Presented November 17th, 2012 to FBLA NFLC in Charlotte, NC by Frazier Smith

1. Death by
PowerPoint
Frazier Smith

2. ntat ion is
his p rese
T onlin e at:
avai lable
.
Slideshare

3. Font Size
Too small
(32 or less)
Your font size should be large enough for the entire class to read,
this means that at bare minimum you should have a font size of 36.
Anything smaller tends to get lost on the power point, and you end
up putting too much information on the slide. If you put too much
information on the slide, then your audience will get lost, and not
care about what’s on the power point. Blah, blah, blah…oh look,
something shiny. You see, I’ll bet most people don’t even know
what’s written at this point, I probably lost most people after the
first two lines. I could write anything here. Potato. Llama. Alright,
I think I’ve made my point. Again, this is way too small of font size,
make sure it’s big enough, at least 32.

4. Stop using
Comic Sans!

5. Information not organized
in bullet points.
Don’t type information in
paragraphs on your slides.
Bullet points are much
easier to follow and
understand. We won’t
read paragraphs, or if we
do we will get distracted,
and they are hard to
understand, and we our
attention spans are short
enough as…oh look,
something shiny!

6. Too many Bullet Points
 You should have 5 or less
 6…is too many
 More than 5, information
overload
 More than 5, no one cares
 More than 5, People stop
paying attention
 Albuquerque…strudel…
 Have I made my point yet???
 Just one more for good
measure
 I lied…this really is the last
one.

7. Colors
Or should we say,
lack of colors.
Black and white is
not effective.
Use colors.

8. Colors
Too bright or distracting
Not enough
contrast from the
background

9. Background
Background
 You
Too colorful or
distracting.

10. FONTS
Do not switch back and forth
between fonts
Your font can be creative, but should not be distracting or
hard to read.
 Use CAPS, bold, and underlines only
for emphasis, do NOT highlight
every third word. We LOSE
understanding.

11. Animation
 Use animation at your own risk
 Don’t wait for it to appear, talk
over it.
 Animation shouldn’t distract from
your speech.
 You should know what’s coming
next, don’t be surprised.
 Don’t look back at the screen to
find out what’s there.

12. Information Overload
Don’t read directly off the slide
The slide should not have everything
you’re going to say.
We should not understand your speech
just by reading your slide.
A slide is a visual aid, not the entire
speech!

13. Effective PowerPoint
Starts with an introductory slide, with your
name and topic.
At least 5 slides total, all of your slides contain
pictures.
Basic color schemes and fonts, not distracting.
Easy to read and understand, at least 32 point
font.
An aid in understanding your speech.

14. When using photos…
Relevant photos
with a nice frame
(available in
Office 2007+)
add a nice touch
to most
presentations.

15. Ask for help, from your teacher or media
specialist
Don’t drive yourself crazy over this, most of
the grade comes from the speech itself.
Be familiar with the PowerPoint, don’t be
surprised.
Rehearse the speech, practice, practice,
practice.

17. Frazier Smith,
MCP
NC FBLA Board of Directors
Music Department Technology Specialist
Wingate University
(wingate.edu)
Wingate, NC
(e) frazier@outlook.com
(tw) @justfrazierit