Electronic Presentation Guidelines for Author Talks

1. Electronic Presentation Guidelinesfor Author Talks My Name My Company, Inc.

2. Slide 2 Purpose of this Presentation Recommend guidelines for electronic slide presentation Provide electronic template The file you are reading has settings, colors and fonts that make it easy to read You may edit this file and replace our slides with your presentation In past years, IMS has allowed speakers to use electronic presentations however they liked. The result was far too many presentations where the slides were unreadable or otherwise deficient, and last-minute delays from hooking up laptops and occasional compatibility problems. We are providing this guide to help you create readable, quality slides for your presentation. The purpose of this presentation is threefold: 1. It documents guidelines for good practice. 2. This presentation follows the standards and guidelines that it contains. With the obvious exception of the �Bad examples� portion, the slide guide is an example of a presentation that conforms to both standards and guidelines. 3. This presentation may be used as a starting point for your own IMS slides. Simply replace the text and diagrams that you see here with your own information.In past years, IMS has allowed speakers to use electronic presentations however they liked. The result was far too many presentations where the slides were unreadable or otherwise deficient, and last-minute delays from hooking up laptops and occasional compatibility problems. We are providing this guide to help you create readable, quality slides for your presentation. The purpose of this presentation is threefold: 1. It documents guidelines for good practice. 2. This presentation follows the standards and guidelines that it contains. With the obvious exception of the �Bad examples� portion, the slide guide is an example of a presentation that conforms to both standards and guidelines. 3. This presentation may be used as a starting point for your own IMS slides. Simply replace the text and diagrams that you see here with your own information.

3. Slide 3 Presentation Flow Title slide Outline slide (of your talk, not your paper) Introduction / Motivation / Problem or Challenge Details of work How do your results compare to other reported work Conclusion slide Backup slides?? In summary, your first slide must be the title slide. Your company or university logo may appear on the title slide, and only this slide. This is followed by your outline slide, motivation slide, pros & cons, and your detail slides. Most speakers will use between 40 and 120 seconds per slide, so plan accordingly, and rehearse your timing! Finally, have one slide that concludes your talk and leaves the audience with the key points you�d like to communicate. Consider having backup slides in reserve to answer specific questions. If time allows, address questions with your backup slides, located beyond your conclusion slide. (Do not expect to have time to cover backup slides.)In summary, your first slide must be the title slide. Your company or university logo may appear on the title slide, and only this slide. This is followed by your outline slide, motivation slide, pros & cons, and your detail slides. Most speakers will use between 40 and 120 seconds per slide, so plan accordingly, and rehearse your timing! Finally, have one slide that concludes your talk and leaves the audience with the key points you�d like to communicate. Consider having backup slides in reserve to answer specific questions. If time allows, address questions with your backup slides, located beyond your conclusion slide. (Do not expect to have time to cover backup slides.)

4. Slide 4 Style Guidelines Short phrases, not long sentences Use Arial, or similar sans serif font This line uses the Helvetica font The rest of the document uses Arial 28 Point or larger for titles Do not use fonts Smaller than 18 point, so people in the back of the auditorium can read your slides! Let your slides highlight your talk, and not be a substitute for what you have to say. You, the speaker, deliver the message and let your slides augment your talk. Use fonts that do not have a blurred appearance or look like 70�s �computer characters�. Arial and Helvetica fonts are two fonts that project well. If you use other fonts, we suggest you project them electronically to get a feel for what your audience will see. 36 point titles with 28 point supportive text are visible from the rear of the session room. Smaller fonts may be visible at the front of the session room or on your monitor, but NOT from the rear half of the session room. USE NOTHING SMALLER THAN 28 POINT FONT! Larger font is even better. Make your text large enough so that your audience instantly reads your message. If they have to concentrate to read your slides they will be concentrating on the screen, and not on what you are saying, or they may just walk out on you...Let your slides highlight your talk, and not be a substitute for what you have to say. You, the speaker, deliver the message and let your slides augment your talk. Use fonts that do not have a blurred appearance or look like 70�s �computer characters�. Arial and Helvetica fonts are two fonts that project well. If you use other fonts, we suggest you project them electronically to get a feel for what your audience will see. 36 point titles with 28 point supportive text are visible from the rear of the session room. Smaller fonts may be visible at the front of the session room or on your monitor, but NOT from the rear half of the session room. USE NOTHING SMALLER THAN 28 POINT FONT! Larger font is even better. Make your text large enough so that your audience instantly reads your message. If they have to concentrate to read your slides they will be concentrating on the screen, and not on what you are saying, or they may just walk out on you...

