Supplementary Materials ELC 2203 University English for Business Students

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Supplementary Materials ELC 2203 University
English for Business Students
Unit 6 Giving Oral Academic Presentations
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Activity - Discussion

• Discuss with a partner and come
• up with some guidelines for the use of fonts,
  colours, and graphics when designing PowerPoint
  slides for presentations.
• 
  

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PowerPoint Presentation Guidelines

• The following slides present guidelines for the
  use of fonts, colours, and graphics when
  designing PowerPoint slides for presentations.

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PowerPoint Slides

• Highlight key points and / or reinforce what the
  facilitator is saying.
• Should be short and to the point, include only
  key words and phrases for visual reinforcement.

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Consistency of Layout

• Convey a sense of completeness.
• Show headings and logos in the same spot on each
  frame.
• Use the same margins, font type, font size, and
  colours.

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Fonts

• Font style should be readable.
• Recommended fonts Arial, Tahoma, Veranda
• Standardise the font throughout
• This presentation is in Tahoma.

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Font Size
Your slides must be readable, even at the back of
the room.

• This is a good title size
• Tahoma 40 point.
• A good subtitle or bullet point size - Tahoma 32
  point
• Content text should be no smaller thanTahoma 24
  point.
• This font size is not recommended for content.
  Tahoma 12 point.

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Fonts

• Dont Sacrifice Readability for Style.
• Dont Sacrifice Readability for Style.
• Dont Sacrifice Readability for Style.
• Dont Sacrifice Readability for Style.

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Caps and Italics

• DO NOT USE ALL CAPITAL LETTERS
• Makes text hard to read
• Conceals acronyms
• Denies their use for EMPHASIS
• Italics
• Used for quotes
• Used to highlight thoughts or ideas
• Used for book, journal, or magazine titles

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Using a Template

• Use a set font and colour scheme.
• Different styles are disconcerting to the
  audience.
• Make the audience focus on what you present.
• Remember NOT to sacrifice readability for style.

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Using the Same Background on Each Slide
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• Dont use multiple backgrounds in your
  presentation.
• Changing the style is distracting.

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Colours

• Reds and oranges are high-energy but can be
  difficult to stay focused on.
• Greens, blues, and browns are softer, but not as
  attention grabbing.
• Reds and Greens can be difficult to see for those
  who are colour blind.

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Avoid These Combinations

• Examples
• Green on Blue
• Dark Yellow on Green
• Purple on Blue
• Orange on Green
• Red on Green

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Background Colours Remember Readability!
This is a good mix of colours. Readable!
This is a bad mix of colours. Low
contrast. Unreadable!
This is a good mix of colours. Readable!
This is a bad mix of colours. Avoid
bright colours on white. Unreadable!
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Graphs and Charts

• Make sure the audience
• can read them!

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Graphs and Charts Can you see what this graph is
about?
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Graphs and Charts

• Avoid using graphics that are difficult to read.
• In the previous example, the bright colours on a
  white background and the small font make the
  graph hard to read.
• It would be very difficult to see, especially at
  the back of a room.

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This graph contains too much information in an
unreadable format.
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Readable Graphs
These are examples of readable graphs, with
nice line widths and good colours.
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Charts and Graphs
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Charts and Graphs
80
Mode A
70
60
Mode B
50
40
Mode C
30
20
10
0
North
Europe
Australia
America
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Charts and Graphs

• Look at the previous slide again.
• What exactly is the chart about?
• What should be put above or underneath the chart
  to tell the audience what it is about!

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Charts and Graphs

• Remember that a chart / graph should always carry
  a title which explains what it is about !

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Example of a readable understandable chart
Gross flat production in public and private
sectors from the years 1988 to 1997
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Example of a readable understandable chart
of respondents
Factors leading to serious air pollution
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Illustrations

• Use only when needed, otherwise they become
  distracters instead of communicators.
• Should relate to the message and help make a
  point.
• Ask yourself if it makes the message clearer.
• Use simple diagrams they are great
  communicators.

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Limit Each Slide to One Idea

• Use Bullet Points to Cover Components of Each
  Idea.

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Bullets

• Limit each bullet point to only a few words -
  avoid long sentences that go on and on!
• Keep each bullet to 1 to 2 lines, 3 at the most.
• Limit the number of bullets on a screen to 6,
• 4 if there is a large title, logo, picture,
  etc.

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Attention Grabber

• To make a slide stand out, change the font,
  background, or add animation.

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Limit Animation!

• Use the same animation throughout the entire
  presentation.
• Using more than one can be very distracting.
• The audience will only see the animation and not
  the message youre trying to get across.

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During the presentation

• YOU are the presenter
• DONT let the media dominate the presentation.
• Stand aside DONT block the visual !
• Expand on points Dont read word for word !
• Remove the slide when not talking about it
  DONT leave it up when its not needed.
• GOOD LUCK!!

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Source

• Adapted from the website of
• ARMA International (2008)
• http//www.arma.org/LearningCenter/Facilitator/upl
  oads/PowerPointGuidelines.ppt
• (Accessed on 12 April 2008)