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Creating a PowerPoint Presentation

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Creating Effective PowerPoint Presentations

In this activity, you will learn how to design and develop effective PowerPoint presentations. With proper planning, PowerPoint can take a mundane presentation and turn it into an engaging method for getting our ideas to the audience in the best possible way. Effective presentation skills are needed for nurses to be better teachers, managers, and leaders in the health care industry.

Once you complete this activity, you will be able to:

  • Create PowerPoint presentations that effectively convey the information to your audience.
  • Describe the purpose of a bullet point in a presentation and how to speak to it.
  • Write bullet points that give a light overview of the content you want to discuss.
  • Produce effective speaker notes that enhance your presentation.
  • Conduct an effective presentation that holds the attention of your audience.

Start with the Goal in Mind

You are tasked with creating a PowerPoint presentation, now what? The best way to begin the construction of your presentation is to determine the goal you would like to achieve with your presentation.

There are many types of presentation goals; listed here are a few of them:

  • To inform
  • To educate
  • To persuade or convince
  • To inspire or motivate
  • To entertain

To determine the goal, take time to think about the purpose of your presentation and know your audience. What should they get out of your presentation? For every different type of presentation, the secret to its success is to have a goal and to understand your audience.

Write the goal for your presentation on a piece of paper. Keep this goal handy throughout the entire process of creating your presentation so you can maintain your focus on the ultimate goal of your presentation.

Once you determine the goal of your presentation, then you can establish the content that you want to use in it.

Before you can start putting information and images into the slides of your presentation, you need to determine the content your presentation should contain. You may have taken a trip, written a large paper, or investigated a new way to perform a process. No matter what the topic, you will want to display high-level key points about the topic on each slide. The key phrase here is high-level. A bullet point is meant to be short and sweet, which means you need to look at your content and only pick out high-level key points to speak to.

Bullet points are most effective when they:

  • are brief and to the point as detailed talking points.
  • list information that the audience should learn.
  • are listed in presentation order.

For example, let’s say you took a trip to New York City and wanted to inform your audience about your trip. You would not want to tell your audience about your entire trip in your PowerPoint; you would merely want to list the high-level key points that you can speak to.

This is when there is too much content in a bullet point:
chatic, messy paintings
  • First, we went to Central Park and had a wonderful time. It was a perfect sunny day and we walked barefoot in the grass and fed the birds.
  • Then, we went to the Empire State Building. We took the elevator up and walked around the top platform. It was spectacular to see everything from that viewpoint!
  • Lastly, we took a ferry to see the Statue of Liberty. The water was choppy and the boat rocked quite a bit. We were amazed at the detail and the size of the statue.
This is when high-level key points are used in a bullet point:
line of different colored paint brushes in a neat row
  • Central Park – so much to do
  • Empire State Building – incredible views
  • Statue of Liberty – amazing detail and size

Remember, the audience wants to listen to you for the details of the presentation.

Checkpoint #1

1. What is the intention of a Power Point Presentation?


2. What is the best way to start a PPT?


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The Basics of Slide Development Video

Watch this video to gain more knowledge about the basics of slide development.

Checkpoint #2

1. What is the purpose of bullets?


2. Why are visual aids helpful?


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Speaker notes in PowerPoint help presenters recall important points, such as key messages or stats, as they give a presentation. The speaker note panel lives at the bottom of your PowerPoint screen.

The speaker notes are used to help the presenter speak to the slide’s graphics, and they contain instructions for how to click through a slide animation, hold links to important files, or just use this space as a general note taking section.

When you present, you are the storyteller and your slides are your support, forming the atmosphere and emphasizing your key points. Because there’s a limit to how much information people can process at one time—they will either listen to you or read your slides—it’s important to show only information essential for your story.

Speaker notes in PowerPoint allow you to move nonessential text and stats off your slides so that your audience can fully absorb your message. Having the info in the speaker notes allows you to be ready should your audience ask questions about your data or other points in your presentation that may require additional information.

