The Elements of Slides in Effective Presentations

Overview• Quick Review of Critical Needs

• Composing Text

• Presenting Graphs, Diagrams, and Pictures

• General Formatting Concerns

• Q & A

Quick Review of Critical Needs• Introduction

-- Clarifies who, when, where, why about the ethical dilemma

– Explains why the dilemma is a dilemma– Forecasts content and purpose: moral theories

• Body Slides -- with specific headings• Conclusion

– Should be signaled– Should provide take-home points

Composing Text

• Choose your words carefully– Favor the concrete and specific over the

abstract– Provide definitions of unfamiliar terms– Adopt an appropriately formal tone

Outline

• Background

• Definitions

• Body

• Conclusions

• Q & A

Negative Example: Vaguely Worded Outline

Overview

• Big Picture• Definition of Waste• Pros • Cons• Transportation• Demographics• Geological Aspect• Budget

Negative Example: Vaguely Worded Outline (Slightly Improved)

Overview

• Current Radioactive Waste Storage Crisis

• Characteristics of Radioactive Waste

• Reasons for Supporting Yucca Mountain– Site Geology– Area Demographics – Transport of Waste to Site– Site Construction and Operation Expenses

Positive Example: Precisely Worded Outline

Composing and Organizing Bullets

• Make bullets brief

• Limit number of bullets

• Insure bullets are parallel

• Nest bullets to make organization of ideas explicit

• Organize to emphasize

Energy Studies are Needed

• Many studies reveal that houses that are just 15 years old are 50 % less efficient than a well insulated house today.

• Energy efficiency saves money• Everyone has a responsibility to use

resources conservatively.• Producing energy often pollutes our air,

water, and land

Negative Example: Wordy Bullets

Why Energy Studies are Needed

• 15-year-old houses are 50 % less efficient

• Efficiency saves money

• Available resources are dwindling

• Energy production pollutes

Positive Example: Streamlined Bullets

Benefits of research

• Parkinson’s disease• Alzheimer’s disease• Heart disease• Spinal cord injuries• Strokes • Burns• Brain trauma

• Mental retardation• Huntington’s disease• Epilepsy• Sickle cell anemia• HIV• Tay-Sachs disease• Infertility

Stem cells can help treat:

Questionable Example: Numerous Bullets

Controversy Over Fetal Tissue Research

• Pro-Choice:– Less likely to ethically

reject

– Protect Pregnant Women

– Treat tissue with respect

• Pro-Life:– Direct causal

responsibility

– Indirect causal responsibility

– Is it right to take one life to preserve others?

– Symbolic Association

Negative Example: Poorly Nested, Non-Parallel Bullets

Controversial Views on Fetal Tissue Research

• Proponents of Fetal Tissue Research:– tend to be Pro-Choice

– consider the ethics of potential lives saved

– adopt a utilitarian attitude toward abortion

• Opponents of Fetal Tissue Research:– tend to be Pro-Life

– consider the ethics of promoting abortions to serve this research

– reject the approach that takes one life to preserve others

Positive Example: Parallel bullet points, but somewhat wordy

• 50% of guns used by felons are stolen

• 1 in 6 police officers who die in the line of duty are killed

by their own gun

• 215 childhood accidental deaths every year are caused by

firearms

• “easier for a 4 year old to discharge a weapon than it is to

open an aspirin bottle” – quote by Stephen Teret, Johns Hopkins U

Negative Example: Poor Emphasis

“[It is] easier for a 4 year old to

discharge a weapon than it is to

open an aspirin bottle.”

Stephen Teret, Johns Hopkins University

Positive Example: Creating Emphasis by Breaking Pattern

Using graphs, diagrams, and pictures to aid retention

Retention Retention after three after three

daysdays

No No VisualsVisuals

VisualsVisuals

20%20%

40%40%

60%60%

Choosing and Designing Graphs, Diagrams, and Pictures

• Give big picture when possible

• Choose graph type appropriate to data

• Label graphs and diagrams carefully

• Integrate pictures into talk -- explain

Site Location

100 miles NW of Las Vegas

Choose Graph Type to Match Data

PC Market Share

HP13%

Dell24%Others

31%

Gateway22%

Compaq10%

Orient Audience to Graphs

Help Audience with Hard-to-Read Text

[Divello, 1998][Divello, 1998]

Formatting Concerns:Backgrounds

• Consider Topic-Appropriate Background

• Consider Patterned or Graded Background

• Avoid Distracting or Complex Backgrounds

• Use dark blue or light background

Use Color Effectively

Graduated color is

appealing

Graduated color is

appealing

Color Affects Mood, Readability and Credibility

Color can distinguish a presentation

Color can distinguish a presentation

Color affects the emotionsof the audience

during a presentation

Color can distinguish a presentation

Color can distinguish a presentation

Color affects how fastan audience can read

a visual

Color can distinguish a presentation

Color can distinguish a presentation

Color affects how fastan audience can read

a visual

Color Affects Credibility

Font

• Size Matters (Can you read this 18 pt. easily?)

• Style Matters (DON’T SCREAM AT US IN ALL CAPS!!!)

• Contrast Matters (How about blue on blue?)

Destruction

Negative Example: Tone Problems

Theories for Collapse

• Resonance

• Vortex-Induced Vibration

• Non-linear “Self-Excitation”

Negative Example: Drunk on Bells and Whistles

PROOFREAD

Concluding General Advice: Preparation

• Have a back-up plan• Develop memory

through practice• Avoid lengthy

notecards• Time yourself (6-7

min) [http://www.tuckamore-lodge.nf.net, 1999]

Positive Example: Illustrating an Abstract Idea