which order is ideal for power point presentation design

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How to Structure a PowerPoint Presentation

Table of Contents

This is the main part of your presentation, which should keep the promises you made in the introduction. This is where you explain your topic and present all your information. 

Depending on the nature of your presentation, divide it into segments/points. Arrange your points in a logical order and then provide information to support each of them. There are many different ways to organize your key points, for example:

• Number your points according to their priority (1, 2, 3, …)
• Place the points in a time frame (past, present, future)
• Use narration (tell a story from beginning to end)
• Present the points with a problem-solution dynamic (state a problem, describe its impact, offer ways to solve the issue)

A good conclusion summarizes the key points you made or highlights what the audience should have learned. It clarifies the general purpose of your presentation and reinforces the reason for viewing it. Here are the slides you may want to include:

• Summary. List what goals your audience have achieved, what knowledge they got, and how this information can help them in the future.
• Conclusion. Here you can thank your audience for viewing the presentation.

Tips for Structuring a Presentation in PowerPoint

Now that you know which parts a typical presentation should consist of, let’s see how to structure it in PowerPoint. 

1. Combine slides into sections

When working with a large PowerPoint presentation (PPT), you can create sections that can be collapsed and expanded. This will help you keep presentation slides organized and facilitate navigation in editing mode. To do that, follow these steps:

• To shift a section, right-click on its name and use the Move Section Up and Move Section Down options.
• To collapse or expand a certain section, click on the collapse icon to the left of the section name. You can also minimize and maximize all sections at once by right-clicking on the section name and choosing Collapse All or Expand All .

As well, you can access these settings by choosing Slide Sorter under the VIEW tab.

This kind of segmentation is a great way to overview the logical flow of your slides all at once and see if there are any changes required. For example, you may decide to break one slide into two or three, or the other way around.

2. Use the Outline View

One other way to structure a PowerPoint presentation in the editing mode is to use Outline View . You can choose it from the VIEW tab.

This view doesn’t display sections, but it shows the title and main text of each slide, which can give you a quick overview of the presentation contents. Here you can go through the entire text and edit it instantly. You can also work with text (on the left) and slides (on the right) simultaneously, as the latter is shown on the right side of your screen.

Note that, to be displayed in an outline, text needs to be typed in a text placeholder, not a text box . A text placeholder is a box with the words “Click to add text” or “Click to add title”, and it appears when you choose a standard layout.

You can also use Outline View to promote bullet text to titles and the other way around. To do that, right-click on a relevant title or text and select the Promote or Demote options.

Be attentive about demoting a title, as this will delete the original slide and move its title and text to the adjacent slide.

PowerPoint only allows users to promote and demote text, not entire slides. Therefore, there’s no possibility to change the hierarchical order of slides.

3. Create a table of contents

All the aforementioned tips help you organize a presentation when formatting it. However, it’s crucial that your viewers can easily navigate through entire presentation too. One sure way to provide them with this opportunity is to create an interactive and structured table of contents.

Though there’s no native automatic outline in PowerPoint, it can be created manually:

• Press Ctrl+A to select all the names, and Ctrl+C to copy them. 
• Then Press Ctrl+V to paste the copied titles on the desired slide. In case there are too many titles and they don’t fit onto a single page, you can divide the table of contents into two columns or place it on two slides.

You’ll need to repeat this procedure to link all the chapters to corresponding slides. For more information, read this step-by-step guide on how to add a hyperlink in PowerPoint .

Now all the chapters can be accessed from a single table of contents, which is very convenient. However, you will also need to link them back to that unifying page. You can do this by inserting an Action Button on every slide of your presentation in Slide Master mode:

Now there is a single page from which all the other pages can be easily accessed. As well, it’s possible to go back to the table of contents at any time with the intuitive Home button.

Depending on the size of your presentation, the time it takes to create an interactive outline may vary, as you will need to add hyperlinks to every chapter manually. Be aware that if you rename a slide or simply delete it, these changes will not be automatically registered in the table of contents. For example, if you delete a slide, its title will still be displayed in the table of contents, but clicking on it won’t lead the viewer to another point in the presentation.

This is what our sample presentation looks like:

A Better Way to Structure a PowerPoint Presentation

Creating a table of contents manually might be fine for a small presentation, but if you have 122 slides, it would require too much time and energy to do so. That’s why, instead of manually creating a table of contents, we took advantage of iSpring Suite and simply enabled the automatic outline.  

iSpring Suite

Fully-stocked eLearning authoring toolkit for PowerPoint. No training required to start!

Note: iSpring Suite turns slides into HTML5 format, so your audience can view them online, right in their browsers. 

As you can see, the new presentation has a pop-up outline and a navigation panel, which make it possible to move to any slide at any time without leaving the slide show mode. 

How to set up navigation

To create navigation in your presentation, follow these simple steps:

• Get a free trial of iSpring Suite.

• When you’ve configured the Slide Properties settings, click on Save & Close in the upper-left corner.

How to configure an outline

Whereas PowerPoint requires the outline to be designed manually, iSpring Suite has already prepared it for you. At the same time, you don’t have to stick with the standard outline template, as you can easily customize the player’s final look and feel:

We recommend leaving Enable Search marked, as this will allow viewers to search for any content at any time, including the texts on the slides. This is especially useful for large presentations with a lot of text.

If you have previously arranged slides into multiple levels in the Slide Properties, then leave Multilevel outline marked. That way, the outline will display the nesting structure of the presentation, facilitating navigation. You can learn more about the other outline options here .

• When you have finished configuring the player, click on Apply & Close in the upper-left corner.
• Now you can publish your enhanced presentation either to HTML5, to make it easily accessible via browser on any device, or MP4 video format. If you’re going to upload your presentation to an LMS, you can publish it to any eLearning format: SCORM, AICC, Tin Can, or cmi5. 

While a standard PowerPoint slideshow is straightforward and limited, iSpring Suite saves viewers from having to follow a strict slide order. An interactive and searchable outline allows non-linear navigation, where any information can be accessed at any time at a glance.

Also read : → How to Convert PowerPoint to MP4 Video

Also read : →  How To Record Presentations With Audio

Another perk

iSpring Suite comes with Content Library , which provides a great collection of presentation templates and allows you to create professional-looking presentations in a matter of minutes. Each template includes basic course elements: a title slide, a table of contents, chapters, a timeline, and info slides. Organize them in the order you prefer, populate them with your texts and images, and your presentation is ready to go.

We hope this article will help you develop an ideal structure for your PowerPoint presentation and do this quickly and easily. Captivate your audience with a powerful and persuasive presentation!

Do you have any other insights on how to simplify PowerPoint slides design? Please share them in the comment section. We’d like to hear from you. 

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Content creator:

Helen Colman

She enjoys combining in-depth research with expert knowledge of the industry. If you have eLearning insights that you’d like to share, please get in touch .

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Blog > How to structure a good PowerPoint Presentation

How to structure a good PowerPoint Presentation

08.09.21   •  #powerpoint #tips.

When creating presentations, it is particularly important that they are well organized and have a consistent structure.

A logical structure helps the audience to follow you and to remember the core information as best as possible. It is also important for the presenter, as a good presentation structure helps to keep calm, to stay on the topic and to avoid awkward pauses.

But what does such a structure actually look like? Here we show you how to best organize your presentation and what a good structure looks like.

Plan your presentation

Before you start creating your presentation, you should always brainstorm. Think about the topic and write all your ideas down. Then think about the message you want to communicate, what your goal is and what you want your audience to remember at the end.

Think about who your audience is so that you can address them in the best possible way. One possibility is to start your presentation with a few polls to get to know your audience better. Based on the results, you can then adapt your presentation a little. Use the poll function of SlideLizard and have all the answers at a glance. SlideLizard makes it possible to integrate the polls directly into your PowerPoint presentation which helps you to avoid annoying switching between presentation and interaction tool. You can keep an eye on the results while the votes come in and then decide whether you want to share them or not.

• an informative
• an entertaining
• an inspiring
• or a persuasive presentation?

Typical Presentation Structure

The basic structure of a presentation is actually always the same and should consist of:

Introduction

Make sure that the structure of your presentation is not too complicated. The simpler it is, the better the audience can follow.

Personal Introduction

It is best to start your presentation by briefly introducing yourself which helps to build a connection with your audience right away.

Introduce the topic

Then introduce the topic, state the purpose of the presentation and provide a brief outline of the main points you will be addressing.

Mention the length

In the introduction, mention the approximate length of the talk and then also make sure you stick to it.

The introduction should be no longer than two slides and provide a good overview of the topic.

Icebreaker Polls

According to studies, people in the audience only have an average attention span of 10 minutes, which is why it is important to increase their attention right at the beginning and to arouse the audience's interest. You could make a good start with a few icebreaker polls for example. They lighten the mood right at the beginning and you can secure your audience's attention from the start.

For example, you could use SlideLizard to have all the answers at a glance and share them with your audience. In addition, the audience can try out how the polls work and already know how it works if you include more polls in the main part.

Get to know your audience

As mentioned earlier, it is always useful to think about who your audience actually is. Ask them questions at the beginning about how well they already know the topic of your presentation. Use SlideLizard for this so that you have a clear overview about the answers. You can use both single- and multiple-choice questions or also open questions and display their results as a WordCloud in your presentation, for example.

Include a quote

To make the beginning (or the end) of your presentation more exciting, it is always a good idea to include a quote. We have selected some powerful quotes for PowerPoint presentations for you.

Present your topic

The main part of a presentation should explain the topic well, state facts, justify them and give examples. Keep all the promises you made earlier in the introduction.

Length and Structure

The main part should make up about 70% of the presentation and also include a clear structure. Explain your ideas in detail and build them up logically. It should be organized chronologically, by priority or by topic. There should be a smooth transition between the individual issues. However, it is also important to use phrases that make it clear that a new topic is starting. We have listed some useful phrases for presentations here.

Visualize data and statistics and show pictures to underline facts. If you are still looking for good images, we have selected 5 sources of free images for you here.

Focus on the essentials

Focus on what is most important and summarize a bit. You don't have to say everything about a topic because your audience won’t remember everything either. Avoid complicated sentence structure, because if the audience does not understand something, they will not be able to read it again.

Make your presentation interactive

Make your presentation interactive to keep the attention of your audience. Use SlideLizard to include polls in your presentation, where your audience can vote directly from their smartphone and discuss the answers as soon as you received all votes. Here you can also find more tips for increasing audience engagement.

Repeat the main points

The conclusion should contain a summary of the most important key points. Repeat the main points you have made, summarize what the audience should have learned and explain how the new information can help in the future.

Include a Q&A part

Include a Q&A part at the end to make sure you don't leave any questions open. It's a good idea to use tools like SlideLizard for it. Your audience can ask anonymous questions and if there is not enough time, you can give them the answers afterwards. You can read more about the right way to do a question slide in PowerPoint here.

Get Feedback

It is also important to get feedback on your presentation at the end to keep improving. With SlideLizard you can ask your audience for anonymous feedback through star ratings, number ratings or open texts directly after your presentation. You can then export the responses and analyse them later in Excel.

Presentation style

Depending on the type of presentation you give, the structure will always be slightly different. We have selected a few different presentation styles and their structure for you.

Short Presentation

If you are one of many presenters on the day, you will only have a very limited time to present your idea and to convince your audience. It is very important to stand out with your presentation.

So you need to summarize your ideas as briefly as possible and probably should not need more than 3-5 slides.

Problem Solving Presentation

Start your presentation by explaining a problem and giving a short overview of it.

Then go into the problem a little more, providing both intellectual and emotional arguments for the seriousness of the problem. You should spend about the first 25% of your presentation on the problem.

After that, you should spend about 50% of your presentation proposing a solution and explaining it in detail.

In the last 25%, describe what benefits this solution will bring to your audience and ask them to take a simple but relevant action that relates to the problem being discussed.

Tell a Story

A great way to build an emotional connection with the audience is to structure a presentation like a story.

In the introduction, introduce a character who has to deal with a conflict. In the main part, tell how he tries to solve his problem but fails again and again. In the end, he manages to find a solution and wins.

Stories have the power to win customers, align colleagues and motivate employees. They’re the most compelling platform we have for managing imaginations. - Nancy Duarte / HBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations

Make a demonstration

Use the demonstration structure to show how a product works. First talk about a need or a problem that has to be solved.

Then explain how the product will help solve the problem and try to convince your audience of the need for your product.

Spend the end clarifying where and when the product can be purchased.

Chronological structure

When you have something historical to tell, it is always good to use a chronological structure. You always have to ask yourself what happens next.

To make it more interesting and exciting, it is a good idea to start by telling the end of something and after that you explain how you got there. This way you make the audience curious and you can gain their attention faster.

Nancy Duarte TED Talk

Nancy Duarte is a speaker and presentation design expert. She gives speeches all over the world, trying to improve the power of public presentations.

In her famous TED Talk "The Secret Structure of Great Talks" she dissects famous speeches such as Steve Jobs' iPhone launch speech and Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech. In doing so, she found out that each presentation is made up of 4 parts:

• What could be
• A moment to remember
• Promise of “New Bliss”

Related articles

About the author.

Helena Reitinger

Helena supports the SlideLizard team in marketing and design. She loves to express her creativity in texts and graphics.

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Internal communication is particularly important for corporate communication. It communicates important information from leadership to staff so that they can do their jobs in the best possible way and work processes run well.

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The Go-To Guide on How to Structure a PowerPoint Presentation

• Clarity for Your Audience
• Better Retention
• Confidence as a Presenter
• Introduction
• Create Slide Sections
• Use the Outline View
• Create a Table of Contents
• Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them
• Craft An Impactful PowerPoint Presentation

Think about a fancy building that looks incredible from the outside but lacks a strong foundation. It won’t last long or work well. Similarly, having beautiful slides is not enough in PowerPoint presentations if you don’t organize them properly.

In this article, we’ll talk about how to set up a PowerPoint presentation correctly. We’ll explain what important parts it should have and give you practical tips on arranging your slides to make them effective. These practical ideas will help you organize your slides better and make it easier to create them. 

Let’s dive in and understand why a good PowerPoint structure is so important.

Why Structuring PowerPoint Presentations is Important?

1. Clarity for Your Audience

Imagine telling a story with all the words mixed up. It would not be very clear. That’s how it feels for your audience when your slides are not structured. When your presentation has a clear beginning, middle, and end, people can follow along much better. They know where you’re starting, what’s coming next, and what you’ve concluded.

2. Better Retention

Research tells us that structured information is 40% more likely to be remembered than information everywhere. So, if you want your audience to remember your key points, structuring your slides is essential. It’s like putting important items in labeled boxes – easier to find and remember.

3. Confidence as a Presenter

A structure also benefits you as the presenter. It’s like having a map that guides you through the presentation. You know what’s coming next, which helps reduce nervousness and keeps you from getting lost in your talk.

4. Engagement

A well-structured presentation is more engaging. People are more likely to pay attention and stay interested when they can follow a clear flow of information. It’s like a good movie – it keeps you hooked because it makes sense.

Therefore, structuring your PowerPoint presentation is like giving your audience a clear roadmap. It helps them understand your message, remember it, and keep you on track as the presenter. So, if you want your presentation to succeed, take the important step of structuring it properly.

Typical PowerPoint Presentation Structure 

The introduction is like the opening act of a performance, and it’s super important because it tells your audience what they’ll learn from your presentation. Here are the different slides you need to include in the beginning:

• The Title: Start your presentation with a clear and captivating title. It sets the stage for what your audience can expect. You can add a brief description under the title.
• A Table of Contents / Main Menu: A table of contents or main menu slide is like the map of your presentation. It provides your audience with an overview of what topics you’ll cover. It is especially helpful for longer presentations. You can easily make your presentation more engaging by using hyperlinks. This means your viewers can pick which part they want to see next by clicking on it, just like choosing a chapter in a book.
• Objectives: Clearly state what you aim to achieve with your presentation. It’s like telling your audience what to expect and why it matters. For example, if you’re giving a presentation about a new project, your objective could be to gain approval and support from your team.
• Definitions (Optional): Consider including a definitions slide if your presentation involves specific terms or concepts your audience may not know.

Main Content : The body of your presentation is where the real meat of your topic resides. Here’s how you can structure it effectively:

• Introduction to Topics : Start by introducing the main topics or sections you’ll cover. Think of this as the roadmap within your presentation. For instance, if you’re discussing the benefits of a new product, you might have sections like “Product Features,” “Market Opportunities,” and “Customer Feedback.”
• Content Slides : Each main topic or section should have its series of content slides. These slides delve into the details, providing information, examples, and visuals. 
• Numbering:  You should number your points according to priority. (1,2,3..)
• Narration: Narrate each slide like a story from beginning to end. 
• Time Frame: You should place the slides in the time frame (Past, Present, Future)
• Problem-Solving : Explain a problem, talk about how it affects things, and then offer solutions to fix it.
• Transitions : Use transitional slides to guide your audience smoothly between sections or topics. 
• Visuals : Incorporate visuals like images, diagrams, and charts to enhance understanding and engagement. 

A strong conclusion wraps up your presentation nicely. It recaps the important things you discussed and reminds your audience what they should take away. Here are some slides you might consider including:

• Summary and Takeaways: The conclusion is where you tie everything together. Summarize the key points you’ve discussed in the body of your presentation. Reinforce your main message and objectives.
• Call to Action (Optional) : Depending on the nature of your presentation, you should include a call to action slide. It could be an invitation for questions, a request for feedback, or a specific action you want your audience to take after the presentation.
• Closing Remarks: End your presentation with some closing remarks. Thank your audience for their attention and participation. It helps create a sense of closure and leaves a positive impression.

Remember, while this structure is typical, it can be adapted to suit your specific presentation and audience. Flexibility is key. Ensure your slides are visually appealing, easy to read, and not overcrowded with text. Keep your audience’s attention by using a clear structure, engaging visuals, and a well-planned delivery. 

By following this structure and considering your audience’s needs, you’ll be well on your way to creating a successful PowerPoint presentation.

Technical Tips for Structuring in PowerPoint

1. Create Slide Sections

When dealing with a big PowerPoint presentation, organizing it into sections that you can easily collapse or expand is helpful. This makes it neater and easier to work on. Here’s how you can do it in simple steps:

Create a Section :

• Find the slide in your list where you want to start a new section.
• Right-click on that slide.
• From the menu that appears, choose “Add Section.” It will create a new section.
• You’ll see it’s named “Untitled Section.” To give it a proper name, right-click on it and select “Rename Section.” Then, type in the name you want.
• If you need more sections, you can repeat this process to create and name them.

Move Sections :

•   Sometimes, you might want to change the order of your sections.
•   To do this, right-click on the section name you want to move.
• You’ll see options to “Move Section Up” or “Move Section Down.” Choose the one that suits your needs to shift the section.

Collapse or Expand Section

•   If you have a lot of sections and want to focus on one, you can collapse the others.
• To collapse a section, click on the little collapse icon (usually a small triangle or arrow) to the left of the section name.
• You can collapse or expand all the sections by right-clicking on any section name and selecting “Collapse All” or “Expand All.”
• You can access these settings by going to the “VIEW” tab and choosing “Slide Sorter.” It’s like putting different presentation parts into folders to keep things tidy and organized.

 2. Use the Outline View

Another way to organize your PowerPoint presentation while editing it is by using “Outline View.” Here’s how you can use it in simple terms:

• You can find Outline View in the “VIEW” tab of PowerPoint.
• When you switch to Outline View, you won’t see the sections, but you will see each slide’s titles and main text. It gives you a quick look at what’s on each slide. You have the text on the left, and on the right, you see how your slides look.
• You can edit your presentation directly in this view. If you want to change the text, you can do it here without going to each slide.
• The text must be in a “text placeholder” to appear in the outline. A text placeholder is a box with text like “Click to add text” or “Click to add title.” These show up when you use a standard layout for your slides.
• You can also change the order of your text. For example, if you have a bullet point that you want to turn into a slide title or vice versa, you can do it. Just right-click on the title or text to see options like “Promote” and “Demote.” Promote moves text up, and Demote moves it down.
• One thing to be careful about is demoting a title. If you do this, it will delete the original slide and move the title and text to the slide next to it. So, make sure you want to do that.
• Unfortunately, you can’t change the order of your slides in Outline View. You can only promote or demote text within slides, not entire slides.

Think of Outline View as a way to quickly see and edit the text in your presentation without getting lost in all the slides. It’s like having a summary of your content that you can work with easily.

3. Create a Table of Contents

Creating a table of contents in a PowerPoint presentation can make it easy for your viewers to navigate through it. While PowerPoint doesn’t offer an automatic table of contents feature, you can create one manually with these steps:

• Insert a Table of Contents Slide : Start by inserting a table of contents slide on the title or a blank slide. Add a new slide by pressing “New Slide” on the ribbon. Once you’ve added the slide, select all its objects and delete them.
• Right-click anywhere in the outline pane.
• Choose “Collapse” and then “Collapse All.” It will show only the slide titles.
• Click Ctrl+A to select all the slide titles, then press Ctrl+C to copy them.
• Paste the Titles : Go to your table of contents slide and press Ctrl+V to paste the copied slide titles. If you have too many titles that don’t fit on one page, you can divide the table of contents into two columns or spread it across two slides.
• ·       Select the title of the first chapter on your table of contents slide.
• ·       Right-click and choose ” the link.”
• ·       Press “Place in This Document” on the left-hand menu in the open window.
• ·       Then, choose the slide corresponding to the first chapter and click “OK.”
• ·       You must repeat this procedure to link all the chapters to their respective slides.

Creating a manual table of contents ensures viewers can jump to different parts of your presentation by clicking on the linked titles. It’s a helpful way to enhance navigation in your PowerPoint presentation.

Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them 

• Overloading Slides with Text : One big mistake is cramming too much text onto slides. Use concise bullet points, visuals, and speaker notes for additional details to avoid this.
• Ignoring Visual Design : Neglecting visual appeal can make your presentation dull. Use consistent fonts, colors, and graphics to make your slides visually engaging but not overwhelming.
• Complex Charts and Graphs : Overly complex charts must be clarified for the audience. Simplify visuals and use clear labels. Consider breaking complex data into multiple slides if needed.
• Too Many Animations : Excessive animations can distract from your message. Use animations sparingly and purposefully to emphasize key points.
• Lack of Rehearsal : Not rehearsing leads to stumbling during the actual presentation. Practice your delivery multiple times to ensure a smooth flow.
• Ignoring Your Audience : Failing to consider your audience’s needs and knowledge level can result in a presentation that doesn’t resonate. Tailor your content to your audience’s background and interests.
• Skipping a Clear Structure : Your presentation can feel disjointed without a logical structure. Follow the introduction, body, and conclusion structure, and use transitions to connect ideas.
• Technical Glitches : Technical issues like malfunctioning equipment or unreadable fonts can disrupt your presentation. Always have a backup plan and test your setup beforehand.
• Reading Slides Aloud : Reading slides word-for-word is boring. Use slides as visual aids, and speak naturally to engage your audience.
• Neglecting Q&A Preparation : Not preparing for questions can leave you confused. Anticipate possible questions and rehearse answers.

In conclusion, structuring a PowerPoint presentation is as vital as its content. A well-organized presentation helps your audience understand and retain information while keeping you, the presenter, on track. 

Remember to create sections, utilize Outline View for efficient editing, and add a table of contents for easy navigation.

Avoid common pitfalls like information overload, design neglect, and technical glitches. Instead, focus on engaging visuals, practice, and audience-centered content.

By implementing these strategies and maintaining a clear structure, you can create compelling presentations that captivate your audience and effectively convey your message. Your next PowerPoint presentation can be a powerful tool that informs, persuades, and leaves a lasting impact.

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The Presenter's Guide to Nailing Your Next PowerPoint

Updated: July 27, 2022

Published: February 11, 2021

Have a presentation coming up that involves PowerPoint slides? Creating the content and design for a new presentation can be a daunting task.

Between outlining, deciding on a design, filling it out, and finalizing the details, it's not uncommon for a few questions to pop up.

Where's the best place to start? Are some steps better to take before others? How can you make sure you aren't missing anything? And how on earth do you master those essential -- yet slightly technical -- design tricks that can take a presentation from good to great?

We're here to make the process a little easier for you. We've talked to some of the best presenters at HubSpot and have included their tips throughout this blog.

With the following tips in your arsenal, you'll be able to navigate PowerPoint much more fluidly and give a standout presentation that'll leave your audience wanting more.

How to Structure a Powerpoint Presentation

1. decide on a working title and the main takeaways..

Beyond picking a topic, your first step should be coming up with a working title for your presentation. A working title is more specific than a topic: Think "How the Right Nutrition Can Strengthen Your Kids' Bones" instead of "Raising Healthy Kids." Keep in mind that a compelling presentation title is much like a compelling blog post title : short, accurate, and valuable.

Once you've got your working title, make a list of the main takeaways of your presentation to begin to give it some structure. This'll help you stay focused when writing your outline and elaborating on those sections.

Aja Frost, the Head of English SEO at HubSpot, says, "I try to structure my presentations around a story. Not only does this make the presentation more memorable and engaging, it's also easier to figure out which information is relevant."

To do this, Frost says to pick a protagonist. She adds, "It might be your team, your audience, your customer.... Then, identify the rising action, problem, climax, and falling action. It's just like grade school. This structure works whether you're talking about an accomplishment, a challenge, a big question—anything, really."

2. Create a short text outline with your audience in mind.

Once you have your main takeaways and your story in mind, it's time to begin outlining the content of your presentation in more detail, while keeping your specific audience in mind. A presentation on any topic should sound different if you're speaking to an audience of college students versus an audience of investors, for example. The tone, words, design, and delivery of your presentation should all cater to your specific audience for maximum impact.

Ask yourself: What do your audience members already know? What new information can you teach them? What are they expecting from your presentation? What's going to be interesting to them? What will keep them focused and engaged? Then, make choices during every stage of the presentation process accordingly.

Justin Champion, a content professor at HubSpot, says, "Before diving into a presentation, I create an outline of how it'll flow. I do this by creating an intro (what they're going to learn), the body (what they're learning), and finish with a conclusion (recap what they just learned) I use bullet point slide a lot for talking points I can expand on. Pro tip: use animations to guide the story. For example, instead of showing all the bullets at once, click through to each via animation."

3. Formulate your content as a narrative, if possible.

This may not apply for more formal presentation that have rigid structures (like performance reports), but for presentations that have more flexibility, presenting your content as a narrative can be much more compelling.

Stories appeal to people's emotional side in ways that information, facts, and figures can't. They help you relate to your audience -- and in turn, they'll make you and your message far more interesting to your audience. They also help make complicated concepts more easily understandable to your audience, who may not share the same experience level or work in the same industry.

Kyle Jepson, a senior professor at HubSpot, says, "Since I’m an educator, I always structure my presentations around the learning outcomes I want to achieve. If there are three things I want my listeners to understand at the end of the presentation, I’ll have three sections. Whenever possible, I put some sort of interactive element at the end of each section to assess their understanding. In a virtual event, this might be a poll or a question for people to respond to in the chat. In an in-person setting, workshop activities or small-group discussions work well."

4. Collect data and examples.

While sweeping statements can help you set the stage, supporting those statements with evidence will make your argument more interesting and credible. Data and examples give your argument content, and people will understand what you're saying much better.

But don't just slap random stats on your slides and expect to "wow" your audience. Be sure your data comes from a reputable source and that you're presenting it in a way that's easy to understand, like through accurate charts and graphs.

Finally, don't overwhelm your audience with too much data. According to psychologist George Miller , we can only remember approximately five to nine bits of information in our short-term memory at any given time. Keep that in mind as you collect your evidence.

5. Engage with your audience.

During a presentation, it's important to connect with your audience. But how can you do that when you're just talking at them?

Anni Kim, an INBOUND professor at HubSpot, says, "Staying engaged during a virtual presentation is tough, so provide plenty of opportunities for participation. You should add a slide at the beginning that points out how people can take advantage of the chat and ask questions throughout the presentation."

Once you've set the expectations, keep up on the chat and answer questions as they arise.

Now that you have a structure in mind, you'll start to write the content. Below, we'll give tips for how to start and end your presentation.

How to Start a Powerpoint Presentation

1. start with a story..

Not to be repetitive, but storytelling is one of the best ways to capture your audience's attention in general. Presentations are no different. Starting with a hook is a great way to get your audience invested in your content.

Champion says, "The best way to start a presentation is with an interesting story that connects to the content. A great way to keep you audience engaged is to make the content interesting."

2. Be yourself.

On the other hand, while you want to tell a story, you also want your audience to connect with you as the presenter.

Jepson says, "During the introduction, I think one of the most important things to do is to set expectations for your style as a presenter. You don't always need to start with a joke or a story. Start out by being you, and then keep being you for as long as you’re on stage."

3. Include surprising or unusual information at the beginning.

While you'll most likely use a standard approach with session title, presenter's bio, and an agenda, you don't want your audience to get bored.

Jepson adds "I think the standard approach (session title, presenter’s bio, agenda) is pretty effective except that it’s usually super boring. I try to include the standard information but sprinkle in things that are surprising or unusual."

Some examples include:

• Adding a photo of your family on the About Me slide. "A lot of presenters put a picture of themselves on their About Me slide. But I think that’s silly because I’m standing right there," Jepson says. "If people don’t know what I look like, they will by the end of the presentation! So I’ve started putting a picture of my wife and kids on that slide and saying something sweet or silly about that."
• Asking people to use their phones. "A lot of in-person presentations start with a request to silence cell phones," Jepson comments. "Sometimes I’ll do the opposite and say something like, 'Before we get started, I want you all to pull out your phones. You probably think I’m going to ask you to silence them. But I’m not. I’m here from HubSpot, and I’m here to help you however I can. So if there’s anyone from your team who might have questions or need help from a HubSpotter, I want you to send them a message and tell them to send their questions to you before we get to the Q&A section of presentation. To give you time to do this, I’m going to send a text to my wife to let her know I made it here safely.' And then I’ll literally pull out my phone and send a text message on stage."

Now that you've structured your post and have ironed out the details of your introduction, it's time to work on the end of the presentation.

How to End a Powerpoint Presentation

1. recap what the audience has learned..

First and foremost, the end of your presentation should tie everything together.

Champion adds, "Recap what they just learned, explain next steps based on learnings, and offer any associated resources to continue learning."

This will help people remember the content and give them resources to learn more or reach out if they have questions.

2. Q&A.

Another great way to end a presentation is with a Q&A.

Jepson remarks, "I always end with Q&A. The only tricky thing about that is knowing how to cut it off if you’re getting more questions than you have time to answer or if you aren’t getting any questions at all. In both of those situations, I do essentially the same: I cut it off and tell people to come talk to me individually."

For in-person meetings, Jepson will tell the audience to come find him after the presentation to ask more questions. However, for virtual meetings, he'll let people know how to reach him, whether that's via LinkedIn or email.

3. Call to action.

Calls to action are an important component of any piece of content and presentations are no different. What do you want your audience to do with this information?

In your recap, include actionable ways for your audience to incorporate your information into their day-to-day (if applicable). You can also let people know to reach out to you with questions so they know the next steps in case they want to discuss the presentation further.

Now that you have an idea of what you're going to be talking about and how you'll be laying it out, it's time to open up a new PowerPoint presentation and apply those basic design elements.

Outlining Your PowerPoint Design

1. pick a color scheme..

Before you begin translating your text outline into PowerPoint, you'll want to start by adding some very basic design elements to your PowerPoint slides. First, choose a color scheme -- one that has enough contrast between colors to make colors stand out. Whether you decide to use two, three, or four different colors in your presentation is up to you, but certain color combinations go together better than others. Read the sections on creating color schemes in this blog post to figure out a good color combination.

Image Source

2. Design your slide backgrounds.

In PowerPoint, less is more. You don’t ever want to let the design distract from your message. But at the same time, you want to get more creative than a plain, white background -- even if you're going for a very simple design.

The three main ways to add a background design to a PowerPoint presentation are: 1) to use a predesigned template from PowerPoint; 2) to create a custom background using a solid color; or 3) to create a custom background using an image. Here's how to do each of those things.

(We also have a few general PowerPoint templates available for download here , which come with a series of videos to teach you some basic PowerPoint creation tips.)

How to Browse Predesigned Templates in PowerPoint

PowerPoint comes with a series of predesigned templates to choose from.

To browse these templates on a Mac: Click on the slide or slides you want to add the background to. Then, click the "Themes" tab at the top of the screen.

You can either scroll through your options up there, or you can access the themes gallery in a bigger window by hovering your mouse over the theme previews and clicking the dropdown arrow that appears below them.

Right-click the background style that you want. To apply the background style to the selected slides, click "Apply to Selected Slides." To apply the background style to all of the slides in your presentation, click "Apply to All Slides."

To browse these templates on a PC: Click on the slide or slides you want to add the background to. Then, click the "Design" tab at the top of the screen. In the "Background" group, click the arrow next to "Background Styles" to open up the theme gallery.

Pro Tip: You can also apply any PowerPoint template you already have as a theme, even if it doesn't show up in the theme gallery. To do that, click the "Browse Themes" option you'll find at the bottom of the dropdown themes gallery, and navigate to wherever the given presentation, template, or theme is located on your computer. Then, click "Apply."

How to Create a Custom Background Using a Solid Color

Want your slide background to be a simple, solid color? The steps to do this are almost identical on a Mac and a PC.

Simply right-click the slide(s) you want to add a background color to, then click "Format Background." In the window that appears, click "Fill" and then "Solid." Notice you can also adjust the gradient or make the background a pattern. Click "Apply" at the bottom to apply the changes.

How to Create a Custom Background Using an Image

Sometimes, making the slide background a high-definition image can really make that slide pop. It also encourages you to cut down on text so that only a few keywords complement the image. PowerPoint makes it easy to create a custom background using an image you own.

First, choose your image. Size matters here: Be sure it's high resolution so that it can fill your slide without becoming blurry or distorted. Here are the 17 best free stock photo sites to help you find some large, great quality images.

To create a custom background using an image on a Mac: Click the slide that you want to add a background picture to. To select multiple slides, click a slide and then press and hold CTRL while you click the other slides.

Next, click the "Themes" tab at the top of your screen. In the "Theme Options" group, click "Background," then "Format Background."

In the window that appears, click "Fill," then "Picture or Texture." To insert a picture from a file, click "Choose Picture..." and then locate and double-click the picture you want to insert. If you want to use this picture as a background for just the slides you selected, click "Apply." If you want to use the picture as a background for all the slides in your presentation, click "Apply to All."

To create a custom background using an image on a PC: Click the slide that you want to add a background picture to. To select multiple slides, click a slide and then press and hold CTRL while you click the other slides.

Next, click the "Design" tab at the top of your screen. In the "Background" group, click "Background Styles," then "Format Background."

In the window that appears, click "Fill," then "Picture or texture fill." To insert a picture from a file, click "File" and then locate and double-click the picture you want to insert. If you want to use this picture as a background for just the slides you selected, click "Close." If you want to use the picture as a background for all the slides in your presentation, click "Apply to All."

Filling In the Content

1. fill in the text on your slides using concise language..

Your slides are there to support your speech, not replace it. If your slides contain too much information -- like full sentences or (gasp) paragraphs -- then your audience members won't be able to help but read the slides instead of listening to you. Plus ... that's boring. Instead, use slides to enhance keywords and show visuals while you stand up there and do the real work: telling a story and describing your data.

When it comes to your slide text, focus on the main phrases of a bullet point, and cover details verbally. We recommend using up to three bullet points per slide and making any text as simple and concise as possible. A good rule of thumb is this: If you're using more than two lines per slide or per idea, then you've used too much text. Depending on the type of presentation, two lines might even be a little text-heavy.

Are you planning on sending your slides to your audience afterward? If you're concerned about putting enough information on the slides for people to understand your presentation when they go back to it later, you can always add little details into the slide notes in PowerPoint. You can find the Notes pane at the bottom of your PowerPoint screen, right below your slides. Click and drag the edge of the pane to make it larger or smaller.

2. Brainstorm your final title with someone else.

Once all your content is there, you're ready to finalize your title. First, refine your working title as best you can on your own. Is it compelling and interesting enough to engage your audience from the very start? Does it accurately reflect your presentation?

Next -- and this is important -- connect with someone else to brainstorm the final title together. Read this blog post for a helpful walkthrough on writing a great title and title brainstorming with others.

Filling In Your PowerPoint Design

1. choose a font that's easy to read..

Choose either one font to use throughout your presentation, or two (one for your headers and one for your body text) that contrast each other well. Here's a list of 35 beautiful fonts you can download for free to get you started.

If you decide on two fonts, your header font should be bold and eye-catching, and your body text font should be simple and easy to read. (For more guidance on what fonts work best together, take a look at this visual guide .)

2. Embed your font files.

Fonts changing from one computer to another is one of the most common problems PowerPoint presenters have -- and it can really mess up your presentation and flow. What's actually happening in this case is not that the fonts are changing; it's that the presentation computer just doesn’t have the same font files installed .

If you’re using a PC and presenting on a PC, then there is a smooth workaround for this issue. When you involve Mac systems, the solution is a bit rougher.

On a PC: When you save your PowerPoint file, click "Save As" and then "Save Options." Then, select the "Embed TrueType fonts" check box and press "OK." Now, your presentation will keep the font file and your fonts will not change when you move computers (unless you give your presentation on a Mac).

On a Mac: In PowerPoint for Mac, there's no option to embed fonts within the presentation. So unless you use ubiquitous typefaces like Arial or Tahoma, your PowerPoint is likely going to encounter font changes on different computers. The best way to avoid this is to save the final version of your presentation slides as JPEGs, and then insert those JPEGs onto your PowerPoint slides. In other words, make each slide a JPEG picture of your slide. (Note that the file size of your PowerPoint will increase if your presentation includes a lot of JPEGs.)

Mac users can easily drag and drop the JPEGs into PowerPoint. If you don't use actions in your presentation, then this option works especially well.

If you want your presentation to appear "animated," then you'll need to do a little tinkering. All you need to do is save JPEGs of each "frame" of the animation. Then, in your final presentation, you'll just display those JPEGs in the order you'd like the animation to appear. While you'll technically have several new slides in place of one original one, your audience won't know the difference.

If you're a Mac user and want to use this option, then be sure to add this to your checklist as the final step.

3. Adjust the font sizes.

Once you've chosen your font, you can start playing around with font size. Carefully choose the font sizes for headers and text, and consistently use the same font face and sizes on all your slides to keep things clean and legible. Be sure your font is big enough so even the audience members in the way back of the room can read them.

4. Adjust line and character spacing.

The biggest PowerPoint no-no is using too much text on a slide. The most effective slides use text sparingly and present it in a way that's easy to read. One trick to make text more legible without changing the font size or layout is to increase or decrease the space between each line and each letter.

To adjust line spacing:

Select the text you'd like to adjust. On the "Home" tab, in the "Paragraph" group, click "Line Spacing" and choose "Line Spacing Options." In the Paragraph dialog box's "Spacing" section, click the "Line Spacing" dropdown list and choose "Exactly." In the "At" text box, adjust the value accordingly. Click "OK" to save your changes.

To adjust character spacing:

Select the text you want to change. Then, on the "Home" tab, find and click the "Font" button." Choose "Character Spacing Options" from the dropdown menu. Adjust spacing as needed.

5. Add images.

Great visual cues can have a huge impact on how well your audience understands your message. Using gorgeous images in a slide presentation is the perfect way to keep things interesting.

It's important, though, that you don't use images to decorate. This is a very common mistake. Remember: Images are meant to reinforce or complement your message, but they can be distracting. Focus on finding high resolution images so that they look good when expanded without becoming blurry or distorted.

If you don't have your own images to use, check out our roundup of the 17 best free stock photo sites .

Pro Tip: If you're finding that the background of an image is distracting, you can actually remove it before putting it into your presentation directly inside PowerPoint -- no Photoshop required. Read this blog post for instructions .

6. Use multimedia, but sparingly.

Using multimedia in your presentation, like video and audio, can be an effective way to capture your audience's attention and encourage retention of your message. In most cases, it's best to avoid using more than one or two video or audio clips so you don't detract from your talk or your message.

PowerPoint lets you either link to video/audio files externally, or embed the media directly in your presentation. You should embed these files if you can, but if you use a Mac, you cannot actually embed the video. We'll get to that in a second.

PC users: Here are two great reasons to embed your multimedia:

• Embedding allows you to play media directly in your presentation. It'll look much more professional than switching between windows.
• Embedding also means that the file stays within the PowerPoint presentation, so it should play normally without extra work (except on a Mac).

Mac users: You need to be extra careful about using multimedia files. You'll always need to bring the video and/or audio file with you in the same folder as the PowerPoint presentation. It’s best to only insert video or audio files once the presentation and the containing folder have been saved on a portable drive in their permanent folder. You can also record voiceovers for your presentation or hire a voice actor through Voice123 .

If your presentation is going to be played on a Windows computer, then Mac users need to make sure their multimedia files are in WMV format . That can get complicated, so if you want to use PowerPoint effectively, consider using the same operating system for designing and presenting no matter what (if that's something you can control).

7. Design your title slide.

The title of your presentation is often the first impression it gives off -- especially if it's going to be on display as people file in to your presentation -- so it's important to put some time and careful thought into its design.

Here are 20 layout ideas for PowerPoint title slides from Chris Lema :

8. Add any consistent elements, like your company logo.

There's a reason this is at the end. If you add things like your logo that you want to be in the same place on every slide, any adjustments you make to individual slides could slightly alter the alignment ... and you'll have to go back and adjust them all over again.

Preparing For the Presentation

1. review and edit your slides..

Spend some time on your own flipping through your slides while practicing your talk. Make sure you can check all of the following off the list:

• Your slides flow well and align with your talk.
• Your slides are free of all grammatical, formatting, or design errors.
• Your multimedia files work.
• You've double-checked any mathematical calculations you made yourself.
• You've properly attributed any statistics, data, quotes, ideas, etc. to the original source.
• You've double-checked you're actually allowed to use the photos/images you used . (Don't skip this step. Here's a cautionary tale about internet copyright law .)
• You're sure nothing in your presentation could potentially harm any of your partners, stakeholders, audience members, or your company.
• You've checked with a friend that nothing in your presentation might offend certain people in your audience -- or, if so, that it's worth it.

2. Know your slides inside out.

The best presenters don't read off your slides, so it's important to prepare and practice your presentation ahead of time. You never want to be the person finalizing your talk or presentation half an hour before an event ... that's just poor planning. Plus, what if the projector fails and you have to give your talk without slides? It can happen, and if does, you'll be incredibly happy you spent so much time preparing.

3. Practice using "presenter view."

Depending on the venue, you might have a presenter's screen available to you in addition to the main projected display that your audience can see. PowerPoint has a great tool called "Presenter View," which includes an area for notes, a timer/clock, a presentation display, and a preview of the next slide.

Make sure "Presenter View" is turned on by selecting it in the "Slide Show" tab of your PowerPoint.

To practice using "Presenter View," open the "Slide Show" tab within PowerPoint. In the "Presenter Tools" box, click "Presenter View."

4. Bring your own laptop and a backup copy of your presentation.

This isn't just a bonus step -- it's an essential one. Technology can mess up on you, and you need to be prepared. Between operating systems or even between different versions of Microsoft Office, PowerPoint can get a little wonky. One way to avoid problems is to ensure you have all the right hardware with you. Bring along your own laptop when you're presenting, just in case.

Even if you bring your laptop, but especially if you for some reason cannot, bring a backup copy of your PowerPoint file on a flash drive.

What other tips do you have for nailing PowerPoint presentations?

Editor's note: This post was originally published in October 2015 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

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How-To Geek

8 tips to make the best powerpoint presentations.

Want to make your PowerPoint presentations really shine? Here's how to impress and engage your audience.

Quick Links

Table of contents, start with a goal, less is more, consider your typeface, make bullet points count, limit the use of transitions, skip text where possible, think in color, take a look from the top down, bonus: start with templates.

Slideshows are an intuitive way to share complex ideas with an audience, although they're dull and frustrating when poorly executed. Here are some tips to make your Microsoft PowerPoint presentations sing while avoiding common pitfalls.

It all starts with identifying what we're trying to achieve with the presentation. Is it informative, a showcase of data in an easy-to-understand medium? Or is it more of a pitch, something meant to persuade and convince an audience and lead them to a particular outcome?

