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Summary of suggestions for designing your presentation

by Edward P. Bailey

This handout summarizes the suggestions in this web site. You have permission to print one copy for your personal use but not to make any other copies.

You may want to begin and end computer presentations with opaque slides (or slides containing your company's logo). These are the other slides you'll need:

Cover slide

1. Has a large image suggesting your topic.
2. Gives the presentation's title (largest type size).
3. Has a subtitle (suggests purpose of presentation, comes after title).
4. Has your name (comes after title and subtitle).

Explanation slide

1. Explains anything unfamiliar on cover slide.
2. Has same design as body slides.
3. Has some connection in design with the cover slide.
4. May often need an optional slide immediately following it—containing an example of the term you're explaining.
5. Is unnecessary if there's nothing unfamiliar on the cover slide.

Purpose slide

1. Explains the purpose of your presentation.
2. Should normally be a single word or sentence—not a list.
3. Includes the word "purpose" in the slide's title.

Bottom line slide

1. Should be part of any presentation that has a bottom line. Otherwise, leave it out.
2. Should include your most important recommendations or conclusions.
3. Should actually use the word "bottom line" (or something similar) in the slide's title—so you won't be confusing or ambiguous.

Blueprint slide

1. Lists the parts of the body of your presentation.
2. Has a clearly different design from your body slides—so it's instantly recognizable.
3. Shares some design features with the cover and body slides (part of the same family of design).
4. Should not have a very long list (usually 5 or fewer items).

Moving blueprint slide

1. Looks like the blueprint slide.
2. Appears (like a heading) at the beginning of each part of the body of the presentation.
3. Highlights (for example, with bright color or a check mark) the part it's a "heading" for.

Body slides

1. Use a sans serif font (such as Arial or Comic Sans).
2. Use bold for Arial but not for Comic Sans.
3. Use about 32-point type (but slightly smaller for labels—such as on graphs).
4. Use bullets instead of paragraphs.
5. Prefer images over words.
6. Use a light background (usually white).

Ending slide

1. Repeat your blueprint slide.
2. Or repeat your purpose slide.
3. Or give a summarizing example.
4. Or call for questions (with a "Questions" slide).
5. Or use a combination of techniques.
6. Or just end (possibly by showing your opaque slide).
   

   Copyright 2007 by Edward P. Bailey
   (all rights reserved)