PowerPoint Effectiveness Assessment
© 2007 Dave Paradi

This online assessment is designed to give you an indication of how effective you are at using PowerPoint to deliver clear presentations to your audience.  There are two parts of the assessment.  The first part assesses how often you use best practices in developing and delivering your presentations.  The second part assesses your knowledge of the skills required to use PowerPoint in creating & delivering your slides.  To get your customized results, enter your name and primary e-mail address at the end of the assessment.  If you have been given a group code, enter it at the end of the assessment.

Best Practices for Using PowerPoint
Please rate each best practice by the frequency with which you do that best practice when preparing, creating and delivering your presentations.

Best Practice Almost
Always
Frequently Rarely Almost
Never
Presentation Structure
I start my presentation by determining the goal
I focus on what the audience wants to hear instead of what I want to tell them
I outline my presentation before I build any slides
I plan my opening, interactions and closing

Slide Design
I check that the colors I am planning on using have enough contrast
I consider the emotional impact of colors before using them
I select sans-serif fonts for my slides
I have all text 24 point or larger size
I avoid the default PowerPoint templates and wizards
I set colors and fonts in the slide master before creating the slide content
I keep branding information to the bottom 15% of the slide
Almost
Always
Frequently Rarely Almost
Never
Slide Content
My text slides follow the 6 by 6 guideline (six words per bullet point, six bullet points per slide)
I avoid putting full sentences and paragraphs on my slides
I use graphs when presenting numeric data that shows proportions, trends or rank
I create graphs using the PowerPoint graphing tools
I always select the correct type of graph for the point I am making
I clean up the “chartjunk” that is on the default PowerPoint graphs
I don’t distort data with graphs that have modified axis scales
I present relationships or processes with diagrams
I create diagrams using the PowerPoint drawing tools
I break down complex diagrams into easier to understand sections
I use charts to show organization or comparison
I use photographs instead of clip art
I resample high resolution photographs for use in PowerPoint
I provide a callout to make the point of each visual crystal clear
I use audio, video or animation only when it illustrates the point better than any other method
I properly insert audio or video into my presentation so it works every time
I re-use and re-format slides from other presentations to save time
Almost
Always
Frequently Rarely Almost
Never
Delivery
I test my slides and equipment before my presentation
I practice and rehearse my presentation before I deliver it
I confidently connect the presentation equipment I use
I resolve the most common problems with presentation equipment
I turn off networks and screen savers to avoid embarrassing interruptions
I produce and provide useful handouts for my audience
I create and deliver a non-linear presentation when it is necessary
I seamlessly include content from outside my slides when needed
I don’t simply read the text of my slides to the audience
I use a presentation remote so I am not tied to the computer
I confidently deliver my presentation over web presentation services
I don’t end my presentation with a slide that says “Thanks” or “Questions?”


PowerPoint Skills Inventory
For each of the skills listed below, indicate whether you know how to perform the task or not.

PowerPoint Skill Yes Not Really
Slide Design
I know how to access the Slide Master to set the overall look of my slides
I know how to set the color scheme for my slides
I know how to set a graduated or advanced background for my slides
I know how to set the default font for my title and body text
I know how to set the alignment for the text on my slides
I know how to change the bullet point for my text
I know how to add logo and branding information to every slide
I know how to insert slide numbers when necessary
I know how to save a Slide Master as a template for future use
I know how to apply a template to a set of slides

Text Slides
I know how to highlight certain words in a passage of text
I know how to build my points one by one on the screen
I know how to create hidden slides to contain more detail for handouts
Yes Not Really
Graphs
I know how to create a chart in PowerPoint instead of importing it from Excel
I know how to copy data from Excel to create a chart in PowerPoint
I know how to set the chart type (i.e. pie, column, bar, etc.)
I know how to delete the chart legend
I know how to delete chart grid lines
I know how to delete the plot area border
I know how to set the width of bars or columns in a chart
I know how to add data labels to a chart
I know how to add data values to a chart
I know how to change the colors of a chart
I know how to explode a pie section in a pie chart
I know how to change the axis settings on a chart
I know how to link Excel graphs to a slide so that the slide is automatically updated when the Excel chart changes
Yes Not Really
Diagrams
I know how to draw shapes on a slide
I know how to draw a perfect square or circle
I know how to draw a line or arrow
I know how to rotate a shape
I know how to add text boxes to a diagram
I know how to change the color of a shape
I know how to change the thickness of a line
I know how to animate the order of shapes on the slide
I know how to align shapes on a slide
I know how to get shapes to meet in exactly the right spot when necessary
I know how to create an overlay of sections on a complex diagram
Yes Not Really
Photographs
I know how to search Microsoft’s free library of images in PowerPoint
I know how to resample my photos so they don’t make my PowerPoint file too large
I know how to compress high resolution photos in a PowerPoint file
I know how to crop photos on the slide
I know how to rotate photos on a slide
I know how to make a photo grayscale for black and white printing
I know how to adjust the brightness or contrast of photos on the slide
I know how to put text on a picture so it is easy to read

Making Visuals Clear
I know how to create a graphic arrow to point to the important part of a visual
I know how to create a circle or rectangle to point out the key spot in a visual
I know how to create callout text boxes
I know how to animate callouts on a slide
Yes Not Really
Multimedia & Other Content
I know how to insert an audio or video clip on a slide
I know how to control when the audio or video clip plays on the slide
I know how to hide the audio icon or video frame until it is ready to play
I know how to control how long an audio clip plays for
I know how to adjust the volume of a clip in PowerPoint
I know how to tell if a clip is embedded in the PowerPoint file or not
I know how to ensure that linked media files will play when the presentation is moved to another computer
I know how to animate an element on a slide
I know how to control the timing of animation on the slide
I know how to link to another PowerPoint presentation from a slide
I know how to link to non-PowerPoint content (i.e. Word document, PDF file, etc.) on a slide
I know how to create hyperlinks to other slides in my presentation
I know how to include screen captures in my slides
I know how to copy slides from other presentations so that the format is preserved
I know how to fix formatting problems with imported slides
Yes Not Really
Setup & Delivery
I know how to set the look of my handouts on the Handout Master
I know how to print black and white handouts that are easy to read
I know how to print only the slides I want the audience to have
I know how to print hidden slides
I know how to save my slides as images to use in Word handouts
I know how to toggle my display so that I can see the slides on my laptop and the projector
I know how to turn off networks and screen savers to avoid interruptions in the presentation
I know how to jump to any slide in my presentation
I know how to instantly put up a black slide to focus the attention on the speaker
I know how to draw on the slide

Your Name

Email

Group Code (if supplied)

Aggregate data from this assessment may be used in research reports or articles. No identification of individual results will ever be revealed.