5. Slide 5 Special Fonts or Symbols Watch out for: Wingdings MS Line Draw Monotype Sorts Scientific symbol fonts Asian language fonts Can embed TrueType fonts in file The fonts on the computer where you prepare your presentation will not necessarily all be present on the projection computers. Some authors were surprised to discover that bullet fonts and scientific character fonts displayed differently when loaded on the conference presentation computers. Problems were especially common with �Wingdings�, �MS Line Draw� and �Monotype Sorts� fonts. Also, some Asian language fonts were problem sources. If your presentation has special fonts, you can include the fonts in your upload by checking the �Embed TrueType Fonts� box that appears when the �File->Save As�� menu is selected. Caution: Use of this option increases the size of your presentation file by as much as 5X. Large presentation files take a long time to upload. Use embedded fonts only if necessary.The fonts on the computer where you prepare your presentation will not necessarily all be present on the projection computers. Some authors were surprised to discover that bullet fonts and scientific character fonts displayed differently when loaded on the conference presentation computers. Problems were especially common with �Wingdings�, �MS Line Draw� and �Monotype Sorts� fonts. Also, some Asian language fonts were problem sources. If your presentation has special fonts, you can include the fonts in your upload by checking the �Embed TrueType Fonts� box that appears when the �File->Save As�� menu is selected. Caution: Use of this option increases the size of your presentation file by as much as 5X. Large presentation files take a long time to upload. Use embedded fonts only if necessary.

6. Slide 6 Style Guidelines (cont) Roughly one slide per 1 or 2 minutes of talk Each slide should have a title 9 lines max on a text slide 7 words max per line In �File->Page Setup�� window specify: Slides sized for: �On Screen Show� Slide orientation: Landscape High contrast: Dark lettering/lines on a white or light background or vice-versa One of the most common complaints from attendees is unreadable visual aids. If you follow these guidelines you can avoid two of the most common pitfalls: 1. Trying to cram too much information on a single slide. A common mistake is to use reduced font sizes to make room for more words and lines. If you can�t read your lettering from ten feet away from a laptop display (15 feet from larger monitors), then most of your audience will have problems. 2. The second common complaint is bad color contrast. Colors that look good on your monitor do not necessarily view well when projected in the session room. If in doubt choose in favor of higher contrast. Examples: White lettering on a black background (while perhaps somewhat dull) is perfectly readable; however, we discourage the use of a black background. We prefer that you use a dark blue background, per the template. Cyan text on a blue background may look really good on your monitor, but is virtually invisible when projected in a session room. Rule of thumb: Red text and lines are usually invisible if projected. You would be surprised at the number of color-blind people who simply can�t see dark red colors under these circumstances !One of the most common complaints from attendees is unreadable visual aids. If you follow these guidelines you can avoid two of the most common pitfalls: 1. Trying to cram too much information on a single slide. A common mistake is to use reduced font sizes to make room for more words and lines. If you can�t read your lettering from ten feet away from a laptop display (15 feet from larger monitors), then most of your audience will have problems. 2. The second common complaint is bad color contrast. Colors that look good on your monitor do not necessarily view well when projected in the session room. If in doubt choose in favor of higher contrast. Examples: White lettering on a black background (while perhaps somewhat dull) is perfectly readable; however, we discourage the use of a black background. We prefer that you use a dark blue background, per the template. Cyan text on a blue background may look really good on your monitor, but is virtually invisible when projected in a session room. Rule of thumb: Red text and lines are usually invisible if projected. You would be surprised at the number of color-blind people who simply can�t see dark red colors under these circumstances !

7. Slide 7 Contrast High contrast very important Use dark lines/text on a light background Foreground: Black, Blue, Red Background: White Caution: Yellow, grey or cyan lettering and lines become unreadable when projected High visual contrast is very important. If your slides are difficult to read, then the audience will concentrate on reading them and not concentrate on what you have to say. Or they may just walk out on you... We suggest a few tried and proven color schemes that will produce highly visible visual aids. Every year a few authors ignore warnings about red, orange and light blue. Each year there are negative yellow card comments about the authors who use these color schemes. Colors that look good on computer monitors do not necessarily project well. The best advice is: Do not use red, orange or blue slide lettering under any circumstances ! Other colors, including medium greens or browns are also a common problem.High visual contrast is very important. If your slides are difficult to read, then the audience will concentrate on reading them and not concentrate on what you have to say. Or they may just walk out on you... We suggest a few tried and proven color schemes that will produce highly visible visual aids. Every year a few authors ignore warnings about red, orange and light blue. Each year there are negative yellow card comments about the authors who use these color schemes. Colors that look good on computer monitors do not necessarily project well. The best advice is: Do not use red, orange or blue slide lettering under any circumstances ! Other colors, including medium greens or browns are also a common problem.

