Have a big presentation coming up? Dusting off your old PowerPoint notes from college? Here are 6 quick tips to make sure it runs smoothly!
- USE YOUR FIRST AND LAST NAME AS THE FILE NAME
More than likely there will be several speakers giving presentations that day so make it easy on your AV guy to find your PowerPoint file quickly by using your first and last name. It will make it easier to find in a pinch and easier to organize before and after the fact. - SUBMIT YOUR PRESENTATION IN ADVANCE
At least a week in advance, make sure your point person for the speaking arrangement has a final copy of your presentation. This gives them, and their AV guys, plenty of time to look it over for any weird stuff that may throw you for a loop on stage (timers, formatting, etc.). - BRING A BACKUP
Make sure you have a backup of your presentation on a thumb drive, ready to go just in case. Believe it or not, emails don’t always come through, so it never hurts to have an extra copy on hand. - REMOVE TIMERS
Does your presentation have timers on the slides? Remove them and rely on the clicker or the tech guy to advance your slides as needed. Timers either take too long OR they move too quickly. Nothing derails a presentation like random timers hidden in the PowerPoint! - FONT SIZE
Imagine you are seated in the back of the conference hall and your presentation is up on a 10-12’ screen; do you really think that 12-point font is really going to make your information easily readable? Let me answer that for you – it won’t. Make it bigger, and if it takes up too much space…cut the fat from the presentation and use your spoken words to convey the message. It will come across much more professional and it will make everyone’s lives easier, including your own. - USE CONTRASTING COLORS
White background with a light grey font? Yep, I’ve seen it. Or should I say, I haven’t “seen” it. Contrast is important when you are dealing with PowerPoint presentations that are being projected as a much larger image on a screen in a well-lit room. Make your presentation pop and use contrasting colors – it’s easier on the eyes and will convey your message more clearly to your audience.
There you have it – 6 quick tips for making your PowerPoint Presentation go smoothly, ensuring your speaking engagement is a success. If you want you event as a whole to be a success, contact SkinnyBoy Media today for all of your AudioVisual needs!