5 Rules for Better PowerPoint Presentations

Keep Things Simple

Simple text, short sentences, and few slides are the recipe for an ideal slide. Many people overdo it and cramp their slides with too many texts. Experts say you should keep your slides short and to the point and use a maximum of 15 slides. There’s also the 5/5/5 rule which recommends that each line of text should have no more than 5 words, there should be 5 lines of text per slide, and not more than 5 text-heavy slides consecutively. Elaborate animations, unnecessary details, and too much conflicting colors will only distract your audience from the main idea you are trying to convey. This is why you should focus on minimal texts and illustrations to deliver your thoughts to them.

Design is Everything

Your slides should be easy to follow and pleasant to look at. Every little detail of your design from the fonts to the theme colors should fit perfectly. Of course, these elements will vary depending on the overall template of your presentation. There are basic design rules to keep in mind such as using dark text on a light background, combining colors correctly, and incorporating Graphics, charts, and other visual elements into your slides the right way. But all of these can be difficult for non-professional designers. A simple trick is to take advantage of professional designs with attractive templates and layouts that help your audience perceive the content of your presentation effectively.

Let Your Slides Tell a Story

Storytelling is one of the most important communication tools. The human mind responds more effectively to stories and you should leverage this to make your presentation more impactful. Instead of making your presentation a structureless chain of facts (which can get boring quickly), it is better to make those facts into the story and see how interested people will be. One simple trick is to make the title of each of your slides a headline rather than choose a vague title or boring description. For instance, a slide titled “2020 Revenue” does not say much. But if you use a title like “2020 Revenue grew by 55%”, your audience will be more interested in knowing what that slide contains.

Engage Your Audience

Don’t just read text directly from your slides. You have to put in the effort to make your PowerPoint presentation more engaging. The more you can get your audience to participate during your session, the more effectively you will be able to convey your message to them. This is why you should work on adding as many interactions as possible into your presentation. Tricky questions, games, and jokes don’t just lighten the mood, they also increase the involvement of your audience. Even with the most serious official presentation, a bit of humor will not be inappropriate. Of course, you shouldn’t joke around all the time. Just keep the presentation appealing and cheerful so your audience does not get bored.

Close with a Call to Action

Many people just end their presentations. You should put just as much effort into sticking your landing as you did with the rest of the presentation. It is recommended that you close with a call to action. This can be a question for your audience to reflect on or a request for their commitment to a project or any other thing to continue the conversation based on your presentation. Closing like this gives your presentation life outside what you have shared. Even if they don’t have to respond immediately, you’ll still give them something to reflect upon.

Conclusion

Always keep in mind that people tend to perceive information differently. So, what makes a beautiful presentation to you might be different from the picture of a beautiful presentation someone else has in their mind. Still, certain standards increase the chances of your presentation appealing to a broad audience. There are also many modern and stylish PowerPoint Presentation ideas that will transform your presentations and make them impactful. Just try to keep up with these trends, graphics, and animations and try to incorporate them for maximum effects.