How Can I Make My PowerPoint Presentations Amazing?

http://lifehacker.com/how-can-i-make-my-powerpoint-presentations-amazing-507552122

Avoid the Most Common Presentation Problems

Lack of preparation or passion.

Slides are too complex, overloaded with bullets, lacking in focus, and/or filled with poor quality images.

“Seth Godin’s five rules for avoiding really bad PowerPoints are a good guide:

1. No more than six words on a slide. EVER. There is no presentation so complex that this rule needs to be broken. [Also recommended in another post: No bullets. Use a separate slide for each sentence or idea.]
2. No cheesy images. Use professional stock photo images.
3. No dissolves, spins or other transitions.
4. Sound effects can be used a few times per presentation, but never use the sound effects that are built into the program. Instead, rip sounds and music from CDs and leverage the Proustian effect this can have. If people start bouncing up and down to the Grateful Dead, you’ve kept them from falling asleep, and you’ve reminded them that this isn’t a typical meeting you’re running.
5. Don’t hand out print-outs of your slides. They don’t work without you there.”

“Simplify

Lose the cliches

Information needs emphasis

Designate elements

Empathy for the audience”

Less is more when it comes to presentations (except for font size)

Enhance Your Presentation

Fonts, images, diagrams and shapes, templates, add-ins

Explore Additional Resources

Stephen