how to create a good powerpoint presentation for college

How To Make A Good Powerpoint Presentation For College

If college presentations feel like navigating uncharted territory, fear not! Mastering how to make a good powerpoint presentation for college is like learning to steer a ship through turbulent waters—you need the right tools, strategies, and a touch of creativity. In this guide, we’ll delve into the secrets of creating an impactful presentation that captivates your audience while ensuring that your message bursts forth with clarity and professionalism.

• 1.1 Understand Your Audience: Tailoring Your Message
• 1.2 Craft A Clear Structure: Building the Foundation
• 1.3 Engage with Visuals: Painting a Picture
• 1.4 Keep It Concise: Focusing Your Message
• 1.5 Limit Text: Let Your Voice Shine
• 1.6 Choose Fonts Wisely: Clarity and Consistency
• 1.7 Utilize Color Thoughtfully: Enhancing Visual Appeal
• 1.8 Embrace Minimalism: Less Is More
• 1.9 Practice, Practice, Practice: Perfecting Your Delivery
• 1.10 Prepare for Q&A: Navigating Uncharted Waters
• 2 Final Thoughts on How To Make A Good Powerpoint Presentation For College
• 3.1 1. How many slides should my presentation have?
• 3.2 2. Can I use animations and transitions?
• 3.3 3. Should I memorize my entire presentation?
• 3.4 4. How do I handle nervousness?
• 3.5 5. Is it okay to use humor in my presentation?

10 Tips on How To Make A Good Powerpoint Presentation For College

Embarking on the journey of crafting a compelling PowerPoint presentation for college is like wielding a brush to paint an awe-inspiring masterpiece. Just as an artist blends colors to evoke emotions, you’ll learn to blend content, visuals, and delivery techniques to captivate your audience.

Its time to dive into the realm of presentation excellence, unraveling 10 essential tips that will transform your slides into a canvas of knowledge and intrigue. So, prepare to brush up your skills and let your presentation skills burst forth with brilliance!

Understand Your Audience: Tailoring Your Message

Imagine your audience as fellow travelers on a journey of learning. Just as a tour guide adapts their narrative to captivate their listeners, understanding your audience’s interests, knowledge level, and expectations is key. Are you presenting to peers, professors, or a mixed group? Tailoring your message to their needs is like choosing the perfect route to guide them through your presentation smoothly.

Craft A Clear Structure: Building the Foundation

A well-structured presentation is like a sturdy bridge, supporting your ideas as you guide your audience from one point to another. Begin with an engaging introduction that piques their interest, followed by the main points you’ll cover. Each slide should flow logically, much like stepping stones across a stream. Use headings and subheadings (H2 tags) to guide your audience, ensuring that your content is organized and easy to follow.

Engage with Visuals: Painting a Picture

Visual aids are like brushstrokes of color on a canvas—they breathe life into your presentation. Incorporate relevant images, graphs, and charts that enhance your message. Avoid overwhelming your slides with text; instead, use visuals to illustrate key points and concepts. Just as an artist selects colors thoughtfully, choose visuals that complement and enhance your narrative.

Keep It Concise: Focusing Your Message

In the world of presentations, brevity is your ally. Think of each slide as a puzzle piece; it should contribute to the bigger picture without overwhelming your audience. Use concise bullet points, avoiding long paragraphs. It’s like packing for a trip—select only what’s essential to ensure a smooth journey through your content.

Limit Text: Let Your Voice Shine

Too much text on a slide is like overcrowding a room—it leaves no space for your voice to resonate. Use your slides as prompts, not scripts. When you present, your spoken words should expand on the points highlighted on your slides. This engages your audience and ensures that your presentation remains engaging and dynamic.

Choose Fonts Wisely: Clarity and Consistency

Fonts are like the voice of your presentation—each one conveys a different tone. Opt for readable fonts like Arial, Calibri, or Times New Roman. Use bold and italics for emphasis, but avoid excessive decoration that distracts from your message. Consistency is key, much like maintaining a steady rhythm throughout a musical performance.

Utilize Color Thoughtfully: Enhancing Visual Appeal

Colors are like the backdrop of your presentation—they set the tone and mood. Choose a color palette that’s easy on the eyes and complements your content. Bright colors can be attention-grabbing, while muted tones create a sense of professionalism. Think of color as the thread weaving through a tapestry, adding vibrancy and cohesion.

Embrace Minimalism: Less Is More

Simplicity is like a breath of fresh air in a cluttered world. Embrace minimalistic design by using ample white space and clean layouts. It’s like decluttering a room—each element should have a purpose, contributing to the overall aesthetic without overwhelming the senses.

Practice, Practice, Practice: Perfecting Your Delivery

Practicing your presentation is like rehearsing for a live performance. Familiarity with your content allows you to speak confidently and engage with your audience. Practice your pacing, intonation, and gestures to ensure that your delivery is natural and compelling. Invite a friend or family member to listen and provide feedback—it’s like having a test audience before the big show.

Prepare for Q&A: Navigating Uncharted Waters

Imagine the Q&A session as a roundtable discussion among explorers. Anticipate potential questions and prepare thoughtful responses. Just as explorers research their destination, gather additional information to address queries that might arise. This part of your presentation is like an interactive map—guiding your audience through uncharted territories of curiosity.

Final Thoughts on How To Make A Good Powerpoint Presentation For College

In conclusion, knowing how to make a good powerpoint presentation for college is a blend of strategy, creativity, and effective communication. Think of it as a voyage—your content is the ship, and your audience is the crew.

With the right tools, you’ll navigate through the waves of information, ensuring that your message reaches its destination with clarity and resonance. So, set sail with confidence, and let your presentation shine as a beacon of knowledge and engagement.

FAQs: Navigating the Presentation Seas

1. how many slides should my presentation have.

While there’s no fixed rule, aim for around 10-15 slides for a 10-minute presentation. Adjust based on your content and pacing.

2. Can I use animations and transitions?

Absolutely! Just ensure they enhance your content and don’t distract from your message. Think of them as subtle waves that guide your audience’s attention.

3. Should I memorize my entire presentation?

While memorizing can be helpful, focus on understanding your content. Use your slides as prompts and engage naturally with your audience.

4. How do I handle nervousness?

Nervousness is like a tide that comes and goes. Practice, deep breaths, and positive self-talk can help calm your nerves. Remember, a bit of excitement is natural—it shows you care!

5. Is it okay to use humor in my presentation?

Absolutely! Humor is like a lighthouse—it guides your audience through your content with a smile. Just ensure your jokes are appropriate for the context and audience.

Remember, your presentation is an opportunity to share knowledge and engage with your audience. With these tips in hand, you’re ready to embark on your presentation journey with confidence and flair.

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How To Make a Good PowerPoint Presentation for College

A must-unlock skill of every college student is creating PowerPoint presentations. Whether you’re a freshman, sophomore or senior, you’re sure to come across an assignment that requires you to create a PowerPoint presentation.

Creating PowerPoint presentations enables you to hone creativity, build public speaking abilities, improve body language and boost confidence. Those interpersonal qualities are required, not only in classes but also in workplaces.

1. Identify the key points

Before anything else, a good comprehension of the topic you want to deliver is necessary. Understanding your materials helps you be more confident when presenting and providing better slides.

Those who aren’t knowledgeable about the topic they talk about most likely put a long string of words, leading to wordy slides. However, if you comprehend the discussion well, you can put short phrases in bullet points.

2. Choose an interesting template

Never present PowerPoint with plain slides because it’s the first step to a boring performance. Besides, finding PowerPoint templates online is a piece of cake.

Many online platforms provide downloadable and free PowerPoint templates. Some websites to dive into are Slide Carnival, Powerpointify, Slides and AllPPT. They have various categories, such as education, technology, business, medical, etc.

Moreover, mind the background of your slides. You should use the same background for the entire slide. Ensure that your background and font color are in good contrast to present clear and readable slides.

3. Write impactfully

Now that you’ve decided on the points you want to deliver, put them into slides. Spread your points and use bullet points if possible. You can also mark some slides to add images , graphs or tables later.

There are rules of thumb that students must be aware of when creating PowerPoint presentations. The overall idea is to keep your slides concise. Here are some points worth taking notes on.

4. Add visuals

Create a good balance of visual aids and text on your slide. Commonly, a slide with a visual representation only carries one idea written in short. Consider some points below when embedding visual aids on your slides:

You can go to Unsplash and Freepik to search for free photos. Remember to add credit for your photos to inform audiences.

