How to Do an Interactive PowerPoint Sermon

Presenting a sermon that is timely and relevant can be the difference between a well received message and one dismissed as being out of tune with the present day. One way to bring religious messages to life for parishioners is to incorporate PowerPoint slides into an interactive sermon. The use of this program might help illustrate and bring your points to life in a way that words alone cannot. The challenge then becomes to construct a message which is helped rather than overshadowed by your slides.

• 1

  Use simple, easy to read fonts. Avoid the temptation to use fancy script fonts or lettering which can be hard to read. As a general rule, Times New Roman and Arial are easy to read regardless of how close or far a person is from the slide projection.

• 2

  Use a color scheme that is easy on the eyes. Loud colors or colors which don't go together well can turn off your audience and make it more difficult to read your text.

• 3

  Avoid placing too much information on each slide. Slides should present only main ideas. Leave detailed explanations and commentary for your speaker's notes. If there are too many words on your slides, the audience will concentrate on the slides and be distracted by reading rather than listening to you speak.

• 4

  Utilize simple, sermon complementing graphics. One or two relevant and well placed graphics can further illustrate a point you are making. There are hundreds of stock images available within the PowerPoint program, as well as an option to browse thousands more on Microsoft's clip art website.

• 5

  Avoid making your sermon a demonstration of your reading skills. You don't want to read directly from your slides. Use your slides as an addition to rather than the basis of your sermon. If everything you are going to say is on the slides, you will find that your audience is reading ahead and not paying attention. Speaking outside of slide content causes the audience to engage in order to not miss any information.

• 6

  Practice your sermon, allowing for the possibility that your slides may not be available. Even if your PowerPoint slides are available on the day of your sermon, having practiced with and without them is a good way to ensure you are thoroughly prepared.