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Guidelines for Citizen Presentations

Prior to a Board of County Commissioners (BCC) meeting, any presentations (PowerPoint or video) need to be loaded and functional on the BCC Assembly Room laptop. It is strongly recommended that you have a backup copy of your presentation on a thumb drive, CD and/or a printed copy available.

PowerPoint Presentation Guidelines for BCC Meetings

  1. Email a written request and a copy of the PowerPoint presentation to the County Administrator Agenda Coordinator Kevin Baxter kbaxter@pinellas.gov by the close of business no later than five (5) working days prior to the BCC meeting. This time is needed for scheduling and technical preparation.
  2. Presentation requests received after the five-day deadline cannot be accepted.
  3. PowerPoint presentations must be sent in PowerPoint presentation format (.pptx file extension).
  4. If the presentation is too large to send by email, contact Paula Gonya at 727-464-3722, Jim Devine at 727-453-3049, or Pete Brosey at 727-464-5026 to arrange an appointment to deliver the presentation on a flash/thumb drive or CD.
  5. PowerPoint presentations are contingent upon approval of the Commission Chairman.
  6. After the presentation has been reviewed and approved by the Commission Chairman, you will be notified by email. If approved, Paula Gonya will email your presentation directly to the Assembly Room computer. The presentation will be ready for your use at the BCC meeting.

PowerPoint Presentation Guidelines for non-BCC Meetings in the BCC Assembly Room

  1. Before the day of the meeting, contact TV staff Pete Brosey at pbrosey@pinellas.gov (464-5026) to inform them that you have a PowerPoint. If you are unable to contact our staff ahead of time, you may call the Meeting Control Room at 727-464-4723 the day of the meeting.
  2. You may email the PowerPoint to staff at the emails listed above. If the file is too large to email, presentations may be provided on flash/thumb drive or CD (not floppy disk).
  3. Save your PowerPoint presentation (.pptx) as a Power Point Show (.ppsx) so the presentation will start immediately.
  4. It is requested that PowerPoint presentations be provided at least one day ahead, but the final deadline for delivery to TV staff is 15 minutes before the meeting.

Tips for Creating Effective PowerPoint Presentations

The following guidelines will help you with presentations in the BCC Assembly Room. Although members of the Board will view the presentation on high resolution 1024 x 768 flat screen monitors, these presentations are converted to National Television Standards Convention signal for television broadcast, which significantly reduces clarity for TV viewing.

To maximize the visual impact of your presentations, the following is recommended:

  • Design for a resolution setting of 1024 x 768.
  • Font size should be a minimum of 24 point.
  • Sans serif font styles (such as Arial) are more readable than serif fonts (such as Times).
  • If using any non-standard fonts (including bullet fonts), be sure to check the “Embed Fonts in the File” option under PowerPoint Options > Save to avoid font substitution surprises.
  • Stronger colors work best. Pastel colors usually appear “washed out.”
  • Keep a strong contrast between background colors and text.
    • Use a dark background with light text, or white background with dark text.
    • Solid backgrounds generally work better than busy backgrounds.
  • Do not use a bright red background, as the color bleeds in TV transfer.
  • Contrasting drop shadows can provide crisp delineation between text and background.
  • Limit the amount of text on individual slides.
  • Keep graphics simple and strong. Thin lines and weak colors do not work well.
  • Include page numbers on slides.

Questions

In advance of meeting:Pete Brosey(727) 464-5026
During meeting:Meeting Control Room(727) 464-4723