They Snooze, You Lose by Lynell Burmark--Chapter 1

Chapter 1 "Tweaking presentations"

This chapter recommends that a presentation can be improved by focusing on three areas:
1.  templates
2.  color, and
3.  type

First, a template should "reflect the presenter's intent and personality; it should never compete with the content in the presentation" (Duarte, Nancy, 2008, slide:ology, p. 5). It is critical to keep in mind that we read from left to right and any "visual anchor" needs to placed on the left side of the slide to guide the reader (Burmark, Lynell, 2011, They Snooze, You Lose, p. 6). Slides should not be too busy with graphic elements that detract form the presentation.

Secondly, background color is not only an "aesthetic choice but also a pedagogical strategy for presenters and teachers. Studies indicate it greatly enhances learning and improves retention by more than 75%" (3M Corporation research, 2001, "The Power of Color in Presentations," p. 7). The best color combination to grab attention in  a presentation is yellow text on blue background (Burmark, Lynell, 2011,They Snooze, You Lose, pp. 7-10).

Thirdly, the average PowerPoint presentation should contain about 40 words per slide, titles on slides should be left-aligned, and first letter of the title is uppercase.

Duarte, Nancy. (2008). slide:ology: The Art and Science of Great Presentations. Sebastopol, CA:  O'Reilly Media.

3M Corporation research. (2001). "The Power of Color in Presentations." 3M Meeting Network Articles & Advice.

Burmark, Lynell. (2011) "They Snooze, You Lose."  San Francisco, CA:  Jossey-Bass.