Document Design

PowerPoint is often used as a tool for most presentations. The main purpose for PowerPoint presentations is to pursuade the audience with maximum impact in minimum time (Schelle, 2009). PowerPoint presentation should not only focus on words information but also layout design.

Regarding my group's last week summary presentation, I had pointed out a few aspects that should be changed according to Russell's view. A good PowerPoint presentation's layout design should include the following aspects:

1. Take note on slides layout where title and captions should be put appropriately to meet the audience's expectations.



Captions should be added to this slide in order to let the audience know what the picture is about.













2. Animations and transitions should be used wisely. Appropriate amount of effects should emphasize the key points without overwhelming (Kreiger, 2010). However, our presentation was lack of animations and transitions. Transitions effects on each key point will create a better presentation.

3. Limit the number of slides. On my group PowerPoint presentation, we had 13 slides which should be cut down to around 10 slides to avoid the waste of time.

The purpose of good writing is to convey messages without symbolic, associative interpretations and information loss (Rothman, 2005). Good writing should fulfill the following:

1. Less is more. Information should be discussed in bullet points and avoid lengthy points. Some of out slides had too lengthy points which caused the audience to be bored.




Points should be short and precise for the understanding of the audience.












2. Avoid spelling and grammar error. Spelling and grammar error should be checked thoroughly before presenting to the audience. There were some spelling errors in our slides which confused the audience.

A good PowerPoint presentation should excel in both layout design and writing. These 2 aspects must be complimet to each other in order to create a successful presentation to pursuade the audience.


References
1. Generic-man 2001, How to give a good powerpoint presentation, viewed on 26/8/2010, retrieved from http://everything2.com/title/How+to+give+a+good+PowerPoint+presentation

2. Kreiger, S 2010, 12 tips for creating better presentations, viewed on 26/8/2010, retrieved from http://www.microsoft.com/atwork/skills/presentations.aspx

3. Rothman, S 2005, What makes good scientific and technical writing?, viewed on 26/8/2010, retrieved from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/9447/error?cat=4

4. Russell, W, 10 tips for creating successful business presentations, viewed on 26/8/2010, retrieved from http://presentationsoft.about.com/od/powerpointinbusiness/tp/bus_pres_tips.htm

5. Schelle, T 2009, The purpose of a powerpoint presentation, viewed on 26/8/2010, retrieved from http://www.articlesbase.com/presentation-articles/the-purpose-of-a-powerpoint-presentation-1030263.html