Oral Presentation Guidelines

PowerPoint Submissions - Final Versions Due on June 5th, 2004!

Quick Summary of Guidelines

Required Format: Power Point 2000 or XP(2002) version in PC format compatible with Windows 2000 and XP.
Maximum File Size: 5MB. Please see the guidelines for tips on how to reduce file size.
Deadlines: May 24th, 2004: First Version Due; June 5th, 2004: Final Versions Due

Please read the preparation guidelines and note the deadlines of May 24th and June 5th for submission of the draft and final version of your Powerppoint presentations, respectively.

1. Name your PowerPoint file using this naming convention:
Please name your files with using the Abstract#lastname.ppt format, as in 17quarles.ppt Please don't use spaces or special characters in the name, use letters and numbers only. Thank you!

2. FTP your Powerpoint file to our server through FTP:
Upload your Powerpoint presentation: Click here! (Remember: 5MB maximum file size!)

Need help? If you have trouble compressing your images or presentation to the required size of 5MB or less, please contact Michael Penney at mmp5@humboldt.edu.

Deadlines

Monday, May 24, 2004

Participants should submit their Power Point Presentations via our FTP server no later than May 24th . This will allow us to preview the presentations and make sure they are compatible with the equipment that will be used during the meeting. If you do not have your presentation submitted by this date, we will not be able to guarantee that it will function properly during the meeting. Since all presentations will be run from our machines using the files uploaded by presenters to the FTP site, it is critical for you to plan ahead and have a working draft of your presentation submitted to us by May 24th.

IMPORTANT: Any PowerPoint files submitted after the May 24th draft deadline are considered your FINAL VERSION (That is, anything we receive between May 25th and June 5th is the one we will have pre-loaded for the actual meetings).

So, if you miss the May 24th deadline, you will not be able to submit a "draft" for us to screen. We will try to catch any problems, but if you miss the May 24th deadline we can't guarantee we will be able to pre-screen your presentation for technical problems).

We will notify you of any problems we encounter with your presentation by Tuesday, June 1, 2004

Saturday, June 5, 2004

Final Power Point Presentations must be received by Saturday, June 5, 2004. The final version (the one that you will actually use during the meeting) must be received by this deadline. Files not received by June 5th will not be included in the Program; it is the responsibility of the presenter to have their final version uploaded by this deadline and to have made any necessary corrections to their presentation. Please plan ahead and have your final version ready and submitted by the deadline.

Any presentations submitted between May 25th and June 5th will be considered your final presentation. Please do not submit more than one final version.

Guidelines

Make sure your presentation is in the Required Format: PowerPoint 2000 or XP(2002) version in PC format compatible with Windows 2000 and XP.
Please plan ahead and meet the May 24th and June 5th deadlines.
Please download the "Power Point Tips pdf" or see the PowerPoint Tips section below. Following these recommendations will help ensure your presentation will work properly.
Maximum file size for presentations is 5MB. This means you will need to size your images so that they are the appropriate resolution (remember, anything higher than ~150 dots per inch is wasted because this is the maximum resolution of projecting equipment).
Please bring a back-up copy of your presentation on a PC-formatted compact disk. This is for emergency purposes only. You should not plan on running your presentation off of cd. We will have all of the presentations pre-loaded (based on the versions provided by the June 5th deadline). This will enable us to transition smoothly between talks and stay on schedule. Only in the event of a technical malfunction will we allow individuals to present using a cd.

Previewing your Presentation at the Meetings

We will have machines available for you to do a final preview of your presentation (the version submitted by June 5th) during the meetings. Although you will not be able to change content after June 5th, we will have technicians on hand in case any final formatting issue need to be resolved.

PowerPoint Tips

The most common problems in PowerPoint presentations revolve around large image file sizes. Image file size can be affected by color depth (number of colors in an image), resolution (number of dots per inch that make up the image), and image dimensions (print size). All of these issues should be addressed before the images are placed into PowerPoint. Ideally, in order for PowerPoint presentations to run smoothly, each image should be less than 100k in size. Remember, the file size limit for this year's meeting is 5MB.

Image file size can be reduced in a variety of ways using standard image editors (like Photoshop)

Reduce color depth - scanned photo quality images are 16 Million colors

Color depth can often be reduced to 256 colors or less which makes the file size much smaller. However, there can be significant degradation of image quality if the number of colors are reduced too far.
- Less colors = smaller file size

Keep resolution low - some scanners can scan images at 1200 dpi or more.

There is little discernable difference in image quality between an image resolution of 72 dpi min. to 150 dpi max.
- Lower dpi = smaller file size
Resolutions higher than 150 dpi will be wasted as the equipment is unable to take advantage of the increased resolution
- Higher dpi = much larger file size

Resize image before importing into PowerPoint
- The default PowerPoint slide size is 7.5 inches by 10 inches, so an image any larger than this will consume unnecessary file size, and need to be adjusted in PowerPoint to fit on the page.
  - Smaller image = smaller file size

Other common problems that occur in PowerPoint presentations usually involve fonts, special effects and animations. If you keep your presentation simple, you will increase its chances of being successful.

Use standard fonts - Arial, Times New Roman, or Courier

The fonts you use to create your presentation must be available on the computer from which you are presenting. Always test your presentation on the machine to be used for the presentation prior to presenting to your audience.

Use special effects sparingly

Wipes, dissolves, transitions, etc., increase file size and complicate the timing of presentations
They can also be distracting to your message so use them with discretion
Different operating systems (Windows XP, Windows 2000, MAC OS9, MAC OSX) and different versions of PowerPoint will play wipes, dissolves, and transitions differently
In some cases, PowerPoint will not play them at all.
Always test your presentation on the machine to be used for the presentation prior to presenting to your audience.

Avoid overuse of animations
- Animations can improve presentations when used to illustrate something -
- Animations increase file size
- They can also be distracting, and create audience comprehension problems when used just to be flashy
- Always test your presentation on the machine to be used for the presentation prior to presenting to your audience.

Embedded video can cause serious problems in PowerPoint presentations because the file size of video is extremely large, in comparison to text and graphics files.

Keep video clips short - 30 seconds or less
Keep video clips small - 320 x 240 pixels or smaller
Keep frame rates low - 12 frames per second (fps) recommended as a good compromise between quality and playability

Helpful links to additional information http://www.bitbetter.com/powerfaq.htm - scroll down to "Sound and Video"
http://www.rdpslides.com/pptfaq/

Windows versions PowerPoint should stay with .avi files for video
Mac versions .mov files for its video