by Cody Hodge

Created on: July 02, 2009   Last Updated: November 12, 2009

So you're making a presentation, and you need to use PowerPoint, or you feel like a PowerPoint is going to improve the presentation. You are correct when assuming that a PowerPoint is going to make your presentation better, and in fact most college courses I took required the making of one. However, there are ways that you can make a PowerPoint that is still utterly boring, and there are ways in which you can make your PowerPoint really sparkle. So how can you go about making a PowerPoint presentation that will be effective?

When you are making a PowerPoint, you have to make some use of color. If you don't have any color in your PowerPoint, you shouldn't even really be making one. One of the advantages of using the technology is that it is an easy way to incorporate color and text to help aid in your presentation. If you are using just a Times New Roman font with a font size of 12, then you aren't doing yourself any favors. Go ahead and spice it up with a little bit of color. It will help guide the readers eye to the facts that you want to really stand out.

Besides using colors effectively, make sure that you are using graphics as well. You can time the text to come in whenever you want it too, and you can use cool spinning graphics to really wow your audience. One of the keys of making a presentation is to let the PowerPoint guide the presentation, not spell out everything that you are going to talk about. Make sure that you use graphics and timing to allow you to talk about what you want to focus on.

As I just touched upon, timing is a big thing when it comes to using PowerPoint. Don't fill every single box with a lot of text, in fact only put your bullet points on the slides, and elaborate on them. If you put too much text on your slides, you might as well just type the presentation and just hand out the slides. There won't be a whole lot left to talk about, and then what are you really using PowerPoint for? Keep the text to a minimum, and allow it to help guide you.

When you go about using your PowerPoint, make sure that you have something that you can hand out. While you don't want to put everything on your slides, make sure you have copies of your slides as handouts. This will allow your audience to follow along, and it will give them a chance to get a glance at your presentation before you start talking. If they have any questions they can ask beforehand, or they will know if you clarify anything that they might have been curious about.

Using PowerPoint is great when giving a presentation. Just make sure that you use it as a guide, and not as your entire presentation. Let the slides guide, but make sure you are in control of what you are talking about. Use color and graphics to dictate what points are important, and to really drive a good point home. Technology is great, but use it as a tool, and not as a free pass to get out of talking too much.

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