5. Edit and tidy up your slides

6. add transitions and do a final check.

Some recommendations include Fade, Push, Cut, Cover and Uncover. Consider using one type of entrance transition to begin each slide. Add emphasis transition to highlight crucial points, images or other elements.

Final Thoughts

Daniel reed, leave a reply, the parallels between ‘the talented mr. ripley’ and ‘saltburn’, taylor swift and the maritime superstition of football fans, shakespeare, ‘coriolanus’ and ‘the ballad of songbirds and snakes’, more than struggle: palestinian cuisine, the impact of listening to indigenous voices in 2024 america.

9 Easy Rules to Make a Good PowerPoint Presentation

Table of contents

• 1 How to Start an Excellent PowerPoint Presentation?
• 2 Tips On How To Make Your PowerPoint Presentation Perfect
• 3 9 Rules On How To Make A Great PowerPoint Presentation?
• 4 How to Make Your PPT Project Fast?

Today, regardless of whether you are in a school, college or university, a PowerPoint presentation is a common and widely-used method of engaging students and evaluating their knowledge and skills. This form of a multimedia project is multipurpose. With the help of a good PowerPoint presentation, a teacher or professor can not only make a lesson more interactive and engaging for the class, but also discover the knowledge and talents of his students. How to make a good PowerPoint presentation? Let's find out.

How to Start an Excellent PowerPoint Presentation?

Why do you have to do it? First, such projects are evaluated just like any other assignment, which means if you fail it, you get a low grade, and your overall academic performance drops. However, this is not the main reason. In addition, creating PowerPoint slides gives you many new useful skills and improve the ones you already have – you boost your critical thinking, research, and writing skills, not mentioning that you learn to use various techniques in your studies and gain some public speaking experience.

Thus, this task is useful in many different ways. Finally, it is fun! No one will argue that creating a PPT presentation is much more engaging and fun than writing a research paper of 10 or more pages! It is also a simple way to increase your grade. It is much easier to get an A for your presentation than to get a high grade for a thesis, which once more proves that this is a useful and important skill for all students.

How to make a great PowerPoint project? Although we have said that it is much easier than submitting a paper worthy of an A, you should not think that you will not come across certain challenges during this process. Keep in mind, that a good project delivers the necessary information to the audience, but the best PowerPoint presentations engage, impress, and stay in memory for a long time. Therefore, your main goal is to make it informative and interesting.

How to impress the class and your teacher? There are many factors that are going to influence the effectiveness and interest of your project, some of them are:

• High-quality content.
• Attractive visual files.
• Engaging files.
• Speaking confidence, etc.

There are many more PowerPoint tips to keep in mind. In this post, we will give you the top nine PowerPoint presentation tips that will definitely come in handy for every student or other people engaged in similar activities.

Tips On How To Make Your PowerPoint Presentation Perfect

How to make a good PowerPoint presentation for college? The process of making effective PowerPoint presentations is long and complicated. Luckily, we have tips and tricks that should help you with the outcome. Once you know these, you will see presentation slides as words, and you will develop your presentation skills in no time. At the same time, you can use these tips and tricks for any presentation, which is always a good idea. The design tips for effective PowerPoint presentation  can make a massive difference with your grade. Hence, they are important and beneficial. Once you know these, you can start creating a PowerPoint presentation. Let’s see tips and tricks that have a huge effect on the PPT process and PPT results.

Simplify The Words In any Microsoft PowerPoint presentation, there are a few seconds time a person can see the slide. It should contain simple words and short ones, so a reader can get only the most valuable information. This is essential when working with PPT. A good PowerPoint presentation will be visible and easy to understand within seconds.

Avoid Using All Capital Letters It looks confusing and won’t be seen in a good PowerPoint presentation. This is actually one of the PowerPoint design tips that have a huge role in all of this. You can add images on each slide, but make sure they don't interfere with the text. As always, know your audience first.

Light Text and Dark Background As you can see, this is a simple tip that has a huge effect. You can use dark text and a light background. The goal is the same. It should make the text more visible, and it is more important than the background. Use this for all lines of text, mandatory bullet points, and also key phrases.

Don't Use Text Fly-Ins These will not improve your presentation skills. The effects are not very amusing when you are discussing business, and they are something most people have seen countless times. It is one of the tips and tricks that is simple but works well with all PPT presentations and has a huge effect on the outcome.

Use HD Images You should only use HD images. These will make your slides look better and more professional. They can make any presentation so much better and more appealing. Use the best images you can find. Keep in mind that you must not use low-quality images at any point.

Avoid Using Animations The situation here is the same as with text fly-ins. These animations will get old fast, and they don't contribute to the overall value of your presentation. Keep things simple and easy. This is the best thing you can do and works well with any presentation and with any purpose. Check out professional presentations, and you will see no animations.

Don't Flip Too Much Your presentation should have a decent number of slides, but not too many. If you flip too much, you will lose the focus and attention of the audience. Just add all the facts and data you need and nothing more.

9 Rules On How To Make A Great PowerPoint Presentation?

There are many nuances to consider. However, there is no reason to deny that a student has to adhere to a few important rules in order to create a winning project, so here we have gathered all these rules for you! They will help you rock your PPT presentation! Besides, these slide tips can also come in handy for those students who are wondering how to write an essay with Google Slides themes.

1. Show your creativity

This is the first thing to keep in mind! A PowerPoint project is not about making it “right” or “wrong” – it is about showing your personality, so let your creativity out and try to surprise everyone with your unique artistic vision.

2. Add high-quality media files

It is not a secret that 90% of PowerPoint presentation's success is by graphics. This is the main thing that will attract your audience's attention. Therefore, you should always use high-quality pictures and videos, not mentioning that all files have to be relevant to your topic and also engaging (consider adding some unusual and fun graphics).

3. Don’t overload it with animation

Without a doubt, nice-looking transitions and animations between your slides attract more attention, but they may also distract your audience. Try to keep it simple and classy.

4. Choose a good theme

A well-planned visual theme will help you make your slides look organic and harmonic. However, do not use templates. Using common templates removes your personal touch from the work, and it becomes too vanilla and won’t be memorable.

5. Avoid providing too much text or bullet lists

Why does it matter? The main idea of pay for PowerPoint presentation is simplicity! This type of project does not have to be overloaded with text – this will be your function as a speaker to share more information with the audience, while your slides only have to contain the main points! Therefore, minimize the amount of text.

6. Try to read less

Another thing that contributes to the success of your presentation is your confidence as a speaker, which is not shown if you are reading from the slides all the time. One of the most important tips for a PPT presentation is to stay confident and do not use a written paper to read the whole text from.

7. Use of charts and diagrams

This is something you should use! Often, charts and diagrams can highlight or explain the message you are trying to deliver much better than any text, but you have to use them carefully to avoid common mistakes as inappropriate size, lack of consistency, etc.

This is one of the most significant PowerPoint design tips! Although choosing fonts may not seem like a big problem, an inappropriate font can ruin the whole impression of your work! Choose fonts that will be easy to read and would look harmonious in your presentation.

9. Less is better

There is a rule that can help you make a perfect presentation – the 10/20/30 rule recommends you to include not more than 10 slides in your project, limit the time of presentation to a maximum of 20 minutes, and use minimum 30-point font size to make it easy to read. You won’t make a mistake if you follow this rule.

How to Make Your PPT Project Fast?

Where to get great PowerPoint presentations? If you are still not confident in your abilities after reading our PowerPoint guidelines, it’s okay, and it is also fine if you just don’t want to bother yourself with a time-consuming task like this. You can enlist the help of professional writers here at PapersOwl !

Our team is ready to do its best to prepare excellent PowerPoint slides for you on any presentation topics for college students and of any complexity, and we can also do it promptly – even within a day or less. Why should you buy PowerPoint presentations online  from a professional? It gives you many benefits:

• You are avoiding common mistakes.
• You save time.
• You don’t have to work on an assignment that seems complicated or boring to you.
• You can hire a professional writer with an MA or Ph.D. degree to be assured of great results.
• You get a chance to boost your grades quickly and easily!

Another great news is that at PapersOwl, you can also use presentation writing services with college assignments on various subjects – therefore, by choosing PapersOwl once, you obtain a reliable friend for all times. We can tackle any task, and we guarantee that you will be satisfied!

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Center for Teaching

Making better powerpoint presentations.

Print Version

Baddeley and Hitch’s model of working memory.

