PowerPoint Presentation Tips

Feminism, Ignorance and Wangari Maathai by Boke Omwega

A blog post from Nyaboke Omwega, Postgraduate Research Student, Department of Anthropology and member of the GCRF CDT. My research on gender discrimination (Transport as Gendered Employment Practice in Kenya) has led me to look at Kenyan history. It is impossible to discuss female leadership in Kenya without discussing Wangari Maathai (1940-2011). Internationally, she was […]

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Interview with Robert Ssewanyana

On the 4th January 2021 an event dubbed as a “Research Dissemination Exhibition”, was launched at the Makerere University Art gallery. Read our interview with the artist and PhD candidate: Could you tell us a bit about yourself? I am an applied sculptor and Lecturer at the College of Engineering, Art, Design and Technology (CEDAT) […]

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Please find below some tips for a PowerPoint presentation. these are guidelines only, don’t feel you need to follow them.

When presenting for Durham University, please follow the link to the branding guidelines: https://gcrf-cdt.webspace.durham.ac.uk/resources/durham-gcrf-cdt-templates-and-logos/

• A presentation covers only the most important points, you don’t need to share your whole work. Choose key points and use the questions time after the presentation to cover any missing content.
• Rehearse: when saying your presentation out loud you will find out which points don’t flow and may need to be edited.
• Use white space generously this delivers more style and will give impact to your presentation
• A good way to keep yourself in line is by remembering the 666 rule. It is recommended slides have no more than six words per bullet, six bullets per image and six word slides in a row.
• Limit punctuation and text formatting
• Keep consistent, use the same colours, imagery style and fonts throughout your presentation. To help keep the focus on you and your story, use the Durham University suggested font family (Arial font size between 12-50), no more than two/three colours (you can use more shades of the same colour e.g. dark purple, medium shade purple, lighter purple, very light purple)  and one imagery style throughout your presentation
• Use Accurate and Relevant Charts and Graphs with clear labels and use no more than one (two or more if needs to be compared) graphic images or charts per slide
• Make sure all objects/charts are aligned
• What is the right number of slides? Each presentation is different and needs to be approached on its own way. You can use the one of the formulations for PowerPoint presentations which is the 10/20/30 rule. This rule dictates that you should use about ten slides for a twenty minute presentation, and each slide should utilize thirty point font. In other words, each slide should be about two minutes in length. Perhaps the 10/20/30 rule works for you. If it does not, don’t feel as if you’re using the wrong number of slides.

To create attention to your presentaion you can tell a personal anecdote and use humor. These methods are successful ways to persuade an audience and get your point across.