Purposive Communication

Module 2
Communication Aids and Strategies Using Tools of Technology
How to Write a Professional PowerPoint
Presentation
1. Research For Your Presentation

Step 1. Develop Your PowerPoint Presentation’s ‘Thesis’

 Right now, before you get any further in the process, write out what your topic is in one
sentence. Think of it as a mini thesis for your presentation.

 To be effective, your single sentence “thesis” must be specific, relevant, and debatable.
It's an argument that you'll spend the rest of your presentation proving.

 For example, you may start with a statement like, “It’s good for photographers to be
aware of their surroundings.” Getting a little more specific may look like, “As a street
photographer it’s important to be clear about your circumstances.”

 And finally, getting as specific and clear as possible might look like this “mini-
thesis” from one of our photography tutorials:

Few things are more important as a street photographer than being clear on the
context, or circumstances, in which you are photographing. 

Step 2. Identify the Most Relevant Points

 Now that you’ve written out your topic's mini thesis, it’s time to get to the main points.

 The simplest way to do this? Make a list. Jot down everything that comes to mind on
your topic. Once you’ve done this, go back through the list and highlight (or circle or
underline) the points that are most important.

 Remember, one key factor of your thesis is debatability. Treat this like an argument that
you're trying to win. If you only had five to six main points to persuade a listener to
agree with your opinion, which points would you choose?

Step 3. Write an Outline for a PowerPoint Presentation

 In this section, we’ll focus on how to write an outline for a presentation. Remember that
the outline for a PowerPoint presentation helps you decide and organize what to
include. 
  A PowerPoint presentation outline is simply a plan showing the presentation layout and
the essential points you’ll explore. These you’ve already identified in the step above.
Now, organize the points in a logical way, starting with your introduction. 

 The introduction is the place in the presentation process where you tell your audience
what you'll cover in your talk.

 Next, you write a topic sentence for each of the main points you've decided you want to
cover.
 For each topic sentence or main point, you'll now write two to three supporting ideas or
arguments. 
 Your PowerPoint presentation outline needs a conclusion. The most effective
conclusions end on as strong a note as the presentation began. Conclusions generally
restate the key points you’ve made in your presentation and finish with a call to action,
compelling story, or memorable quote. 

2. Sit Down to Write

Step 1. Start Strong

 Your introduction should consist of two things: your thesis and a summary of your
outline. It's important to find the right balance with how you approach this. You want to
neatly skim over each of the main points you'll cover, but without giving too much away
too early.

 Your introduction shouldn’t just be informative, it needs to be engaging, too. It's your
opportunity to convince your listeners that what you've got to say is interesting and
worth their attention. It should grab their attention.

Step 2. End Strong

 Your conclusion will look and sound a lot like your introduction. The only difference is
that your introduction is to intrigue, and your conclusion is to call your listeners to
action. 

 Avoid watered down phrases as you wrap up your points. Don't give hints or
suggestions. Instead, use direct language and make impactful summary points. 

 Focus on what you want your listeners to leave your presentation thinking about and
taking action on.

Step 3. Create a Compelling Hook and Angle

 Your goal with the first statement of your introduction is to hook your listeners. You
want to say something that makes them want to keep listening.

 Ways to hook audience:

 - Use a provocative statement.
- Tell a brief story or anecdote.
- Ask a rhetorical question.
- Say something that shocks or surprises your audience.
- Bring up a problem and share the solution.

Step 4. Turn Your Main Points into Mini Hooks

 Think of each main point as a mini hook. A point is an opportunity to draw your
audience in. Take advantage of this. Every main point you make should be a memorable
one-liner. And when it comes to the delivery of each point, remember to speak clearly,
state slowly, and pause where appropriate for effect.

3. Get Your Presentation Design Right

The writing process for PowerPoint, isn't produced in isolation. It's one of many contributing
factors that need to be planned in partnership to craft an effective presentation. Design is just as
important. 

