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ITC598 Research Skills Guide: Creating presentations

Creating slide based presentations

Plan your presentation:

  • Create an outline or script of what you will say
  • Check your subject outline and follow all presentation guidelines
  • Focus on what your audience needs or wants to know

Create engaging visuals:

  • Use a template that defines fonts, colours and object/chart styles so that you can maintain consistent formatting
  • Consider colours, images and headings that grab the viewer's attention 
  • Avoid cramming too much information onto one slide
  • Ensure your visuals clarify your message
  • Proofread for spelling and grammatical errors

Present clear audio:

  • If you are feeling tense or nervous, try some relaxation exercises beforehand
  • Avoid reading your script word-for-word even if you are recording
  • Project your voice to ensure everyone in the room can hear you
  • When recording, limit background noise and ensure you record in a quiet room
  • Check and test your audio settings if presenting in an online meeting room

Engage your audience:

  • Be enthusiastic
  • Smile, even if you're recording your audio
  • Make eye contact with your audience
  • Incorporate short pauses to allow your message to sink in
  • Vary the speed at which you talk to create interest and give emphasis

Check the Academic Poster Presentation Guide for more tips.

Audio and video in Powerpoint

This video provides instructions for uploading or recording audio in Powerpoint:

Check out these instructions for publishing Powerpoint slides as video:

Using images in your assessments

Check out the Using Images at University guide for information on how to find and appropriately use images in your assessment tasks.

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