Doing the Presentation

Don't keep calling attention to what's on the screen--watching a new slide appear, turning around and reading off the screen, standing to the side and making the screen the focus of everyone's attention. It's more effective to keep people watching you, the speaker. After all, slides don't use gestures or facial expressions, don't walk around, don't have voice inflections, don't make eye contact with people. A presenter needs to keep command of those tools. The PowerPoint slides are just a supplement to help people follow. Let the slides appear behind you as you talk, but don't keep drawing attention to them. They can draw attention to themselves on their own.

"B" will blank the screen. This can be real handy. Use it when you want attention to focus on you, rather than on the screen.

To advance slides, use a wireless or infrared device, if possible. Then you won't need to keep walking over to the computer to advance the slides.

If you aren't using a wireless device to advance slides, use the spacebar to advance slides. Other keys will work--like the PAGEUP and arrow keys--but the spacebar is the biggest key on the keyboard, and it's right up front. You won't need to look to find it.

When you're done with the presentation, blank the screen (or turn off the projector) before exiting the PowerPoint show. You don't want everyone to see the presentation in the raw program (like in the slide sorter view). Nor do you want people to see your messy computer desktop.

Be aware that when a new slide goes onto the screen, people won't be concentrating on what you're saying. Their attention will go to the new slide. It's okay to pause in your talking while people see what the new slide is about.

Notes Handouts

Speakers often print out the thumbnail slides and give them to the audience as notes. Amateur presenters think it's neat that they have this print option available, and that if Microsoft worked it into the program, it must be a good thing. But there are many reasons why this is a bad idea.

People will not be engaged in taking notes for themselves.
Your slides should be just an outline. The handout may be of little value when a person picks it up a few weeks later and tries to determine what was said in the sessions.
The thumbnails will be white on black, like the projected slides. That doesn't work well on paper, especially when photocopied, because the black will fill in parts of the letters.

PowerPoint and Scripture

When you put a quote on the screen or a Scripture verse, it works well to just read it, rather than have people read it for themselves.

Don't put all of the Scripture verses on the screen. People will conclude that they don't need to bring their Bibles. Instead, just put the references, so that people still have to look up the verses.

If you use pew Bibles, include not only the Scripture reference, but also the page number in the pew Bible. That will greatly help people who aren't knowledgeable about where to find things in the Bible (which is most people).