Research about student preferences for powerpoint, resources for making better powerpoint presentations, bibliography.

We have all experienced the pain of a bad PowerPoint presentation. And even though we promise ourselves never to make the same mistakes, we can still fall prey to common design pitfalls.  The good news is that your PowerPoint presentation doesn’t have to be ordinary. By keeping in mind a few guidelines, your classroom presentations can stand above the crowd!

“It is easy to dismiss design – to relegate it to mere ornament, the prettifying of places and objects to disguise their banality. But that is a serious misunderstanding of what design is and why it matters.” Daniel Pink

One framework that can be useful when making design decisions about your PowerPoint slide design is Baddeley and Hitch’s model of working memory .

As illustrated in the diagram above, the Central Executive coordinates the work of three systems by organizing the information we hear, see, and store into working memory.

The Phonological Loop deals with any auditory information. Students in a classroom are potentially listening to a variety of things: the instructor, questions from their peers, sound effects or audio from the PowerPoint presentation, and their own “inner voice.”

The Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad deals with information we see. This involves such aspects as form, color, size, space between objects, and their movement. For students this would include: the size and color of fonts, the relationship between images and text on the screen, the motion path of text animation and slide transitions, as well as any hand gestures, facial expressions, or classroom demonstrations made by the instructor.

The Episodic Buffer integrates the information across these sensory domains and communicates with long-term memory. All of these elements are being deposited into a holding tank called the “episodic buffer.” This buffer has a limited capacity and can become “overloaded” thereby, setting limits on how much information students can take in at once.

Laura Edelman and Kathleen Harring from Muhlenberg College , Allentown, Pennsylvania have developed an approach to PowerPoint design using Baddeley and Hitch’s model. During the course of their work, they conducted a survey of students at the college asking what they liked and didn’t like about their professor’s PowerPoint presentations. They discovered the following:

Characteristics students don’t like about professors’ PowerPoint slides

• Too many words on a slide
• Movement (slide transitions or word animations)
• Templates with too many colors

Characteristics students like like about professors’ PowerPoint slides

• Graphs increase understanding of content
• Bulleted lists help them organize ideas
• PowerPoint can help to structure lectures
• Verbal explanations of pictures/graphs help more than written clarifications

According to Edelman and Harring, some conclusions from the research at Muhlenberg are that students learn more when:

• material is presented in short phrases rather than full paragraphs.
• the professor talks about the information on the slide rather than having students read it on their own.
• relevant pictures are used. Irrelevant pictures decrease learning compared to PowerPoint slides with no picture
• they take notes (if the professor is not talking). But if the professor is lecturing, note-taking and listening decreased learning.
• they are given the PowerPoint slides before the class.

Advice from Edelman and Harring on leveraging the working memory with PowerPoint:

• Leverage the working memory by dividing the information between the visual and auditory modality.  Doing this reduces the likelihood of one system becoming overloaded. For instance, spoken words with pictures are better than pictures with text, as integrating an image and narration takes less cognitive effort than integrating an image and text.
• Minimize the opportunity for distraction by removing any irrelevant material such as music, sound effects, animations, and background images.
• Use simple cues to direct learners to important points or content. Using text size, bolding, italics, or placing content in a highlighted or shaded text box is all that is required to convey the significance of key ideas in your presentation.
• Don’t put every word you intend to speak on your PowerPoint slide. Instead, keep information displayed in short chunks that are easily read and comprehended.
• One of the mostly widely accessed websites about PowerPoint design is Garr Reynolds’ blog, Presentation Zen . In his blog entry:  “ What is Good PowerPoint Design? ” Reynolds explains how to keep the slide design simple, yet not simplistic, and includes a few slide examples that he has ‘made-over’ to demonstrate how to improve its readability and effectiveness. He also includes sample slides from his own presentation about PowerPoint slide design.
• Another presentation guru, David Paradi, author of “ The Visual Slide Revolution: Transforming Overloaded Text Slides into Persuasive Presentations ” maintains a video podcast series called “ Think Outside the Slide ” where he also demonstrates PowerPoint slide makeovers. Examples on this site are typically from the corporate perspective, but the process by which content decisions are made is still relevant for higher education. Paradi has also developed a five step method, called KWICK , that can be used as a simple guide when designing PowerPoint presentations.
• In the video clip below, Comedian Don McMillan talks about some of the common misuses of PowerPoint in his routine called “Life After Death by PowerPoint.”

• This article from The Chronicle of Higher Education highlights a blog moderated by Microsoft’s Doug Thomas that compiles practical PowerPoint advice gathered from presentation masters like Seth Godin , Guy Kawasaki , and Garr Reynolds .

Presenting to Win: The Art of Telling Your Story , by Jerry Weissman, Prentice Hall, 2006

Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery , by Garr Reynolds, New Riders Press, 2008

Solving the PowerPoint Predicament: using digital media for effective communication , by Tom Bunzel , Que, 2006

The Cognitive Style of Power Point , by Edward R. Tufte, Graphics Pr, 2003

The Visual Slide Revolution: Transforming Overloaded Text Slides into Persuasive Presentations , by Dave Paradi, Communications Skills Press, 2000

Why Most PowerPoint Presentations Suck: And How You Can Make Them Better , by Rick Altman, Harvest Books, 2007

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Home > Blog > Tips for Online Students > Tips for Students > Presentation Tips For Students – Show And Tell Like A Pro!

Tips for Online Students , Tips for Students

Presentation Tips For Students – Show And Tell Like A Pro!

Updated: June 19, 2024

Published: May 4, 2020

Giving a presentation to fellow classmates can be a bit daunting, especially if you are new to oral and visual presenting. But with the right PowerPoint tips, public speaking skills, and plenty of practice, you can present like a pro at your upcoming presentation. Here, we’ve laid out the best college presentation tips for students. And once you have one successful presentation, you’ll get better each time!

The Best Presentation Tips for Students

1. arrive early and be technically prepared.

Get to the room early and make sure you leave plenty of time for technical set up and technical difficulties. Have several backup drives (including an online version if possible) so that you are prepared for anything!

2. Know More

Be educated on more than just what you are sharing. That way, you can add points, speak candidly and confidently, and be prepared to answer any audience or teacher questions.

3. Share Your Passion With Your Audience

Connect with your audience by showing that you are passionate about your topic. Do this with the right tone, eye contact, and enthusiasm in your speech.

Photo by  Austin Distel  on  Unsplash

4. pace yourself.

When student presenters are nervous, they tend to speed up their speech. This can be a problem, however, because your speed may be distracting, hard to understand, and you may run under your time.

5. Rehearse Thoroughly

Don’t just practice, rehearse your college presentation. Rehearse the entire delivery, including standing up, using gestures, and going through the slides.

6. Show Your Personality

You don’t need to be professional to the point of stiffness during your college presentation . Don’t be afraid to show your personality while presenting. It will make your presentation more interesting, and you will seem more approachable and confident.

7. Improvise

You can’t be 100% certain what will happen during your presentation. If things aren’t exactly as you expected, don’t be afraid to improvise and run off script.

8. Pump Yourself Up

Get yourself excited and full of energy before your college presentation! Your mood sets the tone for your presentation, and if you get excited right before, you will likely carry that throughout and you’ll make your audience excited about your topic as well.

9. Remember To Pause

Pausing not only only prevents filler words and helps you recollect your thoughts, it can also be a powerful indicator of importance within your presentation.

10. Create “Um” Alternatives

Try hard not to use filler words as they make you look unprofessional and uncertain. The best alternatives to “um” “like” and “so” are taking a breath or a silent pause to collect your thoughts.

11. Using Your Hands

Using your hands makes your college presentation more interesting and helps to get your points across. Point at the slide, use common hand gestures, or mimic a motion.

12. Eye Contact

Eye contact is one of the most important presentation tips for students . Many students are nervous, so they look at their notes or their feet. It is important that you show your confidence and engage your audience by making eye contact. The more presentations you give, the more eye contact will feel natural.

13. The Right Tone

The best public speakers vary their tone and pitch throughout their presentation. Try to change it up, and choose the right tone for your message.

Preparing an Effective College Presentation

1. open strong.

Grab your fellow students’ attention by starting strong with a powerful quote, intriguing scenario, or prompt for internal dialogue.

2. Start With A Mind Map

Mind mapping is literally creating a map of the contents of your college presentation. It is a visual representation and flow of your topics and can help you see the big picture, along with smaller details.

Photo by  Teemu Paananen  on  Unsplash

3. edit yourself.

