In previous posts we’ve looked at using PowerPoint Templates for video and Leveraging PowerPoint Templates in Camtasia Studio. But what if you need to create the PowerPoint Design for your video from scratch? In this post I’m going to show you what I consider a typical, beginner PowerPoint slide and my opinion of what is wrong with it. In my next post I will show you a makeover and explain why I made the new choices I did. 
If, while your looking at this slide and reading my notes, you spot some of your own mistakes, then please be reassured that there is not a single mistake I will mention here that I have not, at some time, made myself. Also, remember that I have no formal graphic design training either, and that this post represents my opinions and what I have studied over the last 5 or 6 years.
So, let’s take a look at this slide as it has a number of errors:
1. Take a look at the sidebar. You’ll see that it and the slide title are vying for attention. It’s hard to know where to look first. It’s important to have one main focal point.
2. And speaking of that sidebar, it is using a good 20% of your screen space. That’s a huge acreage which you can’t use for anything else. In earlier versions of PowerPoint, many of the templates have the title at the top and they often use up even more area. Don’t use these for video.
3. Your logo is also using unnecessary space. And what is that logo doing there on every slide? Do you fee that the viewer really need a constant reminder of which company is presenting to them? A logo belongs only on your welcome slide or in an animated intro.
4. Typographically, there’s a lot going on for a single slide, including text oriented at different angles. As a general rule, no more than two fonts should be used per slide and be sure they are consistent between slides. Any orientation other than horizontal, left to right should be used very sparingly. Tip: If you need to know which fonts ‘go’ together, do a web search for ‘font families’.
6. When using bullet points it’s best to have them animate in one by one, otherwise consider putting each item on it’s own slide.And, use bullet points sparingly. Slide after slide of them are tiring and result in the phenomenon known as ‘death by PowerPoint’ in which the audience’s attention is gone after just a few slides.
In closing, let me remind you that over the years I have made all the mistakes I have pointed out above, some of them many times. But I like to think of myself now as a reformed PowerPoint abuser, and I hope my confession can show others that is definitely a learning process.
In my next post I will show a few options for revising this slide. How did you learn to make better slides for your videos? Please share any resources that might help your fellow screencasters.