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8 Common PowerPoint Mistakes Students Make (and How to Fix Them)
Most weak presentations have the same few problems. The good news is that each one has an easy fix.
By Ashish P. · Published 11 October 2026
1. Walls of text
The problem: The audience reads your slide instead of listening to you, and they usually finish reading before you finish speaking.
The fix: Keep a heading plus a few short lines. Turn sentences into key words, and put the full explanation in your speaker notes or in what you say out loud.
2. Reading the slides word for word
The problem: If you read the slide, you add nothing the audience cannot already see.
The fix: Use the slide as a cue. Add an example, a reason or a story that is not written on it.
3. Text that is too small
The problem: People at the back cannot read it, and you will be tempted to squeeze more on the slide.
The fix: As a rule of thumb, keep body text at around 24 points or larger and headings larger still. If the text does not fit, you have too much text.
4. Poor colour contrast
The problem: Light grey text on white, or yellow on a bright background, is hard to read, especially on a projector.
The fix: Use dark text on a light background, or light text on a dark one. Test your slides on a bigger screen if you can.
5. Too many fonts, colours and effects
The problem: A different font and colour on every slide looks messy and distracts from your message.
The fix: Stick to one design with one or two fonts and a small set of colours. A ready-made template, like the ones in SlideMate's Designs section, keeps this consistent for you.
6. Distracting animations
The problem: Flying text, spinning pictures and loud transitions pull attention away from what you are saying.
The fix: Use simple or no transitions. Animate something only when it helps, such as revealing steps in a process one at a time.
7. Blurry, stretched or unrelated pictures
The problem: Low-quality or distorted images look unprofessional, and pictures that do not match the topic confuse people.
The fix: Use sharp images, resize by dragging a corner so the proportions stay the same, and choose pictures that show the idea. Credit your image sources (see how to cite sources on slides).
8. Not practising
The problem: Without practice you run out of time, lose your place or read from the screen.
The fix: Practise out loud with a timer at least three times. Our guide on making a 10-minute presentation shows a simple practice routine.
A final check before you present
- Is every fact, number and date correct? Check against a trusted source.
- Can someone read each slide in a few seconds?
- Do all slides look like they belong to the same deck?
- Have you tested the file on the computer you will use?