Some students make the mistake of including too much information in their college presentations. Instead of putting all of the information in there, choose the most important or relevant points, and elaborate on the spot if you feel it’s necessary.

4. Tell A Story

People love stories — they capture interest in ways that figures and facts cannot. Make your presentation relatable by including a story, or presenting in a story format.

5. The Power Of Humor

Using humor in your college presentation is one of the best presentation tips for students. Laughter will relax both you and the audience, and make your presentation more interesting

PowerPoint Tips for Students

1. use key phrases.

Choose a few key phrases that remain throughout your PowerPoint presentation. These should be phrases that really illustrate your point, and items that your audience will remember afterwards.

2. Limit Number Of Slides

Having too many slides will cause you to feel you need to rush through them to finish on time. Instead, include key points on a slide and take the time to talk about them. Try to think about including one slide per one minute of speech.

3. Plan Slide Layouts

Take some time to plan out how information will be displayed on your PowerPoint. Titles should be at the top, and bullets underneath. You may want to add title slides if you are changing to a new topic.

Photo by  NeONBRAND  on  Unsplash

4. the right fonts.

Choose an easy-to-read font that isn’t stylized. Sans serif fonts tend to be easier to read when they are large. Try to stick to only two different fonts as well to keep the presentation clean.

5. Choosing Colors And Images

When it comes to colors, use contrasting ones: light on dark or dark on light. Try to choose a few main colors to use throughout the presentation. Choose quality images, and make sure to provide the source for the images.

6. Use Beautiful Visual Aids

Keep your presentation interesting and your audience awake by adding visual aids to your PowerPoint. Add captivating photos, data representations, or infographics to illustrate your information.

7. Don’t Read Straight From Your Notes

When you read straight from your notes, your tone tends to remain monotonous, you don’t leave much room for eye contact. Try looking up often, or memorizing portions of your presentation.

8. Avoid Too Much Text

PowerPoint was made for images and bullets, not for your entire speech to be written in paragraph form. Too much text can lose your adiences’ interest and understanding.

9. Try A Theme

Choosing the right theme is one of those presentation tips for students that is often overlooked. When you find the right theme, you keep your college presentation looking interesting, professional, and relevant.

10. Be Careful With Transitions And Animations

Animations and transitions can add a lot to your presentation, but don’t add to many or it will end up being distracting.

Public Speaking Tips for Students

1. choose your topic wisely.

If you are able to pick your topic, try to pick something that interests you and something that you want to learn about. Your interest will come through your speech.

2. Visit The Room Beforehand

If your presentation is being held somewhere outside of class, try to visit the location beforehand to prep your mind and calm your nerves.

3. Practice Makes Perfect

Practice, practice, practice! The only way you will feel fully confident is by practicing many times, both on your own and in front of others.

Photo by  Product School  on  Unsplash

4. talk to someone about anxiety.

If you feel anxious about your college presentation, tell someone. It could be a friend, family member, your teacher, or a counselor. They will be able to help you with some strategies that will work best for you.

5. Remind Yourself Of Your Audience

Remember, you are presenting to your peers! They all likely have to make a presentation too at some point, and so have been or will be in the same boat. Remembering that your audience is on your side will help you stay cool and collected.

6. Observe Other Speakers

Look at famous leaders, or just other students who typically do well presenting. Notice what they are doing and how you can adapt your performance in those ways.

7. Remind Yourself Of Your Message

If you can come up with a central message, or goal, of your college presentation, you can remind yourself of it throughout your speech and let it guide you.

8. Don’t Apologize

If you make a mistake, don’t apologize. It is likely that no one even noticed! If you do feel you need to point out your own mistake, simply say it and keep moving on with your presentation. No need to be embarrassed, it happens even to the best presenters!

When you smile, you appear warm and inviting as a speaker. You will also relax yourself with your own smile.

The Bottom Line

It can be nerve racking presenting as a college student, but if you use our presentation tips for students, preparing and presenting your college presentation will be a breeze!

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At UoPeople, our blog writers are thinkers, researchers, and experts dedicated to curating articles relevant to our mission: making higher education accessible to everyone. Read More

A step-by-step guide to captivating PowerPoint presentation design

november 20, 2023

by Corporate PowerPoint Girl

Do you often find yourself stuck with a lackluster PowerPoint presentation, desperately seeking ways to make it more engaging and visually appealing? If your boss has ever told you to "please fix" a presentation and you didn't know where to start, you're not alone. In this article, we'll walk you through a straightforward method to transform your PowerPoint slides into a visually captivating masterpiece. 

Let's dive right in! 

Clean up your slides 

The first step in this journey to presentation excellence is all about decluttering your slides and elevating their impact. Say goodbye to those uninspiring bullet points that often dominate presentations. Instead, focus on what truly matters – the key call-out numbers. By increasing the font size of these numbers, you ensure they take center stage, immediately drawing your audience's attention. 

To make those numbers pop, consider breaking the text after the numbers into the next line and adding a touch of color. The contrast created by pairing a dark color with a lighter shade, like dark teal and light teal or burnt orange with peach, can work wonders. This simple adjustment makes your data more engaging , enhancing the overall impact of your presentation. 

Add dimension with boxes 

Now, let's introduce an element of depth and organization to your slides. By adding boxes, you'll create a visually pleasing structure that guides your audience through the content. In the "Insert" menu, select "Table" and opt for a one-by-one table. Change the table color to a light gray shade, elongate it, and position it neatly to the left of your text. 

To improve readability and aesthetics, increase the spacing between text phrases. A small adjustment in the before spacing setting (setting it to 48) significantly enhances the visual appeal of your slides. 

Insert circles 

To further enhance the visual appeal and engagement of your slides, let's introduce circles. In the Insert menu, navigate to Shapes and choose the circle. Adjust the circle's height and width to 1.2, ensuring it complements your content seamlessly. Match the circle's shape fill color with the corresponding text color for a harmonious look. 

Avoid using colored outlines for the circles, as they may distract from the overall aesthetic. This simple addition of circles adds an element of visual interest to your presentation, making it more captivating. 

Choose icons 

Now, it's time for a touch of creativity. Selecting icons to complement your text can elevate the clarity and appeal of your slides. In the "Insert" menu, you can search for relevant keywords to find the perfect icon from PowerPoint's extensive library . 

For instance, if your text discusses investment portfolio yield, search for "growth" and choose an upward arrow growth icon. These icons add an extra layer of visual appeal and clarity to your content, making it more engaging and informative. 

Final touches 

To wrap up the transformation process, we come to the final touches that give your presentation a polished, professional finish. Align your icons with their corresponding circles and change the shape fill color to white. This simple adjustment creates a crisp, cohesive look that ties everything together seamlessly. 

In conclusion, by following these steps, you've embarked on a journey to enhance your PowerPoint presentation . These initial steps are just the beginning of your exploration into the world of design elements and styles that can cater to your specific presentation needs. The key to a stunning PowerPoint presentation lies in the details. By following these steps, you can turn a lackluster set of slides into a visually engaging and dynamic presentation that will captivate your audience. So, the next time your boss says, "Please fix," you'll know exactly where to start. Happy presenting! 

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Creating Effective Powerpoint Slides

Plan: look at the big picture.

• Create Slides

Keep It Simple and Clear

• Design Principles

Oral Presentation

• Have a Back Up Plan

A good PowerPoint slideshow complements your presentation by highlighting your key message, providing structure, and illustrating important details.

While it is not difficult to create a good PowerPoint presentation, it is very easy to create a bad one. Bad PowerPoint presentations may have one or more of the following characteristics: too much specialized detail, too many slides, too many colours, unnecessary images or effects, small text, unreadable figures, and/or unclear slide order.

The strategies below can help you to create effective presentations and to save your audience from “death by PowerPoint.”

• Plan: Plan your talk first (see Academic Skills Oral Presentations) and then plan your PowerPoint to accompany your argument and evidence.
• Audience: Who is in your audience and what do they know about the material? What do you want them to learn? Consider your overall argument and evidence that you want to present.
• Purpose: Define the goals, topic and appropriate depth and scope of information.
• Presentation Length: Know the time available for your presentation. Be realistic about how much material you can cover as it is important that you keep within your time limit. Follow the general rule of thumb: You need about one slide per minute.

Creating Slides

You are now ready to create individual slides. If you have never used PowerPoint before, you can find hundreds of good tutorials online. Find one that works for you.

