By Dolf Els

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(No Transcript)
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Newsroom Trainers Conference, Poynter Institute
Slides in the Newsroom
PowerPoint as an aid in newsroom training
By Dolf Els Manager Editorial Development,
Media24
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Todays Agenda
In a nutshell session outline

• Why PowerPoint as a training aid?
• Five things to do (or to avoid)
• Examples of newsroom training slides
• How to build a basic design template
• Q A
• Create a new presentation / critique an
  existing presentation

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Introduction
Why PowerPoint as a training aid?

• Show and Tell more effective
• Makes it easy to highlight points
• More professional, organized, credible
• Quick and easy to update your material

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Dos and Donts
Five things to do (or to avoid)

• Dont dump loads of information
• Take care in choosing display fonts
• Dont let the background steal (kill) the show
• Beware of all the bells and whistles
• Use visuals wisely

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Dos and Donts
Five things to do (or to avoid) 1

• Dont dump loads of information
• (Annoyance factor 47.8)

It can be information overload on oneslide
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Dos and Donts
Five things to do (or to avoid) 1

• Dont dump loads of information (Annoyance
  factor 47.8)
• Tips
• Break major points into separate slides not
  more than 3 to 6 points per slide
• Use headlines rather than headings like a
  series of newspaper stories where only 3 things
  matter headline, picture caption
• Numbers are powerful devices to make lists
  memorable
• Comparisons help prove the point and illustrate
  what not to do
• Optimize display fonts (Annoyance factor 50.1)
• Tips
• Use large lettering on your slides Avoid using
  text smaller than 24 pt because it is difficult
  to read from across the room
• Dont decrease point size in order to fit all the
  text onto one slide
• Use a sans-serif screen display font like Verdana
  or Arial they project more clearly than serif
  styles.

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Dos and Donts
Five things to do (or to avoid) 1

• Dont dump loads of information
• (Annoyance factor 47.8)

or it can be a complex chart with lots of
information
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Dos and Donts
University of Wisconsin-Madison
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Dos and Donts

• Dont dump loads of information
• Tips

• Major points go onto separate slides
• Headlines are better than headings
• Numbers make lists memorable
• Comparisons help prove the point

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Dos and Donts
Five things to do (or to avoid) 2

• Take care in choosing display fonts
• (Annoyance factor 50.1)

Tips

• Use a sans-serif screen display font like Verdana
  or Arial
• Use the largest type sizes possible
• Dont decrease point size to fit all the text on
  one slide

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Dos and Donts
Take care in choosing display fonts
Sans Serif (36pt) Verdana Bold Arial Black Arial
Bold Avoid Arial Narrow
Serif Fonts (36 pt) Times Roman Bold Garamond
Bold Century Bold AvoidCourier
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Dos and Donts
Take care in choosing display fonts
San Serif (16 pt) Arial Bold Use large
lettering. Remember, people across the training
room should be able to read the text with ease.
Use the largest type sizes possible.
Serif Fonts (16 pt) Times New Roman Bold Use
large lettering. Remember, people across the
training room should be able to read the text
with ease. Use the largest type sizes possible.
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Dos and Donts
Five things to do (or to avoid) 3
Backgrounds should not steal (kill) the
show(Annoyance factor 37)

• Use one of two color schemes
• light text on a dark background, or
• dark text on a light background

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Dos and Donts
Dark text on a light background
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Dos and Donts
Never use light colors on a light background
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Dos and Donts
Five things to do (or to avoid) 3
Backgrounds should not steal (kill) the show

• Avoid poor color combinations

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Easy on the eyes?
No, not at all. But hey, you dont have to see
an optometrist. Anyway, not yet.
Its only the color scheme and choice of font
that makes it difficult to read this slide.
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And how about this one?
No, no improvement at all. But hey, you still
dont have to see an optometrist.
Its still the color scheme and choice of font
that makes it difficult to read this slide.
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Dos and Donts
Five things to do (or to avoid) 3
Backgrounds should not steal (kill) the show

• Avoid poor color combinations
• Dont use busy or arty backgrounds

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Dos and Donts
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Dos and Donts
Backgrounds should not steal the show

• Avoid poor color combinations
• Dont use distracting backgrounds in teaching
  slides

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Dos and Donts
Backgrounds should not steal (kill) the show Tips

• Colors combinations that work well
• White or yellow text on dark blue (navy shade) or
  dark purple
• dark blue or black or dark purple text on a warm
  beige background

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Dos and Donts
Backgrounds should not steal (kill) the show Tips
Colors combinations to avoid
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Dos and Donts
Backgrounds should not steal (kill) the show

• Tips
• Avoid dark backgrounds in a poorly-lit room, or
• Light backgrounds in a well-lit room

• Avoid generic backgrounds change templates
  to suit your purpose
• Be consistent with backgrounds, styles and
  transition effects