It's here where the majority of these presentations go wrong with the inability to identify the talking points that best support our goal. Always start with a goal in mind: to entertain, to inform, or to share data in a way that's easy to understand. Use facts, figures, and images to support your conclusion while keeping structure in mind (Where are we now and where are we going?).

I've found that it's helpful to start with the ending. Once I know how to end a presentation, I know how best to get to that point. I start by identifying the takeaway---that one nugget that I want to implant before thanking everyone for their time---and I work in reverse to figure out how best to get there.

Your mileage, of course, may vary. But it's always going to be a good idea to put in the time in the beginning stages so that you aren't reworking large portions of the presentation later. And that starts with a defined goal.

A slideshow isn't supposed to include everything. It's an introduction to a topic, one that we can elaborate on with speech. Anything unnecessary is a distraction. It makes the presentation less visually appealing and less interesting, and it makes you look bad as a presenter.

This goes for text as well as images. There's nothing worse, in fact, than a series of slides where the presenter just reads them as they appear. Your audience is capable of reading, and chances are they'll be done with the slide, and browsing Reddit, long before you finish. Avoid putting the literal text on the screen, and your audience will thank you.

Related: How to Burn Your PowerPoint to DVD

Right off the bat, we're just going to come out and say that Papyrus and Comic Sans should be banned from all PowerPoint presentations, permanently. Beyond that, it's worth considering the typeface you're using and what it's saying about you, the presenter, and the presentation itself.

Consider choosing readability over aesthetics, and avoid fancy fonts that could prove to be more of a distraction than anything else. A good presentation needs two fonts: a serif and sans-serif. Use one for the headlines and one for body text, lists, and the like. Keep it simple. Veranda, Helvetica, Arial, and even Times New Roman are safe choices. Stick with the classics and it's hard to botch this one too badly.

There reaches a point where bullet points become less of a visual aid and more of a visual examination.

Bullet points should support the speaker, not overwhelm his audience. The best slides have little or no text at all, in fact. As a presenter, it's our job to talk through complex issues, but that doesn't mean that we need to highlight every talking point.

Instead, think about how you can break up large lists into three or four bullet points. Carefully consider whether you need to use more bullet points, or if you can combine multiple topics into a single point instead. And if you can't, remember that there's no one limiting the number of slides you can have in a presentation. It's always possible to break a list of 12 points down into three pages of four points each.

Animation, when used correctly, is a good idea. It breaks up slow-moving parts of a presentation and adds action to elements that require it. But it should be used judiciously.

Adding a transition that wipes left to right between every slide or that animates each bullet point in a list, for example, starts to grow taxing on those forced to endure the presentation. Viewers get bored quickly, and animations that are meant to highlight specific elements quickly become taxing.

That's not to say that you can't use animations and transitions, just that you need to pick your spots. Aim for no more than a handful of these transitions for each presentation. And use them in spots where they'll add to the demonstration, not detract from it.

Sometimes images tell a better story than text can. And as a presenter, your goal is to describe points in detail without making users do a lot of reading. In these cases, a well-designed visual, like a chart, might better convey the information you're trying to share.

The right image adds visual appeal and serves to break up longer, text-heavy sections of the presentation---but only if you're using the right images. A single high-quality image can make all the difference between a success and a dud when you're driving a specific point home.

When considering text, don't think solely in terms of bullet points and paragraphs. Tables, for example, are often unnecessary. Ask yourself whether you could present the same data in a bar or line chart instead.

Color is interesting. It evokes certain feelings and adds visual appeal to your presentation as a whole. Studies show that color also improves interest, comprehension, and retention. It should be a careful consideration, not an afterthought.

You don't have to be a graphic designer to use color well in a presentation. What I do is look for palettes I like, and then find ways to use them in the presentation. There are a number of tools for this, like Adobe Color , Coolors , and ColorHunt , just to name a few. After finding a palette you enjoy, consider how it works with the presentation you're about to give. Pastels, for example, evoke feelings of freedom and light, so they probably aren't the best choice when you're presenting quarterly earnings that missed the mark.

It's also worth mentioning that you don't need to use every color in the palette. Often, you can get by with just two or three, though you should really think through how they all work together and how readable they'll be when layered. A simple rule of thumb here is that contrast is your friend. Dark colors work well on light backgrounds, and light colors work best on dark backgrounds.

Spend some time in the Slide Sorter before you finish your presentation. By clicking the four squares at the bottom left of the presentation, you can take a look at multiple slides at once and consider how each works together. Alternatively, you can click "View" on the ribbon and select "Slide Sorter."

Are you presenting too much text at once? Move an image in. Could a series of slides benefit from a chart or summary before you move on to another point?

It's here that we have the opportunity to view the presentation from beyond the single-slide viewpoint and think in terms of how each slide fits, or if it fits at all. From this view, you can rearrange slides, add additional ones, or delete them entirely if you find that they don't advance the presentation.

The difference between a good presentation and a bad one is really all about preparation and execution. Those that respect the process and plan carefully---not only the presentation as a whole, but each slide within it---are the ones who will succeed.

This brings me to my last (half) point: When in doubt, just buy a template and use it. You can find these all over the web, though Creative Market and GraphicRiver are probably the two most popular marketplaces for this kind of thing. Not all of us are blessed with the skills needed to design and deliver an effective presentation. And while a pre-made PowerPoint template isn't going to make you a better presenter, it will ease the anxiety of creating a visually appealing slide deck.

How to Structure a PowerPoint Presentation

No matter how sleek or beautiful your slide decks appear, your presentation won’t be a success if it fails to adhere to a sound and proper structure, throughout. This is why it’s worth taking some time to learn how most effective presentations are structured.

And what could be a better way to understand the right way to design your presentations than learn it from a presentation company ? In this article, we share the standard structure of an effective PowerPoint presentation, in addition to some practical tips on how to implement this structure technically, using PowerPoint.

What Is the Standard Presentation Structure?

A decent presentation always has an important story to tell and, just like any other narration, it primarily consists of three basic sections: introduction, main body, and conclusion.

Introduction

The first section in your presentation should be an introduction. It should set the tone for your entire presentation and explain to the audience what they can expect from your presentation. Here are some of the slides you may want to add in the introduction section: 

• The title of the presentation
• The objective(s) of the presentation
• A table of contents

As you can guess, this will be the main section of your presentation, where you explain your topic of concern. Break down your content into bite-sized points, arrange them in a logical order, and then present all the information you would like to share with your audience, in order to support each of your points.

This section is to summarise all the key points or highlights from your presentation. Share with your audience how this information will help them in the future. Finally, thank the audience for viewing your presentation.

Tips for Structuring a PowerPoint Presentation

Now that you know what sections a typical presentation consists of, let’s take a look at how to structure it effectively in Microsoft PowerPoint.

Create slides and edit them in Outline View

It’s always a good idea to structure a PowerPoint presentation while in the editing mode. To do this efficiently, go to the ‘View’ tab and select ‘Outline View’. It will show you the title and main text section for each slide, and let you edit the text, while also providing an overview of the presentation’s content.

TIP: You can also use the Outline View to select a section of bullet text and promote it to slide titles, and vice versa. To do this, right-click on a relevant piece of text or title and select ‘Promote’ or ‘Demote’.

Arrange slides into sections

If you are developing a large PowerPoint presentation, it’s best to organise it by clubbing multiple slides together into sections that can be easily collapsed and expanded, whenever required.

• To create a new section, go to the list of slides, and right-click on the slide from where you want a new section to begin. 

From the drop-down menu, select ‘Add Section’ and assign a name to the section.

• To re-order the sections, right-click on the section name and click ‘Move Section Up’ or ‘Move Section Down’.
• To expand or collapse a section, click on the icons for the same on the left of the section name.

TIP: You can also access these settings by going to the under the ‘View’ tab and choosing Slide Sorter.

Create a well-organised table of contents

The aforementioned tips will help you organise a presentation’s content. However, it’s also crucial that your audience can navigate through your presentation with ease. This is why it’s always a good idea to create a structured and interactive table of contents, and place it near the beginning of the presentation.

To do this, follow these steps:

• Go to the title slide or a blank slide and insert the table of contents.
• Switch to ‘Outline View’, right-click on the outline pane, and click ‘Collapse’. Then, click ‘Collapse All’ to display only the titles.
• Select all the slide titles, copy them, and paste them on the desired slide.
• Select the title of the first slide and right-click on it. Then, click on ‘Link’.
• In the window that opens next, select ‘Place in This Document’ (from the left-hand menu), select the corresponding slide for the selected title, and click OK.

Repeat this procedure for the remaining titles and link them to the corresponding slides.

Wrapping Up

There you have it! There are many more tips to come, so, if you are interested to learn more about presentation design, don’t forget to check out our future blog posts.

Want to take your online presentation game to the next level? Contact us today!

A Guide to Slide Count in Presentationsn

6 essential presentation skills for pitching successn, a guide to crafting powerful endings in presentationsn, what can our clients tell us about social media usen, a comprehensive guide to presentation openingn, a guide to relaxing before your presentationn, the definitive guide to longer presentationsn.

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A Guide to Crafting Powerful Endings in Presentations

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How to make the best Powerpoint presentation + real examples!

July 1, 2023

Ever sat through a PowerPoint presentation and thought, "Wow, that was mind-blowing"? Yeah, us either. But, let's face it, we've all been there—either on the giving or receiving end of a less-than-stellar presentation. It's high time we changed that narrative. Creating your best PowerPoint presentation isn't just about throwing together a bunch of slides – it's an art. It’s about telling a story that captivates, informs, and even entertains your audience. 

A new age is upon us, and it’s time to explore the ins and outs of what makes a PowerPoint presentation not just good, but great. From nailing your content and story flow to the nuances of design and delivery, we've got you covered. So, whether you're gearing up for that crucial sales pitch or prepping for an all-important investor meeting, buckle up! Your presentation skills are about to go from mundane to magnificent.

Your Presentation Should Tell a Story

When it comes to creating a killer PowerPoint presentation, it all starts with the story. You heard that right! Not the fancy animations or the snazzy graphics (though they do have their place), but the story. It’s the backbone, the foundation, the heartbeat of your presentation.

Think about how you feel when you watch your favorite TV show or read a book you can’t put down. Good storytelling takes us to another place, where the rest of the world slips away and the story steps into the forefront. Great presentations can do the same thing if the presenter can harness the power of storytelling. 

There are also plenty of science-backed reasons to prioritize good storytelling. One article by Lani Peterson for Harvard Business Corporate Learning says, “Scientists are discovering that chemicals like cortisol and dopamine are released in the brain when we’re told a story. Why does that matter? If we are trying to make a point stick, cortisol assists with our formulating memories. Dopamine, which helps regulate our emotional responses, keeps us engaged.“ More engagement; more impactful presentations.

So, how do you nail down a storytelling strategy that sticks? Let’s break it down.

Craft Your Narrative

First, identify your core message. What’s the one thing you want your audience to remember when they walk out of the room? This is your North Star, guiding every aspect of your presentation. If you’re having trouble with this step, ask yourself, “Why am I giving this presentation?”

Understand Your Audience

Who is your audience? Tailor your story to resonate with them. Are they tech-savvy millennials or industry veterans? Your story should speak their language. Presentations that skip this step will miss out on a crucial opportunity to connect with the audience. And if you can’t connect with them, then what’s the point? One solution is to focus on understanding the needs, challenges, and aspirations of your audience. That way, you’ll be able to address their specific pain points and interests.

Create a Structured Flow

Like any good story, your presentation needs a beginning, middle, and end. Start with an introduction that hooks, follow with content that informs and engages, and conclude with a memorable takeaway. If you need ideas on how to start your presentation, see this guide with 12 ideas for hooking your audience from the very start .

Find Inspiration

Look to the pros! Ever read an article by Andy Raskin or April Dunford ? These folks know their stuff when it comes to strategic narratives. Dive into their work for some inspiration on how to weave a compelling story in your presentation. Just like we’ve all been through our fair share of boring presentations, most likely you’ve experienced a presentation that left an impression. Ask yourself why it was so impactful–you might be able to draw from their expertise!

Change the Narrative

Say you’re working on a sales deck. Instead of going with the typical problem-solution story structure, Andy Raskin has a different take on it:

Start with a big, relevant shift in the world. “We are living in a new era” type of statement. This will grab the attention, but also create some urgency for the prospect.

Then you move on to show that there will be winners and losers in this new era. The ones who act on this shift will have more probability of winning. In other words, “what I am about to offer you is crucial for winning in this new era.”

Now that you have set the stage, you can “tease the promise land” as Andy calls it. This is not where you show your product features. This is simply a teaser about this new future state and what to expect if you react to this shift in the market.

Then, you highlight the “Old world vs New world” to show the contrast, and how old methods do not work in this new era.

And finally, you provide real-life stories to support your claims. These could client case studies, article snippets, industry updates - anything that adds credibility to everything you just said.

Voilà, you’ve got yourself a story arc! This is a simple and straightforward way to craft a story that connects.

Nail Your Story First

Remember, at the end of the day, your presentation is more than just a collection of slides, but rather a vessel for storytelling. It’s not just about what you say, but how you say it. A well-crafted story can transform your presentation from a mere transfer of information to an impactful, memorable experience. So, take the time to nail your story, and you’re already halfway to creating your best PowerPoint presentation. Your audience will thank you!

Embracing Professional Design for Impactful Presentations

When you've nailed your narrative, the next crucial step in crafting your best PowerPoint presentation is design. This stage is where your story gets visually translated, elevating it from a mere script to an engaging, compelling experience.

The Role of a Presentation Agency

Not everyone possesses an innate talent for design, and that's perfectly fine. This is where a presentation design agency can become an invaluable asset. These presentation experts act as the alchemists of your PowerPoint, transforming basic slides into visually stunning and strategically aligned pieces of art. However, be selective when you choose who to work with. There is a big difference between a "meh" designer vs a “wow” designer when it comes to preparing well-crafted presentations.

Simplifying Complexity

One of the critical talents of a presentation design agency is their ability to distill complex concepts into simple, digestible visuals. An overcrowded slide can quickly lose your audience's attention, but a well-designed one can convey your message succinctly and effectively. Not only that, presentation experts can remove the complexity of creating great slides by designing the best presentation templates for your needs, making the process easier for you in the end.

"We have been using SLIDES™ services for our corporate PowerPoint template, and the PPT template is so well done and easy to use that we all feel like we now have PowerPoint superpowers creating new presentations in no time with stunning look!"

Jérôme neuvéglise, product owner qoqa, creating visual harmony.

Consistency in your presentation’s visual elements - such as color schemes, typography, and imagery - is essential. A presentation design agency ensures that these elements work in harmony, creating a unified and professional look that enhances your overall narrative. The best presentation layouts are those created by experts who know how to make your brand stand out.

Visualizing Ideas Effectively

Presentation agencies excel in translating your ideas into impactful visuals. They ensure that your graphics, charts, and images aren't just visually appealing but also contribute significantly to the telling of your story. After all, why spend so much time honing your story if your visuals fall flat?

When to Opt for Professional Presentation Design

We know that deciding to outsource is a tough call, and you want to make sure your resources are well spent. Here are a few things to consider before seeking out help from a presentation agency:

High-Stakes Presentations

For presentations that can have a significant impact on your business - such as those in sales, partnerships, or investment pitches - professional design isn't just a luxury, but a necessity. These are the scenarios where the expertise of a presentation design agency can make a substantial difference. 

Stripe’s CEO Patrick Collison said in a recent podcast:

 “My intuition is that more of Stripe's success than one would think is down to the fact that people like beautiful things and for rational reasons. Because, what does a beautiful thing tell you? It tells you the person who made it really cared, and you can observe some superficial details, but probably they didn’t only care about those and did everything else in a slapdash way. So, if you care about the infrastructure being holistically good, indexing on the superficial characteristics is not an irrational thing to do.“

Oftentimes in presentations, we ignore how we are making people feel with our slides. Think about this quote next time you’re preparing your slides.

Overcoming Skill and Time Constraints

If you're not well-versed in design or if time constraints are tight, opting for professional help is a wise decision. This not only ensures quality but also frees you up to concentrate on refining and rehearsing your presentation. This guide shows 18 of the most common presentation mistakes people make, and gives tips on how to avoid them.

In essence, professional design is about giving your presentation the visual edge it needs to not just capture but also maintain your audience's attention. By considering the services of a presentation design agency, you're ensuring that your presentation is not just seen, but also remembered and appreciated.

Mastering the Art of Delivery

Alright, you’ve got a gripping story and a set of stunning slides. But wait! There’s still a crucial piece of the puzzle left – your delivery. This is where the rubber meets the road. Remember, no matter how dazzling your slides are, they can’t rescue a lackluster delivery. 

More Than Just Slides

First things first, let’s get one thing straight: people aren’t just buying into your PowerPoint. They’re buying into you – your ideas, your enthusiasm, your conviction. Your slides are merely a tool to complement your narrative, not the other way around. Your slides are never the star of the show. It's you. It sure is harder to improve your delivery compared to your slides. But it will be the best investment of your life.

The Human Connection

At its core, a great presentation is about making a connection with your audience. It’s about storytelling, not just through words on a slide, but through the way you present them. Your tone, your body language, your ability to engage – all these elements combine to create a compelling delivery.

Know Your Story Inside Out

Your first step should be to know your story like the back of your hand. This doesn’t mean memorizing your script word for word but being familiar enough with your content to speak confidently and fluidly about it.

Rehearse, Then Rehearse Some More

Practice might not always make perfect, but it sure does make confidence. Rehearse your presentation multiple times. This will help you iron out any kinks in your delivery and help you manage those pesky nerves.

When our founder Damon gave his first keynote presentation, he experienced some technical issues that would throw off any professional speaker. But since he had rehearsed his speech so well, he knew it inside out. And he could handle the mishap with calm, make some jokes about it, and then get back to his talk when the tech decided to work again.

Engage With Your Audience

Remember, a presentation is a two-way street. Engage with your audience, ask questions, and encourage participation. This interaction makes your presentation more memorable and impactful. The former product manager at Netflix , Gibson Biddle, shared this great example:

“In a virtual setting you need to double-down on engagement tactics. Today, I use Google Slides plus Slido to do real-time polling, word clouds and to answer questions. It makes the experience incredibly interactive to the extent that I now have an equal NPS for virtual and in-person presentations.”

Body Language Matters

Your body language speaks volumes. Maintain eye contact, use gestures to emphasize points, and move around if possible. This non-verbal communication can significantly enhance the impact of your delivery.

In today’s increasingly digital world, we also have to think about virtual presentations and how to put our best foot forward through a screen. An awkward camera angle or a weird background can be a distraction to your audience, so shift your focus to a flattering camera angle, solid camera quality, and a neutral background. 

Authenticity is Key

Be yourself. Your audience can tell when you’re putting on a façade. Authenticity breeds trust and connection, which in turn makes your message more persuasive.

Investing in Yourself

Finally, investing in your delivery skills is investing in yourself. Whether it’s through public speaking courses, professional coaching, or simply seeking feedback from peers, improving your delivery skills is invaluable. Remember, a great delivery can elevate a good presentation to a great one. So, give your delivery the attention it deserves, and watch as you transform from a presenter to a storyteller, captivating your audience one slide at a time.

Final Thoughts

So, there you have it – the roadmap to creating a PowerPoint presentation that’s not just good, but outstanding. It all starts with crafting a compelling story, enhanced by visually striking and well-thought-out design, and brought to life through engaging and authentic delivery. Remember, your best PowerPoint presentation will feel like more than just a collection of slides to your audience. This is a powerful storytelling tool, and you are the storyteller.

The key takeaway? Invest time and effort into each aspect of your presentation. Understand your narrative, collaborate with design professionals if needed, and hone your delivery skills. It’s this combination of content, design, and delivery that transforms a standard presentation into an unforgettable experience.

In the end, what sets a great PowerPoint presentation apart is the ability to not just share information but to tell a story that resonates, inspires, and persuades. Whether you’re pitching to potential clients, investors, or sharing insights with your team, remember that the most impactful presentations are those that connect with the audience on a deeper level. So go ahead, create, deliver, and captivate.

Your audience is waiting.

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How to Structure a PowerPoint Presentation?

• June 22, 2022

With PowerPoint presentations, communication across numerous fields has become more streamlined thanks to their integration into modern technology, including business, education, public speaking, and marketing. A haphazard slide arrangement does not constitute an effective and absorbing presentation. A compelling PowerPoint presentation requires careful planning, and that’s how you capture an audience’s attention. Steps to learn how to Structure a PowerPoint Presentation include information sharing impressions and leaving a lasting impact.

Structuring your PowerPoint presentation design services to engage and entertain an audience is more art than science. However, you can follow some general rules to ensure it’s well-organized with interesting content for the listeners! No matter how beautiful the visuals of your slide deck are, it’s important to follow the logical roles of PowerPoint Slide design.

Table of Contents

What is Structuring a Presentation?

Structuring a presentation refers to the deliberate organization and arrangement of content, ideas, and information systematically and logically. It involves determining the sequence of topics, the flow of information, and the overall framework that guides the presentation’s delivery. With a well-structured presentation, the audience follows an organized narrative or argument. This process includes defining clear objectives, outlining key points, and creating an organized structure. By structuring a presentation well, the presenter can successfully convey their intended message, engage the crowd, and produce the desired outcome.

Why Is Structuring a Presentation Important?

To make your information more accessible, try structuring it. Studies show that people are 40% better at retaining structured than unstructured data- this makes sense because the brain processes things in a way where they can understand what you’re saying easier and find ways around problems faster!

A good structure is also important for you as a speaker. It will help keep your audience engaged and avoid any awkward silences that might make them think twice about what they just saw or heard from someone who’s new in their field!

 Structure a PowerPoint Presentation:

Define your purpose and audience:.

Before opening PowerPoint, clarify your presentation’s purpose and identify your target audience. Are you informing, persuading, or entertaining? Understanding your audience’s needs, interests, and knowledge levels is crucial. This foundation will guide your content and design choices.

Start with a Strong Opening:

Attention capture starts with a solid opening statement during presentations. Attention-getters come in various forms, such as stories, statistics, questions, and images. From the get-go, we want to hook them with our initial offerings.

Create a Clear Structure:

A well-structured PowerPoint presentation should follow a logical flow. The classic structure includes:

• Introduction: Establish the topic and purpose.
• Agenda/Outline: Provide an overview of what you’ll cover.
• Main Content: Organize your content into sections or topics.
• Transition Slides: Use these to signal shifts between topics.
• Conclusion: Summarize key points and provide a conclusion.
• Q&A/Conclusion: Allow time for questions and answers.

