A PowerPoint presentation is used as a visual aid when making a presentation. It is easy to learn and use, thereby making it easy to be misused or not to be used effectively. So to prevent this, it is always better to follow these tips when making a PowerPoint presentation.

It is not always necessary that you make your own slides for your presentation. If you find some slides that you like from another's presentation, then with their permission, you can import those slides into your presentation. Most of the speakers are ready to give copies of their slides, or at least to tell you how they had prepared them. You will know only if you ask! If you don't like the idea of asking others for their slides, you can make use of one of the many pre-fabricated templates and presentations that come with PowerPoint. If not, they can also be downloaded from the PowerPoint website or other Internet sites.

Never overcrowd your slides. This is because you make slides to let people focus on the content of the presentation, and on you, as you make your presentation. If your slide proves to be too crowded, it diverts the attention of the audience and obscures your main points. Remember that the intention of the slide is to illustrate your speech, and not to replace your handout! Limit the number of points on the slide to three to six points, and avoid sub-headings. It is better to otherwise break the major points of the presentation into separate slides. Always stick to the same backgrounds, styles and transition throughout your presentation as otherwise; the changes may distract the audience. If you are using animations, sound or video in the PowerPoint presentation use them sparingly as too much of them may also distract the audience!

It is always better to use headlines, than outline headings in a PowerPoint presentation. This is because each bullet in the slide gives you the chance to introduce, set expectations for and to sell your views on an argument. In other words, writing the points as headlines gives your presentation energy and power. Try to find the most effective style for your PowerPoint presentation using music clips, color effects and audio effects. There is an ample range of tools in PowerPoint to fit your style. Choose the one that best suits your presentation!

When making a PowerPoint presentation, you have to always be ready for the unexpected. You never know when projectors become tricky or may not work with your laptop computer. It is because of these unexpected problems that most speakers carry whole tool kits of extra bulbs, copies of the presentation on floppy disks, extra hard drives, cables, cords and adapters when making presentations. Usually, all things work out well, but it is always the failures that are quite visible! To overcome all this, it is better to come to the room early and get everything set up and tested by befiending the technical person assigned to your presentation. However, if you do make quite a lot of presentations, it is better to buy your own projector!

When making a PowerPoint presentation, try to picture what it actually is that your audience will be hearing and seeing. Spend more of your time on getting content for your presentation, than on design issues. One important point related to this matter is to always use large fonts for your PowerPoint presentation. If it doesn't fit the slide, break up the points into individual slides. As colors have connotations, they matter a lot on the PowerPoint presentation. Avoid red as it only agitates people negatively. Practice makes perfect, is the old saying. Similarly, for the success of your PowerPoint presentation, you have to be comfortable with using the program. Practice giving your speech, while running the laptop computer, as you will have to do both during the PowerPoint presentation. If you can't do both things alone, get someone else to run the laptop.

Remember to always make a conclusion slide for your PowerPoint presentation. Most PowerPoint presentators conclude their presentations by saying "that's all I have." However, if you have a concluding slide with 3-5 summary points, you will leave the audience with a stronger impression, and remember, you can never emphasize and restate your main points too often!

There are many people who hire others make their PowerPoint presentations. However, it is always better to have your own presentation while making the presentation. This is because when you know the presentation, and are comfortable working with the slides, you yourself become free to connect with the audience and thus, shine as a presenter! When making your PowerPoint presentation, try to inform the audience of some information or try to persuade the audience to take some action. Remember these points in your next PowerPoint presentation, and notice the difference!