Introduction > Presenting Science > Using Visual Aids > PowerPoint

PowerPoint The use of Microsoft PowerPoint has revolutionised oral presentations and is the most widely-used visual aid. It is most commonly used to create slides with bulleted information points, as well as displaying relevant figures, photos, etc. If you ensure your images are of high resolution, the quality of your presentation can be much higher than if you had used acetates, whiteboards or flip charts. You can even add sound and animations to your PowerPoint presentations; however, be careful not to get too carried away with the design of your slides so that the content of your presentation suffers! If you're presenting to a smaller audience, you may want to print out your slides as handouts.  This allows participants to write down notes and annotate your presentation. Not all venues, however, will have the facilities for you to use PowerPoint, so check beforehand.  If you're loading your presentation onto another computer, it's wise to use a couple of different mediums - CD, USB and/or email the presentation - if your CD becomes scratched or the computer doesn't have a USB port (stranger things have happened ...) you still have a backup. Be careful when you're relying on technology however - power cuts, surges, etc can render the equipment useless. If you have a print-out of your slides, you can talk through these, which isn't ideal but it's better than you floundering and having no idea what you were going to talk about!

<<< Previous Page >>><<< Next Page >>>