Your assignment this week is to create a PowerPoint presentation (15 to 20 slides long) that lays out what
you think the most important lessons are from Susan Lamb’s Writing Well for Business Success.
Consider your audience to be a college class of first-year business students. What exactly would you
relay from her book; what tips or suggestions would you choose to forward along most prominently?
How would you design the slides so that they are clear, succinct, persuasive, and accurate?
Do not try to summarize the entire book – that’s not really feasible in a relatively short PowerPoint
presentation. Instead, select from it what you consider to be Lamb’s core ideas, most essential tips,
underlying philosophy, and/or critical insights.
As you create the presentation, consider what Lamb suggests about business writing etiquette, reducing
clutter, and word choice. Put her principles into practice!
Requirements: Your PowerPoint presentation must be at least 15 slides long and no more than 20 slides
long. This includes whatever title slide you provide; it will not include a final slide that provides a
bibliographic entry for Lamb’s book as well as any other potential supplementary resources you consider
appropriate and/or useful. Note that inserting any outside material – such as images you have not
generated yourself – requires you to provide an attribution about where you obtained that material from.
As you design your slide show, consider the following:
– Keep slides simple. Choose your background – if any – wisely. Cluttered slides may interfere
with retention and clarity.
– Use fonts that are easy to read. Decorative fonts may be cute, different, etc. – but your primary
objective is to convey information, not to entertain.
– Limit the amount of text on any slide. Too much text is distracting; focus on essential content.
– Use color effectively. Think about using color strategically, to highlight key points or to make
critical information “pop.” Use contrasting colors that can be easily differentiated (keep in mind that 7-
8% of the population, mostly male, is color-blind).
– Use images strategically. Ideally, you’d insert images only when and where they are necessary
to support your ideas. You may opt not to include any; that will be fine.
– Animation and transition effects are optional. Use these judiciously; think about whether they
will be distracting, slow down the pace of your slide show, etc.
Please check your spelling and grammar carefully, using Lamb’s chapters on punctuation, grammar, and
misused, confused, and abused words for reference. Keep in mind that any error in a PowerPoint
presentation can undermine your credibility with whomever reads it.
Please let me know if you have any questions. Good luck!
