With or without the pandemic, lots of students have a trouble of making PowerPoint presentations for their report. The reasons might be the unfamiliar use of the PC tools or mobile applications for making such presentations, or the uncertainties of what should be in the presentation. The result, many of those students are committing errors in presenting their reports, and worst, they've made poor quality presentations.

In my experience, I also committed lots of errors in making presentations, but eventually, I've learned from those erroneous effort and realized that making effective PowerPoint Presentation was not that hard to attain. So here are some tips to improve your skills in making PowerPoint presentation:

Be consistent.

On making presentations, it's important that you choose your slides well and be consistent on the elements such as fonts, colors, and background. If you already decided on what theme to use, make sure that all slides follow. Minor variations on the design for every slide is just fine provided that they follow the same theme. Avoid using too many variations, because it would only make your presentation messy.

Less is the best.

Colors should also be considered in choosing your theme for the presentation. Too colorful presentation tend to distract the audience and may not be stay focused on the report, instead they will all look to the design and colors. I recommend that you think of only one color for your theme and choose other 1 or 2 colors that are contrasting to the first color that you have chosen as the main theme. Those other 2 colors may be used as color of the text and other minor elements such as lines, text box frame and others. For example, you've chosen red as your theme, you can use white and yellow as your text color.

It can be also in alternate, you can also use the other colors as the dominant color in the other slide as long as it's the same 3 colors you are using, and the texts are still readable. Remember, consistency is the first key for an effective PowerPoint presentation.

6x6 rule.

Simplify and limit the number of words on each screen. I suggest that you only put 6 words per line, and only 6 lines per slides. Hence, the name 6x6 rule. To make it possible, use key phrases and include only essential information. Avoid using articles(a, an, the) in the beginning of the line. Explanations must only be in verbal presentation. And if possible, you can always use pictures instead of texts. Remember, pictures could tell you a thousand words.

Limit punctuation and avoid putting words in all capital letters. Empty space on the slide will enhance readability.

Further tips for the readability of the text; use large font for your text. Font size 24-28 is the ideal for the normal texts while 30-36 for the title or header.

Beauty in simplicity.

I'm not a fan of too many effects and translation during presentation. It's important that your audience really get the message of your talk/report and focused only on the topic; not on the aesthetic aspects of your presentation. It may be impressive at first, but not in a long run. So I suggest that you must avoid using too many variations and "flashy" transition effects. I usually used the fading transition effect and apply it to all slides for a smooth and non-distractive transition.

Picture tells it all.

I did mention above about using pictures instead of texts in presenting. But how will you choose pictures for presenting? Well, I think the obvious answer for that query is that the picture must not be a random image or figure. Of course, it must have something to do with the topic! But make sure to use high quality images that could reinforce and complement your message or topic. Ensure that your image maintains it's clarity and impact even if it is shown or projected on a large screen.

Back it up.

Ensure a back-up file of your PowerPoint presentation. No explanation needed.

That's it. I hope that you will find this article helpful especially for the struggling students in the midst of this pandemic. I hope this article will ease your struggles and enjoy learning. As John Dewey once said, "Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself." Thus, enjoy your learning experience; as well as your life experience.

Thank you for reading.