How to create effective academic slides

I am recently working on creating PowerPoint slides for an upcoming academic workshop (MICCAI-SCMR workshop 2025) presentation. As I started this process, I realized that I had never received formal training in slides design. Previously, I simply followed the default PowerPoint format without deep considering whether it was the best way to convey my ideas. It was surprising to discover that this approach doesn't align with expert recommendations.

 

An excellent online resource from the Writing and Communication center at the Harvard University offers valuable insights into slide design, and highlights the weakness of relying on PowerPoint's defaults templates. Interestingly, some of the examples provided relate to MRI, which is my field of study. 

 

Here's a summary of the new strategy of slide design:

Design strategy: assertion-evidence design 

 

The assertion-evidence design emphasizes using a clear sentence headline (assertion) supported by visualized data (evidence). Evidence can take the form of images, GIFs, animations, or a combination of visuals and text.

Key Rules for Effective Slides (credit: Fundamentals of Slides Design):

• Begin each slide  (with exception of title slide) with a strong headline
• Incorporate strong visual evidence, such as photographs, drawings, graphs, films, or words and equations arranged visually to support your headlines and credit sources. (Images should be high in resolution with no clip art.)
• Include clear captions/labels/symbols to make the slides easier to follow.
• Minimize the use of bullet points.
• Keep animations, special effects, and sounds to a minimum.
• Use an appropriate number of slides for the length of the presentation (e.g. typically around one slide per minute)
• Use slides that have a consistent look and feel.
• Create slides that are readable from a distance.
• Include images and language that are inclusive and accessible for all learners.