The Typical PPT Presentation
Our PPT Use Survey began by trying to determine what the average PPT presentation looked like. To do this we searched for publicly available PPT files on the Web. A total of 175 presentations were downloaded and analyzed. Based on this survey, the typical PPT presentation could be described as follows:
Size - The average file size of a PPT file in this survey was just under 1 megabyte (783K)
Number of visuals - The typical presentation had 26 visuals and a total of 1,276 words
Bullet visuals - The average presentation included 16 bullet slides with an average of 5 bullets per bullet slide
Transitions and animations - The typical presentation examined used transitions and animations sparingly with an average of 6 total slide transitions and 5 total animations used. The animations typically were used only on a couple of slides in the presentation
Charts and graphics - While 62% of the average presentation file was composed of bulllet slides, the rest included an average of 2 chart slides (tables, line, pie or bar) and 6 slides with an art element (vector or bitmap). A slide with an art element could have a vector image and a bitmap image along with some text or bullets. The average presentation had 5 vector graphics and 2 bitmap images (logos were not included in the vector or bitmap count).
The typical PPT presentation in our survey looks very much like what you may have expected. Twenty six slides, mostly bulleted with a few charts and graphics sprinkled around. Typically, the creators of the files we examined were pretty restrained in their use of both transitions and animations.
In our next post, we will look at the percent of screen space used for text and graphics along with an assessment of the types of graphics used.