that not everyone counts each time you say “umm.” However, if you do tend to say “umm,” “ahhh,” or other filler phrases repeatedly, they can distract your audience from your message. One way to find out whether you use filler phrases is to record yourself presenting and then watch it. You might be surprised to find out you’re unconsciously saying something over and over–or that you only said twice what you thought you’d repeated a hundred times! Once you are aware of your tendency to use filler phrases, eliminating them can become a goal for improvement. Improvement is a process, not an end in itself; in fact, many people believe that learning to speak in public is more about the journey than the destination. Each new setting, context, and audience will present new challenges, and your ability to adapt, learned through your journey of experience, will help you successfully meet each new challenge.
Watching a recording of yourself presenting can also be informative for other reasons. It can help you pick up on your body language cues that might be distracting for your audience. For example, you might see if you sway or rock; avoid eye contact with the audience; wring or rub your hands repeatedly; or fiddle with papers, pens, or other objects in your hands. You might also see if you speak only to one or two people in the audience, and you might also hear if you speak too quickly or softly. Many of these habits are often carried out unconsciously because of nervousness. Once you’re aware of doing these things, you can work to eliminate them. But how do you stop, for example, swaying or twirling your cue cards if you don’t even realize you’re doing it? Preparation and practice are key.
Here are some techniques to try:
- If you are swaying or rocking out of nervousness, trying to stand perfectly still might be incredibly difficult. Instead, consider turning that swaying or rocking into a gentle pacing.
- If you wring or rub your hands, you can instead try gesturing as you speak.
- If you fiddle with any objects that are in your hands, then make sure you present with empty hands! For example, if you don’t have papers in your hand, you won’t be able to twirl them, and if you don’t have a pen in your hands, you won’t be able to click it open and closed.
- If you find you’re having difficulty maintaining eye contact with the audience, try looking between people in the audience, cycling between 3 or 4 different areas. While you still may not be making eye contact with anybody, you will at least be looking out at the entire audience rather than at your feet, your notes, or at the wall at the back of the room.
- If you find you’re presenting to just one or two people in the audience, you can try practicing looking in a “Z” gaze at the audience. Look first at the back left corner, then the back right, move to the front left, and then the right front. You can then move in reverse or start back at the beginning.
- If you’re speaking too quickly or too softly, try practicing some vocal exercises, such as some of those described by Julian Treasure in his 2013 Ted Talk. Vocal exercises can help reduce your nervousness and improve your voice control, making it easier for your audience to understand your message.
Organization is key to success
Have you ever thought of a great comeback to something someone said a while after they said it? Wouldn’t it have been nice to be quick and articulate and able to deliver your comeback right then and there? Speaking in public gives you a distinct advantage over “off the cuff” improvisation and stumbling for the right comeback. You get to prepare and be organized. You know you’ll be speaking to an audience in order to persuade them to do, think, or consider an idea or action.
What issues might they think of while you are speaking? What comebacks or arguments might they say if it were a debate? You get to anticipate what the audience will want to know, say, or hear. You get to prepare your statements and visual aids to support your speech and create the timing, organization, and presentation of each point. Many times in life we are asked to take a position and feel unprepared to respond. Speaking in public gives you the distinct opportunity to prepare and organize your ideas or points in order to make an impact and respond effectively.
Speaking in public is like participating in a conversation
This may sound odd at first, but consider the idea of an “enlarged conversation” described by Julia Wood (2001). She expresses a clear connection between everyday speech and public dialogue. Sometimes we take a speech turn, while at other times we remain silent while others take their turn. We do this all day long and think nothing of it. We are often the focus of attention from friends and colleagues, and it hardly ever makes us nervous. When we get on a stage, however, some people perceive that the whole game has changed. It hasn’t. We still take turns, and the speaker will take a longer turn as part of an enlarged conversation. People in the audience will still communicate feedback and the speaker will still negotiate their turn just the way they would in an everyday conversation. The difference is all about how we, as the speaker, perceive the context.
Some people feel that the level of expectations, the need for perfection, or the idealistic qualities we perceive in eloquent speakers are required, and then focus on deficiencies, fears, and the possibility of failing to measure up. By letting go of this ideal, we can approach the challenge with a more pragmatic frame of mind. The rules we play comfortably by in conversation every day are the same as we shift to a larger conversation within the context of public speaking. This viewpoint can offer an alternative as you address your apprehensions and can help you let go of unrealistic expectations.
References
Burnham, T., & Phelan, J. (2000). Mean genes: From sex to money to food: Taming our primal instincts. Cambridge, MA: Perseus.
Wood, J. (2001). Communication mosaics: An introduction to the field of communication (2nd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Reference
Bosley, D.S. (1992). Gender and visual communication: Toward a feminist theory of design. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication. 35(4). 222-229.
Brain, M. (1997). The Teenager’s Guide to the Real World. Retrieved from https://www.bygpub.com/books/tg2rw/smoking.htm.
Choungourian, A. (1968). Color preferences and cultural variation. Perceptual and Motor Skills. 26. 1203-1206.
Gribbons, W.M. (1991). Visual literacy in corporate communication: Some implication for information design.
IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication. 34(1), 42-50.
Hutton, J. (1987), “How to Think Corporate Identity,” Public Relations Journal,43(5). 25-8.
Mackiewicz, J. (2007). Perceptions of clarity and attractiveness in powerpoint graph slides. Applied Research. 54(2), 145-156.
Stratten, S. (2013). Giving Effective PowerPoint Presentations. Retrieved from https://sbinfocanada.about.com/cs/management/qt/powerptpres.htm
Shelton, S.M. (1987). The case for the talking head. Society for Technical Communication Annual Conference Proceedings. VC12-15.
Tufte, E. (2003). PowerPoint is evil. Wired. 11(9). Retrieved from https://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.09/ppt2.html
Attribution
This chapter contains material taken from Introduction to Professional Communications is (c) 2018 by Melissa Ashman and is licensed under a Creative Commons-Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license.
This chapter also contains material from Your Powerpoint Presentation: Developing An Effective Design from Writing Commons and is used under a CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 or CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 license.
