Week 5: Clear

I have been exposed to powerpoint presentation ever since elementary school. They are very simple to make. You can go into the powerpoint software, throw a pre-loaded theme onto the slides, over saturate the slides with information, and get up in front of a class to present. That much is simple. Making a powerpoint with a lasting impression, on the other hand, is very difficult. I've seen so many powerpoints fail that it is difficult to figure out what makes a presentation successful. This week, I learned some factors that can make a presentation more memorable and thus, more effective.

While trying to figure out what it is that makes a presentation successful, I came across a few videos on youtube that showed what not to do and include during a presentation. This first video illustrates a couple key points in powerpoint faux pas. While this video is humorous, it does a great job of illustrating common mistakes in powerpoint creation.

• Do not overload slides with text. Less is often more when it comes to getting a point across without putting the audience to sleep. 
• On a similar note, do not read the information on the slides. People can read on their own. You are wasting everybody's time if you read the slides. Prepare slides with main points and communicate details verbally. 
• Black background with white text is not visually stimulating. You will put people to sleep. Create a visually appealing theme that will keep the audience interested in what is on the slide. 
• Do not write "anecdote" on a slide to remind you to tell a story. Rehearse so you know exactly when tell an anecdote or give examples to emphasize a point.
• Create interesting and informative graphics. While the graph in the video was easy to understand, it was forgettable. It blended in too easily with the rest of the slides and background and was thus lost in the plainness of the presentation. 

This is important in the business environment because presentations are vital to informing employees, bosses, and even students in a college setting. A poor presentation can not only go in one ear and out the other, hinder the potential of a company. If employees get nothing out of a boring presentation, it is a waste of time and hinders productivity. While the above are simple guidelines, they will surely improve the quality of the majority of presentations. With the sheer number of powerpoint presentations we are forced to sit through, the least we can hope for is an engaging powerpoint and speaker.