If you want your presentation to be more professional, more memorable and more persuasive, you will want to create and deliver visual aids that complement and reinforce your message. PowerPoint, the most widely used presentation software, makes it easier than ever to create beautiful slide shows. However, not everyone uses the technology effectively. Here are some tips to help make sure your slide show not only looks good, but also communicates clearly.

1. Simplify, simplify, simplify. Many speakers use PowerPoint to create their presentation, and end up writing too much text right on the slides. When you are through, go back and edit. Take out sentences and replace them with key words and phrases. Take out slides you can live without. Take out clip art, if you have used more than you really need. Take off punctuation. Cut your presentation by as much as half, so that your slides are streamlined.

2. Check consistency. Watch out for consistency in fonts, type sizes, and formatting. Check for consistency in lists of bullets, for example, a list of action steps should all begin with verbs. A list of benefits should all be benefits.

3. Use natural transitions. The easiest transitions and builds are when text drops down from above, or appears coming in from the left. It's easier to read when the text comes in the same way each time, unless you have a specific case where a new transition would create attention. Don't overdo the builds and transitions, either. Every slide does not need these special effects, and they can slow down the pace of the presentation.

4. Don't rely on spell check only. Spell check won't help with homonyms such as "their" and "there" or the correct spelling of your client's name! Some tricks to better editing include printing out a hard copy to read, or asking someone else to read it for you checking for typos, spelling, or other inconsistencies.

5. Cue up your presentation before beginning. If you can, try to set up your presentation before your audience arrives or on a break between speakers. That way you can focus on greeting your audience, and on your content, without feeling frazzled.

6. Have a blank slide or two at the end. If you end your presentation by clicking out of slide show, you will show the audience the "backstage" view of your presentation. It's better to have a slide at the end that says "Thank You" or a duplicate of your title slide. (Then put one blank slide at the end, anyway, so you don't mistakenly click out of your slide show.)

7. Use "b" or "w" keys. When you are in slide show view, you can get a black screen by pressing the "b" key. When you are ready to start or resume your presentation, press the "b" key again, and your slide show will reappear. You can also do this when you take questions at the end of your presentation. Note that once you leave screen show, this does not work! (See previous tip.)

8. Know key slides numbers to jump forward or back. When you are in slide show you can jump ahead to a different part of your presentation, simply by hitting the slide number and "enter." If you know where key segments of your presentation are, you can easily move around when answering questions, rather than having to scroll through your slides. This is especially helpful in informal presentations, where the audience might ask for information out of order.

9. Use the arrow as a pointer. When you are in your screen show, you can use your arrow to point to things onscreen. (Enlarge your arrow ahead of time.) You can also press "alt p" to turn your arrow into a pen, and make notations on the screen. Press "alt a" to go back to the arrow, and press "e" to erase your on-screen markings.

10. Have a backup plan. Technology is getting easier to use all the time, but it is still true that your computer might not want to talk to the projector, or the network could go down. But with a backup plan, you can feel more comfortable. You can use overheads, hard copy or your handouts. If the equipment fails, simply continue. You are the message; the visual aid is just your presentation assistant.

Effective visuals are an important component of your presentation, and require thought, planning, and rehearsal. To find more "hot keys" to use in your slide shows, press help while you are in your slide show, and you will get a complete list of these handy shortcuts

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