10.6: Preparing Your Slides

Slides are the most common visual aids used today but each organization is different when it comes down to how your slides should look. However, most organizations in today’s Air Force agree that the information we present shouldn’t be too complex. Custom animation, if used, must serve a substantive purpose-not just looks. Keep these tips in mind as you build your slides or any other visual aid media.

COLOR. Color is a very important communication tool. Good designers limit their color palettes even if 256 different colors may be available.

• Use colors in a standard manner throughout your presentation.
• Limit your choices to 4 or 5 colors.
• Use light colors on a dark background and vice versa.
• Use colors to emphasize key elements, but try to avoid red lettering.
• Use the same background color on all images.
• Avoid red-green and blue-red color combinations.
• Use bright colors (yellow, orange, etc.) sparingly.
• Maintain good contrast between important information and background.
• Check your slide colors in the room you will be briefing in. Projectors do not always show the same level of contrast as your monitor.

Most organizations have standard slide show requirements, so check with your organization’s front office to ensure you’re using the correct presentation design (font, color, background, etc.).

TEXT. The first rule here is "less is more." Less experienced briefers are often tempted to pack presentations with every detail they can think of for fear they might leave something out during the real thing. Slides should have minimal content and lots of "white space." Slides aim at the visual portion of the brain and will only confuse the audience if they are jam-packed with data. The slides should not be self-explanatory. If they are, you probably have too much stuff on them. Remember, you should add value to the presentation and should supplement the slides with your eloquent speaking abilities.

• Keep it simple. Use the "7 x 7 rule: "
  • No more than 7 words per line
  • No more than 7 lines per slide
• Spelling is important!
• Don’t read slides-it’s insulting.
• If you have more than one slide per main point, add "Continued" on subsequent slides.
• Have only one thought per slide-it gives the audience time to refocus on you.
• Avoid hyphenation at end of lines.
• Use upper and lower case for three reasons:
  • Helps identify acronyms, which we love in the military!
  • More comfortable for audience, because this is how we read.
  • Makes your presentation look more professional.
• Emphasize key words with boldface, italicized, underlined or colored text.
• Left-justify your text.
• Font size: Use the same type font throughout the presentation.
  • Title: 40 point
  • Subtitle: 30 point
  • Text: 20-26 point
• Most importantly, you fill in the information. So, you should always know and be ready to present one level of detail below a piece of information. If you don’t, you will end up reading slides or the audience will have many questions left unanswered.

GRAPHICS. Whether designed for a briefing or written report, no graphic should be so elaborate it becomes an end in itself and obscures your intended message. However, when used wisely, graphics can certainly add to your presentation. Although text is important, audiences remember more when content is graphically presented. A 60-minute briefing can be pretty boring if it is all done in text. On the flip side, interesting graphics do not guarantee an effective briefing. Read below for some tips to keep you in check when using graphics.

• Use only artwork suitable for your presentation. Know your audience!
• Use graphs (bar charts, pie charts, etc.) to convey statistics.
• Be careful with graphs: too many can be confusing.
• Line graphs show trends over time. - Bar graphs compare values.
• Pie charts compare values against a whole.
• Tables: Don’t use if you can convey information verbally or in a graph-they usually appear overly "busy" on a slide.
  • Limit to 4 rows and 7 columns.
  • Use footnotes to remove distracting data from tables.
  • Round off numbers if possible.
  • Don’t put decimal points in numbers like 10 or 100 . The audience may interpret "100.00" as "10,000."
• Place your graphics off-center-use them to lead your audience to important text information.
• Be careful with animation:
  • Sound: Use sound effects sparingly and make sure they add impact.
  • Slide transitions: Most briefers overuse slide transitions. If you decide to use transitions, use the same type throughout your entire briefing, and make sure they add, not detract from your presentation.
• Video can be quite effective, but again, use sparingly.

BOTTOM LINE: Make it Big, keep it Simple, make it Clear, and be Consistent!

SUMMARY: We’ve covered a lot of ground in this section but it all boils down to a few simple ideas.

• Use vocal characteristics such as rate, volume, pitch and pause to enhance the impact of your message.
• Be aware of any nonverbal quirks; reduce nervousness through solid preparation.
• Select an appropriate delivery format: impromptu, prepared or manuscript.
• Visual aids can enhance oral presentations, but don’t lose sight of the big picture.
• Stay focused: do your homework on the topic and the delivery.

The more often you speak in front of or with a group, the more self-confident you become. High confidence and thorough knowledge of your subject are important prerequisites for speaking. In the end, if you have the time to prepare-do it! There is no substitute for being prepared and practice. The following lists of "Do’s" and "Don’ts" summarize many of the key ideas of this chapter as a quick reference. Keep these lists handy to check yourself (or your friends) before that big presentation to the boss.

Do’s (For Air Force Speaking)

1. Stand beside your visual aid. Better yet, get away from slides and walk around.
2. This may depend on your purpose and audience, and location of your briefing.
3. Start out with well-prepared opening statement and try to elicit audience involvement by asking a relevant question or two. Use a personal story or experience (if appropriate) to bridge to your topic.
4. If referring to screen, stand aside, use a pointer, and put it down when done.
5. Give the audience time to read slides.
6. Read the slide silently or watch to see if audience has finished reading. If slide contains a long quote, paraphrase or underline important parts.
7. Speak naturally and use gestures.
8. Make the slide simple and fill it out with concise spoken words.
9. Show only necessary slides.
10. Turn off projector or use a cover slide.
11. Check for spelling and punctuation ... more than once!
12. Practice handling slides and gauging time needed to read them. Use an assistant to advance slides if available.
13. Anticipate likely questions and rehearse possible answers. Keep answers short and simple. Listen carefully to questioner and clarify question if needed.
14. Know your purpose, audience and any time constraints.
15. Practice, practice, practice! And test visual aids prior to your briefing.

Don’ts (For Air Force Speaking)

1. Stand between the audience and visual aid and block the audience’s view.
2. Jump right into slides.
3. Talk at the screen with back to your audience.
4. Change slides too quickly.
5. Read the slide to the audience.
6. Give a memorized briefing.
7. Show a complicated slide and give a complicated explanation of it.
8. Use slides as gimmicks or crutches.
9. Leave projector on with blank screen.
10. Forget to check spelling and punctuation.
11. Disrupt presentation to handle slides.
12. Be caught off-guard by questions from the audience. Don’t give quick replies. Don’t direct questions to specific members of audience.
13. If time is limited (5-15 minutes), you may want to consider NOT using slides. In these cases, it’s more important to establish connection with your audience than it is to show a few slides.
14. Wing it, and never apologize because you didn’t prepare. This makes you look irresponsible and ruins your credibility before you even start.