Nothing will distract your audience more than a poorly designed PowerPoint presentation. Even
if you’ve rehearsed thirty times, even if you’ve properly emphasized your main points, even if
you've got the most engaging hook, it won't move an audience without a clear design strategy
that visually pulls your presentation together. Here are a few critical design steps to take:

Step 1. Choose an Engaging PPT Template Design

Your slides need to be up-to-date and relevant.

Step 2. Work With Relevant Presentation Graphics

 Photos and graphics are a great way to make a presentation more engaging. If they’re
chosen well. But they can also be distracting.

 Graphs are more likely to cause your audience to focus on the screen instead of on what
you’re saying. If you decide to use a graph or infographic to illustrate a point, choose
one that's simple to read.

 Because photos and illustrations can be distracting, use them when it adds to the
understanding of your point. When you use graphic assets, make sure they're relevant,
in a current style, and are high-quality.

Step 3. Keep It Consistent

 One big problem with PowerPoint presentations occurs when you add content. If you're
not careful, you may end up with a PowerPoint format that looks nothing like the
original template and more like a patchwork quilt. This is especially true if you add slides
from other presentations into the one you're working on. 
 
  Color schemes from other documents, misaligned text, varying fonts and more are some
of the problems that can afflict your presentation, especially when it's being built
collaboratively.
.

 It's important that you use the Master Slide effectively to keep formatting consistent.
Keep an eye on the overall feel and look of your presentation as well as the formatting
details to create a presentation that's consistent and feels like a cohesive whole.

Step 4. Format Your Slide Text for Readability

 Your text formatting should be purposeful and visually consistent.

 Your main points should act as headlines to a slide and should be a different size (or
even font) then your body text. The fonts and sizes for each should remain the same
throughout all your slides. 

 Also, remember that when it comes to what’s included on your PowerPoint

presentation slides, less is always more. If you add too much, it can quickly clutter your
slide, and confuse your points. You want your presentation slides to read clearly.

 The beauty of PowerPoint though is that it offers you all the tools you need to  format
your slide easily and consistently.

 A presentation is about you and what you've got to say. Your slides are merely the back-
up dancers.

Step 5. Keep It Simple

 We often have so much we want to share in a presentation that the temptation is to
keep adding text. But one of the most important things to remember when designing
your slides is to keep things simple. 

 This is a case where less is more effective. A cluttered slide is distracting and hard for
audiences to digest. They spend more time trying to figure out what to focus on: reading
the slide or paying attention to the presenter?  

 Conversely, simple, visually appealing slides engage your audience while keeping them
on each of your main points. 

Ten Power Point Slide Tips

1. Keep it Simple
 PowerPoint uses slides with a horizontal or “Landscape” orientation. The software was designed
as a convenient way to display graphical information that would support the speaker and
supplement the presentation. The slides themselves were never meant to be the “star of the
show” (the star, of course, is your audience). People came to hear you and be moved or
informed (or both) by you and your message. Don’t let your message and your ability to tell a
story get derailed by slides that are unnecessarily complicated, busy, or full of what Edward
Tufte calls “chart junk.” Nothing in your slide should be superfluous, ever. Your slides should
have plenty of “white space” or “negative space.” Do not feel compelled to fill empty areas on
your slide with your logo or other unnecessary graphics or text boxes that do not contribute to
better understanding. The less clutter you have on your slide, the more powerful your visual
message will become.

2. Limit bullet points & text

Your presentation is for the benefit of the audience. But boring an audience with bullet point
after bullet point is of little benefit to them. Which brings us to the issue of text. The best slides
may have no text at all. This may sound insane given the dependency of text slides today, but
the best PowerPoint slides will be virtually meaningless without the narration (that is you).
Remember, the slides are meant to support the narration of the speaker, not make the speaker
superfluous. Many people often say something like this: “Sorry I missed your presentation. I
hear it was great. Can you just send me your PowerPoint slides?” But if they are good slides,
they will be of little use without you. Instead of a copy of your PowerPoint slides, it is far better
to prepare a written document which highlights your content from the presentation and
expands on that content. Audiences are much better served receiving a detailed, written
handout as a takeaway from the presentation, rather than a mere copy of your PowerPoint
slides. If you have a detailed handout or publication for the audience to be passed out  after your
talk, you need not feel compelled to fill your PowerPoint slides with a great deal of text.

