by The Open University
Available in 42 free installments
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Just as you have limited the amount of words you are planning to speak, so should you try to limit the amount on each slide. We can't state an exact rule for this, but in general we found that the most effective presentations only had about 25 words per slide, and many had less than this. For a slide based on text only, aim for about four to six lines of text with not more than six or seven words per line: in other words, be ruthless about how much you say. Having more than two purely text slides in a row can be hard-going for the listener, so try either to alternate text-based and graphic-based visuals, or trim down your text even more.
Use a mixture of upper and lower case characters, just as you would when writing, although you can be more relaxed about punctuation and grammar. Using either all capitals or all small case letters is much harder to read, and also more unnatural.
The use of colour to emphasise text, figures or background can be highly stimulating visually, as long as you stick to a few simple rules. By using colour combinations that complement each other you can come up with simple schemes (or two to three colours) which accentuate your slides, without dominating or causing confusion. Keep in mind that colours that complement each other lie directly across from each other on the colour wheel. Some examples are:
pure bright yellow and dark or navy blue (like the Swedish flag)
brick red and light or aqua blue (used in various superstore guises)
green and purple
dark orange or light brown-orange and light blue.
Red-green colour combinations should be avoided due to potential issues with those who are unable to distinguish one or more colours.
Clearly, you need to experiment with colours that you feel comfortable with, and don't forget those simplest of schemes, such as black on any colour, or on white (especially for OHTs). Dark blue instead of black can also be effective and you can use red to emphasise certain points, but be careful not to overdo it as your emphasis may wear off. But a word of warning if you are producing coloured OHTs ? avoid text in colours like yellow ? it just doesn't show up on screen! Whatever colour scheme you come up with and ultimately choose, make sure you are consistent with it, by sticking to it rigorously. There is nothing more disturbing than a major colour change during a presentation. By using the same fonts, same colour ways and a similar style throughout your presentation, you will achieve seamless quality when moving from slide to slide and also help the audience recall you because of both good layout and distinctive colour. Whatever combination you decide to use you may want to ?test? it on some colleagues or friends to make sure it is acceptable.
A simple picture or line drawing can add great dimension to your presentation, but you need to be careful not to get overwhelmed by the fun it can be to overstress the visual and forget about the content (i.e. your underlying message). When using data you need to restrict yourself to the bare minimum, such as 2?3 lines per graph, or data tables which have only a few elements in them. With bar charts that compare values, you'll quickly see that more than 4 or 5 bars becomes too much visually, and you soon run out of sensible colour combinations. Charts should be easy to read and easy to assimilate ? so axis labels need to be big, bold and straightforward in their units.
Try to avoid more than four or five lines of text per slide.
Choose a font size and style that is clear and simple (e.g. not Gothic).
Use solid colour to highlight or emphasise text.
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