Use Visual Hierarchy:

Incorporate a clear visual hierarchy to guide your audience’s attention. Use larger fonts, bold text, and contrasting colors for headings and important points. Ensure that your slide titles and bullet points are easily distinguishable.

Limit Text and Emphasize Visuals:

Less is often more when it comes to text on slides. Avoid cramming slides with paragraphs. Instead, use concise bullet points, visuals, and images to convey your message. Visuals are powerful tools for retention and engagement.

Storytelling and Narrative:

Weave a narrative throughout your presentation to create a cohesive and engaging storyline. Stories connect with audiences emotionally, making your content more memorable. Share relatable anecdotes or case studies that reinforce your message.

Use Consistent Design Elements:

Maintain a consistent design throughout your presentation. Use a uniform color scheme, typography, and formatting. Consistency helps create a polished and professional look.

Utilize Bullet Points and Lists:

Use bullet points or numbered lists for clarity when presenting information or key points. Break down complex ideas into digestible chunks. Ensure that each bullet point is concise and directly supports your message.

Incorporate Visual Aids and Media:

Enhance your presentation with visuals, charts, graphs, and multimedia elements like videos or animations. Visual aids clarify information and add interest and variety to your slides.

Engage Your Audience:

Encourage audience engagement throughout your presentation. Use interactive elements like questions, polls, or discussions to involve your audience. Engaged listeners are more likely to retain information.

Provide Takeaways:

Incorporate key takeaways or action points in your presentation. Summarize the main points or provide a clear call to action. Ensure that your audience leaves with a clear understanding of what to do next.

Practice and Rehearse:

Practice is essential to a successful presentation. Rehearse your content, timing, and delivery multiple times. Familiarity with your material will boost your confidence and help you navigate smoothly through the slides.

Plan for Questions:

Prepare for questions and interactions with your audience. Anticipate potential inquiries and have concise answers ready. Engaging in thoughtful Q&A enhances your credibility.

End with a Strong Close:

Conclude your presentation with a powerful closing statement or summary of key takeaways. Leave a lasting impression and reinforce your main message.

Seek Feedback:

After your presentation, seek feedback from peers, colleagues, or the audience. Constructive feedback can help you improve for future presentations.

Tips for Structuring a PowerPoint Presentation

The best way to structure your PowerPoint presentation will depend on the individual elements of the talk. However, there are some general guidelines that you can follow in order not only to make sure it’s well organized but also engaging for listeners! Here are some tips for structuring a PowerPoint presentation:

• How many of you can’t stop thinking about your next meal? A lot, I’ll bet. That’s why we’re here! To provide the food that keeps on giving – no matter what it is humans crave or how often they eat- all day long (and beyond).
• The first section of your presentation should provide an introduction to the topic at hand. Give your audience some background information and explain what you’ll be talking about in this hour-long session, which will hopefully engage them enough for their attention span throughout all future parts!
• Make sure your points flow logically and are easy to follow. Keep transitions between slides smooth, without any confusion or jumps in logic that could throw off the audience’s rhythm The key here is making it as simple for readers who may not understand certain concepts yet because they’re new at this too!
• Use pictures and graphics to make your message more captivating. A picture is worth 1000 words! It’s not just for decoration anymore – use visuals effectively in order to strengthen the impact of what you’re trying to say
• Make sure to structure your slides in a logical order so that they flow smoothly from one topic or section of information to another. Jumping around can be distracting and confusing for viewers – keep it organized!
• To make your content more accessible, use clear and concise language. Avoid jargon or overly technical terms that might be difficult for those unfamiliar with the industry’s standard terminology to understand; this will help them get into what you’re saying right away instead of feeling like they’ve walked into an academic lecture!
• Make your argument more persuasive by using visuals. You can create charts and graphs to display data, images of how things work or appear in a different light than before (elevate their emotional appeal), videos that help explain complicated processes/theories more easily – anything you need for this!
• It’s important to end with a strong conclusion. Summarize your main points and leave the audience thinking about what they have heard, seen or read so far in order for them not just be repulsed but also interested enough that you will want another chance at reaching out next time!

A few more tips to keep in mind as you create your presentation to have the most impact possible. You’ll want three key points for each bullet point on the screen, and then provide some depth about why those points matter by including examples or jokes from movies relevant to their topic (for instance, if they were talking about sports). Make sure all text is positioned correctly using Leaderboard mode before saving!

1-Create slides and edit them in Outline View

With this view, you can quickly scan your slides to find what’s on them. It also helps organize content by letting you add blocks of text and rearrange them however is most convenient for reading or displaying!

Once in Outline View, you can add a new slide by clicking the New Slide button at the top of the window. If you want to move a slide up or down, simply grab its heading and drag it where needed! When editing text on an individual line – just click inside any text box with write enabled for more formatting options, including boldness, face size change, etc.

2-Arrange slides into sections

Sections make it easy to group your slides. You can move groups around or add numbers only on certain ones if you want!

To create a section by dragging one slide over another in the Outline View window (or clicking the New Section button at the top), just click and drag left until there’s enough space between them for something else – say maybe adding more text frames onto each one, so they’re not all lined up next.

3-Add slide numbers

Click the “Slide Number” button within Microsoft PowerPoint’s Insert menu to add slide numbers. This will open up a drop-down menu where you can choose between adding single or multiple slides at once; just select what type of number(s) suits your needs best! You’ll also have an option whether these incremental counts should be displayed only for certain ones within this section alone or apply more widely across all sections so long as they make sense together given their placement.

4-Add headers and footers

Headers and footers are pieces of text that appear at the top or bottom of your slides. They can be helpful for adding your name, the date, or the slide number to your presentation.

To add headers and footers, click the Insert tab, then choose between different types of content. From here you can select what information will go into your header or footnote at each occasion; it’s up to personal preference!

5-Create a well-organized table of contents

Tables of contents are a great way to organize your presentation and give the audience an overview of what they can expect from it. To create one, click the Insert > Table of Content button from within the PowerPoint program (or use keyboard shortcuts). Next, select how many slides you want to be included in this section as well as any information that will appear at each point during its duration such as text or images, etc. Once those settings have been made simply enter the completed title for whichever slide stands before us now!

To make your PowerPoint presentation really pop, try using the tips above to get it organized. Your slides will be clear and concise so that you can keep people engaged for longer periods of time!

Structuring a PowerPoint presentation effectively is a skill that can significantly enhance your ability to communicate ideas, educate, and persuade. You can create compelling presentations that leave a lasting impact by defining your purpose, creating a clear structure, using visuals, and engaging your audience. Remember that practice makes perfect, so invest time refining your presentation skills for continued success.

What are structure slides?

A structured slide is template-based, so every slide has the same look. This type is quick and easy to use but can also cause audience boredom due to its repetitive and uncreative use. Structured slides are an excellent choice for routine presentations.

Why plan and structure a presentation?

In fact, not only is structuring a presentation important for the audience’s understanding, but it’s also crucial for you as the speaker. A good structure helps you remain calm, stay on topic, and avoid awkward silences.

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31 Powerpoint Presentation Design Tips, Ideas [with Examples]

By Sara McGuire , May 03, 2023

What’s worse than sitting through a boring presentation? Being the one to deliver a boring presentation. Presentation templates to the rescue!

Say goodbye to typical, boring PowerPoint slides, too. Instead,  create a presentation that will make a lasting impression with presentation templates like this one to engage your audience:

Just so you know, some of our templates are free and some require a small monthly fee to use. Signing up to Venngage is always free.

In this post, I’ll show you how to create a presentation that will not only grab the attention of your audience but hold onto it as well.

This post will offer tips for creating different types of presentations , including:

• Pitch decks
• Elearning slides
• Class presentations
• Webinar presentations
• Marketing presentations

I’ll also give you design tips to customize our presentation templates.

Click to jump ahead:

• Dedicate each slide to only one topic
• Start with presentation templates
• Don’t overburden your slides with text
• Establish a visual hierarchy on your slides
• Pick a visual motif that runs throughout your presentation templates
• Visualize data using charts and infographics
• Create custom illustrations using icons to help tell stories
• Highlight important information using big, bold colorful text
• Alternate between different slide layouts to keep your audience engaged
• Add a progress tracker to your presentation slides
• Download your presentation as a PDF

The example above shows how you can customize our templates and export them directly to PowerPoint. Click any of the presentation templates on this page, sign up for free and you’ll enter Venngage’s online presentation maker tool. It’s a drag and drop editor that anyone can use.

Design a presentation that engages your audience

Think about the last boring presentation you sat through:

• What did the slides look like?
• Did they have a bland color scheme?
• Were there too many points (or worse, paragraphs) crammed onto one slide?
• Were the charts and diagrams clunky and hard to understand?

When people see the same old boring PowerPoint themes, there’s a good chance they’re going to lose focus.

Rich media, like video, matters more than ever and there’s no better way to stand out than by creating creative and engaging visual content . If you want to really capture your audience’s attention, you need to design creative presentations , like this one:

That means incorporating eye-catching images, effective data visualizations, and bold typography into your slide decks.

This onboarding presentation, for example, strategically uses bright icons and illustrations to make the material more engaging. This is especially important when presenting to new hires, who are likely dealing with information overload on their first day. 

In this particular case, a more visual approach is not necessarily a matter of aesthetic preference, but a decision that can make your presentations more likely to stick. Pro Tip: Venngage has over 40,000 icons and illustrations you can use to spice up your presentations!

Need something more geared towards speaking? Our keynote presentation templates are all the rage.

11 tips to hold your audience’s attention

Many Venngage users have mentioned that they’re always looking for ways to make presentations more engaging. But most of them don’t have any formal design experience.

If you’re in the same boat, don’t worry–this guide is for you. You can also check out this video for all the highlights:

Here are my top tips for designing a presentation with impact:

1. Dedicate each slide to only one topic

Just as it’s important for your slides to not be cluttered, it’s also important for your slides to be cohesive.

Keep each slide focused on just one topic. The topic of each slide should be clearly stated in the slide title.

For example, this presentation template covers different ways to be creative. Each individual slide covers one approach:

This simple, straightforward slide pattern will help the audience follow along without any confusion.

Or take this presentation template that introduces some of this year’s biggest business trends. Rather than listing multiple trends on one slide, each trend is fleshed out in its own slide:

As a presenter, keeping your slide topics organized will help you organize your thoughts as well. Each new slide will signal a new topic.

2. Start with presentation templates

Before jumping into the other tips, let’s set the foundation.

You’ve decided to create something a little more interesting than a standard PowerPoint theme–good on you! But that doesn’t mean you have to start completely from scratch.

Instead, you can give yourself a head start by using creative presentation templates, like this one:

Or this one:

While most PowerPoint themes are fairly limited in how much you can customize them, freeform presentation templates will give you the freedom to alter the design as much as you want.

For example, let’s take this template:

I used Venngage’s My Brand Kit tool to efficiently apply our brand color palette to the Uber template in one click:

There are a ton of creative presentation templates. You can take a look at them in our presentations templates library .

Cool? Now let’s talk presentation design.

3. Don’t overburden your slides with text

Even if you decide to ignore most of the other tips in this guide, don’t skip over this one. This is presentation design 101.

When you flip to a slide covered wall-to-wall with text, there’s a good chance your audience is going to think:

• I don’t want to read all of that.
• This presenter isn’t well-prepared.

In fact, a study published in Business and Professional Communication Quarterly found that anxious presenters tended to use more text on their slides, usually because they used their slides as speaking notes.

Instead of using a bunch of text, look for ways to present information visually charts and infographics .

For example, this slide template uses brief text and some simple icons to summarize the presentation :

This startup pitch deck makes use of evocative images, icons and big text to help present its ideas:

4. Establish a visual hierarchy on your slides

When you flip to a new slide, your audience will be seeing it for the first time. Their eyes are going to naturally be drawn whatever the focal point on the page is.

The focal point is the most dominant area on your slide–the point that draws the most attention.

You can create a hierarchy of information on your slide by making the most important information the focal point of your slide. In most cases, the focal point will be the slide title, or a particular visual, or an important phrase or number.

There are a few ways you can create a visual hierarchy on your slides.

You can bold important phrases, like the word “Facebook” in this slide:

Icons also help to establish a reading order. They draw your eye from point to point. Placing icons beside headers and important points will make them stand out from the other information on the slide.

Icons can also be used to indicate where a new point begins:

Color selection can also be used to establish a visual hierarchy. Take a look at how the colorful blocks in this slide help to make the slide titles pop:

Your eyes are drawn first to the title text, then to the supporting information beside it.

5. Pick a visual motif that runs throughout your presentation templates

You can use visuals to pull your presentation design together and make it cohesive. Picking a visual motif will allow you to use consistent visuals throughout your presentation.

A visual motif is a repeated pattern, design, or image. In your presentation design, a motif can take many forms.

When it comes to infographic color selection , one of the simplest approaches is to use a consistent color motif (or color scheme). That could mean using one or two colors for all of your headers, background and borders.

For example, this presentation template uses two shades of purple for a modern design:

But combining different colors and patterns can also make for a more interesting design. For example, this presentation template uses a blue stripe motif to link the slides together visually:

You could also use a recurring shape or image, like the circle image frames in this presentation template:

Or you could use a motif that reflects the theme of your presentation. For example, this presentation template uses a recurring cloud motif throughout the presentation to reflect the “dream” theme of the brand:

This is a case where starting with a presentation template can really come in handy, because the template will already have a motif. Look for presentation templates with a motif that fits your topic and brand.

6. Visualize data using charts and infographics

Replacing text with visuals is one of the best ways to prevent your slide design from becoming cluttered. Charts and infographics present information in an engaging, digestible way.

I won’t go into too much detail here about what types of charts you should use for what data. We’ve got an in-depth guide to picking charts for that.

But I’ll give you a few ideas for some types of charts and infographics that work well in presentations.

Related : How to Make Better Infographics for PowerPoint

If you want to visualize steps in a process, the history of something, or a roadmap, use a timeline.

This slide template uses a simple timeline with complementary icons to emphasize each date:

To compare amounts or sizes, a bubble chart can help drive the point home:

Learn how to customize this template:

To create an infographic for geographic and demographic information , a map can make a big impact on your audience:

A classic pie chart or bar graph should be easily understood by your audience, provided you’re following  chart best practices .

This presentation template uses a bar graph, a pie chart and a line graph to show different metrics:

If you can, mix up the types of data visualizations you use. This will help prevent your audience from getting bored.

Those are just a few different ways you can use charts to visualize. For more ideas, check out our guide to picking the best charts for your data .

7. Create custom illustrations using icons to help tell stories

Custom illustrations are one of this year’s  biggest graphic design trends . They’re fun, quirky, and more exciting than a boring old stock photo.

Creating your own illustrations for social media graphics might seem like a costly and time-consuming undertaking. And it can be. But I’m going to offer you a hack:

Use icons to create illustrations.

You can arrange icons together to create a scene–like the pieces of a puzzle. (Venngage offers over 40,000 icons, so finding an image shouldn’t be too hard!) 

For example, this real estate presentation template uses icons to illustrate each real estate hack:

When picking ico ns or symbols for your illustrations , make sure that the icon style you use is consistent. For example, this presentation template uses line art icons for a scribbly youthful look:

For more ideas, read our guide to creating icon illustrations .

8. Highlight important information using big, bold colorful text

Returning to the idea or focal points on your slide: emphasize a key number or phrase when creating a persuasive presentation using big, bold text in a contrasting color.

This will communicate to your audience that if they take away one thing from your slide, it should be that piece of information.

For example, this presentation template uses bright colored font in several sizes larger than the rest of the text to emphasize important numbers on each slide:

But you could also pick one color to emphasize key information with. That way, your audience will catch on to the pattern and look for that color in upcoming slides.

Take a look at how this presentation uses teal to contrast with the other text and emphasize information:

9. Alternate between different slide layouts to keep your audience engaged

You may be tempted to use the same slide layout throughout your entire presentation–either for consistency or because you’re not sure how else to design your slide.

The problem is, using the same slide layout over and over again won’t do much to excite your audience.

There are other ways you can create consistency throughout your presentation, while also using different slide layouts–like through a visual motif.

For example, this presentation template uses five different slide layouts. The consistent color scheme, image style and font style pull the presentation together.

To come up with different slide layouts, try dividing your slide into columns. This can make it easier to arrange the elements in your slide.

This can make it easier to arrange the elements in your slide.

10. Add a progress tracker to your presentation slides

Creating a sense of forward movement will help keep your audience engaged.

Similar to how you would put the chapter title at the top of the pages in a book, you can track the progress of your presentations in your slides. This will let your audience know what stage you’re at in your presentation. Your audience will also be able to refer to the sections in your presentation more easily afterward.

That said, pacing your presentation thoughtfully with well-designed presentation slides also adds brownie points to your presentation. Check out the top qualities of awesome presentations and learn all about how to make a good presentation to help you nail that captivating delivery.

A simple progress bar at the bottom of your slide shouldn’t distract too much from the rest of your information.

11. Download your presentation as a PDF

It’s common for audience members to request a copy of your presentation for their reference. Make sharing your presentation easy by exporting it as a PDF or zipped file.

Now that you’re equipped with some fundamentals of presentation design, the best way to learn is by doing. It’s also the perfect time to upgrade your presentation skills  while you’re thinking about it too!

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment below.

More presentation templates and design guides:

• 120+ Best Presentation Ideas, Design Tips & Examples  (+ Presentation Templates!)
• 12 Business Pitch Deck Templates and Design Best Practices to Impress Investors
• 5 Foolproof Presentation Layout Ideas  (+ Presentation Templates!)
• How to Get Featured on the Front Page of SlideShare [Infographic]
• What Is A Webinar & How Do They Work? [Beginners Guide]

Improve your practice.

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How to Structure your Presentation, with Examples

August 3, 2018 - Dom Barnard

For many people the thought of delivering a presentation is a daunting task and brings about a  great deal of nerves . However, if you take some time to understand how effective presentations are structured and then apply this structure to your own presentation, you’ll appear much more confident and relaxed.

Here is our complete guide for structuring your presentation, with examples at the end of the article to demonstrate these points.

Why is structuring a presentation so important?

If you’ve ever sat through a great presentation, you’ll have left feeling either inspired or informed on a given topic. This isn’t because the speaker was the most knowledgeable or motivating person in the world. Instead, it’s because they know how to structure presentations – they have crafted their message in a logical and simple way that has allowed the audience can keep up with them and take away key messages.

Research has supported this, with studies showing that audiences retain structured information  40% more accurately  than unstructured information.

In fact, not only is structuring a presentation important for the benefit of the audience’s understanding, it’s also important for you as the speaker. A good structure helps you remain calm, stay on topic, and avoid any awkward silences.

What will affect your presentation structure?

Generally speaking, there is a natural flow that any decent presentation will follow which we will go into shortly. However, you should be aware that all presentation structures will be different in their own unique way and this will be due to a number of factors, including:

• Whether you need to deliver any demonstrations
• How  knowledgeable the audience  already is on the given subject
• How much interaction you want from the audience
• Any time constraints there are for your talk
• What setting you are in
• Your ability to use any kinds of visual assistance

Before choosing the presentation’s structure answer these questions first:

• What is your presentation’s aim?
• Who are the audience?
• What are the main points your audience should remember afterwards?

When reading the points below, think critically about what things may cause your presentation structure to be slightly different. You can add in certain elements and add more focus to certain moments if that works better for your speech.

What is the typical presentation structure?

This is the usual flow of a presentation, which covers all the vital sections and is a good starting point for yours. It allows your audience to easily follow along and sets out a solid structure you can add your content to.

1. Greet the audience and introduce yourself

Before you start delivering your talk, introduce yourself to the audience and clarify who you are and your relevant expertise. This does not need to be long or incredibly detailed, but will help build an immediate relationship between you and the audience. It gives you the chance to briefly clarify your expertise and why you are worth listening to. This will help establish your ethos so the audience will trust you more and think you’re credible.

Read our tips on  How to Start a Presentation Effectively

2. Introduction

In the introduction you need to explain the subject and purpose of your presentation whilst gaining the audience’s interest and confidence. It’s sometimes helpful to think of your introduction as funnel-shaped to help filter down your topic:

• Introduce your general topic
• Explain your topic area
• State the issues/challenges in this area you will be exploring
• State your presentation’s purpose – this is the basis of your presentation so ensure that you provide a statement explaining how the topic will be treated, for example, “I will argue that…” or maybe you will “compare”, “analyse”, “evaluate”, “describe” etc.
• Provide a statement of what you’re hoping the outcome of the presentation will be, for example, “I’m hoping this will be provide you with…”
• Show a preview of the organisation of your presentation

In this section also explain:

• The length of the talk.
• Signal whether you want audience interaction – some presenters prefer the audience to ask questions throughout whereas others allocate a specific section for this.
• If it applies, inform the audience whether to take notes or whether you will be providing handouts.

The way you structure your introduction can depend on the amount of time you have been given to present: a  sales pitch  may consist of a quick presentation so you may begin with your conclusion and then provide the evidence. Conversely, a speaker presenting their idea for change in the world would be better suited to start with the evidence and then conclude what this means for the audience.

Keep in mind that the main aim of the introduction is to grab the audience’s attention and connect with them.

3. The main body of your talk

The main body of your talk needs to meet the promises you made in the introduction. Depending on the nature of your presentation, clearly segment the different topics you will be discussing, and then work your way through them one at a time – it’s important for everything to be organised logically for the audience to fully understand. There are many different ways to organise your main points, such as, by priority, theme, chronologically etc.

• Main points should be addressed one by one with supporting evidence and examples.
• Before moving on to the next point you should provide a mini-summary.
• Links should be clearly stated between ideas and you must make it clear when you’re moving onto the next point.
• Allow time for people to take relevant notes and stick to the topics you have prepared beforehand rather than straying too far off topic.

When planning your presentation write a list of main points you want to make and ask yourself “What I am telling the audience? What should they understand from this?” refining your answers this way will help you produce clear messages.

4. Conclusion

In presentations the conclusion is frequently underdeveloped and lacks purpose which is a shame as it’s the best place to reinforce your messages. Typically, your presentation has a specific goal – that could be to convert a number of the audience members into customers, lead to a certain number of enquiries to make people knowledgeable on specific key points, or to motivate them towards a shared goal.

