📊 Presentations: PowerPoint & Google Slides · Lesson 2 of 7

Design that looks good

Themes, colors, fonts and very little text.

Themes

A theme gives the whole presentation matching colors and fonts. PowerPoint: the Design tab. Google Slides: Slide > Change theme (or the “Theme” button). Choose one theme and stick to it.

Rules for readable slides

Contrast	Dark text on a light background, or light text on a dark background
Font size	Titles 36+ points, text at least 24 points
Fonts	One or two fonts at most
Text	Up to 3–5 short bullet points, not full paragraphs

Less text, more talk

A slide is not a page to read. If you write everything on the slide, the class reads instead of listening to you. Write key words, and say the sentences out loud. Example: instead of “Lions live in groups called prides that usually have about 15 lions”, write “Prides: ~15 lions”.

Designer and Explore

PowerPoint has “Designer” (Design > Designer) that suggests layouts when you add a picture. Google Slides has similar layout options in Slide > Apply layout. Use them as a starting point.

Tip

💡 The 6-meter test: step back from the screen. If you can’t read the slide from the back of the room, the text is too small or there is too much of it.

✏️ Practice: your turn

Choose a theme for your animal presentation
Shorten the text on each slide to 3 bullet points
Check that the text is at least 24 points
Step back from the screen and do the 6-meter test

🧠 Quick quiz

Answer all 4 questions correctly to mark this lesson as done.

1. What does a theme do?

2. What is a good minimum font size for slide text?

3. How much text belongs on a slide?

4. What makes text easy to read?

0 of 4 correct

🎨 Design that looks good