PowerPoint Guidelines and Tips | Creative A.V. Solutions

To ensure that your information can be read from the back and sides of the room, use a font size of 18 point or larger and avoid curved or rotated text.

Remember that full page charts or graphs, particularly when they are imported from software or scanned, are very difficult to read from the back of the room.

If you are using color in your presentation, remember that colors do not always project on-screen the same way they look on your monitor. As such, choose easily transferable colors for the background and text colors (we recommend black with white lettering or white with black or navy blue lettering). You can then use bright colors for highlights.

Using too much color can distract from your information. For graphs and charts, use a maximum of five colors. For text, limit use to two colors with a third for highlighting. Colors should be consistent throughout the presentation.

Although utilizing different fonts can draw attention to your information, using too many may distract from your presentation. As a rule, use no more than two-three typefaces and styles per page. We recommend Times New Roman, Arial, Helvetica, CG Times, or Verdana.

Do not use all capitals or letters that are shadowed. Both causes the text to blend together thus making it more difficult to read.

Avoid trying to squeeze too much information onto one page or line. Industry standard is the “7-7 rule”: no more than seven bullet lines per page, with no more than seven words per line. Use your AV presentation to summarize your main points rather than a verbatim copy of your remarks.

Set at least ½” margins on each edge to ensure that test will not be cut off when projected onto the screen.

Provide handouts! Attendees find them valuable for following along and taking notes during your presentation.

Be sure to practice your presentation several times prior to the conference. This should allow you ample opportunity to work out any glitches that may arise.

Keep several backups of your work on hand ( a 3 ½” diskette, CD or a Jump/flash drive) in case of a technical emergency.

When choosing a font, remember that only True Type fonts can be transferred from one computer to another and from a computer to an LCD projector.Use text, color, sound, and animation sparingly. Having each word spin or drop into the screen can occupy much of your speaking time and be distracting to your audience.