When you’re preparing to make a PowerPoint presentation, you should think about more than merely relaying facts to your audience. The presentation should serve as a way to showcase your professional abilities to increase your listeners’ confidence in your skills. While you are providing an help in educational experience, you should make sure your presentation is interesting and engaging so people will remember the details you’ve shared.
Here are four PowerPoint presentation mistakes to avoid.
Excessive Text
Make sure you don’t have too much text in your business presentation design. Your audience may become disinterested when there are too many words on your slides. Remember that those attending your presentation want to see visually appealing slides and complement the oral information you’re sharing with them. This means you shouldn’t simply write your speech on the slides and repeat it by mouth. Your slides should be like bullet points and transition cards to take you into the next part of your presentation.
Bad Contrast
When you read a magazine or book, or even when you’re reading content on a website, you see black text on white paper most of the time. This is easy on the eyes and makes it easier to read the words. If you don’t have good contrast in your PowerPoint slides, your audience will be discouraged from looking at the slides and may not get all the information you intended to convey. Make sure your background is lighter than your text to make sure your slides are easy to read and grab the audience’s attention.
Reading Directly From the Slides
When you’re giving a PowerPoint presentation, don’t read each slide verbatim as it appears on your screen. Your audience can likely read the slides for themselves. To make your presentation more interesting, use the slides as a reminder to stay on the subject at hand or to bring up important points.
It’s also important to direct your attention to your audience, and you can’t do that if you’re reading from the screen. If you spend too much time looking at the screen, your audience may be able to sense that you are nervous and uncomfortable, and this could keep them from fully engaging in the content of your speech. Take a glance to make sure you’re on the right slide and can see any words or phrases you’ve placed on the slides to keep you on track, then bring your attention back to your audience.
Lots of Clutter
Our eyes are naturally drawn toward clarity, so you need to stick to simple designs for your PowerPoint slides. You don’t want your viewers to be confused or overwhelmed when trying to keep up with your presentation. Only include words and phrases that directly support the theme of your speech. Select one thought-provoking or powerful image to reiterate the content of your presentation effectively.
You should also avoid putting excessive animation on your PowerPoint slides. One or two animations is fine, but overusing this effect can keep your audience from taking you seriously. It’s also a good idea to make your transitions subtle effective. If each transition is too extreme, you’ll have a hard time getting your listeners to pay attention since they will be anticipating the next transition without focusing on the content you’re presenting.
Of course, one of the most significant ways you can avoid mistakes when it comes to your PowerPoint presentation is to practice. Just like actors don’t go on stage or camera without rehearsing their lines, you should make sure you are comfortable with your script before you have to “perform.”
Practicing ahead of time will make you feel more at ease with your presentation and let you know which information you should add or omit from your speech before sharing it with your audience. It’s also a good idea to run through your speech a few times before you present it so you can fix any technical issues that may arise. When you feel confident about your PowerPoint presentation, and you’ve eliminated factors that can take the focus away from the main points of your speech, you’ll be prepared to give an exciting and memorable presentation.
As the editor of the blog, She curate insightful content that sparks curiosity and fosters learning. With a passion for storytelling and a keen eye for detail, she strive to bring diverse perspectives and engaging narratives to readers, ensuring every piece informs, inspires, and enriches.
