2.1 VISUALS

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The following tips help make visuals more effective

General

- keep it simple

Content

- test your presentation for size and look - are they easy to read, can they be followed, do they convey the information

Layout

- If you plan to refer to an earlier slide, make a second copy of it - don't flip back

- Use titles to make the purpose of visuals obvious

- use bullet points - long sentences crowd the screen and are hard to read.

- do not use more than 20 words per slide, do not try to write full sentences on slides, use it as a summary

Fonts and Text

- use upper/lower case only to draw attention to words, do this sparingly

- use a large enough font so that it can be read with ease

- use white space to make the screen more readable - if the slide is too full it will overwhelm the reader

- avoid multiple fonts - these look sloppy

- avoid italics, bold and upper case for emphasis - this makes it too busy

- when doing point form punctuation can be distracting

Graphics

- do not use too many lines on graphs - more than 3 will be hard to follow

- use figures or graphs when possible to reduce the number of words

- use graphs or charts for numbers - avoid large table

- Use line drawings instead of scanned images or photographs, they are easier to make out

- avoid equations when possible

- if possible have something to pass around - don't just talk about it or show a picture

Appearance

- avoid excessive colors - use a couple to pull graphics together. Three or more is too much.

- don't use numbered steps unless identifying importance or sequence