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Dos and Donts
Five things to do (or to avoid) 4

• Beware of the bells and whistles
• (Annoyance factor 46.8)

• It does not improve a training presentation
• Participants should focus on your content
• Youre busy with training, not marketing

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Dos and Donts

• Beware of the bells and whistles
• Tips
• Think twice before animating text (and
  graphics) 
• The following bells and whistles are for selling
  and entertaining, not for teaching

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Dos and Donts
Beware of the bells and whistles 
Keep these tips in mind

• Dont make text graphics stretch,
  strip and swiwel

• fly in

from all
directions

• flash,

zoom
and

• peek or crawl across the screen

• or stutter an on-screen

sentence
.
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Dos and Donts

• Beware of the bells and whistles
• Tips

• Animate to zoom in on detail or to emphasize
• Cut the sound effects they distract and annoy

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Dos and Donts
Five things to do (or to avoid) 5
Use visuals wisely

• Use graphics/pictures to illustrate or enhance a
  point
• Retention after 3 days with visuals 65
  Retention without visuals 10

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Dos and Donts
Use visuals wisely

• Tips
• Avoid pictures from the generic clipart folder

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Dos and Donts
Use visuals wisely

• Tips
• Use funny pictures only if they serve a
  purpose

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Dos and Donts

• Tips
• Use funny pictures only if they serve a
  purpose
• Use visuals to help people make a connection

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Dos and Donts

• Tips
• Use funny pictures only if they serve a
  purpose
• Funny pics could help people to remember

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Dos and Donts

• Tips
• Avoid pictures from the generic clipart folder
• Use visuals to help people make a connection

• Use newspaper cuttings to illustrate a point

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Dos and Donts

• Tips
• Avoid pictures from the generic clipart folder
• Use visuals to help people make a connection
• Use newspaper cuttings to illustrate a point

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Dos and Donts

• Avoid complex graphics. Pull the data and
  simplify it

• Tips
• Avoid pictures from the generic clipart folder
• Use visuals to help people make a connection
• Use newspaper cuttings to illustrate a point

University of Wisconsin-Madison
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Dos and Donts
Lets recap 5 things to keep in mind

• Dont dump loads of information
• Take care in choosing display fonts
• Backgrounds should not steal (kill) the show
• Steer clear of the bells and whistles
• Visuals should enhance and not detract

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Dos and Donts
Examples of slides I use in newsroom training
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Numeracy workshop
Do the numbers add up?
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Numeracy workshop
Did you check thepercentages?
NO!The increase is 38 - not 49
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Numeracy workshop
How do you calculate the percentage change?

• Calculate the difference (new value old value)
  443 - 320 123
• Divide the answer by the old value 123 320
  0.3843
• Then multiply by 100 38,43
• And round and simplify 38

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Headline writing
Dont slip up with the headline it is one of
the three most important elements on the page
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Headline writing
Is the headline in good taste?
The readers forced the paper to change the
headline
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Headline writing
Does the headline make sense?
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Copy Editing
Accuracy Do the numbers add up?
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Copy Editing
Or is it www.whitehouse.com?
Check the www Is it www.whitehouse.gov?
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Basic steps
How to build a basicdesign template
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Build a basic presentation

• Choose Blank Presentation

• AutoContent WizardPreset themes
• Design TemplatePre-designed slide sets
• Blank Presentation Design your slides from
  scratch

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Build a basic presentation

• Choose Blank Autolayout

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Build a basic presentation

• Choose Background from the Format menu.
• Click on the Down Arrow

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Build a basic presentation

• Select More Colors and choose the navy blue color
  (top right) and click OK.
• Click on the Down Arrow once againand select
  Fill Effects

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Build a basic presentation

• Click Two Colors (the navy blue color will be
  displayed in Color 1).
• Select Color 2and choose the blue color second
  fromleft at the top.

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Build a basic presentation

• Go to Variants and select the square bottom, left.

• Click Apply to All.

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Build a basic presentation

• To draw the line at the top of the slide
  Select the line tool and draw a horizontal line
  at the top of the slide.

• Select the line, right click, and choose Format
  AutoShape.

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Build a basic presentation

• Select Weight and choose 5 pt . Click OK

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Build a basic presentation

• Right click, choose Format AutoShape, select
  Size and decrease the width to 85

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Build a basic presentation

• To insert a graphic Select the Insert menu,
  choose Picture and Clipart

• Choose Academic and right click on the A
  graphic and move it to the top, left corner.

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Build a basic presentation

• To insert text Select the Insert menu, choose
  Text Box, draw the text box in the desired
  location and type text.Format the text.
• Give the presentation a name and save it as a
  Design Template .
• To use Go to File, New and choose your
  template.

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Q A?
Dolf Els dels_at_media24.com