Rethinking the Design of Presentation Slides
Michael Alley, in his book The Craft of Scientific Presentations, advocates alternatives (based on multimedia learning principles) that challenge using PowerPoint's default structure. The typical structure used for most presentations is a Topic-Phrase headline supported by a bullet list of subtopics.
Alley, and his colleagues, advocate for an Assertion-Evidence structure. This structure focus on a sentence headline that is supported by visual evidence - not bullet points. This visual evidence can include: photos, drawings, diagrams, graphs or charts.
Using this structure, the primary purpose of PowerPoint slides is to help an audience understand and remember content, rather than to provide talking points for a speaker.
To learn more about using an Assertion-Evidence structure, please review the materials presented below this example of an Assertion-Evidence slide.
Alley, and his colleagues, advocate for an Assertion-Evidence structure. This structure focus on a sentence headline that is supported by visual evidence - not bullet points. This visual evidence can include: photos, drawings, diagrams, graphs or charts.
Using this structure, the primary purpose of PowerPoint slides is to help an audience understand and remember content, rather than to provide talking points for a speaker.
To learn more about using an Assertion-Evidence structure, please review the materials presented below this example of an Assertion-Evidence slide.
Alley, Michael, The Craft of Scientific Presentations (New York: Springer-Verlag, 2003), chap 4.
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Alley, Michael, and Kathryn A. Neeley, "Rethinking the Design of Presentation Slides: A Case for Sentence Headlines and Visual Evidence," Technical Communication, vol. 52, no. 4 (November 2005), pp. 417-426.
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Alley, Michael, and Harry Robertshaw, "Rethinking the Design of Presentation Slides: Creating Slides That Are Readily Comprehended," 2004 International Mechanical Engineering Conference and Exposition, paper 61889 (Anaheim, CA: ASME, November 2004).
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Alley, Michael, Madeline Schreiber, Katrina Ramsdell, and John Muffo, "How the Design of Headlines in Presentation Slides Affects Audience Retention," Technical Communication, vol. 53, no. 2 (May 2006), pp. 225-234.
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