Regardless of what that goal is, be sure to summarise your main points and their implications. This clarifies the overall purpose of your talk and reinforces your reason for being there.

Follow these steps:

• Signal that it’s nearly the end of your presentation, for example, “As we wrap up/as we wind down the talk…”
• Restate the topic and purpose of your presentation – “In this speech I wanted to compare…”
• Summarise the main points, including their implications and conclusions
• Indicate what is next/a call to action/a thought-provoking takeaway
• Move on to the last section

5. Thank the audience and invite questions

Conclude your talk by thanking the audience for their time and invite them to  ask any questions  they may have. As mentioned earlier, personal circumstances will affect the structure of your presentation.

Many presenters prefer to make the Q&A session the key part of their talk and try to speed through the main body of the presentation. This is totally fine, but it is still best to focus on delivering some sort of initial presentation to set the tone and topics for discussion in the Q&A.

Other common presentation structures

The above was a description of a basic presentation, here are some more specific presentation layouts:

Demonstration

Use the demonstration structure when you have something useful to show. This is usually used when you want to show how a product works. Steve Jobs frequently used this technique in his presentations.

• Explain why the product is valuable.
• Describe why the product is necessary.
• Explain what problems it can solve for the audience.
• Demonstrate the product  to support what you’ve been saying.
• Make suggestions of other things it can do to make the audience curious.

Problem-solution

This structure is particularly useful in persuading the audience.

• Briefly frame the issue.
• Go into the issue in detail showing why it ‘s such a problem. Use logos and pathos for this – the logical and emotional appeals.
• Provide the solution and explain why this would also help the audience.
• Call to action – something you want the audience to do which is straightforward and pertinent to the solution.

Storytelling

As well as incorporating  stories in your presentation , you can organise your whole presentation as a story. There are lots of different type of story structures you can use – a popular choice is the monomyth – the hero’s journey. In a monomyth, a hero goes on a difficult journey or takes on a challenge – they move from the familiar into the unknown. After facing obstacles and ultimately succeeding the hero returns home, transformed and with newfound wisdom.

Storytelling for Business Success  webinar , where well-know storyteller Javier Bernad shares strategies for crafting compelling narratives.

Another popular choice for using a story to structure your presentation is in media ras (in the middle of thing). In this type of story you launch right into the action by providing a snippet/teaser of what’s happening and then you start explaining the events that led to that event. This is engaging because you’re starting your story at the most exciting part which will make the audience curious – they’ll want to know how you got there.

• Great storytelling: Examples from Alibaba Founder, Jack Ma

Remaining method

The remaining method structure is good for situations where you’re presenting your perspective on a controversial topic which has split people’s opinions.

• Go into the issue in detail showing why it’s such a problem – use logos and pathos.
• Rebut your opponents’ solutions  – explain why their solutions could be useful because the audience will see this as fair and will therefore think you’re trustworthy, and then explain why you think these solutions are not valid.
• After you’ve presented all the alternatives provide your solution, the remaining solution. This is very persuasive because it looks like the winning idea, especially with the audience believing that you’re fair and trustworthy.

Transitions

When delivering presentations it’s important for your words and ideas to flow so your audience can understand how everything links together and why it’s all relevant. This can be done  using speech transitions  which are words and phrases that allow you to smoothly move from one point to another so that your speech flows and your presentation is unified.

Transitions can be one word, a phrase or a full sentence – there are many different forms, here are some examples:

Moving from the introduction to the first point

Signify to the audience that you will now begin discussing the first main point:

• Now that you’re aware of the overview, let’s begin with…
• First, let’s begin with…
• I will first cover…
• My first point covers…
• To get started, let’s look at…

Shifting between similar points

Move from one point to a similar one:

• In the same way…
• Likewise…
• Equally…
• This is similar to…
• Similarly…

Internal summaries

Internal summarising consists of summarising before moving on to the next point. You must inform the audience:

• What part of the presentation you covered – “In the first part of this speech we’ve covered…”
• What the key points were – “Precisely how…”
• How this links in with the overall presentation – “So that’s the context…”
• What you’re moving on to – “Now I’d like to move on to the second part of presentation which looks at…”

Physical movement

You can move your body and your standing location when you transition to another point. The audience find it easier to follow your presentation and movement will increase their interest.

A common technique for incorporating movement into your presentation is to:

• Start your introduction by standing in the centre of the stage.
• For your first point you stand on the left side of the stage.
• You discuss your second point from the centre again.
• You stand on the right side of the stage for your third point.
• The conclusion occurs in the centre.

Key slides for your presentation

Slides are a useful tool for most presentations: they can greatly assist in the delivery of your message and help the audience follow along with what you are saying. Key slides include:

• An intro slide outlining your ideas
• A  summary slide  with core points to remember
• High quality image slides to supplement what you are saying

There are some presenters who choose not to use slides at all, though this is more of a rarity. Slides can be a powerful tool if used properly, but the problem is that many fail to do just that. Here are some golden rules to follow when using slides in a presentation:

• Don’t over fill them  – your slides are there to assist your speech, rather than be the focal point. They should have as little information as possible, to avoid distracting people from your talk.
• A picture says a thousand words  – instead of filling a slide with text, instead, focus on one or two images or diagrams to help support and explain the point you are discussing at that time.
• Make them readable  – depending on the size of your audience, some may not be able to see small text or images, so make everything large enough to fill the space.
• Don’t rush through slides  – give the audience enough time to digest each slide.

Guy Kawasaki, an entrepreneur and author, suggests that slideshows should follow a  10-20-30 rule :

• There should be a maximum of 10 slides – people rarely remember more than one concept afterwards so there’s no point overwhelming them with unnecessary information.
• The presentation should last no longer than 20 minutes as this will leave time for questions and discussion.
• The font size should be a minimum of 30pt because the audience reads faster than you talk so less information on the slides means that there is less chance of the audience being distracted.

Here are some additional resources for slide design:

• 7 design tips for effective, beautiful PowerPoint presentations
• 11 design tips for beautiful presentations
• 10 tips on how to make slides that communicate your idea

Group Presentations

Group presentations are structured in the same way as presentations with one speaker but usually require more rehearsal and practices.  Clean transitioning between speakers  is very important in producing a presentation that flows well. One way of doing this consists of:

• Briefly recap on what you covered in your section: “So that was a brief introduction on what health anxiety is and how it can affect somebody”
• Introduce the next speaker in the team and explain what they will discuss: “Now Elnaz will talk about the prevalence of health anxiety.”
• Then end by looking at the next speaker, gesturing towards them and saying their name: “Elnaz”.
• The next speaker should acknowledge this with a quick: “Thank you Joe.”

From this example you can see how the different sections of the presentations link which makes it easier for the audience to follow and remain engaged.

Example of great presentation structure and delivery

Having examples of great presentations will help inspire your own structures, here are a few such examples, each unique and inspiring in their own way.

How Google Works – by Eric Schmidt

This presentation by ex-Google CEO  Eric Schmidt  demonstrates some of the most important lessons he and his team have learnt with regards to working with some of the most talented individuals they hired. The simplistic yet cohesive style of all of the slides is something to be appreciated. They are relatively straightforward, yet add power and clarity to the narrative of the presentation.

Start with why – by Simon Sinek

Since being released in 2009, this presentation has been viewed almost four million times all around the world. The message itself is very powerful, however, it’s not an idea that hasn’t been heard before. What makes this presentation so powerful is the simple message he is getting across, and the straightforward and understandable manner in which he delivers it. Also note that he doesn’t use any slides, just a whiteboard where he creates a simple diagram of his opinion.

The Wisdom of a Third Grade Dropout – by Rick Rigsby

Here’s an example of a presentation given by a relatively unknown individual looking to inspire the next generation of graduates. Rick’s presentation is unique in many ways compared to the two above. Notably, he uses no visual prompts and includes a great deal of humour.

However, what is similar is the structure he uses. He first introduces his message that the wisest man he knew was a third-grade dropout. He then proceeds to deliver his main body of argument, and in the end, concludes with his message. This powerful speech keeps the viewer engaged throughout, through a mixture of heart-warming sentiment, powerful life advice and engaging humour.

As you can see from the examples above, and as it has been expressed throughout, a great presentation structure means analysing the core message of your presentation. Decide on a key message you want to impart the audience with, and then craft an engaging way of delivering it.

By preparing a solid structure, and  practising your talk  beforehand, you can walk into the presentation with confidence and deliver a meaningful message to an interested audience.

It’s important for a presentation to be well-structured so it can have the most impact on your audience. An unstructured presentation can be difficult to follow and even frustrating to listen to. The heart of your speech are your main points supported by evidence and your transitions should assist the movement between points and clarify how everything is linked.

Research suggests that the audience remember the first and last things you say so your introduction and conclusion are vital for reinforcing your points. Essentially, ensure you spend the time structuring your presentation and addressing all of the sections.

10 Pro PPT Tips: PowerPoint Design Ideas

It’s not difficult to design a PowerPoint presentation. Designing an effective presentation, however, is an entirely different story.

Studies show that 91% of presenters feel more confident when presenting a slideshow with a great design. But, the problem is that 45% of professionals find it difficult to design creative layouts.

A PowerPoint presentation is not just about creating a few slides with bright colors and images. It mainly needs to be able to convey your message more effectively, maintain your audience’s attention, as well as to persuade and convince them.

Designing such a slideshow is not a Herculean task. You just need to know the right tricks.

In this guide, we share some useful PowerPoint tips and PowerPoint design ideas to help you learn how to craft creative slide layouts more easily. Without further ado, let’s get started.

2 Million+ PowerPoint Templates, Themes, Graphics + More

Download thousands of PowerPoint templates, and many other design elements, with a monthly Envato Elements membership. It starts at $16 per month, and gives you unlimited access to a growing library of over 2,000,000 presentation templates, fonts, photos, graphics, and more.

Maximus Template

Minimal PPT Templates

Clean & clear.

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Corporate & pro.

Pitch Deck Templates

Startup pitch deck.

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Use the Built-In Design Ideas Tool

PowerPoint Designer is one of the best built-in tools available in the software that many users are still not aware of. This tool allows you to instantly apply high-quality design layouts to slides with just a few clicks.

You can find the PowerPoint Designer under the Design tab of the software. Simply add some text and an image to a blank slide and the Design Ideas tab on the far-right will start suggesting different design layouts. All you have to do is pick one.

This AI-powered feature in PowerPoint works wonders when you have to quickly put together a slideshow. The only downside is that this tool is only available in the Office 365 version of PowerPoint. If you’re using PowerPoint 2019, using a good template is the best alternative.

Get a Professional Template

Coming up with a great slide layout design is a big responsibility. And it’s probably why it takes over 8 hours for most professionals to design a PowerPoint presentation.

Using a custom PowerPoint template is the easiest way to save hours of time and still design a professional-looking slideshow. You can download pre-made PowerPoint templates from third-party marketplaces and customize them with your own content. You can change the colors, fonts, and add your own images. It’s much easier than having to craft creative slide layouts on your own.

You can find inspiration by browsing our best PowerPoint templates collection.

Pick the Right Color Scheme

According to color psychology , specific colors have the power to evoke emotions in humans and even persuade them to take action.

For example, there’s a reason why Stop signs and For Sale signs use the same Red color. It’s simply hard-wired into our brain to stop and look when something is displayed in this color.

You can also leverage color psychology to design more effective PowerPoint slides. Based on the topic, you can pick colors to evoke the right emotions in your audience.

In order to do this, you need to pick a color palette for your slideshow design and create a consistent design across all slides in the presentation.

Add Custom Fonts

The text you use in each slide is the driving force behind educating and convincing the audience. Needless to say, it’s very important to make sure your titles and descriptions are easily readable and clearly visible in each slide.

Find a great font family for your presentations and avoid using the default system fonts. This will give your slideshow a unique and professional look.

You can check out our best fonts for PowerPoint collection to find a unique font for your designs.

Learn to Use Master Slides

The aptly named Master Slides in PowerPoint is where you can master the art of customizing your slide layouts.

From the View tab, you can find the Slide Master option to open the editor. Here, you can customize the pre-built layouts included in the slide theme you’re currently using.

You can change the colors, fonts, styles and the changes will automatically apply to all of the master slides in the theme. You can even design your own custom slide layouts to quickly add slides to your presentations in the future.

Learning to use Master Slides will make your presentation design process much simpler.

Adopt Design Trends

Fusing design trends into your PPT slide layouts is another great way to make your presentations look creative and relevant.

For example, using pastel colors in PowerPoint slide design is a popular trend these days. You can use such trends to add unique and personalized layouts to your presentations.

Vintage design, Art Deco, dark color themes, and geometric are a few other PPT design trends you can use.

Include Infographics & Charts

Presenting numbers and data is an important part of a PowerPoint slideshow. It’s much more difficult to convince your audience without data to back your claims.

The way you present the data in a presentation is also important. Because if you present them in plain numbers, you’ll have a tough time getting through to the audience.

Instead, visualize your data in a more appealing way. You can do this by using infographics, charts, timelines, and graphs.

You don’t have to hand-craft these visuals. In fact, there are PowerPoint templates that come loaded with editable infographics and charts you can use in your own presentations.

Follow the 10/20/30 Rule

Guy Kawasaki, a popular author, speaker, and entrepreneur, introduced a very simple rule for creating effective PowerPoint presentations called the 10/20/30 rule . It goes like this:

• Use no more than 10 Slides in your presentations
• Present the slides in under 20 Minutes
• Use a 30-Point Font for text

It’s simple and straightforward. The main goal of this strategy is to create short and efficient presentations without filler content.

While these rules are too strict for delivering certain presentations, you can still use them as guidelines to create better slideshows.

Use Illustrations Instead of Stock Images

If you’re tired of seeing the same images in every presentation, blog post, and social media post, keep in mind that your audience is just as tired as you are.

There are many great free stock photo sites with great selections of images. Unfortunately, these images are used by thousands of people all over the web. If you use the same images, the chances are your audience will easily recognize them.

A good alternative you could try in your presentations is to use illustrations. With the right illustrations, you can make each slide look and feel unique. As well as add personality to your presentation.

Illustrations are easy to find. You can download illustration packs from marketplaces like Envato Elements or download them from free sites.

Remember The KISS Principle

KISS , the design principle popularized by the US Navy in 1960 is still relevant today. The idea behind the Keep It Simple, Stupid principle is to encourage designs that are simpler and easier to understand.

Follow this principle when designing your presentations. Instead of filling each slide with long paragraphs of text, use short sentences. Instead of adding lots of images, use just one or two images per slide. Keep It Simple and Straightforward.

Hopefully, these PPT design tips will help you craft better and more effective presentations in the future. Learning new tips and tricks is part of the design process. So keep learning and keep experimenting with new ideas.

Also, check out our complete guide to using PowerPoint templates to learn more about presentation design.

System Status: 

• Faculty Resources
• Instructional Resources
• Instructional Technology Guide
• Instructional Videos
• Best Practices for Video

Research-Based Presentation Design Guidelines

Effective multimedia design is based on what we know about cognitive psychology. If you use visual aids like PowerPoint in your course videos, read the tips below.

This guide leverages relevant cognitive psychology research (discussed in our other article " Multimedia Learning Principles ") to provide specific, evidence-based recommendations for designing and delivering effective presentations. But your PowerPoint deck is only one part of your "educational performance," which, broadly speaking, is a fusion of pictures, text, and spoken words. To maximize learners' engagement, retention, and transfer of the material, all three elements must be strategically deployed.

This guide relies heavily on Richard Mayer's Multimedia Learning and Stephen Kosslyn's Clear and to the Point: 8 Psychological Principles for Compelling PowerPoint Presentations . Both authors apply similar foundations in cognitive psychology to generate best practices for designing effective multimedia learning materials.

We hope this guide will be particularly helpful to instructors creating lecture videos but should prove useful to those delivering synchronous or in-person presentations. 

The Short Version

Use images instead of text when possible., use high-resolution, royalty-free images., use no more than 4 bullets per slide., make objects appear only when mentioned., dim objects after they're discussed., draw attention to salient information., avoid using decorative images., when distributing, add alt text to images..

Based on his experiments investigating the efficacy of multimedia messages, Richard Mayer defines what he calls the Redundancy Principle: "People learn better from graphics and narration than from graphics, narration, and printed text" (118). Duplicative images and onscreen text lead to extraneous cognitive processing by learners both because they have more to look at onscreen and because they'll spend unconscious effort trying to compare what they're hearing and what they're seeing.

So what comes from Mayer appears to be a suggestion to use either an image OR words, but not both (though labels are fine if they're important). But we also know from neurological research that images and words end up getting encoded in different places in the brain, and that encoding imagery uses less cognitive effort than encoding words (Grady et al, 2706). (This is probably an evolutionary phenomenon, given the importance of retaining visual information in one's immediate environment.) So in some ways, research has proved that a picture really can be worth a thousand words.

What this boils down to is if you have an image that can represent your material, use that image exclusively on your slide and remove any text that might accompany it unless it's necessary for your students' understanding. It'll be "stickier" in the students' minds.

The bottom line: If an image can represent your slide content, use it exclusively on your slide without any onscreen text.

When using images, try to find the highest resolution you can. "Resolution" refers to the number of pixels that comprise the image. The more pixels there are, the more quality - and the greater the file size.

You can always shrink an image without reducing its quality, but don't increase its size over 100% or the original. If you do, the quality of the image will visibly decrease as it pixelates, which can either make it more difficult to understand or even unconsciously communicate "low quality" to your viewers!

In addition, when recording videos you should be particularly careful about using copyrighted images in your visual aids. While most course materials aren't public, Fair Use doesn't provide instructors with blanket protection from infringement and it's possible your video could get out. Try to use royalty-free image sites (such as Pixabay) to find an image that could work for you. You could also leverage the surprisingly robust features of your presentation software to design your own images, even by piecing together shapes. (Note that all of the imagery in this article was created using royalty-free images and PowerPoint.)

If it's truly necessary to use a copyrighted image in your slide, you should attempt to contact the publisher to obtain the appropriate permissions. If you find images under a Creative Commons license, be sure to abide by the license and cite appropriately.

The bottom line : Use high-resolution images if possible, and don't enlarge them above 100% of their original size. Use royalty-free imagery, attribute appropriately, or create your own images if needed.

If you've ever suffered from "Death by PowerPoint," you've probably experienced slides crammed full of text: sub-sub-bullets, complete sentences, entire paragraphs, or worse. This is most often the result of instructors using visual presentations as memory aids rather than as instructional tools for learners. We've all heard about the value of taking a student-centered approach to pedagogy; presentation design can embody that methodology.

With respect to determining how much text is appropriate, there are several cognitive psychology principles at work. As we discussed in our Multimedia Learning Principles article, we have two channels for processing a multimedia message. When presented with a large amount of text, the visual channel is oversaturated, and learners' verbal channels struggle to attend effectively to your words as they try to read what's on screen. They also spend cognitive effort comparing the printed and spoken words.

Also in our article on Multimedia Learning Principles, we discussed what occurs during active processing as well as the various types of cognitive load that learners experience. Given that active learning first necessitates the selection of relevant information from an instructional message, providing succinct text will help reduce students' germane load since you're doing some of the selection work for them.

So now that we know why less text is important, is it possible to quantify a recommendation?

A variety of studies have shown that humans can reliably retain 4 concepts in working memory - the so-called "rule of four." The brain can "chunk" information to improve retention, however, so each of these 4 concepts can have up to 4 component pieces of information.

To see the rule of four and chunking principles in effect, check out the video below.

So - we can retain information better when there are four or fewer units, and using recognizable groupings of more than four units helps to improve retention. With all of this in mind, a good rule of thumb is to try to restrict yourself to four or fewer bullets per slide, with four or fewer units of information contained within each bullet.

One way to quantify these "units" of information is to count the number of verbs and nouns (Kosslyn, 77). For example, the phrase "Use four bullets per slide" has 3 units of information: "use," "bullets," and "slide."

Another way to think about this: just use less text in your slides. It may not always be possible, but can be an important goal for which to strive, especially if it helps you break your presentation into more slides. Ultimately, though, remember that your visual aid is intended for your students - not to help you remember what you need to discuss. If possible (or if necessary), use your presentation software's "notes" feature to make sure you don't forget to discuss anything.

Remember what we discussed earlier, though: images tend to be "stickier" than words in long-term memory. If you can find a meaningful image that can replace some or all of the text on your slide, use that instead (using labels as needed, of course).

The bottom line : Try to use four or fewer bullets on a slide, each with four or fewer concepts. Favor images over text whenever appropriate.

Mayer's multimedia messaging experiments led him to what he termed the Temporal Contiguity Principle: "Students learn better when corresponding words and pictures are presented simultaneously rather than successively" (153). Mayer discusses this principle largely in the context of whether to present narration after or during a corresponding animation. While common sense might suggest that encountering the information twice in succession (in two different forms) would lead to better transfer and retention, it was instead when the narration and animation were presented simultaneously.

Now, chances are that you're not planning on narrating over a series of silent animated movies as your presentation - but it's important to remember that presentation software is, in and of itself, a kind of animation tool. Moving to a new slide is essentially a simple animation.

But in the context of the Temporal Contiguity Principle, think about a learner arriving on a slide that already has all of its visual content present at the start. With so much information for your learners to look at, you risk cognitive overload as they read the entire slide - including all the parts that may not yet be relevant or comprehensible - while also trying to process your spoken words.

Building your bullets and images one at a time provides visual cues to your learners about where you are in the presentation and what's relevant to the current moment of knowledge construction. Making clear what specific visual elements are related to what's being discussed maximizes your learners' ability to integrate what they see and what they hear simultaneously.

So, add simple animations to your slides. Leverage build-ins or entrance effects to have objects appear on your slide only when you mention them - bullets, images, graphs, shapes - anything. Stick to subtle effects like fade-ins or even just appearing unless a particular animation offers additional impact to your message.

The bottom line : Make objects appear only when you discuss them.

As we discussed earlier, Mayer's Temporal Contiguity Principle implies that we should make information appear only when mentioned. Well, the converse is true as well: information that's already been discussed should be visually de-emphasized. In reinforcing where exactly you are within the visual information on your slide, you're reducing your learners' cognitive load by encouraging them to focus their efforts on a smaller set of visual information while also maintaining the conceptual connection with the previous information.