This slide is not unusual, but it is not a visual aid,it is more like an “eye chart.”
 Try to avoid text-heavy (and sleep inducing) slides like this one.

Aim for something like this simple slide above.

And this is even better…

3. Limit transitions & builds (animation)

Use object builds and slide transitions judiciously. Object builds (also called animations), such as
bullet points, should not be animated on every slide. Some animation is a good thing, but stick
to the most subtle and professional (similar to what you might see on the evening TV news
broadcast). A simple “Wipe Left-to-Right” (from the “Animations” menu) is good for a bullet
point, but a “Move” or “Fly” for example is too tedious and slow (and yet, is used in many
presentations today). Listeners will get bored very quickly if they are asked to endure slide after
slide of animation. For transitions between slides, use no more than two-three different types of
transition effects and do not place transition effects between all slides.
4. Use high-quality graphics

Use high-quality graphics including photographs. You can take your own high-quality
photographs with your digital camera, purchase professional stock photography, or use the
plethora of high-quality images available on line (be cautious of copyright issues, however).
Never simply stretch a small, low-resolution photo to make it fit your layout – doing so will
degrade the resolution even further. Avoid using PowerPoint Clip Art or other cartoonish line art.
Again, if it is included in the software, your audience has seen it a million times before. It may
have been interesting in 1993, but today the inclusion of such clip art often undermines the
professionalism of the presenter. There are exceptions, of course, and not all PowerPoint art is
dreadful, but use carefully and judiciously.

Try to avoid cheesy clip art like this.

This edited stock photograph is more effective and professional.

In this title slide, the image is primary.

 In this slide of the same presentation, the image is secondary and “pushed” to the back by
editing it first in Photoshop.

5. Have a visual theme, but avoid using PowerPoint templates

You clearly need a consistent visual theme throughout your presentation, but most templates
included in PowerPoint have been seen by your audience countless times (and besides, the
templates are not all that great to begin with). Your audience expects a unique presentation
with new (at least to them) content, otherwise why would they be attending your talk? No
audience will be excited about a cookie-cutter presentation, and we must therefore shy away
from any supporting visuals, such as the ubiquitous PowerPoint Design Template, that suggests
your presentation is formulaic or pre-packaged. You can make your own background templates
which will be more tailored to your needs. You can then save the PowerPoint file as a Design
Template (.pot) and the new template will appear among your standard Microsoft templates for
your future use.

6. Use appropriate charts

Always be asking yourself, “How much detail do I need?” Presenters are usually guilty of
including too much data in their on-screen charts. There are several ways to display your data in
graphic form; here are a few things to keep in mind:

Pie Charts.
Used to show percentages. Limit the slices to 4-6 and contrast the most important slice either
with color or by exploding the slice.
Vertical Bar Charts.
Used to show changes in quantity over time. Best if you limit the bars to 4-8.

Horizontal Bar Charts.

Used to compare quantities. For example, comparing sales figures among the four regions of the
company.

Line Charts.
Used to demonstrate trends. For example, here is a simple line chart showing that our sales
have gone up every year. The trend is good. The arrow comes in later to underscore the point:
Our future looks good!
 In general, tables are good for side-by-side comparisons of quantitative data. However, tables
can lack impact on a visceral level. If you want to show how your contributions are significantly
higher than two other parties, for example, it would be best to show that in the form of a bar
chart (below, right). If you’re trying to downplay the fact that your contributions are lower than
others, however, a table will display that information in a less dramatic or emotional way.

7. Use color well

Color evokes feelings. Color is emotional. The right color can help persuade and motivate.
Studies show that color usage can increase interest and improve learning comprehension and
retention.

