Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Layout
Choose an effective slide design. Simplicity works well, while complex designs and
bright colours are a distraction. Consider including running headings and structure
guides, so that the audience knows what part of the talk they are listening to.
Dark backgrounds do not always work. In a dimly lit auditorium, if the projected
image is dark the atmosphere can be unpleasant. Light fonts on dark background do
not display as well as dark fonts on white. Backgrounds that vary in brightness are
even worse—text that is legible in some areas may be obscured in others. The use of
logos and images should be limited to borders. If you have something to communicate
to the audience, screen area is precious; don't waste it on meaningless graphics.
Animation
Animation that is used for stylistic reasons, such as transition between slides, or
transition between bullet points, quickly becomes tiresome. Animated diagrams can
be an effective way of illustrating the working of dynamic systems and algorithms,
but otherwise animation rarely adds value.
A specific form of animation is point-at-a-time display. There are several reasons
why such display works against the success of a typical presentation. One is that it
is a constraint on the speaker, who must keep to a rigid script and remember several
times a minute to click a button to get the next point displayed. (All too often the
speaker does not remember, and then has to click-click-click to catch up.) In contrast,
if a whole slide is displayed, the speaker can focus on talking to the audience and
can improvise more easily. Another reason is that audiences want to know where
the speaker is going; typically a listener reads a slide, then waits to hear the speaker
explain it. Point-at-a-time display makes it harder for the listener to focus.
Other Elements
Some talks include materials such as web pages, audio recordings, and videos. These
materials can be valuable, but they do bring risk: some auditoriums and projection
systems do not support them well. Also, talking to such material takes practice,
particularly a video that seems a lot longer (and more boring) when played to an
audience than it did when you were writing the talk.
If you add music or noises to individual slides, do so for a serious purpose. Don't
expect the audience to be familiar with cultural choices—they are unlikely to share
your taste in music, for example, or be able to guess why you think a particular
unfamiliar song is relevant to your talk.
