Speaker Guidelines

These guidelines have been prepared by the SESHA symposium planning team to assist you in the development and delivery of a quality presentation at the SESHA 27^th Annual Symposium.

Tips for Effective Visual Aids

Good visual aids amplify and clarify the message, stimulate interest, and help the speaker keep "on track." They merit the same care in preparation as the commentary.

General Guidelines

• Be sure that the font on each slide is adequate (i.e., 24 pt or larger) to be clearly seen from the back of the presentation room.

• Present a single, unified idea per slide. Use several simple slides rather than one complicated one, especially if you must discuss a subject at length.

• If photos are used, be sure the picture was properly exposed and has adequate color density for large size projection.

• Generally, there should be no more than one slide for every minute of presentation time.

• Use duplicates if you need to refer to the same slide at several different times during your talk.

Slide Color

• As a guide, color readability (from greatest to least) is:

1. White print on Blue;

2. Black print on Yellow;

3. Green print on White;

4. Red print on White;

5. Blue print on White;

6. Yellow print on Blue.

• Most people prefer blue. White lettering on blue background achieves excellent legibility. Stark black on white (or white on black in some cases) can be eye tiring. Also, consider a light blue, green, or yellow (not red) background. Other combinations are considered less readable.

• Maintain a consistent use of color throughout your presentation.

Letter Size

• Use a good, plain, vertical, readable alphabet style (Gothic type sans serif is recommended).

• Use upper and lower case letters rather than just upper case and avoid script and italics, which are hard to read.

• Three to five lines per slide are recommended but limit to 15 lines.

• Limit each slide to 15 to 20 words, or 25 to 30 elements; no more than you will discuss.

• Crowded tabular data should be avoided.

• Limit table columns to 4 (6 maximum) and 10 lines. The audience cannot rapidly assimilate too much tabular information.

• Allow 1 1/2 letter width space between words and three widths between sentences. Leave space at least the height of a capital letter between lines.

• Be certain that lines and lettering can be read from any point in the room.

Types of Illustrations

• Tables which are brief and easy to understand

• Line graphs which show trends

• Bar graphs to show comparisons

• Pie graphs that demonstrate relative portions of a whole.

• Simple schematic drawings and pictures