Tips for Designing and Producing Your Presentation

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Keep the size of your audience in mind. Visuals that are not clearly legible to all participants are distracting and annoying. Remember that some participants will be in the back of the room.

Mixed case (upper and lower) text organized in a horizontal, left-to-right manner is the easiest to read. Also, text set flush-left is the easiest to read. Try to avoid justified text as it can contain awkward spacing.

Palatino, Helvetica, Avant Garde, and Times are simple and easy-to-read fonts. Generally, one font should be used throughout your presentation, with perhaps another used sparingly for special emphasis.

Keep your displayed message simple. Your presentation graphics should highlight the points you are making, not repeat them word-for-word.

Color

Four to six colors are usually plenty to communicate your message. Of these, only one or two should be intense colors. Blue is an excellent choice for background color and a fine choice as foreground color on a light background.

Presentation Tips

Plan your presentation well in advance. A good presentation requires careful planning and review.

You will lose your audience if your presentation does not address the issues described in your session description. One of the most common complaints heard from conference participants is that the session description provided in the Conference Program did not describe the actual presentation.

Rehearse your presentation in advance. A "dry-run" of your presentation to knowledgeable individuals is the most successful method of preparation.

Be sensitive to your audience. Avoid distractions and potential offense by insensitivity to gender, sexual preference, race, and ethnicity.

Equipment failures are not uncommon, so be prepared to make your presentation without equipment support.

Your session will be sixty minutes long. Start and end on time. Out of respect for those presenters who follow you it is imperative that you end your session on time.

Be prepared for questions. Try to anticipate the types of questions you may be asked and answer them directly. Repeat the question to make certain the entire audience has heard it before you begin to answer.

Be comfortable and poised. Good eye contact will help hold the audience's attention, as will a steady voice that emphasizes the variety and interest of your presentation. Your body movement should be conscious and deliberate. Avoid swaying and pacing.

Remember, you do have something important to say, and the audience wants to be supportive!

Source: CUMREC