Nutrition PowerPoint Pro Tips
Rock your PowerPoint presentations with these helpful tips!
How to Make an Engaging Nutrition PowerPoint Presentation
At Food and Health Inc, we pride ourselves on the high quality of our posters, handouts, games, books, and presentations. In almost 20 years of business, we've learned a lot about what works and what doesn't, and now we'd like to share some of that knowledge with you. Today we're going to discuss the 5 keys to a good PowerPoint presentation: follow a clear outline, show -- don't tell, incorporate variety, check understanding, and have fun.
The Five Keys to a Good Nutrition PowerPoint Presentation
Set expectations and follow a clear outline. In your show, make sure that you tell the group the major points of the presentation up front, so that they can follow your trajectory and know which overarching themes are most important. This also gives the group a sense of what to watch for and how to structure any notes that they might take. Plus, organizing everything into clear categories is a great way to help plan your show as you're writing it. Having an outline will also help you find statistics for every important point - this is important for nutrition so you can gain trust from your audience. Science-based recommendations are very important.
Show, don't tell. Wordy PowerPoints that are nothing but lists and bullet points don't engage anyone for very long. Once you've detailed your main points and the path that the full presentation will take, start using more than just words to get your point across. The default structure of most PowerPoint slides can make it all too easy to fall into the trap of making list after list. Charts, graphs, and tables are all good tools, as are stunning food pictures, drawings, and even clip art. When you do want a list of points, make that list brief. Remember, not everything has to be written on the slide. Limit any list to the absolute essentials and discuss the rest in your speaker's notes. Sometimes the story that charts, graphs, and pictures tell is more compelling than the words you would use to describe it. For example, a beautifully styled picture of a healthful meal can sell your message and lesson better than any adjective or list.
Make sure your show incorporates variety -- this will keep it more interesting and keep the audience on their toes. Use a bunch of different tools to get your point across, approach a problem or issue from multiple angles, and make sure that each slide doesn't look exactly like all the others. Another trick to including more variety in a PowerPoint show is approaching an issue from a series of expanding or narrowing perspectives. For example, if you're discussing obesity, it may be wise to look at statistics on a national level, then trace the rise of obesity in your home state, then look at increased obesity-related disease rates in your home city, and end with one person's account of his/her day-to-day struggle with obesity.
Make your audience responsible for their comprehension of the information by checking their understanding periodically. This can be as simple as asking questions about what you have discussed during each section of the presentation or as complex as adding a separate quiz portion to your presentation. Make sure these questions, in whatever form, cover the most important information. The group may be even more engaged if you let them know that you will be checking their knowledge with a quiz before the presentation is over. You can pepper quiz slides throughout the presentation or just save a few for the end -- whatever works best for your audience.
It may seem silly that we emphasize the importance of having fun in our top five PowerPoint tips list, but it really is vital. Have fun. If you craft your presentation with a positive attitude and playful tone, then present it in an energetic and enthusiastic way, it will be hard for your audience to remain totally unaffected. Make your presentation worth their time, and ensure that it is fun as well as informative. It will be easier for the group to retain information if they learned it in a positive and engaging setting.
More PowerPoint Tips and Tricks
Looking for more resources? Look no further -- we have you covered. And when in doubt, check out the selection at our Nutrition Education Store.
Visit the top-selling PowerPoints in our store to view some of our most useful shows - there is a flash file for each show so you can preview it.
Peruse our free recipes for cooking and food styling inspiration and photos.
Contact us for guidance -- we'd love to team up and find or create the perfect PowerPoint for your audience.