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Develop a Consistent Design

Over the past two decades, audiences in settings ranging from business meetings to lecture halls seem to have been subjected to more poorly designed multimedia presentations than there are drops of water in the ocean. Perhaps you, too, have been at some of these presentations. If so, you’ll be aware of the benefits of the following design guidelines:

Choose a color scheme that reflects the purpose and tone of your line of argument. Use bright colors, for example, for a lighthearted topic. Use neutral colors for a serious presentation.
Be consistent in your choice of fonts, colors, and page layout.
Use readable fonts, such as 44-point Corbel for headings and 28-point Calibri for body text. Avoid elaborate script fonts, which are often unreadable from a distance, or overly playful fonts like Curlz, which can come across as unprofessional.
Keep text to a minimum: a general rule is six words per bullet point, six bullet points per slide, and no more than six slides of all text in a row.
To enhance the readability of slides, use either a light background with dark text or a dark background with light text, and a minimum of text effects (such as shadows or flashing text).
Use audio, video, and animation with moderation. Generally, clips should run no longer than one minute each.
Avoid the use of slow or overly complex transitions between slides.
Avoid the use of distracting sound effects on slides or during slide transitions.