The 10/20/30 Rule of PowerPoint

I am trying to evangelize the 10/20/30 Rule of PowerPoint. It’s quite simple: a PowerPoint presentation should have ten slides, last no more than twenty minutes, and contain no font smaller than thirty points. While I’m in the venture capital business, this rule is applicable for any presentation to reach agreement: for example, raising capital, making a sale, forming a partnership, etc.

Kawasaki, Guy. How to Change the World (2005). Articles>Presentations>Information Design>Typography

Rethinking the Design of Presentation Slides

Recently, much criticism has arisen about the design of slides created with Microsoft PowerPoint. This web page challenges PowerPoint's default design of a single word or short phrase headline supported by a bullet list. Rather than subscribing to Microsoft's topic-subtopic design for slides, this web page advocates an assertion-evidence design, which serves presentations that have the purpose of informing and persuading audiences about technical content.

Alley, Michael. Virginia Tech (2004). Articles>Presentations>Information Design>Microsoft PowerPoint

Rethinking the Design of Presentation Slides

Summary, models, and templates of a new design of slides for technical presentations. This design is fully documented in Chapter 4 of The Craft of Scientific Presentations (Springer, 2003).

Alley, Michael. Penn State University (2004). Articles>Presentations>Information Design>Visual Rhetoric

Rethinking the Design of Presentation Slides: A Case for Sentence Headlines and Visual Evidence    

The traditional design of presentation slides calls for a phrase headline supported by a bulleted list. Recently, many critics have challenged the effectiveness of this design. This article argues for a significantly different design that offers numerous advantages in most communication contexts but that is particularly well suited to technical presentations. Originating at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and refined in more than 400 critique sessions at Virginia Tech, this alternative design is characterized by a succinct sentence headline supported by visual evidence. What distinguishes this design from other visual -evidence designs are its specific layout and typography guidelines, which were chosen to make the communication efficient, memorable, and persuasive. Although more difficult to construct than the traditional design, the alternative design shows much promise as a more effective means of conveying technical information to various audiences. This article outlines the key advantages and challenges of using this design, and concludes by assessing attempts to disseminate this design through lectures, workshops, and the Web.

Alley, Michael and Kathryn A. Neeley. Technical Communication Online (2005). Articles>Presentations>Information Design>Persuasive Design