1. Techniques to
Build a Slide
Presentation

2. Techniques to Build a Slide Presentation
These four sections provide the details for how to build a slide
Set Up presentation. But first…Is a slideshow even necessary?
Whether you need a slideshow or not depends on the formality of the
event, the audience, and the location.
Text
• A handout may be sufficient if you’re presenting informally to a
small audience within a face-to-face setting.
• A more formal setting, a larger group, and/or online delivery
Images might be better with more advanced media like a slideshow.
If you would like to enhance your presentation with a slideshow, this
module will show you some techniques to build a slide presentation in
PowerPoint.
Style

3. Techniques to Build a Slide Presentation
Before setting up the slides for your PowerPoint presentation, the best
Set Up practice is to first organize all your content in an outline format. This
technique lets you arrange your main points into clear and logical
order without getting distracted by formatting and style.
Text Many presenters use the “rule of three”
to organize their information into three
main points since this is a well-known
Images aid to memory.
Style

4. Techniques to Build a Slide Presentation
To create an outline for your content, open a Word document in
Set Up “Outline view” and enter your information using “Level 1” headings
for every point you want to make. Use “Level 2” for the supporting
facts and data underneath.
Text Your Level 1 headings should be
written as short, complete sentences,
each representing a single main idea.
Images These statements will become the
‘headlines’ or titles at the top of each
of your slides.
Style

5. Techniques to Build a Slide Presentation
Next, begin setting up your presentation by transferring your content
Set Up outline from Word into PowerPoint. It’s an easy two step method
when using Microsoft Word.
1. From the File menu in your Word 2003 document, select ‘Send To’.
2. Click Microsoft Office PowerPoint to export.
For
Microsoft Word
2003

6. Techniques to Build a Slide Presentation
Follow these steps when using Microsoft Word 2007.
Set Up
1. Open a blank PowerPoint
file.
2. From the Home menu,
select New Slide and then
Slides from Outline.
For
Microsoft Word
2007

7. Techniques to Build a Slide Presentation
These steps will insert your content into PowerPoint, with each Level 1
Set Up heading positioned at the top of a slide and the rest in a text box
underneath. There is now one main idea per slide.
Text
Images
Style

8. Techniques to Build a Slide Presentation
There are no actual rules for how many slides to use in a PowerPoint
Set Up presentation. It depends on the number of points you want to make,
how much time you have to present, and how many details you
decide to include. In general, however, a presentation with three main
points will have 10 slides as shown below.
Two for the introduction (Title + Agenda) Two for each main point (Facts + Data)
Two for the conclusion (Review + End)

9. Techniques to Build a Slide Presentation
Now that you have slides with meaningful titles and placeholders for
Set Up facts and data, you can start to work on the rest of the presentation
real estate.
You can add additional content
Text to the slide area at the top,
including text, pictures, sound,
or video.
Images
The notes area is where you
can put everything you want
to say out loud while the slide
Style
is on display.

10. Techniques to Build a Slide Presentation
Text is an important visual element as well as a way to convey your
Set Up message. Here are some guidelines to enhance readability.
• Use a “sans serif” font such as Arial, Verdana or Calibri.
Sans-serif fonts are easier to read on a slide Sans-serif
than fancier “serif” fonts which have small
Text decorative lines added to the letters. Serif
• Use the same font set throughout your slide presentation, such
as Calibri (Heading) and Calibri (Body). Limit the number of
complementary fonts to no more than 2-3 on any one slide.
Images
• Don't change font style in mid sentence unless you have
a very good reason.
• Use bold text sparingly to highlight important information.
Style
• Avoid words in all capital letters.

11. Techniques to Build a Slide Presentation
Appropriate font sizes for a presentation range from 18 to 48 points.
Set Up
This is 48 points.
Text This is 32 points.
This is 24 points.
This is 18 points.
Images
Select the appropriate size based on where your intended audience
will be viewing your slides. In general, use 18, 24, or 28 points for
viewing on a computer monitor; use a larger size for other venues.
Style
Also use a larger size text for titles and headlines and a smaller size for
sub-headings and body text.

12. Techniques to Build a Slide Presentation
Another aspect of readability involves how your words and sentences
Set Up are arranged on the slide.
Try to avoid long sentences and big blocks of text. Many presenters
use bullet lists instead, which is a common convention for grouping
Text related items together.
For clear communication and visual clarity, each bullet point should
Images follow the same grammatical form. You can also use the “6 x 6”
guideline, which says there should be:
• No more than six bullet points on a slide
Style • About six words per bullet

13. Techniques to Build a Slide Presentation
There are many creative options when building PowerPoint slides, but
Set Up we often rely on the bullet list because it’s a commonly accepted
format. But a bullet list is not always the best choice for certain kinds
of information, as it communicates just three logical relationships:
•
Text • Membership in a group with no significant order •
•
1.
• Sequence - first to last in time 2.
3.
Images A.
• Priority – least to most important and vice versa B.
C.
While text by itself on a slide is adequate for listing information,
Style pictures, graphs, and diagrams along with text can be a more effective
and interesting way to tell your story.

