Gather and organize your information. To use PowerPoint more efficiently, Dave Paradi in his article, "10 Secrets For Using PowerPoint Effectively," suggests using the outline view first when creating a presentation. By using the outline view, content and information will be developed first; colors and graphics will be developed from the content.
Choose an appropriate background and text color. Using contrast with the right color combination will help the audience read the slide. Colors of the background and the text should be contrasting--either light background with dark text or dark background with light test. When projected, the colors may appear duller than when looking at the presentation on a computer.
Select the appropriate fonts and text size. This will contribute to the aesthetics and tone of the presentation. Microsoft.com recommends choosing the font according to your audience. If the presentation is serious, the font should be basic, such as Times New Roman. If the presentation is more lighthearted, a good font to use would be the Comic Sans MS. Whether lighthearted or serious, font size should be large enough for the audience to read. Titles are usually 36 to 44 point size with the text 28 or 32 points. Font size should never be less than 24 points. The use of bullets and the Notes Pages feature will help prevent overloaded slides.
Eliminate any moving text. Paradi says the audience should focus on the presenter and the information, not the text coming onto the screen. When the text comes flying in, the audience has to wait until it has stopped moving to read what the text has to say.
Use visuals instead of text as an alternative to slides that may become overloaded with information. A visual such as a graph or chart can be presented and explained by the presenter. Notes and information for the visual can to typed into the Notes Pages part of the PowerPoint and printed for the audience.
Plan an appropriate ending for your presentation. Having three identical slides at the end will help should you accidentally advance too many times at the end of your presentation. By having the same slide at the end, the audience will not know you if advanced too many times. Question-and-answer slides should follow the presentation. In case you move through the presentation too quickly, the final slide should be blank to provide a more professional looking backdrop instead of going back to the software.