In his book providing detailed presentation design guidelines based on a similar set of cognitive psychology principles as Mayer, Stephen Kosslyn identifies seven high-level principles, one of which is the Principle of Salience: "Attention is drawn to large perceptible differences" (7). Given that our brains are wired to notice strong differences in contrast (such as this bold text ), de-emphasizing past information provides a cue to learners that you're moving on to other visual information on the slide and helps direct their attention appropriately.

You can de-emphasize objects onscreen by adding an "emphasis" (PowerPoint) or "action" (Keynote) animation to a bullet, such as reducing the opacity of the object to 25% (or increasing its transparency to 75%). Add the animation at the same time a new object appears.

The bottom line : Visually de-emphasize items that have already been discussed.

The Signaling Principle indicates that "People learn better when cues that highlight the organization of the essential material are added" (Mayer, 108). These cues, Mayer writes, "are intended to guide learners' attention to essential material and to guide learners' organization of the essential material into a coherent structure" (117). Leveraging what we discussed in our article about multimedia learning , signaling can reduce extraneous load, foster germane load, and assist with the selection and organization of materials that must occur during active learning.

While these cues can be verbal (such as explicitly stating where you are in your presentation based on an outline you presented at the start) the visual cues within your presentation play an extremely strong role in facilitating your students' understanding. For example, if you present a complex graph, do something either when designing your presentation (e.g. add arrows, labels, zoom in, etc.) or during your presentation (e.g. use your mouse as a pointer) to draw your learners' attention to the most important or relevant pieces of information.

While making objects appear and dim at the appropriate times highlights salient information as well, for more complex images it's important to draw learners' attention to the most relevant parts. As is often the case in effective presentation design, this helps reduce learners' extraneous load when presented with a surfeit of visual information.

The bottom line : design your slides with arrows, circles, or other visual cues that draw viewers' attention to particularly important details. Failing that, leverage pointers or other indicators during your recording.

Richard Mayer identifies three main categories of images that are helpful to learners: representational images, which portray an individual object; organizational images, which illustrate relationships between objects (or between parts of an object); and explanative images, which illustrate how a system works (236).

Decorative images, on the other hand, are "illustrations that are intended to interest the reader but that do not enhance the message of the passage" (Mayer, 236). They distract students from learning goals, add to their extraneous load, and squander their limited cognitive resources.

Now, on the surface, it may seem like adding some decorative imagery to your more text-heavy slides might be a good thing, to give them some visual interest and foster a little more engagement with your presentation. As Mayer points out, this is arousal theory: "the idea that students learn better when they are emotionally aroused by the material" (93). Unfortunately, decorative images end up becoming "seductive illustrations": images added solely to add some visual interest. Unfortunately research has confirmed that these details are retained better than the presentation's central points (Mayer, 97).

So, if an image - indeed, if any content - doesn't directly support the completion of your students' learning objectives, don't include it. While we do recommend using images instead of text when possible as well as using less text overall, don't include imagery for imagery's sake.

Remember - an effective multimedia message should be designed to create the conditions for maximal learning. Some of your slides may end up being less visually interesting, but especially when paired with our other tips, you'll be helping your learners spend their cognitive resources more effectively.

The bottom line : Don't add images that don't directly support your students' learning.

Given how deleterious decorative imagery can be to our cognitive resources, all the images you've included in your presentation should support your students' learning. If there are students who can't perceive that visual content, however, their learning is compromised compared to their classmates.

If you intend to distribute your presentation file digitally (for example, uploading it to your LMS for students to download), you should ensure that all the images included in the presentation have what's called "alt text": text-based metadata embedded into the image that displays onscreen when the image fails to load and that describes it for screen reader software. These image descriptions are essential in ensuring that your materials are accessible to learners with visual disabilities.

Adding alt text within many applications is often just a matter of right-clicking an image, clicking the appropriate menu option, and typing in a description. A good alt tag should be specific and concise. And while it should communicate the relevant part(s) of the image, it shouldn't require the learner to listen to a lengthy description.

The bottom line : Add alt tags to all images in presentations you intend to distribute digitally.

PowerPoint shouldn't be vilified or glorified. Presentation software is just a tool, and it could be used effectively or poorly to communicate a message. Kosslyn sums it up well in his book Clear and to the Point : "PowerPoint presentations can help people understand by making both memory and processing easier for them" (12).

It is true that presentations designed this way require more effort to produce. If you're struggling to devote the time needed in pre-production to make your slides more pedagogically effective, some low-hanging fruit you can bite off (so to speak) is to use tools during your presentation to draw your students' attention, such as turning your mouse cursor into a laser pointer. Let Kosslyn's principles of Salience and Discriminability remind you that "attention is drawn to large perceptible differences," and those differences "must differ by a large enough proportion or they will not be distinguished" (7-8).

It's important to note that if you abide by these research-based best practices, it's likely that your presentation won't work as effectively as a standalone artifact. It's not meant to. Your slide deck is part of a larger presentation that includes pictures, text, and spoken words, all employed strategically to maximize learning. If it's important that your presentation be legible on its own, consider developing an alternate version.

Fiorella, L., Stull, A. T., Kuhlmann, S., & Mayer, R. E. (2019). Instructor presence in video lectures: The role of dynamic drawings, eye contact, and instructor visibility. Journal of Educational Psychology , 111(7), 1162–1171. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000325

Grady, C. L., McIntosh, A. R., Rajah, M. N., & Craik, F. I. M. (1998). Neural correlates of the episodic encoding of pictures and words. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci . USA, 95, 2703–2708.

Kosslyn, S. (2007). Clear and to the point: 8 psychological principles for compelling PowerPoint presentations . New York: Oxford University Press.

Mayer, R. E. (2009). Multimedia learning (2nd ed.). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

Interested in consulting with a member of the Multimedia Services team? Contact us at [email protected] .

23 Great Examples – PowerPoint Presentation Design Tips

Powerpoint presentation design tips that comes handy while designing your next client presentation.

Coming up with a wealth of ideas for a presentation can be a daunting task. Putting together a coherent PowerPoint Presentation can be a challenge for even the most experienced. To ensure that your presentation is clear and effective, we have compiled a list of PowerPoint Presentation Design tips that will help you. By following these PowerPoint Presentation Design tips, you can ace your next presentation that stands out from the crowd.

A PowerPoint slide creatively visualizes the content with suitable design improvements. A well-designed PowerPoint slide can effectively convey key points and leave a lasting impression on the audience. PowerPoint presentation slides is a compilation of multiple slides that work together to deliver a cohesive message. With the use of ppt slides, presenters can effectively communicate their ideas and make a lasting impact on their audience.

Organizing a PowerPoint presentation 

During the PowerPoint presentation we will be focusing on the effective use of a ppt presentation to deliver engaging and impactful content. A PowerPoint sample presentation serves as a great resource for understanding the dynamics of an impactful presentation. By providing a visual representation of ideas, a ppt presentation sample allows individuals to grasp concepts more easily. Furthermore, an example ppt presentation showcases the proper usage of design elements, such as font styles, colors, and graphics, ensuring that the audience remains captivated.

By examining sample power point presentations, one can gain inspiration and insights on how to structure their own presentations effectively. Understanding the PowerPoint format for presentation grants individuals the ability to organize information in a clear and concise manner, making for a seamless and engaging experience for the audience. Ultimately, utilizing these resources and examples can greatly enhance one’s presentation skills and leave a lasting impression on their audience.

Right choice of Presentation topics

When it comes to creating a successful presentation, there are several key elements to consider. Choose engaging and relevant PPT presentation topics. The PowerPoint topics should be interesting and informative, capturing the attention of the audience. The PowerPoint background should complement the content of the presentation and enhance the overall visual appeal. PowerPoint presentation topics should flow logically and present information in a clear and concise manner. The presentation topics should be suitable for a PowerPoint presentation examples, allowing for the effective use of visuals and graphics. Building a branded PowerPoint template comes next, as this saves time and effort.

PowerPoint background design

PowerPoint background design plays a crucial role in enhancing the overall visual appeal and professionalism of a presentation. A good PowerPoint presentation background design should be visually appealing, easy to read, and complement the content without distracting from it. It should also be consistent throughout the presentation to maintain a professional look.

Expert Advice to Enhance Your PowerPoint Presentation Design

• Design your presentation slides with simplicity and clarity in mind
• Utilize the available white space and refrain from overcrowding each slide.
• When considering any additional information, it is important to evaluate its necessity and contribution to the overall message.
• Select backgrounds that are not overly cluttered, creating a clear contrast for the text to ensure maximum legibility.

PowerPoint Presentation Design Ideas

What makes an engaging PowerPoint Presentation Design?

An engaging PowerPoint presentation design gets the point across succinctly while using a design approach that builds upon the point, and doesn’t detract from it. 

The following aspects make for a great PowerPoint example that stands out:

Subtle Animations and Transitions

Harmonious color scheme, visuals embedded within a context.

PowerPoint Presentation Design – Focus On Branding Designs

In order to maintain the clarity of one’s argument, it is recommended to use animations and transitions in a very subtle manner. However, they can be utilized in order to further support the content being presented and to emphasize a point.

See the PowerPoint presentation examples that have subtle animations. 

In creating your next PowerPoint presentation design, it is beneficial to consider color theory. Complementary and analogous colors can be used in a unified palette to draw the audience’s focus, emphasize key points, and deemphasize unimportant elements.

Have a look at our presentation examples PowerPoint   that follows the best principles of color theory. 

Visuals can help to illustrate a concept or idea, making it easier to understand and remember. An example of a PowerPoint presentation , using visuals to illustrate a complex data set can help the audience quickly grasp the concept. In addition, visuals can be used to create a more memorable impression and improve the overall user experience. Verbally explain the purpose of the visuals to ensure contextualization. Failing to do so can result in audience distraction and more questions than answers.

Three essential sections

• The introduction – Purpose of the presentation
• Body – Supporting facts, data, and content with visualization
• Conclusion – Summarizing the key takeaways

Structuring your presentation

• Content – Well-crafted and covers all the points
• Text – Easy to read with better whitespace management
• Sequence – Have an outline and structure cohesively
• Narrative – Must be memorable, unique and appealing
• Get Started – Well-aligned and begin with a startling statement

Improving Presentation design

• Alignments – Neatly formatted and aligned – text, images and graphics
• Readability – Use Compelling Fonts for Impactful Presentations
• Images – High-quality images, use of different shapes
• Minimalistic – Minimal text that conveys the key point as memorable
• Animations and Transitions – Use sparingly and go with the basic types

Though you may be able to arrange your slides in a strategic manner, mastering the design componen t of a presentation can be challenging. Professional Presentation Agency such as Visual Sculptors can employ creative design elements to elevate the aesthetic of your presentation and maximize its visual impact. 

Professional PowerPoint Presentation Design Ideas

Best PowerPoint design ideas

Select the ‘Design Ideas’ option within the Design tab, in PowerPoint. This will generate a variety of slide layout s based on the existing content on your slides.

1. Atlas (Theme)

The vivid red hue and interesting visual elements will be attractive to viewers.

2. Madison (Theme)

It upholds a casual atmosphere that all PowerPoint presentations can take advantage of.

3. Parcel (Theme)

The utilization of colour blocking creates a visually appealing and calming atmosphere.

4. Badge (Theme)

By incorporating lines and contrasting components, such as a burst, you can create a richer presentation.

For those not pleased with the standard PowerPoint design themes, one can enlist the assistance of a Professional Presentation Agency that offers the Best Presentation Services – to design a thematic presentation in keeping with one’s brand.

Let us have a look at some PowerPoint slide ideas for creating the best PowerPoint Templates . 

Professional Style PowerPoint (Template)

The template also comes pre-loaded with graphs, charts, and diagrams to make data and information easy to understand. The template is easy to use and provides a professional, polished look that is sure to impress any audience.

Simple PowerPoint (Template)

This PowerPoint template combines both vibrant and pale colors to create a subtle yet visually engaging, which is intended to draw attention to the content. In our portfolio, you can find PowerPoint example for simple template design that looks uniform and appealing. 

Data PowerPoint (Template)

This template leverages a rounded font to create a stark contrast with the accompanying lines and graphs that will be featured in the presentation. If you are seeking to create an interactive visual experience while presenting numerical data , this type of template is a great option.

Creative PowerPoint (Template)

They provide an array of customizable features, including a variety of color palettes, fonts, and layouts. They can also include high-quality images and graphics to add visual interest to presentations.

23 Great examples of presentations on PowerPoint – PowerPoint’s best design tips

1. perfect color palette.

Combining black and white photography with accentuations of fluorescent colors, while simultaneously complementing vintage photos with vivid color palettes, will ensure viewer engagement.

2. Hand-drawn illustrations

Create visual company storytelling with hand-drawn illustrations that give an out-of-the-box piece of content, that stands out in the best way possible. Canva offers the best examples of PowerPoint with illustrations. 

3. Balancing visual backgrounds with text

Combining shapes that go well with the branding with apt graphics can generate a contrast between the text and the background. This approach will reinforce the brand shapes in succession that gets attached to the audience’s mind. Please see the linked PowerPoint samples for a presentation that clearly defines the branding with apt visual backgrounds with text in this link . 

4. B2B marketing presentation

A successful presentation template should be easy to read, intuitive and organized. Furthermore, consider incorporating elements such as icons, images, videos, and other visuals to help engage and educate the audience. Designs that evoke a personalized, introspective feel will ensure audience engagement. You can see an example of a PowerPoint presentation that works for B2B marketing here . 

5. Use of Visual Agenda

It is beneficial to utilize a visual agenda that illustrates the content. This index succinctly outlines the beginning and end of each segment to enable the viewer to comprehend the content and monitor its progress. 

6. Minimalistic design

This meticulously crafted design follows a streamlined, cohesive colour palette, accompanied by thoughtfully placed visuals to enhance the visual appeal of the presentation. All superfluous elements are omitted, allowing the informative content to remain the focal point. You can see a PowerPoint presentation sample that follows the minimalistic design approach with a clearly defined colour scheme here .  

7. Colorful, quirky doodles

The vivid, unconventional sketches aid in conveying the narrative while providing an appealing visual representation of the data.

8. Modern typography

Modern typography is frequently used in corporate logos and branding, advertising, book covers, posters, and web design. The possibilities are endless and the results can be stunning when used effectively. It is used to create sleek and modern designs that can effectively communicate a message while maintaining a professional and sophisticated look.

9. Create contrast and call out specific concepts

The carefully selected colour palette and font weights create a visually stimulating contrast and draw the reader’s attention to key concepts. The prominent numerical labels indicate to the reader how far they have progressed in their journey.

10. Various colours in all the right places

The vibrant backgrounds of each image draw the eye, while the silhouetted characters serve to emphasize the advice. This clever combination of colours helps to keep the viewer’s attention on the content, providing a visually stimulating yet purposeful experience.

11. Colorful graphs, and charts

With PowerPoint, users can create charts, graphs, and diagrams that can effectively convey their message. Additionally, data visualization in PowerPoint can be used to create interactive presentations that can help to keep viewers engaged.

1 2. Create a visual tutorial

Incorporating visuals such as screenshots and a graphic table of contents that outlines the progress and relates to the material into presentation slides can be extremely beneficial.

13. Quote-chronicling presentations

Using high-resolution background images with judiciously chosen fonts of appropriate sizes and incorporating attractive filters to construct adequate contrast can be very advantageous.

14. Use of comic images

The use of contrasting colours provides a visually stimulating effect, and the inclusion of comic images helps to make the information more approachable.

15. Creative Title slide design

When designing a title slide, consider the use of colour, font, layout and images. Use a limited colour palette to make your slide stand out and ensure that fonts are easy to read. An eye-catching image or animation will help to capture the audience’s attention.

16. Split-screen approach

Utilizing a split-screen approach with each presentation slide, a clear, readable quotation can be presented while maintaining the impact of a strong visual.

17. Simple with consistent colours

The judicious selection of fonts and the uniform use of colour throughout the presentation keep viewers interested and attentive.

18. Fun and creative way

Illustrations that are straightforward and imaginative effectively narrate the tale, with an almost narrative-like quality, allowing a seamless transition between slides. 

19. Cartoonified self-portrait

This innovative design provides a fresh outlook on conveying both beneficial and entertaining information, in contrast to the conventional use of stock images.

20. Use of popular images and media

Take advantage of popular images and media to keep the audience’s attention and deepen your arguments.

21. Fade In And Out Of Your Slides

If your slide’s content is not essential to your message, transition to black. This will help keep the audience’s attention on you and prevent them from getting sidetracked by the visuals.

22. Show One Bullet Point At A Time

An effective way to ensure your audience is paying attention to your PowerPoint presentation is to only reveal one bullet point at a time. This ensures that they remain focused on your talk and do not become distracted or miss an important point.

23. Harness The Power Of Infographics

Infographics can make complex topics more comprehensible. A sequence of figures can be uninteresting to read, yet when presented in an infographic, viewers are able to understand the concept more effectively. Understand the design approach followed in this PowerPoint sample presentation , wherein we create a professional-looking infographic resume .

PowerPoint Samples and Examples 

A sample of PowerPoint is an excellent resource for anyone looking to improve their presentation skills. By examining a sample ppt, one can gain valuable insights on how to structure a presentation, use multimedia elements, and create effective transitions. Additionally, a sample of presentation on PowerPoint offers a practical demonstration of how these features can be utilized effectively to deliver a compelling message.

One can make PowerPoint to easily convey their message through a visually appealing and organized format. To make PPT effectively, one can make use of the available themes and build templates of PowerPoint that can be used for later presentations. By looking at PowerPoint sample, individuals can gain insights into the design, layout, and use of various features such as images, charts, and animations. We also provide a range of ppt slides sample, offering you options to suit your specific needs. Professional and sleek look or a playful and creative approach, our PowerPoint slides samples have got you covered.

Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned pro, our PowerPoint presentation examples will surely inspire and guide you in creating impactful and impressive presentations. Presentations examples in PowerPoint serve as valuable resources for both beginners and experienced presenters. Example of PowerPoint presentation provides creative design ideas and inspiration for you to create compelling and professional-looking presentations.

Looking for a PowerPoint presentation example that can inspire you to design a top-notch business presentation? Explore our collection of examples of PowerPoint presentation covering wider areas right from storytelling to slide design, from sales decks to investor pitch deck, you get design ideas for every type of business presentation.

PowerPoint Presentation Examples for the Best Slide Presentation

Design presentations that captivate your audience and promote your brand. Utilize the concepts mentioned above to create a presentation that effectively highlights your message, captures the attention of your audience, and encourages leads for your brand. If you are struggling with adapting to the above design ideas, search for design talent on Upwork or Fiverr .

You can see their portfolio showcasing examples of PowerPoint that show the expertise and versatility of the design talent. You can choose the best one, that fits your budget with set quality standards. Freelancing platforms like Upwork , Fiverr , and Guru provides the options to explore the best design talents online that best suit your budget delivering top-quality designs. 

Our Visual Sculptors Team are eager to support you in designing your next presentation

Visual Sculptors is a leading global provider of Best Presentation Services led by Ex-McKinsey Presentation Designers . A Professional Presentation Agency comprising Business Presentation Specialists with 10+ years of experience at McKinsey. A Top Rated Plus PPT Presentation Design agency in Upwork with 4,080 jobs, and 28,254 billed hours. This speaks to our team’s dedication, competing for the Top 10 Presentation Design Agency in India and worldwide. We offer excellent Management Consulting Presentation Services for clients globally, delivering top-notch presentations in PowerPoint/PPT. Our services include Business presentations , Business Strategy Presentations , Consulting Slides specializing in McKinsey, BCG, and Bain-type Business Presentations, including think-cell charts.

• How can I improve my PowerPoint presentation design?

When crafting and presenting a PowerPoint presentation, it is imperative to employ judicious font and size selections. Opt for appropriate fonts that are easily legible and avoid cluttering your slides with too many words. Complement your message with high-quality images that bolster your points and limit the use of special effects, as they can distract from your core message. Choose your slides with care, ensuring that the number you use is sufficient to get your point across without overloading your audience. Finally, resist the urge to read from your slides or speak directly to them. Instead, engage with your audience in a conversational tone and use your slides to bolster your overall message.

2. How do you style a PowerPoint presentation?

Some tips for styling a PowerPoint presentation include using a consistent color scheme, choosing easy-to-read fonts, using high-quality images, and keeping slides simple and uncluttered. It’s also important to consider the audience and purpose of the presentation when choosing a design style.

3. What are the 4 principles of presentation design?

The cornerstone of effective presentation design lies in the adherence to certain fundamental principles that guide the entire creative process. Among these principles are contrast, repetition, alignment, and proximity, commonly referred to as C.R.A.P. Our team is well-versed in the significance of these principles and ensures that they are taken into account every time we craft a presentation, brochure, business card, or letter, or any other graphic material. This unwavering commitment to excellence ensures that our designs not only look visually appealing but also communicate their intended message with maximum impact.

4. What is the best presentation style?

When it comes to presentation styles, the closer approach is often considered the most effective. This style involves connecting with the audience on a personal level and using persuasive language to encourage them to take action. Presenters who use the closer style are skilled at understanding their audience and tailoring their message to resonate with them, ultimately driving them to make a decision.

5. What is the best flow for a presentation?

The best flow for a presentation is to start with an attention-grabbing opening, followed by an outline of what you will cover. Then, dive into your main points, using visuals and examples to support your ideas. Finally, wrap up with a clear conclusion and a call to action. It’s important to keep your audience engaged throughout the presentation and to make sure your message is clear and memorable.

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Home Blog Design How to Get Great PowerPoint Design Ideas (with Examples)

How to Get Great PowerPoint Design Ideas (with Examples)

Are you staring at that blank PowerPoint slide? Unable to decide which PowerPoint slide design is the best to make your presentation pop? The longer you look at that computer screen, the harder it seems to get PowerPoint design ideas, not easier. We’ve all been there.

You have your content ready. What you need now is a way to present this content in a way that leaves your audience impressed. Indeed, you don’t want your audience to feel bored when you present your ideas. 

5 PowerPoint Design Ideas to Craft the Perfect Presentation 

An excellent solution to this issue is to learn how to get Design Ideas on Microsoft PowerPoint. The good news is that these PowerPoint ideas have already been intelligently crafted for by the modern AI algorithms provided in Microsoft PowerPoint. Plus, combining them with visually appealing slides by SlideModel , you have the perfect toolset to make outstanding presentations .