You do not need to be an expert in color theory, but it’s good for business professionals to know
at least a bit on the subject. Colors can be divided into two general categories: Cool (such as
blue and green) and Warm (such as orange and red). Cool colors work best for backgrounds as
they appear to recede away from us into the background. Warm colors generally work best for
objects in the foreground (such as text) because they appear to be coming at us. It is no
surprise, then, that the most ubiquitous PowerPoint slide color scheme includes a blue
background with yellow text. You do not need to feel compelled to use this color scheme,
though you may choose to use a variation of those colors.

If you will be presenting in a dark room (such as a large hall), then a dark background (dark blue,
grey, etc.) with white or light text will work fine. But if you plan to keep most of the lights on
(which is highly advisable) then a white background with black or dark text works much better.
 In rooms with a good deal of ambient light, a screen image with a dark background and light text
tends to washout, but dark text on a light background will maintain its visual intensity a bit
better.

8. Choose your fonts well

Fonts communicate subtle messages in and of themselves, which is why you should choose
fonts deliberately. Use the same font set throughout your entire slide presentation, and use no
more than two complementary fonts (e.g., Arial and Arial Bold). Make sure you know the
difference between a Serif font (e.g., Times New Roman) and a Sans-Serif font (Helvetica or
Arial). Serif fonts were designed to be used in documents filled with lots of text. Serif fonts are
said to be easier to read at small point sizes, but for on screen presentations the serifs tend to
get lost due to the relatively low resolution of projectors. San-serif fonts are generally best for
PowerPoint presentations, but try to avoid the ubiquitous Helvetica. Regardless of what font
you choose, make sure the text can be read from the back of the room.

Times

Arial Black and Arial

9. Use video or audio

Use video and audio when appropriate. Using video clips to show concrete examples promotes
active cognitive processing, which is the natural way people learn. You can use video clips within
PowerPoint without ever leaving the application or tuning on a VCR. Using a video clip not only
will illustrate your point better, it will also serve as a change of pace thereby increasing the
interest of your audience. You can use audio clips (such as interviews) as well. Something to
avoid, however, is cheesy sound effects that are included in PowerPoint (such as the sound of a
horn or applause when transitioning slides). The use of superfluous sound effects attached to
animations is a sure way to lose credibility with your audience.

10. Spend time in the slide sorter

According to the Segmentation Principle of multimedia learning theory, people comprehend

better when information is presented in small chunks or segments. By getting out of the Slide
View and into the Slide Sorter view, you can see how the logical flow of your presentation is
progressing. In this view you may decide to break up one slide into, say, two-three slides so that
your presentation has a more natural and logical flow or process. In this view you will be able to
capture more of the gestalt of your entire presentation from the point of view of your audience.
You will be able to notice more extraneous pieces of visual data that can be removed to increase
visual clarity and improve communication.
5 Tips in Presenting Your Power Point
1. Know your audience

The first and most important rule of presenting your work is to know your audience members. If
you can put yourself in their shoes and understand what they need, you'll be well on your way
to a successful presentation. Keep the audience in mind throughout the preparation of your
presentation.

By identifying the level of your audience and your shared knowledge, you can provide an
appropriate amount of detail when explaining your work. For example, you can decide whether
particular technical terms and jargon are appropriate to use and how much explanation is
needed for the audience to understand your research.

Ask yourself, “What is your audience's level of expertise and what knowledge do you have in
common?” You can also decide how to handle acronyms and abbreviations. For example, NMR,
HMQC, and NOESY might be fine to use without definition for a room full of organic chemists,
but you might want to explain these terms to other types of chemists or avoid this level of detail
altogether for a general audience.

It can be difficult to gauge the right level of detail to provide in your presentation, especially
after you have spent years immersed in your specific field of study. If you will be giving a talk to
a general audience, try practicing your presentation with a friend or colleague from a different
field of study. You might find that something that seems obvious to you needs additional
explanation.

