We educators have probably all been there: sitting in a meeting, watching a seemingly endless and dull PowerPoint presentation. Though we all know how painful that can be, many of us are still guilty of showing bland and uninspiring presentations to our students.

Besides inducing sheer boredom, bad PowerPoints offer no opportunity for inquiry or collaboration and few conversation points, and therefore students often come away with a limited understanding of the subject matter at hand. Our students become passive viewers, eyes glazing over at every bullet point and slide transition.

Fortunately, death by PowerPoint is entirely preventable. In this column, I’m going to share ideas to improve your presentations, and in my next column, I’ll explain some alternatives to using PowerPoint presentations altogether.

PowerPoint is most useful for presenting information in digestible chunks and as a visual aid for understanding. PowerPoint works best when presentations are kept simple and direct.

Some guidelines:

1. Limit text. Some experts advise using no more than six words per slide. While that may sound extreme, generally the less text, the better, and the text that you do use should be typed in a large, easy-to-read font. Don’t use complete sentences and never read text off your slide verbatim. Use simple text changes, like bold or italicized type, to show emphasis rather than adding more words.
2. Visuals should connect to meaning. Use images instead of lengthy explanations. Your visuals should help students to understand ideas better, not confuse them. Include strong and powerful images, graphics and charts, and explain them in class orally, not with text. Link to short video clips or embed them directly into your presentation. Use quality images and avoid cheesy clip art. The Internet has a wealth of images for the asking — see royalty-free options from the New York Public Library, Getty Images and Flickr.
3. Use animations and sounds sparingly. Don’t try to wow your students with bells and whistles. These features are distracting, and rarely aid understanding. Some animations can be helpful, such as pointers or highlighting text, but “flying in” type and spinning words around only make them harder to read. Custom sounds, like an excerpt of a speech or correct pronunciation of words, can be enriching, but bells and boings only inspire giggles. Students might pay attention to your presentation, but for the wrong reasons.
4. Present information in short chunks. Don’t start typing without planning ahead. First, organize your material into segments. Think in headlines, how to convey meaning in a few words. Don’t have the PowerPoint speak for you — explain details orally. Short lists can be effective. If you must use bullet points, use them sparingly. If a longer list is called for, reorganize and create more slides.
5. Leave room for interactivity and responses. What’s worse than chalk-and-talk? Delivering a prepackaged PowerPoint in which students cannot interject or ask a question. Type a question on a slide or even add question marks at key points as cues. Present a quote that may generate a debate among the students or a diagram they need to evaluate. Involve them.

Remember what PowerPoint does well, and maximize its strengths. Keeping the best features of PowerPoint in mind can help guide you to what’s important (and what’s not) when designing your presentations.