Rhetoric Of PowerPoint

1. Rhetoric Of PowerPoint Julia Romberger 04.05.07 English 435/535

2. Presentation Overview • Physical Presentation • PowerPoint Content • PowerPoint Visuals

3. Physical Presentation Individual Group

4. Individual Presentations • Pay attention to your location relative to the screen. • Do not talk to the screen; you can point to things. • Do not just read slides; use them to organize your talk.

5. Group Presentations When presenting in groups... • Work collaboratively; have one person work the technology while the other speaks. • Do not distract audience from the speaker.

6. Power Point Content Forecasting Main Points Wrap Up Transitions

7. Introduction or Forecasting • Discuss the purpose / goal of talk; give context/specifics unique to your project. • Provide an overview slide with main points of presentation (use these points as headings).

8. Main Points • Include research background and your research questions. • Explain how you conducted your research. • Give a summary of your data. • Cover conclusions drawn from data.

9. Wrap Up • Summarize all main points. • Give a reminder about talk’s purpose. • Indicate what action you want the audience to take (if any). • Ask for questions.

10. Transitions • Are connectors that join the various slides in your presentation together. • Serve to orient the viewer. • Should be consistent.

11. Power Point Visuals Fonts Color Special Effects Images Repetition Appropriateness

12. Fonts • Make slide titles stand out with a larger font or different color. • Use large font size for text; it should be large enough to fit six to seven words across. • Use sans serif font (Arial); if text heavy, use serif (Times).

13. Color • Make a strong contrast between background and text. • Use a dark text with a light background, and a light text with a dark background.

14. Special Effects • Power Point allows you to include special effects. • To include effects: • Go to “Slide Show” on tool bar; • Go to “Animation” • It isn’t recommended that you use slow or noisy special effects.

15. Images • Use images to help make your point. • You can import images from other sources. • Adjust the size and placement of image box and text box.

16. Repetition or Visual Sets • Repeat slide layout throughout the entire presentation. • Such as text placement, font (size and color), background, and special effects • This will orient your listener.

17. Appropriateness • Use appropriate backgrounds, images, and special effects for your presentation. • Make only one point per slide. • Use as little text as possible. (As a start, use the 1 idea /6 words/6 lines rule)

18. Rhetoric of PowerPoint This slide show has covered: • Physical Presentation • PowerPoint Content • PowerPoint Visuals Questions?

19. Rhetoric of PowerPoint • For more on visual design, The Non-Designer’s Design Book by Robin Williams is recommended.