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

Retrofitting Paper-Based Documentation for Hypermedia Delivery  

The trend to online delivery of information means new challenges for developers. New skills must be learned. Large-scale conversion projects must be completed while new materials are developed. Though conversion can be a monumental task, research and planning are the keys to a smooth transition. Five steps are critical to the conversion process: (1) Analyze the needs for developers ard end-users. (2) Develop a design document to outline how the hypermedia system should work. (3) Develop a transition plan. (4) Implement the Plan. (5) Update and maintain the system.

Hatley, Stacey D. and Travis Williams. STC Proceedings (1997). Presentations>Web Design>Information Design

Revealing Your Hidden Value  

How do we add value? How can we measure that value? How can we add more value?

Laurent, J. Suzanna. STC Region 7 Proceedings (2002). Presentations>TC

A Review of Research on Written Patient Information  

Rising consumerism in the health care industry promotes the value of quality written patient information in educating patients to make informed decisions about their health. This review of research located 65 studies published in health care journals. The types of written patient information tested in those 65 studies included those with clinical and organizational content, treatment and prevention content, and generalized and personalized content in a range of clinical areas. The measures used to judge the quality of written information included: cognitive, behavioral, and affective measures. We encourage technical communication researchers to use our synthesis of these studies to develop grant proposals for studies that will demonstrate the applicability of our research and methods—especially usability techniques—to the development of written patient information.

Campbell, Kim Sydow and Linda L. Mothersbaugh. STC Proceedings (2000). Presentations>Education>Biomedical

A Rhetoric of Objects

The Web demands a new rhetoric for communicators, transforming traditional modern and classical ideas of audience, invention, arrangement, style, delivery, memory, and ethos. This paper sketches a rhetoric that analyzes customized, personalized object-oriented content, delivered in many formats and media, as part of a continuous conversation.

Price, Jonathan R. Communication Circle, The (2001). Presentations>Rhetoric>Personalization

The Rhetoric Of Technology Transfer  

Socializing technology is the rhetorical goal of technology transfer. Specialists from many walks of the technical communication profession can participate in this goal by involving themselves in key processes such as developing market awareness, creating inreach and outreach programs, and facilitating collaborative ventures. Similarly, those communicators involved in designing databases, electronic networks, and information architectures are well positioned to make important contributions to the technology transfer industry.

Roberts, Suzanne S. STC Proceedings (1994). Presentations>Technology

The ROI of Usability and Making Usability Routine

Makes the business case for usability, and examines the impact of making usability routine throughout an organization.

Weinschenk, Susan and Jay More. Human Factors International (2006). Presentations>Usability>Collaboration>Workplace

Roles for Communication in Academia and Workplace: Teaching, Learning, and Mentoring  

The education of technical writers follows a vertical path, as discussed by panelists who represent three stops along that path. A new teacher of technical writing discusses moving from teaching basic writing to teaching more experienced and critical students. A professor who is in charge of new teachers discusses how he helps them meet the needs of students who demand more from their teachers. A mentor from industry discusses how she guides college graduates through the transition to professional writer and helps experienced writers continue their education on the job.

Tatge, Pamela K., Jack W. Jobst and John H. Carpenter. STC Proceedings (1996). Presentations>Education>Mentoring>Workplace

S5: A Simple Standards-Based Slide Show System

A simple slide show system that uses one (X)HTML file, some CSS, and a bit of JavaScript. You can have your presentation slides and printed handouts generated from the same file.

Meyer, Eric. MeyerWeb. Resources>Presentations>DHTML

Scientific Writing: An Editor’s Overview

How you write a paper depends on where you want to submit it.

Szuromi, Phil. AAAS. Presentations>Scientific Communication>Publishing

Searching for the Best Mix of Paper and Online Documentation: Two Case Studies  

As online help has evolved from simple field descriptions to a fully capable hypertext medium designers of software documentation have been faced with determining the best mix of paper and online. Which information goes in which medium? How much, if any, should be repeated in both? This paper describes two case studies in which hcumentation teams addressed these issues while redesigning their information sets. By the end of both projects, the documentation was streamlined redundancy between pn”ntand online was reduce4 and the majority of the information was presented online.

Massa, Jack A. STC Proceedings (1997). Presentations>Documentation>Online

Seeing is Believing and Content Counts

Even if you are a confident, seasoned speaker, you still need to connect with your audience with terrific content and visual aids. Knock `em dead with your words and the visual aids you use in order to truly have audiences on the edge of their seats! How can you get a crowd of hungry or tired conference attendees interested in your presentation? How can you stand apart and be remembered out of a series of speakers? Be daring and different. Seek untraditional methods to relate your information. Investigate all your options and all resources. Never rule anything out.

