These days, everyone and their mothers are giving PowerPoint presentations. Here are a few simple tips for you PowerPoint beginners.

1)      Limit text- The goal of a PowerPoint presentation is to summarize a particular chunk of information.  Use bulleted lists instead of long paragraphs of text.  Elaborate on each point as you speak.  Bullets and lists are easier to read and more likely to hold people’s attention.

2)      Limit animations- Keep it simple.  A few carefully selected animations are okay, but you don’t want a lot of distracting graphics or slide transitions.

3)      Visual aids- Visual aids are great.  If you have a lot of numerical information, make a chart.  Use programs like Excel to create charts quickly and easily.  These charts will help the visual learners in the audience to understand.

4)      Create a template- Make your life easier; create a template for all of your PowerPoint presentations.  This template should be clean and simple, and complement your business.  Create a template that matches your business cards or letterhead for an ultra-professional look.   Be sure to include your logo somewhere in the presentation.

5)      Make it available- After the presentation, make sure everyone in the audience knows where they can find the presentation for future reference.  It is also a good idea to print out a copy for everyone in attendance.