The classic PowerPoint error is to write sentences on a slide and read them. Rather than treating your slides as a script for your presentation, let the content on your slides support your message. Remember: LESS IS MORE .

• Where possible, include a heading for each slide
• Use bulleted points and avoid long sentences (it is often suggested that you include no more than 6 lines per slide or 6 words per line)
• Font size: 30 - 48 point for titles, 24 - 28 for text
• Avoid all capital letters
• Proofread carefully for spelling and grammar

Figures and Images

• Ensure images are clear and relevant
• Label all figures and tables
• Put units beside numbers on graphs and charts

General Design Principles

• Embrace empty space
• Use vertical and horizontal guide markers to consistently align elements
• Avoid too many colours, clutter or fancy visual effects
• Use high contrast to ensure visibility: e.g. Black text on white background or black on light blue
• Maintain consistency of the same elements on a slide (colours, fonts, styles, placement etc.), as well as, between slides in the slide deck
• Use animation sparingly, if at all. If you use transitions, use the same kind each time
• Edit entire slide deck to ensure organization is logical and design is consistent

Even with the best of PowerPoints, good presentations require practice and refinement Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse! Listen for awkward or unclear wording and make edits as needed. Keep an eye on time limits. Practice presenting alone, but also for friends.

Advance the slide when you reach that point in the presentation. Do not stand in front of the screen or talk to it. Face the audience at all times.

Try to test your presentation in the room before your talk; you may need to adjust the colours or font size for the room and equipment. For further information, see How to Prepare and Deliver an Oral Presentation .

Have a Back-Up Plan

Remember that PowerPoint may look great, but technical failures do happen. Mentally prepare for any eventuality. Make sure to save the presentation several ways: save on a USB stick and email it to yourself. Print out the slides to have a paper version in case of equipment failure and practice giving your presentation without your slides.

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Microsoft Office vs. Google Docs, Sheets, Slides: Which Is Best?

6 steps to ensure you never lose a microsoft office file again, new cartridge releases are taking retro gaming to another level, quick links, table of contents, start with a goal, less is more, consider your typeface, make bullet points count, limit the use of transitions, skip text where possible, think in color, take a look from the top down, bonus: start with templates.

Slideshows are an intuitive way to share complex ideas with an audience, although they're dull and frustrating when poorly executed. Here are some tips to make your Microsoft PowerPoint presentations sing while avoiding common pitfalls.

It all starts with identifying what we're trying to achieve with the presentation. Is it informative, a showcase of data in an easy-to-understand medium? Or is it more of a pitch, something meant to persuade and convince an audience and lead them to a particular outcome?

It's here where the majority of these presentations go wrong with the inability to identify the talking points that best support our goal. Always start with a goal in mind: to entertain, to inform, or to share data in a way that's easy to understand. Use facts, figures, and images to support your conclusion while keeping structure in mind (Where are we now and where are we going?).

I've found that it's helpful to start with the ending. Once I know how to end a presentation, I know how best to get to that point. I start by identifying the takeaway---that one nugget that I want to implant before thanking everyone for their time---and I work in reverse to figure out how best to get there.

Your mileage, of course, may vary. But it's always going to be a good idea to put in the time in the beginning stages so that you aren't reworking large portions of the presentation later. And that starts with a defined goal.

A slideshow isn't supposed to include everything. It's an introduction to a topic, one that we can elaborate on with speech. Anything unnecessary is a distraction. It makes the presentation less visually appealing and less interesting, and it makes you look bad as a presenter.

This goes for text as well as images. There's nothing worse, in fact, than a series of slides where the presenter just reads them as they appear. Your audience is capable of reading, and chances are they'll be done with the slide, and browsing Reddit, long before you finish. Avoid putting the literal text on the screen, and your audience will thank you.

Related: How to Burn Your PowerPoint to DVD

Right off the bat, we're just going to come out and say that Papyrus and Comic Sans should be banned from all PowerPoint presentations, permanently. Beyond that, it's worth considering the typeface you're using and what it's saying about you, the presenter, and the presentation itself.

Consider choosing readability over aesthetics, and avoid fancy fonts that could prove to be more of a distraction than anything else. A good presentation needs two fonts: a serif and sans-serif. Use one for the headlines and one for body text, lists, and the like. Keep it simple. Veranda, Helvetica, Arial, and even Times New Roman are safe choices. Stick with the classics and it's hard to botch this one too badly.

There reaches a point where bullet points become less of a visual aid and more of a visual examination.

Bullet points should support the speaker, not overwhelm his audience. The best slides have little or no text at all, in fact. As a presenter, it's our job to talk through complex issues, but that doesn't mean that we need to highlight every talking point.

Instead, think about how you can break up large lists into three or four bullet points. Carefully consider whether you need to use more bullet points, or if you can combine multiple topics into a single point instead. And if you can't, remember that there's no one limiting the number of slides you can have in a presentation. It's always possible to break a list of 12 points down into three pages of four points each.

Animation, when used correctly, is a good idea. It breaks up slow-moving parts of a presentation and adds action to elements that require it. But it should be used judiciously.

Adding a transition that wipes left to right between every slide or that animates each bullet point in a list, for example, starts to grow taxing on those forced to endure the presentation. Viewers get bored quickly, and animations that are meant to highlight specific elements quickly become taxing.

That's not to say that you can't use animations and transitions, just that you need to pick your spots. Aim for no more than a handful of these transitions for each presentation. And use them in spots where they'll add to the demonstration, not detract from it.

Sometimes images tell a better story than text can. And as a presenter, your goal is to describe points in detail without making users do a lot of reading. In these cases, a well-designed visual, like a chart, might better convey the information you're trying to share.

The right image adds visual appeal and serves to break up longer, text-heavy sections of the presentation---but only if you're using the right images. A single high-quality image can make all the difference between a success and a dud when you're driving a specific point home.

When considering text, don't think solely in terms of bullet points and paragraphs. Tables, for example, are often unnecessary. Ask yourself whether you could present the same data in a bar or line chart instead.

Color is interesting. It evokes certain feelings and adds visual appeal to your presentation as a whole. Studies show that color also improves interest, comprehension, and retention. It should be a careful consideration, not an afterthought.

You don't have to be a graphic designer to use color well in a presentation. What I do is look for palettes I like, and then find ways to use them in the presentation. There are a number of tools for this, like Adobe Color , Coolors , and ColorHunt , just to name a few. After finding a palette you enjoy, consider how it works with the presentation you're about to give. Pastels, for example, evoke feelings of freedom and light, so they probably aren't the best choice when you're presenting quarterly earnings that missed the mark.

It's also worth mentioning that you don't need to use every color in the palette. Often, you can get by with just two or three, though you should really think through how they all work together and how readable they'll be when layered. A simple rule of thumb here is that contrast is your friend. Dark colors work well on light backgrounds, and light colors work best on dark backgrounds.

Spend some time in the Slide Sorter before you finish your presentation. By clicking the four squares at the bottom left of the presentation, you can take a look at multiple slides at once and consider how each works together. Alternatively, you can click "View" on the ribbon and select "Slide Sorter."

Are you presenting too much text at once? Move an image in. Could a series of slides benefit from a chart or summary before you move on to another point?

It's here that we have the opportunity to view the presentation from beyond the single-slide viewpoint and think in terms of how each slide fits, or if it fits at all. From this view, you can rearrange slides, add additional ones, or delete them entirely if you find that they don't advance the presentation.

The difference between a good presentation and a bad one is really all about preparation and execution. Those that respect the process and plan carefully---not only the presentation as a whole, but each slide within it---are the ones who will succeed.

This brings me to my last (half) point: When in doubt, just buy a template and use it. You can find these all over the web, though Creative Market and GraphicRiver are probably the two most popular marketplaces for this kind of thing. Not all of us are blessed with the skills needed to design and deliver an effective presentation. And while a pre-made PowerPoint template isn't going to make you a better presenter, it will ease the anxiety of creating a visually appealing slide deck.

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How to Make a Great PowerPoint Presentation

Last Updated: March 2, 2024 Tested

This article was co-authored by Maureen Taylor . Maureen Taylor is the CEO and Founder of SNP Communications, a leadership communications company based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She has been helping leaders, founders, and innovators in all sectors hone their messaging and delivery for almost 30 years, and has worked with leaders and teams at Google, Facebook, Airbnb, SAP, Salesforce, and Spotify. There are 10 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. The wikiHow Tech Team also followed the article's instructions and verified that they work. This article has been viewed 498,344 times.

