Principles of Presentation Design

Creating an effective presentation involves adhering to key design principles and rules, ensuring that your message is clearly communicated and accessible to all participants. As a technology coach presenting to teachers, it's essential to consider various design elements and accessibility guidelines to create a professional, engaging, and inclusive presentation. This page provides essential rules for presentation design and resources to help technology coaches craft impactful presentations for educators.

Clarity and Simplicity

Ensure that your presentation is easy to follow by using clear and concise language, and avoiding technical jargon or overly complex terms. Keep slide layouts simple, with minimal text and a clear visual hierarchy that guides the viewer's attention to the most important information. Limit each slide to one main idea, and use bullet points or short phrases instead of lengthy paragraphs.

Rule: Use the 6x6 rule – no more than six bullet points per slide and six words per bullet point.

Read: Tips for Creating and Delivering an Effective Presentation (Microsoft)

Consistency

Maintain a consistent style throughout your presentation, including fonts, colors, and slide layouts. This helps create a cohesive look and feel, making your presentation appear more professional and polished.

Rule: Use no more than two to three different fonts – one for headings and one to two for body text.

Read: Consistency in Your Presentation Design (Sketchbubble)

Typography

Select a legible font and font size for your presentation. Avoid using too many different fonts, as this can create visual clutter and distract from your message. Instead, use variations in font weight, style, or color to create emphasis and hierarchy.

Rule: Use a minimum font size of 24 points for body text and 36 points for headings to ensure readability.

Read: Typography (Canva)

Interaction and Engagement

Design your presentation to encourage interaction and engagement with your audience. Include opportunities for questions, discussions, and hands-on activities to keep teachers actively involved and promote deeper understanding. We will dive into this further on the page Engagement Strategies.

Rule: Include opportunities for questions, discussions, or hands-on activities every 10-15 minutes to maintain audience engagement.

By applying these presentation design principles and utilizing the resources provided, technology coaches can create effective and visually appealing presentations that enhance the learning experience for educators. A well-designed presentation not only communicates your message clearly but also engages and supports the audience throughout the learning process.

As a technology coach, it's essential to ensure that your presentations are inclusive and accessible to all participants, regardless of their abilities or needs. By incorporating accessibility guidelines into your presentation design, you create an environment that fosters equal learning opportunities and accommodates diverse learning preferences. This not only demonstrates your commitment to inclusivity but also enhances the overall effectiveness of your presentation. 

1. Use Alt Text for Images: Alternative text (alt text) is a brief description of an image that can be read by screen readers, assisting individuals with visual impairments in understanding the content of the image. To ensure your presentation is accessible, provide meaningful alt text for every image, chart, or infographic. This enables those using screen readers to gain a clear understanding of the visual content being displayed.

2. Clear and Simple Language: Using clear and simple language makes your presentation more accessible to individuals with cognitive or learning disabilities, as well as those who may not be native speakers of the presentation language. Avoid jargon, technical terms, or complex language, and consider providing a glossary for any necessary terminology. Break down complex concepts into smaller, easily digestible parts, and reiterate key points to reinforce understanding.

3. Closed Captions for Audio or Video: Including closed captions for any audio or video materials within your presentation ensures that individuals with hearing impairments can access and understand the content. Closed captions should be accurate, synchronized with the audio, and easy to read. You can also provide transcripts of the audio or video content as an additional accessibility measure.

4. Consistent Layout and Navigation: Maintaining a consistent layout and navigation throughout your presentation helps all participants follow along more easily, especially those with cognitive or learning disabilities. Use a logical slide structure, consistent headings, and clear slide numbering. If your presentation includes interactive elements or hyperlinks, ensure that they are easily identifiable and consistently placed.

5. High Contrast and Legible Fonts: Choose high-contrast color combinations and legible fonts to make your presentation accessible to individuals with visual impairments or color vision deficiencies. Use contrasting colors for text and background, ensuring that the text is easily readable. Select fonts that are clear and easy to read, avoiding highly stylized or decorative typefaces. Consider increasing the font size or using boldface for essential text to enhance readability further.

6. Accommodate Different Learning Styles: To create a more inclusive presentation, consider incorporating content that caters to various learning styles. Combine visual, auditory, and kinesthetic elements to engage and accommodate diverse preferences. Offer multiple ways for participants to access and engage with the content, such as providing written transcripts, facilitating group discussions, or incorporating hands-on activities.

7. Provide Support Materials: Offer additional support materials to accommodate diverse learning needs and preferences. This may include providing handouts, slide printouts, or digital resources that can be accessed during or after the presentation. Support materials should be available in various formats, such as PDF or Google documents, to ensure that they can be accessed and utilized by all participants.

The video below describes accessibility for students, but the same rules apply.