8. Slide 8 Display Speed Slides should display instantly Do not distract the audience with slow transition effects Avoid overuse of slow graphics, fonts and special effects A long talk at IMS (20 minutes total) has about 17 minutes for the complete talk. A short talk (10 minutes total) has about 7 to 8 minutes for the complete talk. Do not waste any of this precious time waiting for your next slide to display. Allow 2 to 3 minutes for a few questions at the end of your presentation. Time slots will be strictly adhered to. Do not abuse your audience by exceeding your time allotment ! Practice your presentation several times in advance of giving your talk. Cut your presentation down until you fit within your allotted time, including a few minutes for questions. No exceptions! Overuse of transition effects not only wastes your presentation time, it distracts the audience. Transition effects are VERY irritating. Remember: they�re in the session room to hear what you have to say.A long talk at IMS (20 minutes total) has about 17 minutes for the complete talk. A short talk (10 minutes total) has about 7 to 8 minutes for the complete talk. Do not waste any of this precious time waiting for your next slide to display. Allow 2 to 3 minutes for a few questions at the end of your presentation. Time slots will be strictly adhered to. Do not abuse your audience by exceeding your time allotment ! Practice your presentation several times in advance of giving your talk. Cut your presentation down until you fit within your allotted time, including a few minutes for questions. No exceptions! Overuse of transition effects not only wastes your presentation time, it distracts the audience. Transition effects are VERY irritating. Remember: they�re in the session room to hear what you have to say.

9. Slide 9 Sound Effects DO NOT USE SOUND EFFECTS Sound effects slow down slide transitions Noise from projection computer may distract audience Enough said.Enough said.

10. Slide 10 Diagram slides Keep diagrams simple Easy to view Make text readable with large font Use all space in rectangle See View --> Notes Page Example follows: Don�t force the audience to study your diagram in order to understand it. Instead, make it simple so that you can walk them through details. Keep the diagram uncluttered. Use large fonts to make text readable. Do not use borders because borders take away space that is better used to make your diagram readable. In RARE circumstances, animation can make diagrams easier to understand. An effective effect is use of animation to build a diagram piece-by-piece. (But don�t over do it!) With each click of the slide controller another piece of the diagram appears and is explained by the speaker. Be aware that many viewers in the audience find this obnoxious, so don�t use this technique unless you absolutely need to. The following example uses this technique.Don�t force the audience to study your diagram in order to understand it. Instead, make it simple so that you can walk them through details. Keep the diagram uncluttered. Use large fonts to make text readable. Do not use borders because borders take away space that is better used to make your diagram readable. In RARE circumstances, animation can make diagrams easier to understand. An effective effect is use of animation to build a diagram piece-by-piece. (But don�t over do it!) With each click of the slide controller another piece of the diagram appears and is explained by the speaker. Be aware that many viewers in the audience find this obnoxious, so don�t use this technique unless you absolutely need to. The following example uses this technique.

11. Slide 11 Diagram (see View-->Notes Page) Several characteristics of this example are not obvious: 1. The connection lines use a weight of 2.5, rather than PowerPoint��s default value of 1.0. This makes little difference when the diagram is viewed on a monitor, but makes things much easier to see when projected. 2. The yellow boxes use an even heavier weight. 3. The signal names to the right of the PSMB box will be difficult to see because they have a small 20 pt font. Presumably the speaker would walk the audience through the signal names when each name appears on the screen 4. We purposely use a �fly from left� animation to draw the attention of the audience as each piece of the diagram appears. As diagrams become increasingly busy, making an object appear instantly would not be obvious to the audience. 5. DON�T USE THIS ANIMATION TECHNIQUE UNLESS YOU ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO! Compared to having the entire diagram appear instantaneously, this takes a lot longer to display, and may irritate some viewers in the audience. Use common sense.Several characteristics of this example are not obvious: 1. The connection lines use a weight of 2.5, rather than PowerPoint��s default value of 1.0. This makes little difference when the diagram is viewed on a monitor, but makes things much easier to see when projected. 2. The yellow boxes use an even heavier weight. 3. The signal names to the right of the PSMB box will be difficult to see because they have a small 20 pt font. Presumably the speaker would walk the audience through the signal names when each name appears on the screen 4. We purposely use a �fly from left� animation to draw the attention of the audience as each piece of the diagram appears. As diagrams become increasingly busy, making an object appear instantly would not be obvious to the audience. 5. DON�T USE THIS ANIMATION TECHNIQUE UNLESS YOU ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO! Compared to having the entire diagram appear instantaneously, this takes a lot longer to display, and may irritate some viewers in the audience. Use common sense.