14. Techniques to Build a Slide Presentation
A slide presentation is a visual medium, so the best practice is to
Set Up incorporate relevant images to illustrate or explain your topic. These
examples illustrate abstract concepts like size, distance, and
hierarchical relationships.
Main
topic
Text
Lead Lead
Topic Topic
Sub Topic Sub Topic Sub Topic Sub Topic
Images
Style

15. Techniques to Build a Slide Presentation
When you have both text and images on a slide, the information is
Set Up processed in two different parts of the brain. This dual-channel
system makes it easier to understand and remember new information.
• The ears are the verbal or auditory channel, where we process
language – both written and spoken words.
Text
• The eyes are the visual channel, where we process images.
Images
Style

16. Techniques to Build a Slide Presentation
The images on your slides should be appropriate for your topic. It’s
Set Up best to minimize the use of clip art, as it can appear cartoonish in a
professional business presentation. Although there are ways to
enhance and customize clip art, use high-quality graphics instead that
you can download for free from Microsoft Office Online.
Text
Images
Style

17. Techniques to Build a Slide Presentation
Tables, graphs and charts are a useful way to display your data on a
Set Up slide. To be effective, make sure the information on display is easy to
understand and can be read more quickly than the original raw data.
• A title should appear above the graphic to provide a
succinct description of what the data refers to.
Text
• Use grid lines or colors to separate and visually align
large quantities of data.
• Provide a scale to show dimensions and label these
Images clearly.
• Include a legend to identify various items as
appropriate.
Style

18. Techniques to Build a Slide Presentation
Provider Availability
Geographic Access
Set Up A table like this is
useful for showing
side-by-side
comparisons of
Text
quantitative data.
This particular example, however, lacks impact because the
Images information is crowded together and it’s hard to tell what’s important.
Style

19. Techniques to Build a Slide Presentation
Provider Availability
Geographic Access
Set Up
Before…
Text
Provider Availability by Region
… After
Standard Results
Images
This is the same data Urban <10 miles 100.0%
as shown above. Suburban <25 miles 100.0%
Can you tell what is
Style Rural <40 miles 99.2%
different?
Aggregate 90.0% 99.7%

20. Techniques to Build a Slide Presentation
Set Up • This table has a descriptive title.
• The most important information is shaded to stand out better.
• The layout is more transparent which is easier on the eye.
Text
Provider Availability by Region
… After
Standard Results
Images
Urban <10 miles 100.0%
Suburban <25 miles 100.0%
Style Rural <40 miles 99.2%
Aggregate 90.0% 99.7%

21. Techniques to Build a Slide Presentation
Improving the 30-Day Ambulatory Follow-Up Rate
Set Up A bar chart is
useful for showing
changes in data
over time.
Text
Many think that numbers and details are dull, so they add decorative
details like grid lines and repeating labels. These items can be
Images distracting and take the focus away from what’s important.
Style

22. Techniques to Build a Slide Presentation
Improving the 30-Day Ambulatory Follow-Up Rate
Set Up
Before…
Text
Steadily Improving 30-Day Ambulatory Follow-up Rate
… After
100%
Images This is the same
data as shown
79%
above. Can you 77%
tell what’s
Style 70%
different? 50%
Baseline (2004) R1 (2005) R2 (2006)

23. Techniques to Build a Slide Presentation
• The gridlines are removed.
Set Up
• Arrows highlight the fact that the data is trending upwards.
• The formatting adds depth to the chart.
Text • It has a descriptive title.
Steadily Improving 30-Day Ambulatory Follow-up Rate
… After
100%
Images
79%
77%
Style 70%
50%
Baseline (2004) R1 (2005) R2 (2006)

24. Techniques to Build a Slide Presentation
At this point in building a slide presentation, each of your slides
Set Up should have the following elements:
• A meaningful ‘headline’ or title at the top.
• Bullet point text or short paragraphs to explain your point.
Text • An image or some type of visual to take advantage of the dual
channel concept of information processing.
• Speaker notes added beneath the slide area (optional).
Images Both text and images are essential for communicating your message.
How these elements are arranged on the slide is another important
factor to consider. The next section provides a few techniques for
Style styling your slides effectively.

25. Techniques to Build a Slide Presentation
One of the first elements of style is the general appearance of your
Set Up presentation slides. To achieve a professional look, use a template
with a consistent background and colors. These examples from
Microsoft Office Online contain title and content slides that reflect
the same design and theme.
Text
Images
Style

26. Techniques to Build a Slide Presentation
It can be a challenge to include both text and visuals on
Set Up a slide. Too many words and/or images that are too large
can result in a crowded and confusing slide. Don’t let
your message get derailed by content that’s unnecessarily
complicated or busy.
Text
If you find yourself having to shrink words to fit, you are
probably overloading it. Remember, most of us have
Images limited capacity to take in a lot of new information at once.
It’s better to just create another slide or two.
Style

27. Techniques to Build a Slide Presentation
There are endless ways to fine-tune your slideshow by adding graphic
Set Up elements, animations, and slide transitions. But just because you can
doesn’t mean you should.
When too much is happening on the screen or between the slides,
Text your audience can easily be distracted by extraneous details that
overwhelm the senses. Keep it simple so that your audience will talk
about your special ideas, not your special effects.
Images
Style

28. Techniques to Build a Slide Presentation
What we perceive on a screen is largely dependent upon contrast, so
Set Up it’s important to carefully choose your color palette. Below you can
see how text looks with different foreground or background color
combinations. Certain combinations just don’t work very well when
trying to distinguish details. In general, select no more than three
Text colors per slide, using either light against dark or dark against light.
Background
Images
Foreground
Style

29. Techniques to Build a Slide Presentation
After you assemble the content on your slides, make sure the text and
Set Up other visual elements are all aligned relative to the margins. Your
slides should have plenty of white space for a clean and simple look.
Do not feel compelled to fill your slides with decorations or anything
else that does not contribute to better understanding.
Text
Images
The End
Style