GENERAL

• Slides and overhead transparencies are intended to enhance your presentation. Use them sparingly.
• Prepare your presentation, and then select the points you wish to emphasize in visuals - don't build your presentation around file visuals.
• Limit each slide or overhead to one idea and a maximum of 15 words. You want the audience listening, not reading.
• Keep the format of the visual aids the same throughout your presentation. Don't switch from horizontal to vertical layouts. Be consistent in your format, color, and style.
• Vary typefaces with restraint - use them only to emphasize.
• Choose a readable typeface and stick to it. Some proven winners are Helvetica, Bookman, Palatino, Futura, and Century Schoolbook.
• For optimum readability, have the text of your visual aids set flush left, ragged right (that is, non- justified).
• Use large letters and numbers - the larger the better. Remember, you want your visual aids to be able to be read by all members of the audience - including those with less-than-perfect eyesight and those in the back rows. As a rule-of-thumb, if you can read a 35-mm slide when held at arm's length in front of you, it will be readable by the audience in a normal-size room. A typesize rule-of-thumb: Make heads 20% bigger than text. Consider using all bold type so it will more easily stand out from the dark background.
• Avoid all UPPER CASE letters, as they are difficult to read; use Upper and Lower Case instead.
• To give the presentation a sense of unity and a finished look, add a border or a simple logo to every visual. Remember, though, to leave plenty of "air" between the words and the border.

TABLES

• If you must use a table in a visual aid, show only those figures you specifically mention in your table (don't photocopy or photograph entire tables from reports).
• Give your figures credibility by discreetly identifying their source.
• Using Color Effectively in Slide Presentations
• Foreground should contrast sharply with background.
• Choose and stick with one color palette throughout the presentation.
• Use colored backgrounds rather than white or clear (black is very effective as a background color).
• Avoid more than two colors per slide. Use a third color only to highlight a key item.
• Blue or red type is difficult to read (the most readable combination is yellow type on a dark background).
• Use a dull color such as gray to display axes, tick marks, and grids to avoid distracting from the data itself.

PIE CHARTS

• Limit pie charts to no more than 6 slices.
• Avoid showing slices of less than 10% of the total. Combine all these into an "other" category.
• When possible, use color rather than hatching to distinguish pieces of the pie.

BAR CHARTS

• Keep multiple bars and stacked bars to a minimum since they are harder to understand; the audience should be able to read and understand your chart in less than 30 seconds.
• Provide a legend or label the bars directly.

LINE AND AREA CHARTS

• Limit line charts to no more than 5 lines for readability.
• Whenever possible, differentiate lines by color and thickness rather than by symbols to avoid clutter.
• Include only those data that illustrate the point you want to make - don't overdo it in one chart.
• Position labels horizontally rather than vertically.
• Whenever possible, label bars and lines directly rather than using legends for faster understanding.
• Keep "decorations" such as tick marks, grids and labels to a minimum.
• Divide the axis into units that are multiples of two, five, or ten for ease of interpretation.

USING A SLIDE PROJECTOR

• If bringing your own slide tray, make sure the tray fits the projector. Don't leave anything to chance - try it out ahead of time to be sure.
• Make sure all slides are oriented correctly.
• If using a remote control, check ahead of time to make sure it works.
• As soon as you are finished with the slides, turn the projector off.
• Talk to your audience, not to the screen.
• Avoid reading your slides. Slides supplement your talk, not the other way around.
• Use a pointer. Never stand in front of the screen to point at something with your finger.

USING AN OVERHEAD PROJECTOR

• Layer your overheads with tissue or paper between each transparency, to keep them from sticking to each other.
• To point out specific items in your overheads, lay a pencil on the transparency. Avoid using your finger to point.
• Turn off the overhead projector once the audience has read and understood the chart - you want the audience to focus on you, not the overhead.

AND MOST OF ALL...

• If presenting a published paper, do not read it.
• Whenever possible, provide handouts, and be sure to bring enough copies. This will help the audience listen by freeing them from taking copious notes.