12. Slide 12 Presenting Data - Graphs Use graphs, not tables unless they are simple Keep graphs simple Eliminate or subdue distracting grid lines Use large font sizes including the numbering on the axes! Simple is best. It would probably be a mistake to take a detailed graph that appears in the proceedings and use it directly in a slide. Use graphs to summarize relationships. Make sure that all numbering on your graphs is AT LEAST 28 PT. FONT OR LARGER !Simple is best. It would probably be a mistake to take a detailed graph that appears in the proceedings and use it directly in a slide. Use graphs to summarize relationships. Make sure that all numbering on your graphs is AT LEAST 28 PT. FONT OR LARGER !

13. Slide 13 Some Bad Examples The next three slides show examples of bad practices that should be avoided: Bad slide layout Improper color use Sound and transition effects gone mad The bad examples that follow are closely patterned after slides that we have seen in previous conferences. The examples in this document are not as bad as the worst we have seen in actual slide review. Most authors simply wouldn�t believe it if we included some truly bad examples of real slides.The bad examples that follow are closely patterned after slides that we have seen in previous conferences. The examples in this document are not as bad as the worst we have seen in actual slide review. Most authors simply wouldn�t believe it if we included some truly bad examples of real slides.

14. Slide 14 (Press the �Enter� key to continue) This slide has no title. Titles help guide the audience through the talk. All slides except photographs should have a title. The type on this slide is too small. It�s readable here, but when projected, only the presenter and maybe those in the front rows will be able to read it. Those in the back will be completely lost. USE OF ALL CAPITAL LETTERS OR ITALICS also makes slides difficult to read. This slide would be easier to follow if indentations were used. Don�t design your IMS slides to stand alone. They are a guide to your presentation. If they were understandable by themselves, we could just publish them and forget about presentations! Your slides support what you say: They don�t replace it. This slide has too many words and too many points. Keep your slides under nine lines. The text in the �slide� above speaks for itself. Probably no author would combine all the bad practices into one single slide, but a few of the bad practices creep into many presentations each year. The text in the �slide� above speaks for itself. Probably no author would combine all the bad practices into one single slide, but a few of the bad practices creep into many presentations each year.

15. Slide 15 Bad Color Usage This slide doesn�t look too horrible on a monitor, but it is really bad when projected. The orange/green/yellow combination in the PSMB box becomes unreadable. Signal names to the right of PSMB are too small, even near the front of a session room. Note that they�re readable on a monitor, though. The red 1-point vertical lines provide difficult viewing, as do the light blue board numbers on a dark blue background. Was the black text on a dark blue background easy to see?This slide doesn�t look too horrible on a monitor, but it is really bad when projected. The orange/green/yellow combination in the PSMB box becomes unreadable. Signal names to the right of PSMB are too small, even near the front of a session room. Note that they�re readable on a monitor, though. The red 1-point vertical lines provide difficult viewing, as do the light blue board numbers on a dark blue background. Was the black text on a dark blue background easy to see?

16. Slide 16 How to Annoy The Audience (Press Enter) Misuse sound Overuse transition effects Focus the audience on your slides, not the speaker Try to use every feature PowerPoint has to offer We haven�t had this at IMS yet because we don�t connect the projection computer to the sound system in the session room. Examples of run-away transition and sound effects are common outside of IMS, however.We haven�t had this at IMS yet because we don�t connect the projection computer to the sound system in the session room. Examples of run-away transition and sound effects are common outside of IMS, however.

17. Slide 17 Summary Keep your slides simple Use large fonts for high visibility High contrast colors Highlight, don�t detail Contact your topic coordinator if you have any questions. Please route any comments on this slide guide to whcantrell@ieee.orgContact your topic coordinator if you have any questions. Please route any comments on this slide guide to whcantrell@ieee.org