When beautifully made PowerPoint templates already exist, there is no reason to spend your energy and the hours of your day creating a design from scratch.  

And so, without further ado, we present the creative presentation ideas to incorporate and execute stunning PowerPoint designs to ensure that your audience pays attention to you. Let’s dive in!

Presentation Idea #1: Employ existing PowerPoint themes from Microsoft PowerPoint

Your Microsoft PowerPoint comes with a number of presentation themes preinstalled that you can choose from. This way it reduces the amount of time you need to spend to choose from PowerPoint slide ideas. You can then proceed to edit and customize a presentation template per your requirements. Although they do not come with the necessary details to guide you through the editing process, this can be a good starting point.

Alternatively, you can browse some of our pre-designed PowerPoint themes examples to use in your presentations.

Presentation Idea #2: Incorporate the core design principles

With the task of creating a PowerPoint presentation, the presenter has to make sure the design elements within the presentation are attractive and draw attention. This involves a number of factors such as the alignment, color combinations, charts and graphs, fonts, animations, transitions, and many more. There is a science behind design which involves psychological principles. Each line style, font, color and graphic you use in your slides will ultimately influence the message you are conveying to the audience.

For instance, you may choose the font based on readability ( Verdana, Tahoma, Helvetica, Times New Roman ), category ( Serif, Slab Serif, Sans Serif ), purpose ( logo or text ), etc. You may choose the font size on accessibility (where a starting size of 12 points=16px is considered to be the most accessible). All the above mentioned fonts are ADA-compliant as well, which is a plus.

These core principles are a tenet of PowerPoint slide ideas, and are valid for short but also for long form PowerPoint style presentations.

Presentation Idea #3: Take the expert opinion 

A wordy slide will only make people switch off and turn to their phones. What is needed is to use as few words as possible to convey as much information as possible.

1. The 1-6-6 rule

The 1-6-6 rule is one of the few generalized rules that suggest that there ought to be one main idea for each slide, a maximum of six bullet points, and a maximum of six words per bullet point. You may also see this rule in the form of the 1-5-5 or the 1-7-7 rule. Therefore, employ this rule per your specific needs. 

2. Guy Kawasaki’s 10/20/30 rule 

Heed the words of Guy Kawasaki , the modern design evangelist. According to him, an average person can’t keep up with more than 10 concepts in a meeting. Therefore, a presentation should include no more than 10 slides, last no longer than 20 minutes, and use font not smaller than 30 points. This is known as the 10/20/30 rule by Guy Kawasaki, and some professional presenters take it in mind when preparing and designing their presentations.

Presentation Idea #4: A picture is worth a thousand words. A video a billion.

It’s not enough to be as succinct as possible because visuals are an even more effective medium to convey the necessary information. A visual can be a simple picture, graphs, charts, or a video that can ensure that the audience understands the point you are trying to make and support the message you convey to an audience. 

Converting your slideshow into a video helps you free yourself from constant clicking to get to the next point or slide. To achieve this, you can use the “Record” feature (in the Record tab) in PowerPoint to convert your presentation into a video. 

This also enables you to avoid reading your slides, which is discouraged most of the time. Have a monolog prepared for your presentation and let the slides speak for themselves in the form of a video. This way, you talk to the audience and actively engage with them. This makes you the best presenter bar none there and is one of the best PowerPoint ideas today. 

Alternatively, the PowerPoint Designer provides some attractive video presentation templates that you can use and incorporate in your slide shows. Check out some of them here:

To access these PowerPoint Design Ideas, simply go to PowerPoint’s Design tab in the Ribbon, and look for the Design Ideas button, as shown below:

Alternatively, to take advantage of video presentations, you can insert videos from the Insert tab.

Presentation Idea #5: Plot a Call to Action (CTA)

When you finish your presentation, your audience must have a purpose and a sense of direction to work towards that purpose. This requires some calls to action to be included in your presentation. These phrases will motivate and inspire your audience members and make them realize they have the drive to take the actions they need to take. 

Here are a few examples of such slides:

Creative PowerPoint Design Ideas from the PowerPoint Designer Slides

If you are looking for fresh design ideas to use in your presentations, PowerPoint Design Ideas can be helpful. Here are some examples of slide designs you can use and apply with the ease of a few clicks into your existing presentations. These designs change not only the appearance of your cover slide but also the internal slides.

Example 1: Blue PowerPoint Design Idea with Curved Lines

Example 2: A modern design idea with pastel colors

Example 3: Creative PowerPoint Design Idea with a colorful background

Example 4: Presentation Design Ideas with Creative Cover Slide Layout

Example 5: PowerPoint Design Idea Concept for Presentations

Example 6: Presentation Design Idea with diagonal lines

Example 7: PowerPoint Design Ideas with Bubble and Liquid Style

Example 8: Modern PowerPoint Design Idea Concept Template

How to use PowerPoint Slide Design Ideas to Enhance your Presentation

Microsoft PowerPoint comes with a significant number of features to create a custom slide that satisfies your design needs. This section will take you through the main methods to create a custom slide. Here we go!

1. The Home Tab

For both text and visual, the Home tab has a number of fundamental features to create an attractive slide. These features include the Layout, Alignment, Font, Font size, SmartArt, Arrange, etc. With the Arrang e functionality, you can create layers in your slide to give depth and a cooler format to the slide.

2. The Insert Tab

The Insert tab allows you to populate your slides with visuals from simple shapes to images and videos, thereby making the slide far more informative without the use of extra words. It includes the Table, Shape, Icons, Action, Equation, Audio, Video, etc. 

From this tab, you can insert a variety of visual graphics into your slides: pictures, shapes, icons, or even screenshots from your other apps.

Let’s take a look at the following quick example. Using the Icons tab, we can get access to a huge collection of Illustrations, Stickers, Videos and Cutout people. The illustrations can serve as a base point to decorate your presentation and produce visually appealing slides.

3. The Transitions and Animations tabs

Two of the most well-known features of PowerPoint, they not only allow beautiful effects to mesmerize the audience, but they are also necessary to order and arrange your text and data in a way that constitutes a narrative. Or in other words, you can use these features to support your speech and at the same time add some visual effects to your slides, while telling a coherent story. 

4. The Design and View tabs

The Design tab is the placeholder for the PowerPoint Designer feature. When you click on the Designer, it populates the right-hand side of the window with a pane that contains Design Ideas.

The Designer feature is available to those with an active Office 365 subscription. However, as a workaround, if you don’t have this version of PowerPoint, you can use the PowerPoint Online version.

When you add an image to the slide, the PowerPoint Designer automatically generates design ideas to help you create a professional-looking slide, create illustrations, convert text to a graphic, etc. You can choose from several generated layouts, which will also allow you to save a significant amount of time when you are creating a presentation.  

You can use the Slide Master and the Layout Master to make sure that all your slides contain the same font and images (e.g. logos). You will find these options in the View tab. 

In the View tab, we find options to optimize how the slide will look to the viewer during the slideshow. But another amazing feature that we briefly mentioned a bit earlier, is contained in this tab, the Slide Master .

When you choose a new layout for your slide, it has its own theme, i.e. its own way to arrange and show the text and graphics. With the Slide Master , you can make sure all your slides follow the same theme in terms of fonts and images. This in turn leads you to the Slide Layouts to modify each individual slide. 

With the Slide Master , you can modify backgrounds, rearrange placeholders, customize text format, etc. 

With the help of these feature-rich tabs, you will be able to customize and optimize your slides to your satisfaction. This will ensure that the presentation is so remarkable that the viewers can’t help but take note of the information that you wish to convey. 

It is important to remember that this is an iterative process for everyone. You might need a few trials to land on the perfect combination of color, text, alignment, animations, and the rest to get the results that you desire. 

With these tools in hand and the professionally designed templates from SlideModel, you can be sure that your presentation will never be boring again.

If you do not see the Designer feature… How to enable Design Ideas in PowerPoint?

As mentioned earlier, the PowerPoint Designer , for some known as PowerPoint Design Ideas, is an AI-powered feature within the Microsoft PowerPoint software (in the Design tab) that helps you generate slide design ideas automatically. 

However, if you do not see the Designer feature on your computer, just go to File -> Options -> General , where you will see the Automatically show me design ideas in the PowerPoint Designer section. Check this box and the Designer feature will start working. 

Let’s take a quick look at how to use the Designer feature. For the following example, we are going to simply put our text on a new blank slide and click on the “Designer” icon to get suggestions for creative slide layouts on the right. Simply click on the layout that suits your needs. The final slide will be a unique visual that you can use to get started with your presentation.

You can also go to the Designer after getting your text onto several slides to prepare a thematic slideshow. The more you experiment, the better the output. 

PowerPoint Design Ideas not working

Like any other software you’ve used for work, you may come across problems that keep you from using the Designer feature. On the desktop version, the PowerPoint Designer is only available to paid subscribers. However, the subscription for Office 365 Germany does not have this feature. On the other hand, for the web version it is available to everyone. 

Is the PowerPoint Design Ideas not working for you? There are a few reasons for such an issue to arise and there are appropriate solutions for each of them:

1. Unable to see the Design Ideas button

If you have bought the subscription to Microsoft Office but still don’t see the option to turn on Design Ideas in the Design tab, this is what you have to do to correct this error: 

• Turn on the Office Connected Experiences . Go to File > Account , and under Account Privacy , select Manage Settings :

• If your subscription is paid for by your organization, ask your IT department for it to be turned ON.
• You need to uninstall and then re-install Office if you have just upgraded to the Microsoft 365 subscription.

2. Unable to see any design suggestions

If you are able to turn on the Designer function but no new design suggestions are presented in the right hand side pane, this is how you solve this issue:

• Check to see if your internet connection is working.
• Use an in-built theme from Microsoft PowerPoint.
• Make sure your slide has the Title or Title + Content layout.
• Only use a maximum of four images of size greater than 200 by 200 pixels.
• Check to make sure no one else is co-authoring or working on this presentation.
• Check to make sure there is no shape or text box within the slide.

3. The Design Idea button is grayed out

Is the Designer functionality inaccessible or unclickable? Nothing to worry about; take the following steps to fix this problem – 

• As before, make sure your internet connection is working. Consider using a VPN service if you have any problems with access.
• Only select a single slide at a time and make sure that you haven’t clicked on another point, such as between two slides

How to Turn Off PowerPoint Design Ideas?

There are several ways to turn off PowerPoint Design Ideas, in this short tutorial we explain how to do it:

How to Turn Off PowerPoint Design Ideas using Ribbon?

The easiest way is to use the Ribbon, when you are in Normal View click on the Ribbon design option.

Then click on Design Ideas in the design option.

That’s it, that way you can turn the PowerPoint Design Ideas functionality on and off.

How to Turn Off PowerPoint Design Ideas using the Task Pane?

Another way to turn off PowerPoint Design Ideas in the normal PowerPoint view is to use the Task Pane.

Click on “Stop showing ideas for new presentations” at the top of the Design Ideas Task Pane.

How to Turn Off PowerPoint Design Ideas using PowerPoint Options?

The third option to disable the PowerPoint Design Ideas functionality is through PowerPoint Options.

Click on the file option in the Ribbon. Then the options box appears.

Click on General in the left menu.

In the right pane, uncheck “Automatically show me design ideas” and “Automatically show me suggestions when I create a new presentation”.

Click Accept.

Final Words

Once you apply these PowerPoint slide design ideas, the result will be a more engaged audience that holds on to your every word. These recommendations are the exact solution you need to refine your presentation. 

Now that you have the resources and the tools to perfect your presentation, there’s no need to wait any longer. Get started and show your audience what you can do! Let us know in the comments below how this guide has helped you create the ideal presentation.

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95+ PowerPoint Design Ideas for Your Next Presentation (2023)

What are the best powerpoint design ideas.

Are you working on a PowerPoint presentation that looks kind of blah? Do you want to make your slides look more professional and polished, but not sure how?

Well, you're in the right place! I've compiled this list of over 95+ design ideas you can quickly implement in your next PowerPoint presentation.  

If you put these design ideas into practice, you're going to create a presentation that not only communicates your message effectively but also leaves a lasting impression on your audience, whether it's your team, manager, or client.

Don't ever settle for bland, uninspired, or ugly slides. It doesn't take that much work to improve a presentation drastically. Here are some specific ideas to help you raise the bar on your next presentation.

Let's dive in.

95+💡 and counting., idea #1: chose the right colors.

Don't use the boring default colors that PowerPoint gives you!

Take a minute to either use your company's official color scheme by importing the theme, or if that doesn't exist, create your color theme using Canva or Adobe Color pickers.

Idea #2: Use high-quality images

You can find amazing royalty-free images from Unsplash or Pexels . So start with these two sites instead of searching Google images.

Idea #3: Use icons to illustrate ideas

There are hundreds of great icons available in Microsoft PowerPoint. You can click on Insert on the ribbon and look for the Icons button. These icons are a great way to add a nice little touch to your PowerPoint slide.

Idea #4: Use a consistent layout

This means making sure that all slides have the same formatting and layout. If you are building a presentation and pulling slides from many different presentations, take a little bit of time to reformat them so that they all have the same general look and feel.

Idea #5: Choose the right font pairing

If you're at a Fortune 500 company, chances are that corporate branding worked with a design agency like Duarte to create a great-looking corporate template with everything ready to go.

The general rule of thumb I follow is to have one font for the headlines and one for additional text on the slide.

Idea #6: Be concise with text

Generally, less is more. For example, no one wants to read a slide like this:

There's too much text on it, even if the information is important.

Idea #7: Upgrade your bullet points

One really easy way to upgrade your bullet points is to take them and lay them out horizontally on the slide. Then, add a little icon for each idea. This is a much more elevated look and feel (and so easy to do!)

Using bullet points :

Laying out the bullet points horizontally:

Idea #8: Use hierarchy

What this means is to think about what you want the reader to pay attention to and what should stand out on the page. Then, organize the information on the slide in a way that makes logical sense and makes it easy to follow along. Generally, what this means in practice is to have bigger text or ideas higher up on the page and smaller details or double clicks lower on the page.

Idea #9: Use thin lines to create separation

Draw thin lines to help create separation between elements on the page. Pro tip is to hold the shift key so that they lines are straight. If I have two different charts on a slide, I'll use thin lines right in the middle to create separation.

In the NYT's example below, the thin white lines add a nice, whimsical touch. It would still be very well organizedand easy to read without the line. However, the line give the slide a little more structure.

Idea #10: Use negative space

You dont' have to fill up every inch of the slide with content or pictures. Leave some room around the text. Leave some white space on the slide.

Or, just look at the slide below as an example of using white space. If you're not used to using white space, it does take some time getting used to.

Idea#11: Filter Google image search for "large"

If you have to add logos to a slide, just remember to try and find the highest resolution images you can on Google. You presentation will look much more professional and much more polished. Attention to details add up.

This is also true if you are looking for other images on Google. But if you remember my design tip from earlier, don't start on Google images because there are much better sites to find incredible imagery.

Idea #12: Use high contrast colors for text

Use a dark color if the background is white. Use a light color if the background is dark. Don't ever use yellow text on a white background because it's not going to be readable.

A tip I got from a friend in the Presentation Guild was to use a web tool such as The Accessible Color Generator to ensure colors you're using are readable for people with low vision or colorblindness.

Idea #13: Tables are you friend

Use tables to organize your content. I mean this literally. Draw a table (4x4, 5x5, etc), lay out your content, then delete the table. Your slide will now have this hidden structure that just makes everything on the page feel balanced.

Here is another example of using a table to organize content.

Idea#14: Use widescreen page ratio

It's 2023. Everything is digital. People read on their laptops, iPads, or widescreen monitors. It still surprises me when I see a PowerPoint presentation made with the 4:3 ratio. It just looks like something out of the 90s.

Sure, there are some situations where people want to see a printed copy of the presentaiton and you could argue the 4:3 ratio is better. But I don't buy it.

Compare the following two slides:

Always use the 16:9 page ratio. If it isn't currently your default—it's time to make the switch.

Idea #15: Keep it simple

If you can, always opt for simplicity over something complicated. If a slide is feeling too crowded, then edit some content out. Or, break up the one slide into two or three or even four slides.

Idea #16: Use columns for huge blocks of text

If you have to include a lot of text on a slide because of a legal or regulatory requirement, then use columns to make the text more reader friendly. Think back to printed newspapers or even magazine columns. The text never stretches across the entire width of the paper. Same idea here.

You can access this feature in the PowerPoint ribbon.

Idea #17: Respect (slide) boundaries

This isn't a hard and fast rule. However, if you keep the contents of your slide within the slide's boundaries, it will look more professional and clean. If you're going to break the boundaries, then do it with intentionality.

There are two common exceptions to this rule.

Idea #18: Use diagrams

Sometimes, an idea is easier to show with a diagram rather than explaining by text. If you decide to use a diagram, try to draw it with the basic shape tools built in PowerPoint.

Here's an example of a Pyramid diagram with different tiers.

Idea #19: Disguise SmartArt

PowerPoint's SmartArt looks very amateur unless you know how to disguise it well. There is definitely a stigma against SmartArt and I've seen many brand guides and PowerPoint presentation templates warn against using it.

I generally agree because when SmartArt is used willy-nilly, it looks very unprofessional.

However, if you strip it down to just the essential shapes and make the text 8pt Calibri (or whatever your body text is), then it could work:

Proceed with caution! Some of the SmartArt options should never, ever be used.

Idea #20: Use the grid

Turn on the grid under View.

Use the grid to help you align elements on the slide so that there is some underlying structure.

Idea #21: Design in Threes

Three is a magical number. People remember lists of three. Our culture loves lists groups of three.

Here are some examples of famous threes.

• The Three Musketeers - a novel by Alexandre Dumas about three French soldiers who protect their king and country.
• The Three Stooges - a comedy team from the early 20th century known for their slapstick humor.
• The Three Wise Men - also known as the Three Kings or Magi, they are mentioned in the Bible as the men who visited Jesus after his birth.
• The Three Little Pigs - a fairy tale about three pigs who build houses of straw, sticks, and bricks, respectively, and are targeted by a hungry wolf.
• The Three Blind Mice - a nursery rhyme about three mice who are chased by a farmer's wife and lose their tails.
• The Three Billy Goats Gruff - a Norwegian fairy tale about three goats who must outsmart a troll in order to cross a bridge.
• The Three Bears - a children's story about a family of bears whose house is visited by a little girl named Goldilocks.

Group your content into three buckets when possible.  Here are some examples of  this in practice.

Idea #22: Avoid cliches

When you're trying to find an image that captures an idea, don't settle for the first image that you find. Keep looking until you find something that is more unique.

Here are three ways of showing the future. Think about which one you would prefer and why.  

Idea #23: Avoid clip art

There are so many better alternatives for adding images to your presentation. Think about icons. Think about photos.

Idea #24: Use alignment

If you have a slide that's going to show a lot of logos, then use PowerPoint's alignment feature to help! Notice how well aligned each row if logos are in the slide below. Notice how the second row of logos is offset from the top row just a bit.

Idea #25: Have fun 🍩🦄

If you're working on a presentation, don't forget to have a little fun with the design. It doesn't have to be all work no play. I love Krispy Kreme's use of their own products to highlight the 5 pillars of their investment thesis.

It's playful, it's whimsical. And most importantly, it works! Here's another example of using a donut as a literal kind of expanded donut chart.

Idea #26: Don't forget the agenda slide

Help your readers navigate the deck by adding a simple agenda like the one below from PVH. Add it before every section to break up different chapters or sections.

I really like the text treatment of the chapter. It's bold and clear. Other previous chapters are in light grey. Still readale, but it is clear where we are going next.

Idea #27: Drop the drop shadows

Most slides are better off clean and simple. This means no extra drop shadows or weird lighting effects on the elements on the page. It is one less thing you have to think about and have to make consistent throughout the presentation. Also, drop shadows just feel dated.

Idea #28: Use eyebrow identification

"Eyebrow identification" is the text above the headline on a slide. It can be the name of the chapter or something that helps the reader understand where the content of the slide fits into the structure and organization of the overall presentaiton.

For example, the eyebrow identification on the NYT's slide below is "ENGAGEMENT AS A GROWTH DRIVER WITHIN PRODUCTS" and all the pages in the section have the same eyebrow identification.

Idea #29: Put screenshots in context

If you're going to be talking about digital or social media, for example, then show it on the slide as it would be seen by a consumer. Ask a presentation designer to help set up the iPhone shape. Then add in a screenshot proportionally as an image.

I love the example below because it clearly shows how two fashion brands come to live on brand owned and operated (O&O) sites and how consumers are going to most likely experience it (through their mobile device).

Idea #30: Show, don't just tell

A few well closen images can really bring an idea to life. Think about the content of the slide and if there's a way to bring a human element to what you're writing about.

In the KDP slide below, they are talkingabout Direct Store Delivery, a rather dry topic. However, the images of their employees who make it happen, bring the idea to life in a way words alone cannot.  

Idea #31: Group like objects together

Instead of one long list of bullet points, try grouping similar objects together. Think about what the buckets are and how you can categorize the items on the list.

Idea #32: Break content into columns

If there is a lot of information you have to cover on one slide, then use columns to do it. I've found this very useful for 1 page type summaries.

Idea #33: Use the quadrant structure

If you have 4 ideas or topics that you want to cover on one single slide, consider using the quadrant structure and putting each idea into it's own quadrant.

Idea #34: Hard pass on the 3D, please

As a general rule of thumb, avoid 3D as much as possible. It doesn't every  add any value. And it doesn't even add aesthetic value. It just looks dated.

Idea #35: Go with conventions

Try to leverage existing conventions instead of rewriting them. For example, if you have a normal line chart, then keep the typical conventions and have the Y-axis on the left and the X-axis on the bottom.

The chart below violates this convention and distracts from the message. Higher penetration means higher earnings. I had to spend extra time digesting the chart and wondering why the Y-axis was on the right instead of the left. When a chart convention is broken, there should be a good reason. There is no good reason for the example below.

Here's an example where you are using existing conventions to illustrate an idea. A higher out of stock number is bad. You want low out of stocks in order to capture all sales.

Idea #36: Go big

When using pictures, don't be afraid to go BIG! A bigger picture zoning in on key details is much stronger visually. Crop in to focus on what matters. This is an key composition idea from photography and carries over in the presentation design.