PowerPoint is a Microsoft Office Suite program which is used to make presentation slideshows, combining text and images to create captivating and motivating presentations. However, the skills and secrets to make these excellent presentations are often, simply not there within the ones who make them! If you feel your presentation could use a little extra something, read below for some helpful ideas to take it from so-so to absolutely amazing.

Create Your Narrative

• The structure of an academic presentation should follow roughly the same structure as an academic paper, first introducing your main point, supporting it with evidence, and then a short conclusion.
• The Problem
• Your solution
• Business model
• Underlying magic/technology
• Marketing and sales
• Competition
• Projections and milestones
• Status and timeline
• Summary and call to action

Utilize the Format

Nail Your Presentation

• It’s not enough to show why your information is important to someone else; you have to make it important to your audience. Make them understand why they should care. For example, don’t give a lecture on history and just expect students to care. You need to show them how that history directly ties to current events and affects their lives. Look for parallels and direct correlations to tie your information to your audience.

What Is The Best Way To Start a Presentation?

Sample PowerPoint Presentations

Expert Q&A

• If you're using Flickr Creative Commons images, make sure you give attribution to the owner of the picture (you can do a whole page of credits at the end of your presentation). Thanks Helpful 2 Not Helpful 0
• Remember the 10/20/30 Rule -- no more than 10 slides, no longer than 20 minutes, and no smaller than 30 point font. Thanks Helpful 2 Not Helpful 0
• Don't use someone else's image unless you are sure that you have permission to do so. Thanks Helpful 2 Not Helpful 0

• Even if you miss a slide or miss a topic, avoid fumbling to find it. Move along and just before the end, say that you need an important addition to be looked upon which you had skipped purposely and then revert to the slide that you have missed and fill in the gaps. At no point should it be felt that you are not in-charge of your own PPT. Thanks Helpful 19 Not Helpful 1
• Sometimes the projector you are using may develop a problem. Be patient and let the appropriate authorities handle it. Do not swear or sweat , it happens! Then, once it's fixed, you may continue from where you left with a smile or a short joke or, if the repair took a very long time, start from the beginning. Thanks Helpful 17 Not Helpful 1
• Never read your slides word for word. Thanks Helpful 23 Not Helpful 4
• Do not overdo with the transitions and slide animations, as it can become a distraction Thanks Helpful 9 Not Helpful 2
• Practice makes perfect. Finish your presentation and then speak it out loud. Try again until you have it "down." Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

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• ↑ https://www.inc.com/guides/201102/how-to-create-a-great-powerpoint-presentation.html
• ↑ http://www.forbes.com/sites/johngreathouse/2012/09/24/9-easy-ways-to-create-powerpoint-slides-that-suck-less/
• How to Make Animation or Movies With Microsoft PowerPoint
• How to Make a Computer Scrapbook Using Power Point
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How to Prepare an A+ College PowerPoint Presentation

Guest Writer

• Published on August 25, 2022

Table of Contents

How do we Prepare an A+ College PowerPoint Presentation?

College students have myriads of assignments, and creating a perfect PowerPoint Presentation is one of them. It is one major assignment that drops your grades if not properly done. PowerPoint isn’t only useful for college students. It is also an essential skill in the professional world. It boosts your critical thinking and writing skills. The experience in creating college PowerPoint presentations develops your public speaking. Also, you need to be painstaking in preparing your presentation. It should be engaging enough for your audience. 

However, college Presentation slides are much better and easier to do than research works. It is an engaging and more fun task to do aside from research. You can consult a PowerPoint writing service. You can consult a PowerPoint writing service if you don’t know the appropriate way to do it, you can consult a PowerPoint writing service . They write to ensure all the rules and guidelines in your slides are met. They make sure the font size and color align with your concept. You do not have worries aside from you doing a thorough practice for your assignment. 

Although, it is much easier than a research paper. You will still be faced with some challenges. To scale through that, this piece gives the necessary to make you do it like a professional.

Tips on how to prepare a college PowerPoint presentation

These tips entail steps to make a good PowerPoint Presentation for College. You must follow these actionable steps in detail to create a winning proposal. 

1. Research the topic

You must conduct in-depth research before you start your college ppt. If it has the necessary sounds, but the information isn’t worthwhile, it’s more like you haven’t done anything. Make sure you do research on your local libraries, the internet, and any other source you can get vital information. 

2. Keep track of the information

Make sure your researched information is presented orderly. Know which information is meant to come first and which to come last.  You need to organize the information you’ve gathered for your topic. In every piece of information you gather, consider your audience. Know if it will resonate with them and answer your topic appropriately. 

See also: The Ultimate Guide to 20 Introduction Ideas for Presentation That Work

3. Be creative about your presentation

The main reason you’re saddled with the responsibility of creating a PowerPoint is not to be either right or wrong. Regardless, you must be creative about it. Create unique designs that’ll surprise everyone and mesmerize your instructors. To ensure creativity, you may decide to choose a design template. Also, an important tip that’ll make it creative is to choose a theme that connects to the idea you want to translate. It should suit your topic and be attractive to your audience. 

4. Add high-quality fonts and media

It should have a decorative theme that’ll make it enticing to your audience. Any font you intend to use should match college or professional use. Graphics plays a significant role in your college PowerPoint Presentation. Good graphics make your content relevant and engaging.

See also: PowerPoint Night Ideas to Try That Will Steal Audience’s Attention

5. Stuck to one or two colors

Don’t over-decorate your PowerPoint; else, it’ll look unprofessional. You are expected to choose colors that’ll make it organic and harmonic. Using 2-3 colors all through your topic will create harmony. Also, Dark fonts should be used on light backgrounds and vice versa. It’ll make it look simple yet classy. 

6. Limit your sides and cut too many texts

Too many texts in your presentation will kill the attention span of your audience. A PowerPoint is meant to be catchy and brief. It requires your hard work to achieve. Wordiness will only ruin your professionalism. Add statistics, facts, charts videos, s, and pictures. Be concise; it goes a long way to determine if your audience will listen to your topic or not. Charts and diagrams will enable you to explain the points you intend to deliver without the slides being too clumsy for your audience. They are much better than texts in your slides, but you must be creative. If not properly done, you might make mistakes. 

See also: You Won’t Be Able to Memorize Your Presentation Material in 2022

7. The less the slide, the better it is

You don’t have to include too many slides in your presentation before considering it worthy of a college assignment. Make sure you don’t include more than 19 slides in your project. The presentation time should not be more than 20 minutes. Anything more than that will bore your audience. Also, your font size should be much easier to read. A 30 font size is much better for easy readability.

8. Highlight your keywords

The necessary keywords should be in bold fonts or texts. This will help keep your audience focused on your piece. It’ll make it easier for them to catch a glimpse of the main idea. You can have a peek here at how to determine your important keywords.  You can choose a contrasting color to highlight the most important element of your topic. Apart from the fact that it attracts viewers’ attention, it’ll also ensure they remember the core fact of your presentation. 

See also: 20 Books about Presentation Design

9. Be consistent with transitions

Transitions make your slides attractive. You are open to variants of transitions you can use. You should avoid overusing a transition or changing transitions. It’ll distract your audience. To make your transition catchy and attractive, stick to one or two.

10. Practice your presentation

College ppt presentations require grit and hard work, and you need to practice to perform better. Rehearse and run the few slides from time to time. Make sure you can easily turn in the videos in your slides without delay. You should also practice how to switch slides. It’ll make the presentation as smooth as possible. 

See also: The Effectiveness of MS PowerPoint: Take Your Presentation to the Next Level

It is a true story that we must prepare a college PowerPoint Presentation to get an A+. Not only is it beneficial to you as a student, but you also get to utilize the knowledge in your professional life. These tips are easier to know and use. If you utilize them properly, your presentation will be hitch-free. It will also enable you to create an amazing and persuasive PowerPoint. Also, you should know that you can consult a professional to help you if you find it difficult to achieve. 

Let’s visit RRPicks to download free PowerPoint templates . But wait, don’t go anywhere and stay here with our RRGraph Design  Blog  to keep up-to-date on the  best pitch deck template  collections and design advice from our  PowerPoint experts .

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How to Create a PowerPoint Presentation for College Class

How to Do a Paper Review Presentation

Gone are the days when every professor demanded a term paper at the end of the semester. Now, many professors accept or even require you to create a PowerPoint presentation for the the class. Even if you know how to use the software program, it is especially important in college to put on a professional presentation.

