How you design your PowerPoint presentation goes a long way in determining how your audience will respond to the information you have to share. It is not difficult to create a good PP presentation; however, it is easy to create a bad one.

You could fall into the trap of adding too many details to each slide, creating too many slides, using visually disturbing colours or graphics, etc., all of which will negatively impact your presentation.

In this post, we will share some of our favourite tips for creating the most impactful PowerPoint presentations!

Five Golden Rules of PowerPoint Design (According to Microsoft)

Who better to learn how to create impactful PowerPoint presentations than from the creators of the tool itself? To create great PP presentations, you need to consider design, the colours you want to use, how much information you want to share and how to break this information down into bite-sized pieces. Here are some pointers to help you begin:

Use Templates; They’re Easy

There is no need to try to design a PP from scratch when there are hundreds of templates available for use. Microsoft 365 support for business makes it so entrepreneurs don’t need to have design skills to create impactful PowerPoint presentations. These pre-made templates already come with set colours and fonts, so all you have to do is customise them a bit, input your information, and you’re all set. Microsoft also has templates for different kinds of presentations, like a marketing plan, sales strategy, and project kickoff, so you just have to choose the one that fits your needs the most.

Keep Texts to a Minimum

Do you remember that one PowerPoint presentation you viewed that was so overwhelming because the creator had way too much text on the slides? To keep your presentation impactful, try to avoid huge blocks of text on the slides and only add the most important information. Use the “5-5-5 rule”, which advises no more than 5 words, 5 lines and only 5 minutes per slide. Focus on sharing attention-joggers and strong statements on the slides instead of details. This will maintain the audience’s interest, and you can always explain each point further with your words.

Don’t Overuse Animations

Animations are fun to use in presentations, but you don’t want to overdo it, especially during business or academic presentations. Stick to plain and simple animations instead of flying and unnecessary zooming on the screen to avoid looking unprofessional. For very strict business or academic environments, you may want to avoid using animations entirely. But, if you must, keep it simple and in line with the theme of your overall presentation. Before you use any animation, ask yourself, “Is this enhancing my presentation, or will it be too distracting?”.

Take Note of the Colours and Fonts

A major goal of using PowerPoint for presentations is to ensure the information on the screen is visible and visually appealing to the audience. Many people make the mistake of using barely visible or too distracting fonts, or using colours that clash with the font. Is the font you’re using appropriate for the kind of presentation? Is the font size big enough for people at the back or those with slight visual impairments to see? Ensure your font size is at least 24pts to ensure visibility. Also, keep the colours subtle so it doesn’t affect the visibility of the text.

Keep Audience Engaged

Your PowerPoint design is just one part of the equation. The other part is how well you can present the information while keeping your audience engaged throughout. A good tip is to practice with the slides on your own as often as you can. This way, you will understand how the slides flow and can easily ease your audience into the next slide. Leave room for questions and audience feedback after each slide. This will ensure everyone in the room is on the same page at all times.

Bonus Tip: Get IT support. PowerPoint can seem challenging, especially for those without extensive experience using the tool. Your IT support expert can help you choose a great design or template and create powerful slides that will convey your message effectively.

Tips for Creating Great PowerPoint Presentations

Here are some extra tips to keep in mind when creating your PowerPoint presentation.

• Customize your design: Don’t just rely on the templates’ default settings. You can use custom slide sizes, edit the template, and embed fonts to keep the design in theme with your branding.
• Design with precision: Align objects carefully, use “Format Object” for control, and polish your visuals with shapes and custom image cropping.
• Write and present for your audience: Keep text clear and relevant, use Presenter View, and keep slides simple to focus attention.
• Add engaging media: Embed videos and GIFS to make your presentation more interactive and unique.
• Be Prepared: Bring your hardware, save a PDF backup, and test everything in advance to avoid surprises. In case of any mishaps, call your IT support expert for help.

Wrapping Up

The best PowerPoint presentations are easy to view, read, and understand. Don’t be so caught up in the design that you don’t pay attention to the information on the slides. The goal is to create a design that works for your audience, where you can share valuable information, and everyone leaves feeling like they learned something interesting.