Brody, Marjorie. Presenters University (2002). Articles>Presentations>Visual Rhetoric>Microsoft PowerPoint

Selecting the Appropriate Learning Products for Your Users  

A learning product can take many forms, including wizard, coach, online Help, Web-based documentation, printed book, computer and paper-based tutorials, etc. The best way to determine the appropriate learning product(s) for your system is to conduct a needs analysis or survey of your users. A needs analysis is typically focused on a specific system or product, while a survey is more comprehensive, and can examine factors such as how your users learn. Each learning product has advantages and disadvantages, and is geared towards users with specific levels of expertise.

Florsheim, Stewart J. STC Proceedings (1999). Presentations>Education>Usability

Sending a Portfolio Presentation to a Client

In Photoshop CS there's a new feature that takes a folder full of images, creates a slide show (complete with transitions), and compresses it into PDF format so you can e-mail it easily to a client for proofing. This is perfect for showing your portfolio to clients, sending clients proofs of wedding shots or portrait sittings, and any of a dozen other uses, none of which I can happen to think of right at this particular moment, but I'm sure later today, when I'm at the mall or driving to the office, they'll come to me.

Kelby, Scott. Layers Magazine (2005). Articles>Presentations>Software>Adobe Photoshop

Sentence Clarity and Combining  

This presentation is designed to teach your students about common sentence clarity problems, including misplaced modifiers, dangling modifiers, and passive voice, as well as strategies for combining sentences together. The twenty-nine slides presented here are designed to aid the facilitator in an interactive presentation of methods for improving sentence structure. This presentation is suitable within any course as a refresher to common sentence problems.

Liethen, Jennifer Kunka. Purdue University. Presentations>Slideshows>Writing

The Sequential Order of Instructions: Impact on Text Quality  

In written instructions, the sequential order of procedural steps is crucial for effective and efficient performance. In this paper we demonstrate several “rules” for optimizing instructions in this respect: First things first: put instructions in an order that prevents users from neglecting important steps. Minimize cognitive load: put instructions in an order that allows readers to forget what they read. Save time and effort: put instructions in an order that “on average” requires as little time as possible of the readers.

Steehouder, Michael F. and Carel J.M. Jansen. STC Proceedings (1996). Presentations>Documentation>Writing

Setting Usability Requirements For A Web Site Containing A Form  

We describe the challenges of understanding and setting usability requirements for a web site containing a form. We define 'usability requirements.' Ideally, usability requirements should be defined early in a project. In practice, we often find that the first opportunity we have is when we are asked to undertake an evaluation. Collecting the users' opinions of the requirements as part of the evaluation can often prompt the organization into investigating the users, leading to a better set of requirements and, eventually, a better web site.

Miller, Sarah and Caroline Jarrett. STC Proceedings (2001). Presentations>Accessibility>Web Design>Usability

SGML—A Pilot Project For The Department Of Energy  

SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language) is a viable transmission vehicle for Scientific and Technical Information (STI) communications. SGML is an integral component within the CALS (Computer Aided Logistics and Support) initiative. SGML as identified in this paper will be the transmission device for STI. This paper is designed to provide a high level overview of the Department of Energy (DOE) initiative to the Technical Information and Publications group within the Superconducting Super Collider Laboratory. This paper will address the genealogy of the initial efforts to (1) generate a specification (limited to tagging scientific and technical data) (2) generate applicable Document Type Definitions (DTD’s) and (3) develop a proof of concept to DOE for evaluation. This paper is not designed to provide a lesson in document analysis, DTD preparation or SGML transmission. This paper does however provide a structured approach starting at ground zero and systematically reaching the point of document delivery.

Stickels, Thomas C. STC Proceedings (1994). Presentations>Information Design>SGML

Shaping Knowledge through Usability Testing Shaping Knowledge through Usability Testing  

Usability testing can make a difference in the product and and the documentation. Seeing is believing.

Barnum, Carol M. IEEE PCS (2003). Presentations>Usability>Methods>Testing

The Short Talk

The short talk (<= 20 minutes) is a fixture at most scientific conferences. Assuming that you have an overhead projector, this note focuses on how to give a good short talk. I think that if you can give good short talk then you can probably give a good 50-minute presentation because the additional time permits a certain flexibility. For example, in a 50-minute talk I think that the speaker can risk losing the majority of listeners for 10 minutes while a technical aspect is embellished for the 'experts'. In contrast, the short talk requires a more sustained level of clarity if it is to be successful.

Van Loan, Charles. Cornell University (2000). Presentations>Advice