Research your topic extensively. Using the Internet can be a good place to start, but you might also want to consult your school's library for more resources. Utilizing a wide variety of resources can ensure that your presentation is well-researched so that you can speak intelligently about your topic.

Write an outline for your presentation that includes all of the relevant information and speaking points you want to include. Thinking through your presentation ahead of time will make it easier to compose your slides. By writing the outline in a word processing application, you can copy and paste directly from your outline into PowerPoint.

Design your presentation in PowerPoint. Choose a professional and easy-to-read style for your presentation. On each slide, you should have a picture, a graphic or a few text points you want to emphasize. You should plan to speak for only 30 to 60 seconds on each slide, so don't try to cram too much information onto any one slide. Also, remember that you are the presenter and that you want your audience to focus on you and not the PowerPoint. The PowerPoint should serve only to enhance the presentation.

Rehearse your presentation. You should run through your presentation at least a few times before you present it for the class. It is important to stand and speak out loud when rehearsing. This helps you solidify what you will say, nail down your pacing and work out your transitions from slide to slide. If you have a few friends or family members willing to listen to your presentation, get them together for a dry run. This can help ease any anxiety you might have about presenting in front of the whole class.

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Collier Jackson has been writing professionally since 2010. Writing for various websites, he specializes in topics related to foreign languages, linguistics and Asian cultures. Jackson holds a Bachelor of Arts in Chinese from The Ohio State University.

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How to Make an Educational PowerPoint Presentation Quickly + Video

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What do you do when you need to share your knowledge with an audience? One of the best ways is to build a PowerPoint presentation for teaching . Use it as a supplement when you're speaking.

It's often said that people have different learning styles. While some learn best by listening, others are visual learners. Other learners love trying hands-on exercises to learn the concept at hand. The best part of an effective presentation is you can combine all these into one package.

PowerPoint has carved out its place as the go-to presentation software for its ease of use. And when you're scrambling to quickly put together a presentation about education, you need all the help you can get to focus on the content instead of the slide designs.

In this tutorial, I'm going to share my techniques for building an education PowerPoint presentation . Even if you're a PowerPoint rookie, you can create a professional and informative education presentation.

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How to Make an Educational PowerPoint PPT Presentation Quickly With Templates (Video)

Are you ready to start your next educational PowerPoint presentation? Get a head start on your next education presentation with the tips and steps in the short video below:

Do you want to learn even more about creating presentations on education topics? Keep reading for a step-by-step guide with additional information and tips.

1. How to Write an Educational Presentation

Start by spending some time writing and planning the content for your presentation about education. It's hard to start with a blank slate for building an education PowerPoint presentation, but it helps if you can break down what you need to do with an easily repeatable set of steps.

Let's talk about key steps you can take to make writing a presentation feel more manageable:

Step 1. Set a Learning Objective

Every well-written educational presentation starts off the same way: by setting a goal for it. You need to set a learning objective,  the goal of what your audience will know after they've seen the presentation.

If you don't have a targeted goal for your education PowerPoint presentation, it's likely that your points will wander away from the central idea. Setting a single, focused learning objective helps ensure that everything you write supports that central idea.

Setting a learning goal and keeping it in mind helps ensure that your presentation has a tight focus.

There are many types of presentations, like persuasive, decision-driven, introductory, and informative (educational). The objectives that you set for these presentations are different because they each have different desired outcomes.

Here are some examples of three different learning objectives that would feel appropriate for an educational presentation:

• This presentation will teach the audience the basics of personal finance and how to start investing.
• The audience will learn how to write their first line of Javascript code.
• The presentation will share the latest techniques for performing employee performance reviews.

Write out your learning objective so that you'll keep it in mind while writing the rest of the presentation about education.

Step 2. Write an Outline for Key Ideas

If the learning objective is the destination for what you want to accomplish, an outline is the roadmap that helps you make sure you arrive at the goal. Each of the points in your outline should be a supporting idea for the learning objective.

You don't have to use a complex tool to write an outline. In fact, a simple tool is better for drafting out these rough ideas in outline format.

I like to think of each of the outline points as key ideas for reinforcing the learning goal. Each of them should be different in some way.

Step 3. Build Supporting Points

Now, it's time to reinforce these key points by adding supporting points. These are just the details that illustrate the key ideas.

In my outlines, these are ideas for how I might teach the key ideas. One bullet point might be "chart that shows the power of compounding growth over time," for example. I usually put a second leave in the outline for each of the supporting points.

Remember that we want to teach concepts through a variety of lenses that accommodate different learning styles. You could use a second-level bullet point for a visual approach to teaching (charts and graphs), and a separate bullet point for an idea on an audience hands-on method to learning the idea.

2. Elements for Education PowerPoints

After you firm up ideas for the content that you'll include in the presentation on education, it's time to open PowerPoint. Start building the education PowerPoint presentation educational slides that support you while speaking.

So, what if you need to prepare a presentation for your classroom or audience, and you don't have the time to build out the presentation from scratch?

In this tutorial, I'm going to use an educational PowerPoint template from Envato Elements. Elements offers unlimited downloads for a flat rate monthly fee. That includes more than 800 Microsoft PowerPoint templates. Use it to get a major head start.

Sure, PowerPoint has some built-in themes. But Microsoft's approach to custom themes is just different combinations of font styles, color schemes, and background images. The themes that Elements offers include pre-built slide designs that you can drop your own content into. These education PowerPoint presentation slides help you overcome the work of starting with a blank slate each time.

In this tutorial, I'm going to work with Envato Elements' presentation template titled,  Education PowerPoint theme .  The structure and simplicity of this theme makes it ideal for building an educational presentation theme.

If the template I selected isn't quite your style, don't miss out on the rest of Elements educational templates . Each of these pre-built presentations has plenty of ideas for building out an effective presentation on education PPT.

3. How to Build an Educational Presentation

Let's walk through building an educational presentation that'll drive knowledge to an audience. 

We're going to build a presentation that familiarizes an audience with the basics of personal finance. This fictitious slide deck will stress the importance of how you handle your finances. It'll also educate the audience on how to get started. 

Step 1. Introduce Yourself and the Subject

If someone has shown up for your presentation on education PPT, they likely have an idea of what it's about. But you can't guarantee that. So, it's important that you set the stage for the key ideas.

It's also important that you introduce yourself. I'll usually try to include at least a brief one-liner that establishes my knowledge on the subject.

For this slide design, let's start off with slide 2 in the Education deck. This has a placeholder for a professional image. If you've got one of yourself available, it's great to replace the placeholder with a self-image to personalize it.

Step 2. Give the Presentation About Education a "Why"

You're always competing for the audience's attention. An important part of building an educational presentation is capturing that interest near the outset.

To establish and hold that attention, you've got to show the audience the potential of following your advice and techniques.

Let's use slide design 6 for this purpose. A bit of inspiration sets the stage for the audience to soak up your advice in the rest of the presentation.

One of the other benefits of using Envato Elements is that you've got access to a huge library of stock photos. Instead of scouring the web for an image that you can use or paying to license one image after another, an all-you-can download subscription to Elements gives you access to the entire library.

In this case, I jumped back to Elements and pulled a stock photo selection for inclusion in the slide deck. 

Step 3. Share Techniques and Tips for the Topic

I like to think of this education presentation as the meat of the matter. You've set the stage, created a sense of importance. Now, the audience needs ideas on what the steps are that they can take to succeed.

In the screenshot below, I've customized slide design 10. This includes four easy steps, illustrated by arrows to show a progression of the needed steps.

Plan on building out several education PowerPoint presentation slides to explain the key learning steps. This is one example of using a slide in the Education deck to drive your concept.

Step 4. Teach With Visualizations

For the visual learners in the audience, it helps to have a chart or graph that illustrates the concept at hand. You might have the most eloquent speaking points in the rest of the presentation, but a well-made chart could be the key to driving your point home.

In the screenshot below, I generated a chart that shows the power of compound interest. I used slide design 24, which already had a placeholder for a graph that I modified with my own data.

Step 5. Finish By Asking for Action

After you've spent the presentation sharing your advice and information, ask for an action from the audience. 

In our case, the best step is to ask the audience to start budgeting to manage their finances. A simple, clean slide design that focuses on a single line of text is ideal for that.

Let's use slide design 31 to illustrate this concept. It's a great example of how you can take a slide that's for one purpose and easily transform it into an entirely different usage. I deleted the map graphic and increased the font size to make an impact.

