Best Practices for Creating Presentations

Whether you use PowerPoint or Google Slides, these best practices will help you design your slides for consistency and readability.
 

Set Fonts, Sizes, and Colors on the Slide Master
This will make your style and design consistent, so that text is in the same place on every slide. When setting colors, remember that dark text on a white or light background is most accessible.

Choose Large, Legible Fonts
Choose sans serif fonts (Calibri or Arial instead of Times, e.g.). Keep font size between 20-40pt. Titles are always the largest font on the slide.

Title Every Slide
Slide titles are required for organization and navigation. If a topic continues on the next slide, repeat the title and indicate a continuation with (cont.).

Turn Off Autofit
Select "Do not Autofit" or change autocorrect settings so that the text doesn't resize.

Use Built-In Layouts
For correct reading order, use existing templates. Don't delete or copy/paste layouts.

Chunk by Slide and Topic
Break content into small, short pieces so it is easy to read and remember. Be concise! The more text on a slide, the harder it is to read or listen to.

Add Appropriate Images
Large images help break up text-heavy presentations and attract attention. Photos, charts, and illustrations can enhance and clarify the topic. Always add Alt text to graphics to make them accessible.

Plan to Reuse Slides
On individual slides, remove semester or date references, and textbook chapter or page numbers. Use an easy-to-update title slide instead.

Embed Accessible Videos
Don't hide video/audio controls. Remove/Turn off autoplay. Provide captions.

Obtain Copyright Permission
Images from textbooks, articles or the web must be cited and approved.

Check Accessibility
Add Alt text to graphics. Run the built-in accessibility checker in PowerPoint and correct all errors so that your presentation will work online and with screen readers.

• Large blocks of italic or bold text. Use bold and italics for emphasis only.
• ALL CAPS. Only acronyms should be typed with all capital letters. Screen reader software may speak each letter in words that are all capital letters. For example, the acronym "FBI" is read out letter by letter.
• Underlines. When viewing content online, underlined text indicates navigation or link functionality. 
• Blurry screenshots or images. A different image can usually be found to replace a blurry one. 
• Outdated or distracting clip art. Not only is it distracting, it appears unprofessional.
• Text in images or SmartArt. This text is inaccessible because it cannot be read by screen readers.

• PowerPoint Accessibility (WebAIM)
• Legibility, Readability, and Comprehension (NNG)
• Making Better PowerPoint Presentations (Vanderbilt)