The presentations help educate academics, scientists, professionals, engineers and more. These people solve local and global problems, invent tools that change lives, and help others overcome adversity and achieve their goals. Websites such as Ted.com and SlideShare.net show professional and amateur presentations of various media (including PowerPoint) that can teach us anything, from steps to use social media to steps to solve social problems. These sites and many others allow people from all over the world to upload their presentations and have an impact on a worldwide audience by communicating ideas in a visual way (through slides) and sometimes orally (through voice- overs ).
Because more and more classes take place online and in “smart” classrooms (a classroom that contains a computer and audiovisual equipment), instructors use PowerPoint to teach their students. In a small study conducted on psychology students from two different campuses, researchers noted that “… students in general believed that the use of PowerPoint facilitated their learning” (Apperson, Laws, Scepansky, 2006). The use of PowerPoint helped the students to relate more favorably to the teacher and the class, and they were more interested in the corresponding material.
Of course, this has led teachers to learn about a new medium and find the right balance between speaking, displaying text and using graphics. This study also questioned the participating students about the use that their teachers give to PowerPoint . As expected, students prefer visual material accompanied by textual explanations. They also prefer that the teacher use the slides more as points of discussion and not only read the text that accompanies them. However, in general, students believe that PowerPoint slides are a great help for their learning experience (Apperson, et al., 2006). You can Buy Office 2019 from SoftwareKeep.
To ensure that PowerPoint presentations educate (and do not complicate), follow the following three basic rules:
- Do not complicate it .
Unnecessary visual clutter and too much information interfere with the audience’s understanding. Do not use a multitude of lines or arrows pointing to all directions or that make your text is tiny to capture everything about the subject. Focus on the most important questions the audience has on your topic. Divide the information, if necessary, into small pieces on all the slides. Simplify your graphs to use only the main points and answer questions during your presentation to expand your topic when some clarifications are necessary. Remember that PowerPoint has a Notes feature. If you distribute your presentation to the class, add additional information in Notes for further reference.
- Use metaphors, similes and analogies .
Substitute the most complex content with a concept that your audience understands (with attributes similar to the theme) to communicate the information in a better way. Using images that your audience can easily recognize and understand helps describe or define your content. See the graphs (designed and edited in PowerPoint) below for examples of how to apply this method:
- Each of the five parts of our training program fits perfectly to form a winning team.
- Close the gap to become a better director by following these four steps.
There are many creative-and memorable-ways to show your information with the use of metaphors, similes and analogies. See the table below and propose to consider which ones can be used to communicate your topic.
- Label all the elements.
Graphics without text result in ambiguity and confusion, especially when a new topic is presented to the audience. Labeling also ensures that your audience can refer to your slides if necessary (such as the previous slide of the human eye). Make simple and direct labels. Too many labels can be confusing and make it difficult to read your graph. If necessary, use a legend to color-code your chart or divide it into several slides. Labeling is useful, but readability is key. Most of the presentation experts agree that the minimum font size should be 18 points, although the ideal font size is 24 to 30 points to ensure the best readability.