These are a few of the education PowerPoint presentation slides that you might want to build, but they showcase how easy it is to get started.

5 Great PowerPoint Educational Presentation Tips

Now that you know how to make an educational PowerPoint presentation, here are a few more tips. They'll help you make the most out of your presentation and your chosen PowerPoint template. 

1. Customize Your Presentation With School Colors

A great way to make your presentation about education more custom is to use your school colors. Use them as accents to highlight heading elements or in charts, graphs, buttons. 

2. Use Animations Carefully

Animation and slide transitions can add interest to your presentation. But avoid using them for each slide. Instead, save them to transition between different sections of your presentation. 

3. Use Visual Aids

Make it easy for your students to follow along by adding plenty of visual elements throughout your presentation about education. This includes charts, graphs, photos, infographics, and other infographic elements. 

4. Focus On One Topic Per Slide

Avoid having many ideas on one slide. This will overwhelm your audience. It'll also increase the likelihood of them zoning out instead of listening to what you've got to say. 

5. White Space Is Your Friend

Leave plenty of white space around various presentation elements. This will make it easy for your audience to focus on your presentation, not to mention you’ll avoid your presentation looking cluttered. 

Find More Great PowerPoint Templates: 5 Top Designs

Envato Elements has plenty of education PowerPoint templates that you can download and use to create a stunning presentation quickly. What’s more, download as many templates as you want and use them in as many presentations as you want. 

Look at some of our best education PowerPoint templates that we've got available.

1. Edumode - Education PowerPoint Template  

The Edumode is a modern and vibrant PowerPoint presentation. Use it for teaching. There are plenty of custom icons and infographic elements that you can use to create an engaging presentation about education.

Use this template for any class or subject. Once you download this template, you’ll find over 40 unique educational slides designed in widescreen format as well as world maps. 

2. Education PowerPoint Presentation Template  

This colorful education presentation is a great choice if you’re making a presentation for a younger audience. The template has many educational slides and over 1000 custom icons that you can use in your presentation. The template is also fully animated and was designed in full HD resolution.

3. University and Education PowerPoint Template

This PowerPoint template is a great choice to create a presentation for high school or university students. It's got a clean and professional design with over 90 unique educational slides. You’ll also find:

• 110 color schemes, 
• slides designed in two aspect ratios
• hundreds of resizable vector elements

4. Education PowerPoint Template

Try this PowerPoint template if you’re looking for a versatile template with a clean and minimal design. This template comes with five premade color schemes and over 150 slides based on master slides. You’ll also find resizable vector elements and picture placeholders for easy editing.

5. Education PowerPoint Template  

Use this versatile template for any type of educational presentation or business presentation. It comes with 10 master slides and five premade color schemes that you can use as a starting point for your designs.

To see even more educational PowerPoint template examples, be sure to check out our related roundups: 

Learn More About How to Use PowerPoint

One guide that I recommend to anyone who wants to learn Microsoft is our roundup, The Ultimate Guide to the Best PPT . This tutorial is like a roadmap for learning PowerPoint and using all the features in combination to build the perfect presentation.

Already checked out that guide? Don't miss out on these other top tutorials below to refine your PowerPoint skills:

Grab This eBook on Making Great Presentations ( Free Download )

We've got the perfect complement to a professional PowerPoint template. It'll help you learn how to write, design, and deliver great presentations.

Download  The Complete Guide to Making Great Presentations  now for FREE with a subscription to the Tuts+ Business Newsletter. Get your ideas formed into a powerful presentation that'll move your audience.

Create a Great Educational PowerPoint Presentation

In this tutorial, we tackled how easy it can be to build a presentation to educate an audience with PowerPoint using pre-made Elements slide decks to quickly build a presentation. 

How do you build out your own educational PowerPoint presentations quickly? If you've got any tips that would help your fellow Envato Tuts+ readers learn the app, please share in the comments section below.

If you’re working on a presentation for your class, stop by Envato Elements and sign up. Download as many education PowerPoint templates as you want. Edit them to suit your needs, and you're done. Elements also provides top teaching resources , study tools , and online teaching templates .

Also, don't miss checking out on top presentation themes on Envato Market if you want other slide designs to try out. Why not get started on your next educational PowerPoint presentation today?

Editorial Note: This tutorial was originally published in February of 2018. It's been updated to include new information—with special assistance from Brenda Barron a nd a video from Andrew Childress . 

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50 Creative Ideas to Nail Your College Presentation

We’d be willing to bet that most college students enjoy presentations about as much as they like their 7am class. Whether they’re designing them, or in the audience, there are likely a million and one things they’d rather be doing (like napping in their dorm room). In fact, 79% will say that most presentations today suck. And 35% of millennials say that they will only engage with content they feel has a great story or theme. With a reputation like that, it’s no wonder students avoid presentations at all costs. 

As a result, many will end up procrastinating, losing sleep over choosing a topic, and piecing a deck together at the last minute. According to research, 47% of presenters put in more than eight hours into designing their presentations. You do the math. Eight hours at the eleventh hour equals an all-nighter.

Luckily, that doesn’t mean the final product has to be a poorly thought-out frankendeck. 

Creative presentation ideas for college students

A lot can ride on a class presentation. It might be your last project at the end of the semester that determines the fate of your final grade, or maybe it’s a group project that counts for half of your participation in the class. Whatever the stakes are, we’re here to help you nail your next college presentation.

Pick the right topic

Before committing to your topics for presentations in college, you should consider things like what excites you, what you’re knowledgeable in and what you’d be interested in learning more about, books or movies that inspire you, world events, buzz-worthy pop culture, and what topics relate to your class course. How can you apply these things to your next class presentation?

You’re in college, so it’s very likely that your classmates will be sleeping, or staring out the window, while you’re presenting at the front of the room. To keep them engaged, make it interesting with these unique college presentation ideas.

College presentation ideas

• The evolution of a specific product— like the cell phone
• A presentation on your favorite celebrity
• A history of the most influential presidents of the United States
• How modern medicine is made
• The highest paid [BLANK] in 2021
• A how-to presentation on something you’re passionate about— like building cars
• A book that you think should be made into a movie (and why)
• Your favorite cultural recipe
• Who built the Sphinx of Egypt
• Social media now and then
• Shakespeare’s hits and misses
• Debunking a conspiracy theory
• Unexpected traditions
• Who invented the SAT, and what is it?
• The most popular travel destinations for young adults in their 20s
• What is van life anyway?
• How is education different now than it was in the ‘70s
• How to live a more sustainable life
• The evolution of humans
• The history of the Internet
• Is organic really better?
• How to get the most out of an internship
• What employers are actually looking for on your resume, and how to write one
• Everything you need to know about global warming
• The top places with the most expensive cost of living in the United States
• The rise of TikTok
• What is influencer marketing and why is it so important?
• Classic movies that should be cancelled in 2021, and why
• Is eating vegan really better for your health?
• Are aliens real?
• Everything you need to know about the Big Bang Theory
• Why streaming services are the demise of classic cable
• Marijuana then and now: the process of getting it legalized
• 15 Memorable things about [blank]
• A comprehensive timeline of feminism
• Is print— newspapers, magazines, books— dead?
• The easiest foreign language to learn on your own
• The best life hacks I learned on TikTok
• What does white privilege mean to millennials and Generation Z?
• Understanding finance for young adults 101
• Everything you need to know about life after college
• The difference between electric cars and gas cars
• What is artificial intelligence anyway?
• How thrifting can help the environment
• The evolution of presentations: from caveman to TedTalks
• Applying your degree in real life
• The origins of your favorite music genre
• Everything you need to about becoming a surgeon
• The life cycle of [blank] 
• Life without technology: where would we be without modern technology?

Make it beautiful

You have your topic, now what? Did you wait until the absolute last second to get started? Here’s the good news: no need for an all-nighter. Beautiful.ai can help you nail your college presentation in a pinch. The ease of use, and intuitive controls, help you create something brilliant in minutes, not hours. Start inspired with our inspiration gallery of pre-built templates and customize them to fit your content.

It’s important to connect with your audience on an emotional level, so make sure to pick trendy colors, modern fonts, and high-quality visual assets to compliment your presentation and evoke emotion. Engage your audience (especially your professor) with dynamic animations, or videos, to help control the narrative and direct their attention to the key takeaways. 

Pro tip: use the shareable link to share your deck out with classmates, teachers, or social media friends after class. 

Jordan Turner

Jordan is a Bay Area writer, social media manager, and content strategist.

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