10 MS PowerPoint Power Tips for Greater Productivity

PowerPoint is a great tool for writers to present ideas, products and services.

Follow these 10 power-user tips provided by Microsoft to give riveting, effective and memorable PPT presentations.

1. Provide a compelling spoken content to accompany your PPT slides.

2. Keep your slides simple. Do not have more than six lines of written information and one dominant graphic on each slide.
3. Minimize numbers in slides. If you need to present numbers, present them in the shape of pie charts and other graphic tools.
4. Don’t parrot PowerPoint. Don’t just read aloud what’s already up there on the screen. Instead elaborate, give lively examples, and support the slide with interesting facts. While doing all that, always maintain eye contact with your audience and don’t turn your back to them.
5. Time your remarks in order not to overload your audience. After a new slide shows up on the screen, wait for a few seconds before starting to talk. Give your audience the time to digest the slide first.
6. Give it a rest. Just show a blank screen once in a while to allow your audience to catch their breath and focus their attention on the main points of your presentation.
7. Use vibrant colors. A contrast in shapes, colors, and words help maintain the interest in your presentation.
8. Import other images and graphics. Feel free to incorporate images and even video from outside sources, provided they are either copyright free or you first obtain the permission to use them in your PPT presentation. Humorous cartoons help too provided you avoid risqué humor in a corporate setting.
9. Distribute handouts at the end — not during the presentation. Make sure during the presentation they won’t have anything else to divide their attention.