DEATH BY POWERPOINT Kim Cullen, PhD, R.Kin

SPEAKING ABOUT SCIENCE

cullenkl@gmail.com @cullenkl ca.linkedin.com/in/cullenkl

Common PowerPoint Mistakes

Common PowerPoint Mistakes

POWERPOINT IS NOT THE PROBLEM

It’s YOU!

SO WHAT IS THE ANSWER?

Choose to DESIGN a presentation

Slides are for the AUDIENCENot for the PRESENTER

Use colour to communicate

Use COLOUR to communicate

Don’t let colours distract

from your message…0

15

30

45

60

Use colours to emphasize your data

0

15

30

45

60

Choose a colour scheme and stick to it

Deliberately choose fonts that are legible and the right tone you want to convey

Use Sans Serif fonts

Adjust font settings strategically

SHORT AND TALL

SHORT AND TALL

Adjust font settings strategically

BIG AND SMALL

BIG AND SMALL

Adjust font settings strategically

Do NOT make your audience strain to read your text.(15 pts) (30 pts) (60 pts)

Use complementary

font types

But don’t get carried away.

No more than 3!

https://designschool.canva.com/font-design/

Avoid the Take Me Seriously curse

Presenting the data Tables vs. Figures

Table&4.&Popula-on,&area,&and&density&of&the&top&12&most&populous&US&ci-esa&&

Rank& City& State& Popula-on& Area&(sq.&mi)& Density&(per&sq.&mi)&

1& New&York& New&York& 8,175,133& 302.6& 27,103.6&

2& Los&Angeles& California& 3,792,621& 468.7& 8,091.8&

3& Chicago& Illinois& 2,695,598& 227.6& 11,843.6&

4& Houston& Texas& 2,099,451& 599.6& 3,501.4&

5& Philadelphia&& Pennsylvania& 1,526,006& 134.1& 11,379.6&

6& Phoenix& Arizona& 1,445,632& 516.7& 2,797.8&

7& San&Antonio& Texas& 1,327,407& 460.9& 2,880.0&

8& San&Diego& California& 1,307,402& 325.2& 4,020.3&

9& Dallas& Texas& 1,197,816& 340.5& 3,517.8&

10& San&Jose& California& 945,942& 176.5& 5,359.4&

11& Jacksonville& Florida& 821,784& 747.0& 1,100.1&

12& Indianapolis& Indiana& 820,235& 361.4& 2,270.2&a&Data&from&the&2010&United&States&Census.&

Busy tables make your audience work too hard.

City! State! Popula-on! Area! Density!

New!York! New!York! 8,175,133! 302.6! 27,103.6!

Los4Angeles4 California4 3,792,6214 468.74 8,091.84

Better but NOT perfect

Figures better suited to display patterns and trends.

Figures better suited to display patterns and trends.

Reduce CLUTTERBefore After

115#

125#

135#

145#

155#

165#

175#

185#

195#

1# 2# 3# 4# 5# 6# 7# 8# 9# 10# 11# 12# 13# 14#

Systolic)Blood

)Pressure)(m

m)Hg))

Time)(weeks))

Interven2on#

Control#

Before

HIGHLIGHT what’s importantAfter

Introduce Drug

The best figure titles are conclusions.

The best figure titles are conclusions.

Why are

YOU

presenting?

Why are

YOU

presenting?

Inspire Teach Change Sell

Determine the GOAL of your presentation

Know your audience

Once you know, you can’t unknow.

THE KNOWLEDGE CURSE

“If you can’t explain it simply,

you don’t understand it well enough”

~ Albert Einstein

Tell us a story

Another classic story structure

Put into scientific context

Make your presentation STICKY

S U C C E S

implenexpectedoncreterediblemotionaltories

Use orientation anchors

INTRODUCTION METHODS RESULTS DISCUSSION CONCLUSIONS

MAKE ONE POINT PER SLIDE

Slides are cheap or really…

Delivery

Be visible & audible

Practice makes Perfect

If you really need notes, use PRESENTER view

Use technology as a pro

Before everything else, getting READY is the SECRET to SUCCESS

~ Henry Ford

Handy Presentation Resources