Research demonstrates effective slide design enhances attention in presentations, suggesting practicality in application.
The application of established principles from multimedia learning, education, and cognitive psychology can help maintain audience attention during PowerPoint presentations. Slide design should adhere to key cognitive principles, including dual-channel theory, cognitive load theory, and the principles of redundancy, coherence, signalling, and segmenting. Slides generated by AI tools are often overly complex, with redundant text, intricate visuals, and multiple arrows depicting relationships; such slides also cannot be animated. Practical workarounds for these limitations are discussed. Default templates and Design Suggestions frequently use small font sizes that require correction. PowerPoint features such as animation, Draw and Highlight can be used to emphasise key information, while SmartArt facilitates clear representation of relationships between elements. Features such as slide transitions and WordArt are best avoided. Tools such as Pointer, Zoom, and Presenter View help guide the presentation and focus attention. For online presentations, larger fonts and higher contrast are recommended, along with the inclusion of interactive elements such as polls. AI add-ons integrated within PowerPoint offer useful functionality but should be used with care. Narration remains central to effective presentations; slides should support and complement it. The Rehearse with Coach feature may help improve delivery. Supplementary files provide detailed examples of the use of SmartArt and shapes in psychiatric presentations.
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Shahul Ameen (2026) studied this question.
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