Though speaker notes should be a somewhat simplified version of what you are saying, using them for the high-level key points of your script will help you match your talk track to what’s happening on the slide behind yo

Adding Speaker Notes to PowerPoint

There are two ways to add speaker notes in PowerPoint.

Here are Detailed Instructions for Adding Notes to PowerPoint

  1. Go to View and select Normal.
  2. In the Slide pane, select the thumbnail of the slide you want to add a note.
  3. Place the cursor in the Notes pane. The text in the Notes pane reads, Click to add notes.
  4. If you don't see the Notes pane, go to View and select Notes. On a Mac, drag the bar below the slide upward to reveal the notes section.
  5. Type or paste your notes into the Notes pane.
  6. Save the changes to your presentation.

Adding Speaker Notes to PowerPoint

The speaker notes are not meant to be a word-for-word script of your presentation. This can tempt you to break a connection with the audience, as well as begin to sound inauthentic.

The first bullet point of your speaker notes can convey your overarching idea, and your other points can support it.

These can be called speaking touchpoints, and often they are short words or phrases that will remind the speaker of what they want to say.

If one of your supporting concepts involves telling an anecdote or story, you can trigger your memory by leaving a note to yourself in brackets. It’s also important to keep these simple because the space to view them is limited.

Create a Hook

Like any engaging story, you’ve got to kick things off with a great hook. Give your audience a surprising or intriguing statistic about your company or industry, or deliver a personal anecdote that you believe adds a bit of flavor and insight. By drawing your audience in with something a bit personal, you’re able to create a subconscious link that will ensure they listen a little bit more intently to the slides that follow.

Here are some other tips for effective presentations:

  • Keep the presentation short and to the point.
  • Rehearse your presentation several times to ensure all transitions and animations work well.
  • Memorize your script rather than reading from your script.
  • Practice presenting and adjust the flow as needed. After finalizing, practice at least once more.
  • Speak at an acceptable volume to be heard by all in the room.
  • Give your story a beginning, middle, and end.
  • Being enthusiastic and honest is a great way to show your passion for your power point subject and to connect with your audience.
  • Keep your goal in mind throughout the presentation.
  • Smile and make eye contact with your audience.
  • First impressions are important so make your beginning strong.
  • 10-20-30 rule is 10 slides for a 20 minute presentation and a font size of 30.
  • When telling a story, focus on characters with a changing dynamic that includes what is not as it should be and answers what you propose to do to change things.
  • Work on effective speaking techniques.
  • Be aware of your body language. Relax, breathe and enjoy the process.
  • Check your equipment in advance and become comfortable with operating all of it.
  • Make your story relevant and begin with something attention grabbing.
  • Revisit the objectives to ensure all were met.
  • Briefly review the key information covered.
  • A review slide helps to reinforce key points and brings the presentation to an effective conclusion.
  • Ask a few questions to assess the audience’s knowledge on your presentation topic.

Finally, you’ve got to have fun with it. According to researchers, most of us are more afraid of public speaking than we are of death. But with the help of a fantastic PowerPoint presentation, a quality script, and a bit of stage presence, delivering an expert presentation doesn’t have to be difficult or scary. Just remember to play to the room and don’t be afraid to do whatever it takes in order to get your message across.

Checkpoint #3

1. What is the benefit to speaker notes?


2. What can happen if the speaker notes are word-for-word with the concepts of the presentation?


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Good effort, please try again.

That is incorrect. The correct answer is:

Now you should be able to:

  • Create PowerPoint presentations that effectively convey the information to your audience.
  • Describe the purpose of a bullet point in a presentation and how to speak to it.
  • Write bullet points that give a light overview of the content you want to discuss.
  • Produce effective speaker notes that enhance your presentation.
  • Conduct an effective presentation that holds the attention of your audience.

This is the end of the activity.

Activity is complete.