SLIDE PREPARATION GUIDELINES FOR
ORAL PRESENTATION
Attending conferences is an expensive activity. The audience has a right to
expect quality presentations from speakers. Unfortunately, many of us in
technical areas have not had training in public speaking and when giving a talk
tend to emphasize technical accuracy and detail over effective presentation of
information. These guidelines provide information that will aid the speaker in
slide preparation and presentation to help increase the effectiveness of technical
presentations.
- The purpose of slides is to
save time, increase interest and attentiveness, clarify or emphasize an
idea, and increase audience recall of presented information. Be sure your
slides effectively accomplish your desired goal.
- The most common problem with
slides is overcrowding. The print on a 2" x 2" slide should be
readable without magnification. To help simplify slides consider the
following:
- Convey only one main
idea per slide.
- Express ideas in as
few words as possible.
- Consider handout
material containing extensive detail to supplement a more simplified
slide.
- Instead of one complex
slide, make several simplified slides with a conclusion slide describing
the overall concept.
- A good general rule is
to not exceed six lines or 45 characters and spaces per line.
- To prepare slides that are
successful in generating and holding attention, consider the following:
- Use slides with
contrasting colors or negative slides. Darker colors against a dark
negative background are not easily read.
- Minimize clutter.
- Don't try to tell the
whole story on one slide.
- Be critical of print
size and contrast of slides generated from computer graphics. Some do not
yield artwork suitable for slide making.
- An excellent book entitled
"Writing and Presenting Scientific Papers," by Birgitta
Malmfors, Phil Garnsworthy, and Michael Grossman may be purchased from the
ASAS Headquarters Office; Phone 217/356-9050, FAX 217/398-4119, E-mail: asas@assochq.org.
Remember - don't put yourself in a position of having to
apologize for your slides. If you must introduce a slide by saying "You
may not be able to read this, but. . ." please consider not showing it.
A room for you to preview your slides before your
presentation will be available.
Presenters should provide their own slide carousels.