The Foundation of a Good Powerpoint

So I was always told that if you don't have anything nice to say, you shouldn't say anything at all. In light of my recent post on bad Powerpoint presentations, I thought I would make this post and others about how you can improve your Powerpoint presentations.

The reason I want to spend so much time on Powerpoint is that for many companies, and start-ups in particular, this could be the only communication that prospects ever see from your company. And we all know you need to make a good first impression so it makes sense to spend the time on your presentations and ensure they represent the brand you are trying to build.

I believe the foundation of a good powerpoint presentation is the design template and then following it consistently across the company. With the proper template, you can use color, font, font size and layout to more consistently and effectively communicate your message.

By establishing a layout, font, color scheme, header/footer and other design elements, your presentation will look consistent, the audience will not be distracted by misplaced or different elements, and everyone can focus on the message which is what you want. The template does not need to be fancy by any means and simpler is likely better but it does need to be clean so the text and graphics are easily readable.

But maybe more important than the template itself is applying it to each and every slide and not making a custom layout for each slide in your presentation after the fact. This means, you cannot adjust the font of the title to make a longer one fit; you cannot make the font smaller so you can fit more words on a page; and please, do not move the placement of the text between slides as this could even make your audience sick as you go from slide to slide. I'm willing to make a bet that this won't lead to a good first impression.

To get started on this template, use an existing presentation that you think is well laid out and easy to follow. Ensure that all the slides are consistent in terms of content placement, font, sizes, etc, and save this as a template file. Make whatever other adjustments you feel will improve the look and feel and you've got a starting point. Then you should apply this to other presentations to see if it works on those and make any additional changes. You must also test the template by projecting the presentation in a meeting room or conference room so that you ensure it still works and people from the back of the room can read it.

You can and should continue to work on the layout until you are happy you have a format that is simple and helps your audience focus on the message rather than the layout. You also need to share it across the company and get feedback from other presenters. This helps to make sure everyone uses it so that you can present a consistent brand to all of your audiences.

It's not an easy or quick task but once it's complete, you've made life easier for yourself and everyone else and you have the foundation of many, more successful presentations to come.

Comments

[powerpoint themes]

This is priceless information and advice.It's easy to get carried away with all of the features and effects PowerPoint offers users.Avoid using vibrant colors which takes the focus off the text of the presentation.

[Prakriti]

We just finished a praointetesn using PPT 2010 only! From photoshop-like features to vid editing, MS team have outdone themselves this time To view the vid just click on my username. Enjoy.