CG PPT key terms

The process of identifying who will view a presentation and what they already know, care about, and need to decide, so that content depth, tone, examples, and call to action match that group.

A single sentence stating the specific outcome the presenter wants after the talk, such as a decision, approval, or behavior change. It drives slide selection and is not the same as the topic.

The ranked ordering of points in a deck, where one primary message is supported by a few secondary points and then by evidence. It prevents slides from competing for equal attention.

A low-fidelity outline of slides, often sketched on paper or in a grid, showing sequence and rough content before any visual design work begins.

A slide headline that states the takeaway as a full assertion rather than a label, so a reader can follow the argument by reading titles alone.

The deliberate arrangement of size, weight, color, and position so the eye lands first on the most important element, then moves through supporting content in the intended order.

The measurable difference between adjacent elements in lightness, color, size, or weight. Sufficient contrast makes text readable and signals which items are distinct or more important.

Intentional empty area on a slide, including margins and gaps between elements, used to group related content, rest the eye, and increase perceived quality.

An underlying set of columns, rows, and margins that positions every element consistently across slides, so content aligns predictably and edits do not cause drift.

Placing elements so their edges or centers share a common line. Consistent alignment removes visual noise and makes relationships between items obvious to the viewer.

The top-level slide in a template that stores background, fonts, colors, and placeholder positions for every layout beneath it. Edits here propagate to all dependent slides.

A predefined arrangement of placeholders, such as title plus content or two content, that inherits formatting from the slide master and can be applied to individual slides.

A pre-positioned container on a layout that accepts a specific content type, such as a title, body text, picture, or chart, and adopts the layout's formatting automatically.

A named set of colors, fonts, and effect styles applied consistently across a deck. Changing the theme restyles all slides that use theme colors and theme fonts.

A reusable presentation file containing masters, layouts, themes, and often sample slides, used as the starting point so a team produces visually consistent decks.

The set of accent, text, and background colors defined by a theme. Assigning theme colors rather than fixed colors lets a palette change recolor the whole deck at once.

Combining two fonts, typically one for headings and one for body text, chosen so they differ enough to create hierarchy yet share a compatible tone and x-height.

Using clearly distinct sizes for titles, section headers, body text, and captions so viewers can rank information instantly, including when slides are viewed at a distance.

The vertical distance between lines of text. Adequate spacing, often 1.1 to 1.3 times the font size, keeps paragraphs readable and prevents cramped bullet blocks.

What happens when text exceeds its placeholder or shape, causing clipping, shrinking, or spilling outside the intended area. It is caught during layout review before delivery.

A setting that automatically shrinks or resizes text to keep it inside a placeholder. It hides overflow but can produce inconsistent, unreadably small type across slides.

A short written description attached to an image, chart, or shape that screen readers announce and that appears when the visual fails to load.

A visual added only for style, carrying no information needed to understand the content. It should be marked decorative so assistive technology skips it.

The pixel dimensions of an image relative to its display size on a slide. Low-resolution images look blurry when projected, so images should have enough pixels for the output size.

The proportional relationship between width and height, such as 16:9 or 4:3. Cropping or stretching to a different ratio distorts images and video unless done deliberately.

Audio or video stored inside the presentation file rather than linked from an external path. Embedded files travel with the deck and play without access to the original source.

Audio or video referenced by file path instead of stored in the deck. Links keep file size small but break when the deck moves to another machine or drive.

Choosing a chart form that matches the data relationship to be shown, such as bars for comparison, lines for trend over time, and scatter for correlation between two measures.

The share of a chart's ink that encodes actual data rather than decoration. Raising it means removing gridlines, borders, and shadows that add no information.

Non-data visual elements in a chart, such as 3-D effects, gradients, heavy gridlines, or unnecessary labels, that distract viewers and can distort how values are perceived.

Formatting choices for tabular data, including header emphasis, row banding, alignment of numbers by decimal, and removal of redundant borders, so readers can scan and compare values.

The effect applied between one slide and the next. Transitions should be few, consistent, and fast, since heavy or varied motion slows the audience and distracts from content.

Motion applied to objects within a slide, such as entrance, emphasis, or exit effects, typically used to reveal content in sequence and control the presenter's pacing.

A condition that starts an animation, such as a mouse click, a timed delay, or an action on a specific object, giving the presenter control over when content appears.

A clickable element or invisible hotspot that jumps to another slide, file, or URL. Actions support non-linear navigation such as menus and appendix links.

The file type produced for delivery, such as PDF, video, or image set. The choice depends on whether the audience needs to view, print, edit, or archive the presentation.

The pixel dimensions of exported slides, images, or video. Higher resolution preserves sharpness on large displays and in print but increases file size and render time.

Bundling the presentation with linked media and fonts into a single folder or archive so it plays correctly on a machine other than the one where it was built.

Text attached to individual slides, invisible during the slide show, containing talking points, sources, or timing cues. Notes can be printed or exported separately.

A display mode showing the current slide, next slide, speaker notes, and a timer on the presenter's screen while the audience sees only the slides.

The sequence in which assistive technology reads slide elements. It should follow the logical content order, which may differ from the order objects were placed on the slide.

Software that converts on-screen text and labeled objects into speech or braille. It relies on alt text, reading order, and real text rather than pictures of text.

A built-in review tool that flags issues such as missing alt text, low contrast, duplicate slide titles, and unclear link text, and explains how to fix each finding.

A numeric measure of lightness difference between text and its background, commonly required to reach at least 4.5:1 for normal text to stay legible for low-vision viewers.

Uniform use of approved logos, colors, fonts, and tone across slides and decks, enforced through shared masters and templates rather than manual formatting.

A final review list covering spelling, slide numbers, source citations, overflow, broken links, alt text, and consistent formatting, run before any deck is delivered.

A thumbnail overview of all slides used to reorder, group, and check the deck's sequence and visual consistency at a glance before presenting or exporting.