PowerPoint design tips to ace that presentation

Are you the tribute assigned to present the year-end marketing report? How about the 2022 budget proposal?

May the odds be ever in your favour.

Presentation slides such as PowerPoint and Keynote are central to business success. 

But in the attempt to be objective and data-driven, presenters like you have the tendency to cram all the information into a few slides. That often harms the intent instead of helping get the point across.

What makes a bad PowerPoint deck?

You’ve probably seen those before, or made one yourself (ouch)?

The bad ones are the decks with:

• so many blocks of texts you have to squint to read
• warped, pixelated images
• a terrible layout that ends up distracting the audience and jeopardizing your credibility as a professional or a public speaker.

Content or design, which to prioritize?

Hard question, hey? Sorry to disappoint, but both have to be prioritized. Imagine making a tasty chocolate cake with premium ingredients (content) but not caring about the icing or design.

It will end up looking like this:

I know it is challenging to gather the data or content and create the design for a presentation. From planning what data will go in the slides, determining the layout, to wrapping up the critical information; preparation in itself is highly stressful.

Here’s a hint: Get the content and we’ll take care of the design for you 😉

Here are some design tips to help you ace that presentation:

Know your audience

Identifying your audience allows you to determine what designs can engage them. Know the composition of your viewers. Are they hardcore tech people? Or first-time moms? Anchoring your design on their comfort content can ease engagement.

Be mindful of the font size

As a rule, the text in each PowerPoint slide must be a maximum of 7 lines and 7 words per line. This is to ensure maximum readability even for those sitting at the back. 

If you need to have more words, either break it into more slides or have an infographic made instead.

Keep the visual cues minimal, but appealing

Make sure the information in your slides is easy to understand.

Structure your content as briefly as possible. Nobody wants to waste time reading, and chunks of lengthy words will make your presentation boring.

Remember, in a presentation, you are talking and at the same time showing the slides. You are splitting their attention so ensure your arguments are clear, specific, and easy to grasp.

For the design, choose images that complement your text. No one likes to sit through a presentation that isn’t visually cohesive. Your presentation must be innovative, insightful, aesthetically pleasing, and concise.

Understand your colours

It is important to consider the significance of colours. They are crucial to immersing your audience, creating the ideal feelings, and providing a better perspective.

However, the use of too many hues is a huge mood killer and appears amateurish. Choose your colours well.

DESIGN TIP: If you’re presenting to C-Level executives, use the company palette on your presentation to be safe.

Graphics of the highest quality are required!

Low-resolution imagery can kill the ambiance. Your graphic elements are as essential as your copy. Choose your graphics carefully as it reflects the quality of the content.

Low Resolution = Low Quality 🤷‍♀️

Graphics are the visual representation of your ideas, your data, and you want them to be attractive and enticing. With good imagery, your audience should be able to consume big data clearly and in an instant.

Rooting for you

PowerPoint/Keynote slides are only visual aids. You are the main presenter. Aside from the data and the design, you also have to be thoroughly prepared to answer questions and defend your stand to your scrutinizing audience.

Creating slides, organizing and presenting your subject is a vital skill applied in various corporate situations. Fortunately, enhancing PowerPoint designs can be outsourced.

While you prepare your speech, you can have an assistant create the deck for you or ask Deer Designer for slides with customised designs. Use great-looking slides so you can feel more confident in your presentations.