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Best Practices in Training with PowerPoint

Patrick Johansen asked some great questions about optimizing use of PowerPoint for training and got a ton of input. In particular, he asked about use of color, layout, and animation. Following is an organized synopsis of the feedback he received.

First and foremost: CONTENT!

• Make sure the content is engaging before you worry about the slides
• Focus on activities to engage your group, more than on the slides to show them
• Think of slides as helpful take-aways for audience
• Think of the PowerPoint as the supplement, not the star of the show
• PowerPoint is a tool
• Use as few slides as you can
• If you want to distribute content after the fact, you may want a second set of slides or distribute slides with notes
• Remember training is not the same as presenting
• Use PowerPoint to help with visualization
• Stick with images and graphics that support your spoken words
• Slides should be for the audience, not the presenter/trainer
• PowerPoint is sometimes used for other purposes (as a selling tool or record of what was discussed). These uses should be treated differently.

COLOR

• Stick to a small range of colors that provide consistency and solidify brand.
• Use complementary colors (sparingly) to break up the monotony, and make something stands out
• “I tend to use blue for Key Points, as we have many red/green colour blind participants”
• Too many colors distracts the learners and reduces the retention.
• Keep it Simple
• Match colors to the Corporate brand.
• Try to put one big picture on a slide and build the discussion around it
• Use this tool for color schemes: https://colorschemedesigner.com/

LAYOUT

• Less is more
• I tend to keep my layouts the same unless I really want to emphasize something
• Feature a diagram, picture, quote or bulleted list
• No more than 3-7 bullets per slide
• Establish a consistent template, use this as a base to derive others.
• Introduce variation to ward off boredom, but keep returning to the template format so people feel they haven’t strayed too far from their comfort zone.
• Have some visual indicator showing where people are in the presentation 
• Use a single picture or a few words as a prompt, not to tell the whole story
• Vary the location of pictures for interest
• AVOID: overcrowding, small fonts, long paragraphs, fonts that blend into the background
• Indicate number of slides in the presentation

ANIMATIONS

• These tend to be distracting
• Use them sparingly to indicate emphasis

PRESENTING

• DON’T JUST READ FROM YOUR SLIDES!!!
• Don’t even use PowerPoint
• Try Prezi.com as an alternative
• Use whiteboards and flip charts instead
• If people are reading, they probably aren’t listening

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