2. Create a clear, logical structure

Next, you'll need to think about creating a clear, logical structure that will help your audience
understand your work. You're telling a story, so give it a beginning, middle, and end.

To start, it can be helpful to provide a brief overview of your presentation, which will help your
audience follow the structure of your presentation. Then, in your introduction, get everyone "on
the same page" (i.e., provide them a shared reference point) by giving them a concise
background to your work. Don't swamp them with detail, but make sure they have enough
information to understand both what your research is about and why it is important (e.g., how it
aims to fill a gap in the research or answer a particular problem in the field). By making the
foundation of your research clear in the introduction, your audience should be better able to
follow the details of your research and your subsequent arguments about its implications.

In the main part of the presentation, talk about your work: what you did, why you did it, and
what your main findings were. This is like the Methods and Results sections of a manuscript.
Keep a clear focus on what is important and interesting to your audience. Don't fall into the trap
of feeling that you have to present every single thing that you did.

Finally, summarize your main results and discuss their meaning. This is your opportunity to give
the audience a strong take-home message and leave a lasting impression. When crafting your
 take-home message, ask yourself this: If my audience remembers one thing from my talk, what
do I want it to be?

When you are considering how long each section should be, it is helpful to remember that the
attention of the audience will usually wane after 15–20 minutes, so for longer talks, it's a good
idea to keep each segment of your presentation to within this amount of time. Switching to a
new section or topic can re-engage people's interest and keep their attention focused.

3. Write for your specific readers: consider shared knowledge

Visual materials, probably in the form of PowerPoint slides, are likely to be a vital part of your
presentation. It is crucial to treat the slides as visual support for your audience, rather than as a
set of notes for you.

A good slide might have around three clear bullet points on it, written in note form. If you are
less confident speaking in English, you can use fuller sentences, but do not write your script out
in full on the slide.

As a general rule, avoid reading from your slides; you want the audience to listen to you instead
of reading ahead. Also, remember that intonation can be 'flattened' by reading, and you don't
want to put the audience to sleep. However, if you need to rely on some written text to explain
some difficult points and calm your nerves, make sure you pause and look at the audience
between these points; then go back to talking and not reading the next slide.

Using clean texts, darker-colored text on lighter-colored backgrounds, and presenting data as
figures instead of complete sentences results in easier-to-comprehend slides.

Ideally, the slides should focus on relevant visual material, such as diagrams, microscope images,
or chemical structures. A good diagram can be far easier for people to understand than words
alone. Make sure that you point to the slides as you talk. This will help guide the audience's
attention to the correct part of the slide, and can keep them engaged with what you are
explaining.

Make sure your visual materials are easy to read. Use dark lettering on a pale background for
maximum visibility; pale lettering on a dark background can be difficult to read. Choose a
standard clear font, like Arial or Times New Roman, and make sure that the size is large enough
to be seen from the back of the room. Lay out the slides so that the elements are properly
spaced. It is better to split a slide into two or three separate slides instead of overfilling one
slide. Although your time is limited, your number of slides is not!

Remember that you are not writing a manuscript, so you don't have to use complete sentences.
On your slides, verbs (especially "be" verbs) can be omitted.

4. Talk in "spoken English" style, not in "written English" style

The style of spoken English is quite different from that of written English. If you are preparing
your script from text in a research paper, you will need to change the style of the written
phrases into that of spoken phrases.
 The written English we read in research papers often has a very formal style, using complex
vocabulary and grammatical structures. This level of complexity is possible because readers can
take their time reading papers to understand the content fully and can look up unfamiliar words
or grammatical phrases as needed. This is not possible when listening to spoken English, when
the audience hears your point once and fleetingly (this is why brief text and images on your
slides can help convey your message fully).

Written English tends to use fewer contractions, more place-centric words such as "above" or
"below", and a more formal tone, whereas spoken English uses more contractions, more time-
centric words such as "earlier" or "later", and more casual speech.

5. Practice your presentation and practice again!

Public speaking is the part of presentations that most people dread. Although it might not be
possible to get over your nerves completely, good preparation and practice will give you
confidence. Most confident speakers do lots of preparation and use notes well.

