How to Create a PowerPoint Presentation (6 Expert Tips)
Microsoft PowerPoint is a powerful tool for simplifying complex ideas into a simple, easy-to-understand structure.
The right balance of text and visual aids, such as graphics and animations, facilitates clear communication, drives audience engagement, and conveys credibility and professionalism.
However, creating a well-structured and well-designed PowerPoint (PPT) presentation is no child's play. It demands a fair share of prep work and a thorough understanding of the nuts and bolts of designing and creating PowerPoint slides.
The good thing is that we can help. This article will give you six proven tips to make effective PowerPoint presentations that will leave your audience impressed. Check them out!
- Use well-defined purposes to guide your PowerPoint's structure and maintain focus.
- Engage your audience with intriguing content delivery, revealing information gradually.
- Keep text concise and use clean fonts to enhance readability and understanding.
- Incorporate clear visuals through overlays and professional templates to elevate your presentation.
6 Hacks to Design Captivating PowerPoint Presentations
Gain Inspiration:
As someone new to designing, presenting your ideas with text, images, graphs, animation, or diagrams can be intimidating.
The free Microsoft PowerPoint templates will undoubtedly be a saviour in such scenarios.
Resources like Pitch, Canva, Microsoft Create, Slidesgo, and Sketchbubble provide a large selection of free templates you can customise or refer to create something stunning that blows your audience away.
Define a Clear Purpose
Many launch a PPT without a well-defined purpose and add slides as they proceed.
Experts certainly do not recommend this approach since it can delay the process and affect the overall quality. Instead, have a clear message you want to deliver with each slide.
A clear focus will help you determine which data is essential and which can be omitted to create a well-focused presentation with a smooth flow of ideas and a coherent argument.
Consider the End Scenario
It's always wise to focus on the practical considerations – will it be an onscreen presentation, an email attachment, or an interactive discussion tool?
Where will it be shown – in a conference room, in a stadium, or at the employee's desk? Next, take into account the conceptual considerations and ask yourself:
- Who is your audience?
- What's their understanding of the topic, and what are your inputs?
- Based on your knowledge, how do you want to change them?
Make a note of all the information you have gathered and build your presentation accordingly.
Reveal Information in Parts
Human attention spans are shrinking, with an average between two seconds and twenty minutes.
With such a short attention span, it's essential to find a way to keep the audience hooked, and one way to do this is to tease them.
The trick is invaluable, especially if the topic is less interesting or something too technical. Here's how the technique works:
Let's say you have prepared a PPT on a Framework.
- Start by presenting the skeletal structure. Explain the context.
- Then, introduce the first step and explain.
- Follow the same pattern for the next step, and so on.
Experts believe this pattern helps to keep the audience hooked because they experience ‘tension' when they don't get closure.
Scientifically, the Zeigarnik Effect subconsciously compels the mind to stay attentive until it's complete. So, try this trick in your next PPT.
Avoid Flashy Fonts and Chunky Text
Maintaining consistency is a key web design best practice to guide the user's eyes and reduce cognitive load.
Opt for a clean and straightforward font style, such as Calibri and Arial, to help your audience read the text in a sentence. Be consistent with the font size and style in all slides to improve readability.
Also, avoid excessive text on your slides. Use short and crisp sentences and present them in bullet points to make it easy for the audience to follow from a distance.
Use Transparent Overlays on Images
Creating overlays over the images, slides, and photographs can give the slides an edge and make them look professional. Follow these steps to create transparent overlays.
- Create a rectangle to cover up the slide
- Set it to a gradient or a solid colour and right-click
- Set the transparency of each colour to around 20% or any value you prefer
And voila! The process is complete!
You can use this trick to create duotone overlays, dim photos, add exposure, darken or brighten, or add a vignette.
Conclusion
Perfection is attained with practice. Instead of dreading the task, focus on presenting your ideas clearly and concisely, with the right balance of text and visual aids.
Remember the suggestions mentioned above to convey your message effectively.
Expert FAQs
Should I use fancy animations and transitions to keep people engaged?
No. Stop it. Your audience doesn't care about your spinning text or flying bullet points. They care about one thing: what's in it for them. Every second you spend on animations, you're not spending on making your content more valuable. The best presentations I've seen had zero animations and made millions. The worst was every transition in PowerPoint's library, which put everyone to sleep.
How many slides should my presentation be?
As many as it takes to get your point across, and not one more. I've seen people kill deals with 50-slide presentations that could have been 5 slides. I've also seen people fail because they tried to cram everything into 3 slides when they needed 15. The question isn't “how many slides?” The question is, “What's the minimum amount of information needed to get my desired outcome?” Start there.
What's the biggest mistake people make with PowerPoint text?
They treat it like a teleprompter. Your slides aren't your script – they're your backup singers. If you're reading word-for-word from your slides, you've already lost. Put key points on slides, then talk around them. Your mouth should be doing the heavy lifting, not your projector.
Should I use a template or create my own design?
Use a template and move on with your life. You're not a graphic designer (unless you are, in which case, still use a template). Your job is to communicate value, not win design awards. Pick a clean template, use it consistently, and focus on what actually matters – your content and delivery.
How do I handle Q&A sessions after my presentation?
Prepare for them like your life depends on it. Most people wing Q&As and wonder why they lose credibility. Write down the 10 hardest questions you could get asked. Practice your answers until they're automatic. You're not ready to present if you can't answer the tough questions confidently.
What's the one slide every business presentation must have?
The “what happens next” slide. I don't care if you're pitching, teaching, or reporting – if you don't tell people exactly what action to take after your presentation ends, you've wasted everyone's time. Be specific. Be clear. Give them their next step before they can think of reasons not to take it.
How many bullet points should I put on each slide?
If you have more than 5 bullet points on a slide, you have 2 slides. People can't process information overload. They'll either tune out or focus on the wrong thing. Give them 3-5 key points max, then move on. Your audience's attention span isn't getting longer – respect that reality.
Should I include charts and graphs in every business presentation?
Only if they support your argument. Data for data's sake is masturbation – it makes you feel good but doesn't help anyone else. Every chart should answer a specific question or prove a particular point. If you can't explain why that graph matters in one sentence, delete it.
How do I make my presentation memorable?
Tell stories that connect to business outcomes. People forget facts but remember stories. But here's the key – your stories need to tie directly to the results you're promising. Don't tell a story about your vacation. Tell a story about how someone just like your audience solved the exact problem you're addressing.
What's the biggest presentation killer nobody talks about?
Presenting features instead of outcomes. Nobody cares about your 47 new features or your revolutionary process. They care about their life after they implement what you're showing them. Lead with the result, then work backwards to how you get there.
How long should my presentation be?
Shorter than you think. If you can't make your core point in 20 minutes, you don't understand your own material well enough. Yes, some presentations need to be longer, but most people pad their presentations because they fear running out of things to say. Cut the fluff. Respect people's time. Get to the point.
Should I rehearse my presentation or just wing it?
Rehearse until you can give it in your sleep, then rehearse again. “Winging it” is just another way of saying, “I don't respect my audience enough to prepare.” The most natural-looking presentations are the most practised ones. Your audience should never be able to tell how much you rehearsed – that's how you know you rehearsed enough.