Idea #37: Drop the clutter

It is perfectly fine to have just one key message on a slide, especially if it's a high note in your presentation. Get rid of anything that distracts from the message. No lines, no arrows, no commentary.

Idea #38: Use icons in the first column

This is a great way to break up a table that has too much text. A simple icon at the beginning of each row makes the slide much more welcoming and visually interesting. The icons are also very simple.

Idea #39: Red is bad, green is good

Use the color red to highlight challenges. Use the color green to highlight what is going well. These are universally understood color conventions.

Idea #40: Match text color

Pull the theme colors all the way through to the text headers. Know what colors are used for what purpose.

This is a nice way to add color with meaning to a slide. Each color identifies a different strategy.

Idea #41: Use your theme colors only

They're in here for a reason. The first four are for text and background. The next 6 are the "accent" colors that you should be using on your slide.

Idea #42: Try AI image generators

If you're trying to find that perfect image, but can't seem to find anything from Unsplash or Pexels, then try one of the new AI image generator tools!

Here are a few quick guides to get you started!

Idea # 43: Summarize a key takeaway... again

The headline should make your key point clear and easy to understand. However, it's also helpful to add some color or detail to the commentary in the form of a call out next to the chart.

Idea #44: Play with Presenation Designer

This is going to be hit or miss. But try PowerPoint's new Designer tool.

It can help generate some concepts for title slides or transition slides. For analytical slides, it won't be able to offer much assistance. Hoewver, it is getting better and better all the time.

Idea #45: Give text breathing room

Put spacing before and after text so that it is not scrunched up and has room to breathe. This is similar to the idea of using white space strategically.

Idea #46: Add emphasis with bold or color

Use your accent color to highlight what you want the reader or audience to focus on. It's a nice, simple way to call attention to something important without having to draw extra arrows or other shapes.

Idea #47: Use SVG or PNG for logos

SVG logos can scale up in PowerPoint without losing any definition. PNG image files are the next best option because they can have a transparent background which means you can use it on white or black backgrounds.

JPGs are the last option because they lose resolution when saved (unless you set PowerPoint to not downsize any images).

What you want to avoid at all costs is having pixelated logos or images on a slide. You want to strive to be a professionalwith attention to detail.  

Idea #48: Add transparency to de-emphasize

You can add transparency to images or content on a page in order to de-emphasize it and have your reader focus on something else on the slide.

Idea #49: Use visual cues

Use boxes, arrows, or other visual cues to point your audience to the key information on the slide. This is most helpful if you are showing a big table with a lot of rows and columns. Use a box to highlight where the focus should be.

Idea #50: Get rid of background images

The principle is to keep slides simple. A white backgrounds is perfectly acceptable. There's no need to put something in the background just to have something in the background.

The example below is what you should aim to avoid. It's hard to tell what the picture even is and teh slide would be much better if it were just plain white. There would actually be higher contrast between the text and the pure white background making the slide easier to read.  

Idea #51: Never underestimate the bar chart

If you make a lot of charts, there may come a time when you're tempted by novelty and want to try a different kind of chart for year over year sales comparison. However, sometimes, all you need is a simple bar chart.

Idea #52: Use color to highlight one bar only

This is a great way to tell your audience where their attention should be and why. Change just one bar to a color that stands out and explain why it matters.

Idea #53: Master the waterfall chart

Often, this is one of the most insightful charts because it breaks down where you were, what happened, and where you will end up. It clearly breaks out different drivers of the business and shows the relative importance of each driver.

Idea #54: Add a comparison bar to the waterfall

A comparison bar chart is a great frame of reference to help understand where a brand/business should be, even if it is not quite there yet.

The examplebelow shows how KDP is planning to grow their Single serve Keurig cup coffee business so that it can reach the Household penertaion of Belgium or France.

Idea #55: Decide between chart or table

If there's one key idea you want to focus on, then you'll likely use the chart. If there are a lot of numbers and you want to be able to compare quickly, then you will want to use a table.

Idea #56: Swap pie/donut charts for bar or waterfall charts

This isn't bad, but it's even easier to compare segment sizes when the data is shown as a bar chart. The waterfallchart s also a modern way of showing how different segments sum up to the while.

These donut charts might be easier to read as column charts.

Idea #57: Make a statement with a sorted bar chart

I love how clearly and powerfully the slide below makes the case that Peloton is a stock underperformer. The color red highlights how it is far below peers. No other companies on the chart really matters so their names are not called out on the Y-axis.

Idea #58: Use a dotted line to show forecasts

To differentiate actualized data and forecasted data, use a dotted line for the forecast. You can add different colors to show low/medium/high scenarios .

Idea #59: Use total difference arrows

If you have Think-Cell, you can add these very easily and they stay automatically updated based on the underlying data. If you don't have Think-Cell, you can draw these arrows manually.

These total difference arrows makes it very easy for your audience to see the year over year change.

In the context of the whole slide.

Idea #60: Show off with bar charts

Bar charts are so easy to read and so easy to understand that you can use them to show off how well something is going. The difference between column heights will help you drive your message home.

Idea #61: Use Harvey Balls

These are most common in consulting style presentations, but are a really great way to see how much progress has been made on different areas or initiatives.

Idea #62: Add data below column chart

It's could be helpful to see % Change vs Year Ago or some other relevant statistic below a column chart.

The example below shows the impact of increased "Price/Mix" and "Volume." It's helpful because it tease out what is driving the overall $ Volume Growth.

Idea #63: Use overlapping circles to show market size

This is a classic diagram that helps frame up how big the market for a category is. It's visually very easy to understand and it doesn't have to be proportional to the actual area of the circles.

Idea #64: Use breaks on the Y-axis

If you want to zoom in on the difference between numbers that are relatively close together, the sneaky way is to charge the starting point of the Y-axis to a big number. This can cause suspicion for the data skeptics in your audience! Argubly, it tricks your audience into thinking that the difference looks bigger than it actually is.

However, if you add a break on the Y-axis, you are doing the same thing and letting your audience know that there has been some data taken out in order to show the difference more clearly. This is a much better way.

Idea #65: Build a data story with a triptych

Use 3 charts on 3 panels in order to tell a story. Ealier, we talked about the magic behind the number 3. It's back again!

Each part of the triptych reveals more information and ultimately supports the slide's main message.

Idea #66: Get rid of gridlines

Gridlines fall under the category of "chart junk" because it adds visual clutter without adding any value.

The gridlines on the chart below are not needed because the key message is that 57% of the beverage can carbon footprint can be cut. That is very clear from the numbers in the last column.

Notice how much cleaner a chart looks with there are no gridlines.

Idea #67: Show growth rates

For stacked column charts, add the growth rate for each category off to the right hand side of the chart. This is great context for the audience and provides a frame of reference and a key metric they'll be thinking about.

Idea #68: Make it obvious

When you are the subject matter expert and worked on a study, it is easy to get enamored with the nuance and the subtleties. Think about the audience and simplify your message and your chart.

The NYT's does a great job of making the insight obvious. The topic at hand are randomized control trials (RCTs) and subscriber conversion optimization. Very heady and technical topics. However, they simplify it and show that conversion are higher with their two marketing tactics at work.

Idea #69: 👍 or 👎

Quickly show if a category or business driver is a good guy or bad guy. You an use Chose an icon that means good and an icon that means not-so-good.

There's an example from KDP. I would've changed the blue to red to make it more clear that those items are headwinds against the business.

Idea #70: Use a scatter plot to find winners

Charting out categories based on 2 axis will help to identify winners and losers. In the example below, the top right quadrant represents categoriesthat are both (1) have high unit volumes and (2) have high growth rates. These are the categories that are most promising.

Idea #71: Use color to make one line the focus

Line charts are great to see trends over time. I like using them to look at seasonality over a 52 week period and year over year. Hoever, there's usually n point in giving each year a different color because the year that matters the most is the current year.

Idea #72: use a combo chart to compare data that is categorically different

Here, we're looking at ice cream sales volume by month and comparing it to the month's average temperature. If we plotted another food category that has seasonality, such as sports drinks, then it would be better to show both categories as lines or bars. But in this scenario, because temperature is categorically different than dollar sales, it is helpful to make that obvious by choosing a different chart type for each category

Idea #73: Use tables to organize information

Tables are a great way to organize information. It is always a good idea to start with a table because they can be easily customized and are so flexible. They also provide great structure and organization.

Idea #74: Use text boxes to call out key details

It is very helpful to see this information called out on the chart directly versus reading it in the headline and trying to map it to the chart.

Idea #75: Use a 100% stacked bar chart

A 100% stacked bar chart is used to show the relative proportions of different categories in a dataset, with each bar representing 100% of the data. In this type of chart, the bars are divided into segments, with each segment representing a different category within the dataset.

100% stacked bar charts are useful when you want to compare the relative sizes of different categories and see how they contribute to the whole. They can be particularly effective when the data involves a large number of categories, making it difficult to compare individual values in a regular bar chart.

Idea #77: Use brand logos instead of text

It is more fun to see brand logos than text. however, this requires much more work to find each logo from Google Images and then format and align it on the slide. However, the payoff is worth it.

Idea #78: Just the KPI

Not all data has to be put into a chart. It can be helpful to see a single number for where a brand is today and where it hopes to be at some point in the future. The KPI would suffice and might even be more visually impactful.

Idea #79: Set the right tone

Make sure that there is purpose and intention for every image/chart/graphic that you use and that it sets the right tone for the kind of presentation you want to have.

If it were up to me, I would've chosen a different visualization for the goal of doubling operating cash flow on this slide from Ball Compay. That kind of stack of Benjamins seems more appropriate in an episode of Breaking Bad or a rap music video than an Investor Day Presentation.

Idea #80: Screenshots are for drafts only

For a final presentation, a professional takes the time to reformat data into a clean and easy to digest format for the reader. Screenshots are great for ideating or drafting an early version of a deck. However, they should be replaced by a table or formatted to be consistent with the rest of the presentation.

Idea #81: Add a line to benchmark

Add a line to show where the average or benchmark performance is. This helps the audience understand the context and what can be considered strong performance.

Idea #82: Callout bubbles

Add numbered callout bubbles next to key line items and then add commentary for each bubble. This is helpful for navigation within the slide.

Idea #83: Add a timeline

Timelines are a great way to see where a brand has been and where it's going. It's a lot of work to build a custom timeline, so it's best to use one that comes with the theme or draw one keeping everything as simple as possible.

Idea #84: Save 3D for video games

Simplify the pie charts and make them flat. Remember, no 3D needed. In the example below, it would also help to chose a different blue for the "Investments" category since that blue blends in with the background color.

Idea #85: Keep axis the same proportion

To avoid confusing the reader, try to keep the Y-axis scale the same if you have two bar charts on the same page that are aligned and have the same units.

I like the slide below because the Y-axis is the same even though the different colors clearly shows that one chart is abotu Total Revenue and the other chart is about Subscription Revenue, a subset of Total Revenue.

Idea #86: Switch up the good 'ole bar chart

If your presentation has way too many bar charts, it might be time to add some variety to spice up the deck. An alternative is the buble area chart. It's not going to be as exact as the bar chart. The tradeoff is that it is not as easy to compare the area of a circle (pi * r^2) versus the height of a bar.

However, it does add variety. Look at the chart on the left of the slide below as an example.

Idea #87: Don't make the audience turn their head

Try to keep text horizontal as much as possible. This is much more natural and easier to read. When text is vertical, as on the slide below, it requires much more work from the audience to take in the information and to process it.

Idea #88: Diagram x Chart

Sometimes a diagram isn't quite right. And a chart alone isn't enough either. Say hello to the Diagram Chart which can be used to explain an overall idea or trend.

Idea #89: Use color boldly

Look how the confident following slide is in its use of color. It's clear that there are 3 different points being made based on the three different charts. A serious presentation can still be bold in its use of color. It doesn't have to be all black and white.

Idea #90: Use a low/med/high grid to rate

This is similar to a heatmap, except there isn't a gradient but rather distinct colors representing how low/high each mapped pair is.

Idea #91: Create a grid of charts

This is. a very advanced data visualization technique and requires a lot of planning and analysis beforehand. Instead of just one chart, it's 9 different, but related, charts in a 3x3 grid. Columns are parties in the value chain. Rows are the supply chain facts under investigation.

This is an incredible slide that is very, very hard to execute in practice.

Idea #92: Leave the executive summary for last

Once you're done building your presentation, go back and write the executive summary. Highlight the most important insights from the deck. What do you want the reader to take. away if they don't have time to review any actual slides, only the executive summary? That should guide your content on this page.

Idea #93: Add a thank you page

It's always a nice touch to thank your audience for their time and consideration.

Idea #94: Add page numbers

Page numbers make navigation so much easier. And if you're in presentation mode, my favoritehack is to type in a page number followed by the Enter key. Instead of having to flip through dozens of slides, this shortcut jumps straight to the page number you entered!

Idea #95: Try out Football Field charts

If you want to compare ranges between different categories, then use a Football Field chart. These are relatively modern charts that I've been seeing more and more often. You may need a PowerPoint add on such as Think-Cell in order to easily create it.

It's basically a rotated line chart with a low and a high number.

More to come!

I will continue to add to this list, so stay tuned.

• PowerPoint Themes
• Latest PowerPoint Templates
• Best PowerPoint Templates
• Free PowerPoint Templates
• Simple PowerPoint Templates
• PowerPoint Backgrounds
• Project Charter
• Project Timeline
• Project Team
• Project Status
• Market Analysis
• Marketing Funnel
• Market Segmentation
• Target Customer
• Marketing Mix
• Digital Marketing Strategy
• Resource Planning
• Recruitment
• Employee Onboarding
• Company Profile
• Mission Vision
• Meet The Team
• Problem & Solution
• Business Model
• Business Case
• Business Strategy
• Business Review
• Leadership Team
• Balance Sheet
• Income Statement
• Cash Flow Statement
• Executive Summary
• 30 60 90 Day Plan
• SWOT Analysis
• Flow Charts
• Gantt Charts
• Text Tables
• Infographics
• Google Slides Templates
• Presentation Services
• Ask Us To Make Slides
• Data Visualization Services
• Business Presentation Tips
• PowerPoint Tutorials
• Google Slides Tutorials
• Presentation Resources

Best PowerPoint Design Ideas That Will Make Your Presentations Standout

There used to be a time of simplicity – an era of no notifications, vibrating phones, or social media pings- when things were done one at a time.

Today is the age of hyper tasking. Something is trying to take our attention every step of the way- during waking,  sleeping, driving, and working hours. The implication- take it as a given that people will lose focus. Translating this into what it means for presenters- People will have no patience for presentations that don’t hit the sweet spot. Boring, long, roundabout, data-heavy presentations will turn off your audience to the presentation and you as a presenter.

On the other hand, people can be persuaded to pay attention and buy your ideas via effective visual presentations. While there are no set rules for giving PowerPoint presentations that will win the day in every situation, there are Powerpoint design ideas that apply universally. 

Role of Presentation Design

Presentation design is like the secret sauce of an excellent presentation. It’s the visual representation of ideas and concepts that sets the tone and mood for the audience. It makes the presentation go from bland to bold, from forgettable to memorable.

A well-designed presentation can:

• Grab the audience’s attention
• Convey the message in a clear and concise manner
• Leave a lasting impression
• Evoke emotions and memories, and transport the audience to a different place and time.
• Establish a strong visual identity that is recognizable and memorable.

A well-designed presentation can distinguish between a forgettable and a memorable experience. It’s not just about making a presentation look pretty; it’s about using slides design ideas, and elements to enhance the message and make it more impactful. A presentation can evoke excitement, calmness, professionalism, and creativity by choosing the right color palette , font choices, and visual elements.

Understanding the Basics of Presentation Design

Presentation design is like a map for the audience, guiding them through the presentation and highlighting the most important points. It makes a presentation go from dull to dazzling, from forgettable to unforgettable. 

Understanding the basics of PowerPoint slide design ideas is crucial for creating presentations that engage and inform the audience. The basics of presentation design include:

• Color theory: It is the study of color and how it affects human emotion and perception. In PPT design ideas , color can evoke emotions, set the tone, and grab the audience’s attention. For example, blue can evoke a sense of calmness, while red can evoke a sense of excitement. It’s essential to choose a color palette that aligns with the message and brand of the presentation.
• Typography: It is the art of arranging type to make written language legible, readable, and appealing. In presentation design, typography can convey information, establish a visual hierarchy, and enhance the overall design. It’s essential to choose a font that is easy to read, legible, and fits the brand and message of the presentation.
• Visual hierarchy: It is the arrangement of visual elements in order of importance. In Power Point layout ideas , visual hierarchy guides the audience through the presentation and highlights the most critical points. For example, using larger text for headings and smaller text for subheadings creates a visual hierarchy that makes the information easily understandable.
• Use of images and graphics: It can break up text-heavy slides and add visual interest to the presentation. In presentation design, images and PowerPoint graphics help explain complex information, provide context, and enhance the overall design. It’s important to choose images and graphics that align with the presentation’s message and brand and ensure they are high-quality and clear.

9 Failsafe Powerpoint Design Ideas To Engage Your Audience Till the End

Are you tired of using old, boring templates for your Powerpoint presentations? Look no further! 

This section will provide you with innovative Powerpoint design ideas to elevate your presentations and make them stand out.

Consider Using A Minimalistic Presentation Theme

A presentation strategy that effectively conveys your point to your audience is being minimalist. Using a simple presentation theme , you draw the audience’s attention to the bare minimum they need to focus on. There won’t be any obtrusive photos, design in PowerPoint presentations , or graphics because you’re keeping things barebones.

Your readers won’t have to browse through a lot of “unnecessary” information to find what they are looking for.

Forget the 3-point rule (which says that each slide should make no more than 3 points); the guiding rule here is ONE point per slide and no more. 

Make Your Presentation Simple To View

Moving ahead in our list of Powerpoint design ideas . You can exercise your creative muscle in many places within a presentation. Typography is one of them. However, the moment your text becomes hard to read either because of its size, background contrast, font family, or for any other reason, you have started to lose your way. 

Know that there can be a variety of demographics in your audience – folks with color blindness , those with reading difficulties, people who will see your presentation on a small screen- the list goes on. People will lose interest in your presentation if they cannot read what is written on the slide.

Large fonts, with clear contrast, intelligent use of bolding (lose the italics unless you are writing Latin in your presentation- there is rarely a good reason to italicize your fonts). Always pick a suitable font family, such as Arial and Helvetica, that has legible typefaces to help your audience can read from a distance on any screen size. Learn more which are the best fonts for presentations.

Statistics Support It More

Using data is a powerful way to strengthen your argument while outlining an issue or explaining an ongoing scenario. Many presentations include statistics and data, yet we must remember to ask the so what question or, worse, not focus on the numbers that matter. 

Make statistics simple to understand when distributing them. Use the correct table, number, PowerPoint infographic , or chart for the proper purpose. For example, Tables are ideal for comparing a small number of statistics, but a bar chart or combo chart can make it easy to work with complex information.

SlideUpLift.com has several examples and templates of the right formats and tools to use when presenting data.

Pose Inquiries

Questions and a highly interactive dialog is the hallmark of an excellent presentation. Innovative presenters prompt their audience with question and answer slides and encourage a two-way discussion while maintaining focus on their core presentation content. 

There are, of course, many ways to do this: formal, informal, batched to the end versus sprinkled throughout. The method you pick may depend on the context and your style. The important part is to ensure that the audience actively engages and participates in your session. You demonstrate receptivity to it and encourage them to do so.

Use Color Without Fear

One of the most useful Powerpoint slide design ideas is to be bold and use color. You should consider employing colors if you’re wondering how to make your PowerPoint presentation appealing. It would not be an overstatement to say that colors can change how you and your presentation are perceived. 

Although colors can make your slides more visually appealing, they can also turn viewers away if they need to be correctly blended or are too vivid. Please ensure the colors are pleasing to the eye; neither should they be very bright nor overly muted. Know more about the best colors for presentations .

Include Videos That Are Relevant to the Speech

Even if not everyone in your audience prefers videos to still images, some of them will. Videos give your debate life and can become incredibly interesting if they are relevant to the subject. Animations occasionally function perfectly. Look at some animated PowerPoint template examples.

Send Printed Materials As Pre-reads

When you send pre-reads, you are communicating your respect to your audience. People value pre-reads for various reasons- some adore having the ability to be in the know and avoid surprises, and some like taking printouts and having their questions ready. At the same time, you present your slides, and some just like the respect endowed to them to send the material in advance and appreciate your readiness and punctuality. 

So send the pre-reads. If you want certain parts to remain in suspense until the time of the presentation, send background material- anything that helps your audience prepare well for your presentation. You can read the blog to learn how to print handouts in powerpoint .

Keep Your Speech to No More Than 20 Minutes

People have a lot to do- we already talked about that. They may not be willing to give you a big slice as much as you might want to indulge. Ensure that you only talk about the pertinent issues and omit everything that does not support your position.

Even if your presentation is mighty entertaining, after 25 minutes, your audience will begin to lose interest. Give a brief, enthralling, focused presentation in under 20 minutes. If your audience wants more after your presentation, you will know you were successful. Learn about storytelling in presentations by reading our blog.

Finalize Your Points With a Summary

Use the chance to reiterate the key topics you covered in your presentation toward the conclusion. Reminding your audience of what you have been talking about throughout should be the goal of your summary. Focus on the residual messages – what they must retain after forgetting everything else. Learn how to end a presentation to make a lasting impression.

How to Get Design Ideas on PowerPoint Using The In-built Design Ideas Feature

Design Ideas, also known as PowerPoint Designer, is your secret weapon for making your slides visually stunning. Simply add your text and images, activate the tool, and let it generate ideas for you.

The beauty of this tool is that each design suggestion is unique, so there’s a low chance that you’ll come across the same idea twice. This means that your presentations will always be original, even if you’re presenting on a common topic.

At present, only Office 365 subscribers have access to the Design Ideas feature within the desktop application.

No presenting concepts are known to work miracles. A presentation that engages the audience successfully conveys the essential points and accomplishes the overall goal is the finest presentation.

Yet, designing professional presentations is a cumbersome job. At SlideUpLift, we work hard to help you make it easier to incorporate these concepts and make them work for you. SlideUpLift provides an extensive array of free presentation templates that can make your work easy. Select one according to your required designs and create engaging PowerPoint presentations.

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