After you've written your script, practice and learn is—not so that you learn to say it by rote, but
so that it will become easier to remember the important points to say, the links between the
points (to maintain the flow of your 'story'), and the words and phrases that express your points
clearly.
PECHA KUCHA
Pecha Kucha is a method of PowerPoint that has changed the landscape of presentations. It's translated
as “chitchat,” designed and patented by architects Klein/Dytham in Tokyo in 2003.

A Pecha Kucha presentation utilizes imagery and efficient use of spoken word to create a seamless,
memorable, meaningful and concise presentation. It's a great method for teaching students how to
create their best presentations for class projects.

Designed to be completed in 6 minutes and 40 seconds, the rules regarding its composition are likened
to visual Haiku. 20 images, 20 seconds each, and connected seamlessly with well-developed narration
are your only rules. Certainly as both you and students acquire more skills, your messages can become
strikingly unforgettable.

Creating a Pecha Kucha Presentation Using PowerPoint

1. Open PowerPoint, File -> New; Home -> Layout -> Title and Content/Blank;
2. With the first slide selected, hit Return to create 19 more slides;
3. Command + A on a Mac or Control + A on a PC to select all the 20 slides, Transitions -> uncheck
the box of On Mouse Click, check the box of After, then put 20 seconds; This will enable the
slides advance automatically in 20 seconds.
4. Then go through each slide, to add images and/or text;
5. When finished, like a regular slide show, go to Slide Show -> Play from start.
 Tips and Tricks
1. Checking image resolution
This is to help prevent pixel artifact from displaying.  From left to right, low resolution image
100x67, image after more pixels added in 1200x800, original high resolution image 1200x800.

         

a. If an image is in a very low resolution, it may look pixelated when it is projected to a big
screen or printed large. 
b. Upscaling images by adding in more pixels will reduce/minimize pixel artifacts. This
interpolation process increases pixel count.  However, it can't increase the amount of details. If
the detail was never captured it can't be replaced. The results of upscaling images are nothing
like what you'd get with an image that was higher resolution to start with. 
c. On Mac, open the image with Preview, Tools -> Adjust Size...
d. On PC, open the image with Paint, Home -> Resize...
e. Increase the image resolution to match the projecting device's resolution. For instance,
DMC's projector has a resolution of 1024x768; DMC's multipurpose room's big screen has a
resolution of 1920x1080.

2. Placing an image onto a slide

a. Have a placeholder on the slide. A placeholder is much like a picture frame, which gives
you more flexibility when manipulating images.
b. Drag an image into the placeholder; or have the placeholder selected, then copy and
paste an image into it.
c. Adjust the placeholder border (i.e. the black bracket) to cover the whole slide
d.  Crop picture to fill placeholder if important content won't be lost with cropping
 e. Resize picture to fit inside placeholder otherwise.

3. Using placeholder to crop images

a. A placeholder can be duplicated when it is empty.

b. After an image is placed inside the placeholder, only the image will be copied when you
use copy function. The placeholder won't be copied.

4. Removing the background from an image

This helps to bring focus to the key part of the image and makes the text and image look more
integrated. 

  

a. Double click an image on a slide

b. Format Picture -> Remove Background
c. Drag the rectangle to make it cover all the foreground. The background is shaded with
Magenta color.
d. Draw lines within the areas that you want to include or exclude from the background
image.
e. Click Remove Background

5. Fading an image into a solid color

This allows you to blend your image into a solid color or background color to highlight text or to bring
 focus to the key part of the image.

a. Home -> Insert -> Shape, choose rectangle

b. Draw a rectangle
c. Fill -> Fill Effects..., Fill -> Gradient. Choose the direction of the gradient fill.
d. Next, select the two gradient colors. Click to select the left gradient bucket, from the
Color drop down menu, choose More Colors...., choose the Magnifying glass to sample a color on the
image. Set the transparency to 100%, which will make the rectangle blended seamlessly to the image. 
e. Click to select the right gradient bucket, from the Color drop down menu, choose More
Colors...., choose the Magnifying glass to sample a color on the image. Set the transparency to 0%,
which will make the rectangle have solid color at one end.
6. Creating masks to highlight key areas in an image
Semi-transparent mask enables you to highlight a section on an image. 
     

