Some Tips On When and When Not To Use Animated Powerpoint Background In A Presentation

Having good presentation skills is a trait that goes a long way to ensure professional success. There are many occasions in our professional lives where we need to present our ideas and opinions or even facts to an audience. For a successful presentation it is important to keep the interest of the audience alive at all times so that they look forward to what you are saying.



One of the tricks in transforming your presentation from a boring one to an interactive session is to use animated PowerPoint backgrounds. Incorporation of graphics will surely attract the attention of your audience. However, as is true with anything else, excess use of animated PowerPoint background may actually backfire and hence it is important that you know the profile of your audience beforehand.



If the presentation is for a professional audience, you would find that a younger audience will be more receptive to animated PowerPoint than an older audience, like your bosses. He may actually be counting the number of hours you put behind creating the animation and if this time could have been put to a better use. However, if your boss actually encourages humor and positive interactions among the coworkers, he would love the concept of an animated background because it would signify that the mood of the audience is important for the speaker.



Many bosses feel that the use of animated background communicates that you are committed to using the latest techniques while interacting with the co-workers and it impresses them. They view this trait or skill to be a positive quality in an employee.



If the audience happens to be consisting of seasoned professionals, they may be irritated with the use of animated PowerPoint since normally these people are interested in cold facts presented in a concise manner. But if the audience is of young professionals, they may actually appreciate it.



Nowadays, teachers also use presentations as a teaching aid extensively. They also incorporate animated backgrounds to attract the attention of their students. Many students appreciate this effort as it is seen as a change from the routine.



However, in children with special conditions like the attention deficit syndrome or hyperactivity disorder, use of animated PowerPoint does not help because it takes away their concentration and hence the ability to grasp the information. It would be better if these children were presented with the information in a clear and concise manner.



If one was to generalize, the use of animated PowerPoint background is more helpful when the audience consists of young adults who have adequate attention spans. With children, since they tend to be distracted easily, the use of animated PowerPoint background could be avoided unless you are looking at a fun activity.