Expert Tips from Power Point Pros

Every successful presentation is designed with the medium in mind. The medium is the interface, or the way your presentation is delivered to an audience, whether it’s live in person, printed, or e-mailed. Companies use three basic media to get their message across:

1) Projection	2) Print	3) Digital distribution

A presentation in a 500-person auditorium is a far cry from a board meeting around a small conference table, much less a one-on-one demo with a new prospect. Even so, most people use the same presentation for every medium — they rarely even modify the content for printed handouts and leave-behinds.

Don't make this mistake! Presentations tailored to their medium keep the message clear and compelling. If you start with the end in mind, you’re one step closer to reaching your audience — and your goals.

For example, bold graphics on a big screen will grab an audience's attention and visuals are a powerful complement to a speaker’s narrative, but neither may translate when in print. On the other hand, well-written copy that engages readers in printed handouts looks like a "wall of text" on screens of all sizes, a sure-fire way to not only make minds wander, but also to reduce a presentation’s effectiveness.

But wait - what if you want it all? It's very common to deliver a presentation in more than one medium, such as distributing printed handouts with a live, projected presentation. It may require extra attention and editing, but the time you take to tailor your content pays off when the audience connects with your message and, ultimately, your business.

Here are some helpful guidelines to keep in mind:

• Visibility is critical to getting your message across in projected presentations — think visual, think bigger text, bolder graphics, and avoid the “wall of text” at all costs!
• As a rule, use larger fonts for projected presentations. 18 point type or larger is good and try to limit the number of words per line (3-4 per is optimal, 6-7 maximum). You can always add detail to handouts for later reading.
• For printed handouts, consider printing “Notes Pages” (a “Print what:” in the “Print” dialogue box). This encourages audience involvement by making it easy to jot down key points during your presentation.
• If you’re e-mailing the presentation as a digital file, stick with standard fonts; special fonts can cause display problems if the recipient of your presentation doesn't have them. Some TrueType fonts can be embedded in the PowerPoint file to circumvent this problem.
• In addition, be extra mindful when embedding sounds and videos to ensure they function properly across different systems.