DO’S AND DON’TS IN

POWERPOINT
PRESENTATIONS
As part of Chapter 7
Empowerment Technologies
Lovely Jenn A. Reformado
Table of Contents
o Introduction
o Before creating a PowerPoint
o Do’s and Don’ts
o Content
o Text
o Color
o Background
o Spacing
o Images and Shapes
o Animations and Transitions
Introduction
o MS PowerPoint – considered as the most popular
presentation software
o Features:
o very accessible and easy to use
o serves as a visual aid
o delivers and organizes important points
o Goal: makes for an easier presentation
Introduction
o However, misuse or overuse causes:
o Design outweighs content
o Too much content
o Therefore:
o Observe proper PowerPoint concepts
o Prevent concepts that hinder your presentation
Before Creating a PowerPoint…
Some things you need to remember:
o Know your audience
o Older people need bigger and clearer text
o Colorblind people cannot read red over green
o Know your topic
o Have an outline of your topic
o During presentations, prepare as if you will be teaching it
o Know your environment
o Bigger vs smaller room; dark room or well lit
o Projector issues (some colors may not stand out)
DO’S AND DON’TS IN
POWERPOINT
PRESENTATIONS
Note for this presentation: left is for the DO, and right is for the
DON’T
Content
o Use 7x7 rule per slide o Crowd the information
o 7 lines max; 7 words/line
o Using sentences (with
o Does not include title
punctuation marks)
o Summarize content
o With hyperlink or
o Use keywords or phrases
o Use bullets
reference numbers
o Prevent punctuations
o Remove hyperlink
Content – Examples
Statement of the Problem
• 6 out of 10 teens – suffering with
depression (SWS, 2016)
• 6,234 teens committed suicide (SWS,
2016)
• 8 out of 10 depressed teens – told their
peers about it (PMHA, 2017)
o 6 lines; 7 words per line
o Use keywords & phrases
o Important info only
Statement of the Problem
The status of depression amongst teens
has been rampantly increasing over the
last few years. According to a study by
the Social Weather System (SWS) in 2016[1],
6 out of 10 teens reported that they are
suffering with depression. This was a self-
interpretation of how they felt within the
last 6 months. It may not be a large
number but the damage cannot be…
discredited.
o 9 lines; 8 words per line
o Uses sentences
o Hyperlinks and ref nos
Text
o Font size – at least 18 o Too small fonts
o Title – bigger font
o Flashy or curvy fonts on
o Content – smaller fonts
contents
o Depends on environment
and audience o May be used in title (but
with warning)
o Easy to read fonts
o All uppercase letters
o Uppercase on the first
letter only
Text – Examples
o Too small to read
Moist o Curvy font (Edwardian Script)
o Starts with a capital letter
= X
o Big enough to read clearly
Moist o Easy to read (Century Gothic) = ✓
o Starts with a capital letter

o Too small to read

mOiSt
o Easy to read (Century Gothic)
o Alternate capital and small letters
= X
Color
o Have a color palette o Multiple color schemes
o 2-4 colors / shades
o Vibrant colors
o With dark and light colors
o Add a neutral color o Hard to read
combinations
o Colors that are easy on
the eyes
o Observe contrast on
text and backgrounds
o Dark BG and light text
o Take note of color wheel
Color – Examples
o 2 colors only
o Both dark colors
o Not ideal for color blind people
= X
o 8 colors
o Combination of light and dark
o Colors look good together
= X
o 4 colors
o Combination of light and dark = ✓
o Colors look good together
Background
o Simple backgrounds o Gradient backgrounds
are preferred o Hard to use one font color
o Solid colors or pictures at o Blends into the color of
the sides
the text
o High contrast to the color
of your text
Background – Examples
o Solid color background
May I Feel o Text – light; Background – dark = ✓
By E.E. Cummings

o Gradient background (white and

May I Feel blue) = X
By E.E. Cummings o Text – light; Background – light

o Picture / Texture background

May I Feel o Used a shape with transparency = ✓
By E.E. Cummings to see the background and text
Spacing
o Observe white space o Maximizing space
o Leave spaces between
o Overcrowding of text
lines of text
o Makes it easier to read
Spacing – Examples
o 1.5 spacing between the lines
The fox jumped over
o Spacing around the edges of the = ✓
the lazy dogs. box

The fox jumped over o 1.0 spacing between the lines

the lazy dogs. o No spacing at the upper and left
portions of the box
= X
o 1.5 spacing between the lines
X
The fox jumped over
o No spacing at the left and right =
the lazy dogs. portions of the box
Image and Shape
o Use when necessary o 3+ images per slide
o 1-2 images per slide o Low quality/ pixelated
o Make sure it can be seen images
o High-quality images o Images/multiple shapes
o Around 1000px as background
o Use shapes to illustrate
complex topics (i.e.
flowchart)
o Cite sources
Animations and Transitions
o Keep transitions/ o Flashy/ time-consuming
animations to a transitions
minimum o Random slide transitions
o Use the same transition; or
o Use a variation of the
same transition
o Should be done in a
short time
Animations and Transitions – Examples
o Entrance animation (bounce)
Stan o Too long to wait for
o Too flashy
= X
o Emphasis animation (teether)
Stan o Done in a short amount of time
o Simple animation
= ✓
o Exit animation (fade)

Stan o Done in a short amount of time

o Simple animation
= ✓
Notes on Design
o Select a theme that best suites your presentation
o Establish a limited color scheme
o Have a limited yet effective font repertoire
o Customize your design using View >> Slide Master
o Less is more
o Simplicity is beauty
 PowerPoint presentations are only
there to aid.

The success of your presentation is

not determined by your PowerPoint.
Final Thoughts. That is all.
References
o Elite. (2016). “PowerPoint Presentation Do’s and
Don’ts”, Technology Tips. Retrieved from
http://news.stust.edu.tw/user/news_file%5C4200%5C
20160425105910_2.pdf 8 November 2016.
o Reynolds. (2016). “Presenting with PowerPoint: 10 dos
and don'ts”, Woodland K12. Retrieved from
http://www.woodland.k12.mo.us/reynolds/reynolds_
assets/Multimedia%20Assignments/dosdonts[1].pdf 8
November 2016.