CHECKLIST - Slide Evaluation

The checklist points to five areas that merit your attention: four of them are the four types of slides:
title, hook, story, and take-away, and the last area is valid for all slides. The checklist does not deal
with the presenter or the timing, so for the time being, you can ignore these. They will be added to
a future checklist which you will use when evaluating both the presenter and his or her slides.
As you evaluate each slide type, look at the statement. If your slide follows the guideline, check the
box in front of that guideline. Some guidelines only apply if a condition is filled. "if this, then that".
The condition is in ALL CAPS. It may not apply to your slide. If it does not apply, ignore that guideline
and check its box anyway. You are fine.
For example, one of the guidelines in the Title slide section says: " IF THE TITLE IS LONG AND
JARGON-FILLED, includes a short, easy to understand subtitle. Your title may be easy to understand
and with little jargon. In that case, just check the box.
Let's examine the checklist item per item.

The Title slide

It includes title, presenter name, organization name and logo

IF THE TITLE IS LONG AND JARGON-FILLED, It includes a short, easy to understand subtitle.
IF A PHOTO HELPS UNDERSTAND THE CONTEXT OF THE TALK OR THE MEANING OF JARGON
IN THE TITLE, a photo is added . However, what the photo represents must be clear to the
audience, not visual jargon.
IF THE PRESENTER IS NOT THE PAPER AUTHOR, this should be indicated on the slide with a line
under the author names such as “presented by NAME” in bold
IF THERE ARE SPONSORS OR GRANTS FUNDING THE RESEARCH, It acknowledges sponsors or
grants,
The title keeps multi word keywords on the same line.

Hook slide

It is a black slide over which a story is told, or it is a highly visual slide with little text.
It motivates by providing more than technical background; It makes you want to know more.
The connection to the main presentation title is clear and not too distant.
It comes right after the title slide.
It presents information that is novel and not known by most in the audience.

Story slides
You evaluate all story slides individually, but it may be the case that one of your story slides does
not follow the guidelines, when the other story slides do. In that case, you CANNOT check the box
even if it is only one slide. Therefore, look at all your story slides for each item in the guidelines
before you decide to check the box.

Enough space separates the title of the slide from the visual evidence to avoid crowding.
All story slide titles make a point. The point reflects the finding; for example, Increased
compactness of the material makes a point, but compactness of the material does not.
Each slide is self-contained. It is understandable without having to remember what was on
previous slides.
Animations or builds help tell the story. Animations can be within one slide or between slides
(transitions).
IF YOU HAVE A BACKGROUND SLIDE, it has to follow the hook slide, and it does not require a
title that makes a claim. A background slide is always optional. It helps understand the story
by clarifying context or jargon.
The text claims made via the titles of the story slides are clearly related to the main title of the
talk. They can appear before or after the evidence is shown, above or below the evidence. No
claim exceeds 2 lines of text, one line is preferable.
Legends are close to the elements they describe, not separate as is the case in a journal
paper.
No slide overwhelms the audience visually (dense content) when first seen.

Take-Away slide

It does not have "Conclusion" or "Summary" as a title.

It features at most three take-away points and focuses on the expected outcome or meaning
of the results.
It does not introduce new information apart from the outcomes.
It features at most three take-away points and focuses on the expected outcome or meaning
of the results.
It provides a way to network with the presenter (email, twitter,…)
It is followed by at least one technical slide useful to answer expert questions during the Q&A

All slides
It is easier to evaluate most of these items by looking at all the slides at the same time in the slide-
sorter layout (button next to the left of the slide show button at the bottom of the screen)

All content on all slides is readable at a distance (sit back and stretch your hand to hide the
screen and reduce screen brightness).
All slides have ample space to separate their elements. They do not feel cluttered, unless the
clutter is part of the message.
The default slide background is white, with acceptable exceptions (for example when an
image would be more visible on a black background.)
No slide has a logo or color background that gets in the way of a figure or title.
At least one of the slides includes a motion path to demonstrate knowledge of the effect.
All elements on slides are aligned and distributed equally.
Color schemes are meaningful and consistent from one slide to the next.
No saturated colors on dark backgrounds and no pastel colors on light backgrounds.
No slide includes elements that you do not intend to describe in your talk and which are just
there for decoration or for supplementary information.