Suggestions for Slides at Scientific Meetings
Donald E. Kroodsma, Bruce E. Byers · The Auk · 2000
The spoken message in a scientific talk is enhanced by well-prepared slides that are simple, clear, legible, and pleasing to the eye. Good slides can create visual images that endure in the audience's mind long after the speaker has finished. Poorly prepared slides, however, detract from both the speaker and the intended message. Poor slides have features that hinder communication, such as small letters, too much text, dark images on dark backgrounds, outlandish colors, complex figures, or large tables. Poor slides create lasting images, too, but of an undesirable kind. In an effort to encourage scientists to reconsider the effectiveness of their slides, we provide some guidelines for slide preparation. We hope that our opinions will stimulate speakers to prepare slides that enhance, rather than detract from, the spoken words (see Smith 1957, Toft 1998). First, we present our top 10 recommendations, in decreasing order of importance. Then, we offer six additional ideas that also should aid in preparing effective slides and talks.