Guidelines for Presenting at BOCC Meetings

Standards and a template have been developed to provide consistency in the visual and content quality of the presentations. The standards and template apply to all presentations provided to the Board at meetings and workshops, including those not televised or available online.

Generally, the preference should be to avoid the use of PowerPoint presentations unless there are visuals (e.g., photographs, maps, graphs, charts) that are needed to communicate key points. However, presenters should ensure the visuals are easy to see and understand as viewed by the Board in person on the dais monitors as well as by viewers watching the meeting on TV or online. Presentations primarily featuring only words are discouraged because they often do not add value to the presentation. PowerPoint presentations used only as handouts are acceptable but also should use the template and conform to the standards outlined below.

BOCC PowerPoint Standards

Mecklenburg County provides a template for all PowerPoint or other electronic presentations made to the Board of County Commissioners. Below are the standards/instructions for preparing PowerPoint presentations based on best practices.

  • Use the County template provided. It is scaled to a 16:9 aspect ratio for proper display in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center Chamber and on TVs and online.

  • Cover Page includes presentation title and date.

  • Page 2 and all pages that follow – Title: Century Gothic or Arial, 40 pt. Century Gothic font is available for free download for PC or Mac.

  • Body: Century Gothic or Arial minimum 32 pt.

  • Minimize the number of bullets per page, ideally no more than five

  • Minimize the number of words used per bullet, ideally limited to one line; complete sentences are unnecessary

  • Minimize the number of slides to 15 or less; presentation time should be no more than 15 minutes

  • Use pictures whenever possible

  • Use only simple charts and graphs

  • Make charts and graphs as large as possible, even occupying the entire slide

Completed PowerPoint presentations should be submitted in Legistar according to the approved submission schedule. Any variation from this submission deadline must be approved by the County Manager or her designee.

While the PowerPoint template provides a framework for your presentation, strong consideration should be given to the best way to convey the information to the Board. A PowerPoint is often not a particularly useful tool to use in the setting of the Board’s regular meeting because Board members are viewing the PowerPoint on small TV screens mounted in the dais console, or on their laptops or iPads. This greatly diminishes the value of PowerPoint in this setting. Please contact your department’s Public Information Officer if you have any questions about the best format for your presentation.

Approved Presentation Template