For most of you, some more than others, speaking in front of a crowd is an integral part of your job. Even if you’re comfortable with your audience and know your material well, developing a dynamic PowerPoint presentation can be a challenge. And even if you have a good presentation created, there is usually room for improving your slides.

Better presentations have multiple benefits. They can help you in the classroom, support your efforts to change practice or policy, or bolster your ability to secure new dollars for that research or project, particularly with individual donors.

For researchers (and junior researchers in particular), they will certainly have an impact when you go looking for your next position.

And if you really focus hard on how you present your work, you may even be able to explain what you do to Aunt Gladys next Thanksgiving.

Here we offer several tools and resources to help you get your messages across using a dynamic PowerPoint presentation.

Tools
Developing Dynamic Presentations from Strategic Communications & Planning provides simple step-by-step instructions for developing effective and visually interesting presentations.

On his Web site, communications expert Andy Goodman offers a wealth of information and tips regarding PowerPoint presentations:

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The Hartford Online Communications Resource depends on the active participation of the foundation’s grantees. If you have tips on creating a dynamic PowerPoint presentation, please let us know, so we can share them on the site and make them available to the rest of the Hartford network.

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