    

a. Home -> Shape -> Rectangles, select the Rectangle shape, draw it to cover the whole image, Fill
-> Fill Effects..., Fill -> Solid, choose a solid color and adjust transparency to about 50%, then click
OK to apply.
b. Home -> Shape -> Basic Shapes, select the Circle shape, draw it around the area you want to
highlight, Fill -> black or a different color then what you choose above. Click the oval you just
draw, Arrange -> Bring to Front
c. Select the oval and the semi-transparent rectangle, right click over, Save as picture..., save it as a
PNG file since PNG file can preserve transparency setting. 
d. Delete the oval and the semi-transparent rectangle, then drag the saved PNG file over the
image, Recolor -> Set Transparent Color, click the black oval. Then you should see the After
effect.

7. Borrowing nice color combinations from PowerPoint's built-in theme 

a. Themes -> Colors, the eight colors that you see next to the theme name represent one light
background/text color, one dark background/text color, and the six accent colors for that
theme. 
b. There are visibility rules built into the theme so that you can switch colors at any time and all
your content will remain legible and still look good.
c. Theme colors handle both light and dark backgrounds very well. The light colors are always
visible over the dark colors and vice versa, such as when dark color text is used over a light
 background.  There are six accent colors that look good over any of the four possible
background colors. And they are color-blind friendly.
d. Themes -> Colors -> Create Theme Colors, you can check a color's RGB value and borrow it or
you can change a particular color to what you like. 

 
e. Many slide show projectors show dark backgrounds and light text better than they show light
backgrounds and dark text.

Tips in Delivering a Pecha Kucha

1. Say Your Topic in a Sentence
When giving this type of presentation, it’s critical that your topic is concise and straightforward.
If you try to say too much, you’ll end up not really saying anything at all. To be sure your topic is
tight and to-the-point, try to say it in one sentence. If you struggle to do this, you’re probably
trying to present too much information that’ll get lost in this short format.

2. Keep Slide Text to a Minimum

We always advise using minimal text on each slide, but this is especially important for Pecha
Kucha presentations. Because the slides automatically advance every 20 seconds, your audience
won’t be able to process more than a few words on each slide, so don’t include any more than
that. Instead, focus on compelling slide imagery and design.

3. Find the Story in Your Topic

It’s nearly impossible to engage an audience in six minutes using dry facts and figures alone. In
fact, research suggests that good storytelling is key to making any audience pay closer attention,
no matter the format. That said, to really engage your audience here, you need to find a
compelling story behind it that conveys the importance and value of your topic.
4. Tell a Story With Images
Speaking of storytelling, rather than focus on adding a lot of text to each slide, focus on adding
beautiful images that enhance your narrative instead. However, keep in mind that what’s
beautiful up close can often look fuzzy and confusing from the perspective of your audience.
Your images should be as clear and straightforward from afar as your content.

5. Use Just a Few Main Points

It’s really challenging to present more than a small handful of main points in this short format.
Generally speaking, try not to present more than three main points and fill the rest of your
presentation with facts and examples that support those points.

6. Practice Your Timing

In addition to practicing what you’re going to say and how you’re going to say it, you must also
pay close attention to the timing of what you’re saying. Since the slides are moving forward at
20-second intervals, you need to make sure that your speech is perfectly in line with the timing
of those slides otherwise you’ll leave your audience incredibly confused.

7. Give Yourself Some Visual Cues

To help ensure your speech coincides with your slides, it’s a good idea to include visual cues on
each slide that serve as subtle reminders for what to say next. This will also help diminish the
panic and anxiety that comes with worrying that you’ll forget what to say.