Writing Effective Presentation Slides
Slides can add value to your presentation; however, they can also turn a good presentation into a flop. Like all visual aids, slides should enhance your presentation, not carry it. Never give a presentation with slides unless you are 100% prepared to give that presentation without them. At no time should the visuals overshadow you as the speaker.
Starting Out
1. Select a topic you are interested in; it will make writing and giving your presentation much easier. Make sure your topic fits the assignment and that it is expansive enough to fill the time allotted but not so vast that it cannot be covered sufficiently.
2. Brainstorm. Write down anything and everything that comes to mind about your topic. Don’t dismiss any ideas. Try to think of a large quantity of ideas so you can choose the best ones. Encourage exaggerated ideas and build from ideas 
you have already had. You can also ask for input from others for a broader view of your topic.
3. Determine your audience. Your audience will determine the level of formality of your presentation. If you are giving a specialized speech, define any terms the audience may not know. Pinpoint areas in your speech where the audience may disagree with you and strengthen your argument in that section.
Organizing
Write a thesis for your presentation just as you would for a paper, then make a list of your key points and order them from weakest to strongest. Your introduction should grab your audience’s interest. Try a strong photo on your title slide. While that slide is viewed, introduce your topic, present your thesis, and give your audience an overview or a sense of the presentation’s direction. The conclusion should end on a strong note—don’t simply summarize. It’s boring. Think of an example or idea that will stay with the audience and back it up with a strong or memorable image.
Editing
Once you have framed the basic presentation, cut the text on the slides to a bare minimum– just what is necessary to enhance or illustrate your spoken words. Slides are like billboards. People will look at them only for a second before they divert their attention elsewhere, which, of course, should be you. Placing a paragraph on a slide will misfire, as your audience will either try too hard to read it and miss what you are saying or read it before you finish speaking, making what you have to say irrelevant. In PowerPoint, “ctrl B” will blacken the screen, a good trick if you want to turn the audience’s attention away from the visual for a short time.
In addition to ensuring the content on your slides is short and concise, your presentation as a whole should be condensed to keep the audience’s attention. If a lengthy presentation is necessary, make sure it is dynamic enough to keep them focused. Rehearse your presentation ahead of time so you know how long it will be, adding time for questions or comments from the audience.
Slides, like anything else written, need proofreading. You do not want to embarrass yourself on presentation day with a “their” instead of a “there” blown up 50x on a projector screen.
Bells and Whistles
Make your presentation visually interesting. Default design templates are not a bad way to go if you are design-challenged; however, design is useful to learn for those making slide presentations often. (See the University Writing Center’s handout on designing presentation slides for more information.) Use charts, graphs, and diagrams to illustrate your points. Make sure all visual aids are related directly to your presentation content.
Having a legible font size is one of the most important aspects of your slides. If you have minimal text on your slide, as you should, making the font large enough to read should not be a problem. If you have Microsoft PowerPoint, here is a tip to see if your text is legible: Go to slide sorter view and adjust the zoom to 66%. If you can read the slides, so can your audience.
Many people take advantage of bullets when creating their slides. Bullets are not always a good thing, and should be used sparingly and in the right context (making a list). Sub-bullets look messy and visually complex although one level of sub-bullets on a slide is fine. Make sure each bullet begins with the same style of capitalization and ends with consistent punctuation. (Either they all end with a period or they all end with nothing). If your slide looks too crowded, something is wrong.
Don’t get carried away with the animation or transitions features. Minimal animation can add a nice touch to your presentation, but too much “checkerboard in” special effects look cheesy. Use attention-grabbing animation only where you need to add emphasis and stick with classic options such as “fade in” as opposed to “spiral in.” Animations should be fast—you don’t want to bore your audience while your title takes two minutes to scroll across the screen. Your animation should make sense and look natural according to the layout of your information. (For example, the title should never appear last.) Above all, animation should not hinder the legibility of your slides.
Strong stage presence will take your presentation much further than good slides. When you are presenting, make sure you have energy and “give a speech.” DON’T read from your slides. Stand up and move around, make interesting gestures, and maintain eye contact with your audience. If you are actively participating in your presentation, so will your audience.
References
Duarte, Nancy. Slideology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations. Sebastopol: O’Reilly. 2008.
Faigley, Lester. Writing: A Guide for College and Beyond. New York: Pearson-Longman. 2007.
