basic powerpoint presentation examples

This simplistic presentation example employs several different colors and font weights, but instead of coming off as disconnected, the varied colors work with one another to create contrast and call out specific concepts.

What I like: The big, bold numbers help set the reader's expectations, as they clearly signify how far along the viewer is in the list of tips.

10. “Pixar's 22 Rules to Phenomenal Storytelling,” Gavin McMahon

This presentation by Gavin McMahon features color in all the right places. While each of the background images boasts a bright, spotlight-like design, all the characters are intentionally blacked out.

What I like: This helps keep the focus on the tips, while still incorporating visuals. Not to mention, it's still easy for me to identify each character without the details. (I found you on slide eight, Nemo.)

11. “Facebook Engagement and Activity Report,” We Are Social

Here's another great example of data visualization in the wild.

What I like: Rather than displaying numbers and statistics straight up, this presentation calls upon interesting, colorful graphs, and charts to present the information in a way that just makes sense.

12. “The GaryVee Content Model,” Gary Vaynerchuk

This wouldn‘t be a true Gary Vaynerchuk presentation if it wasn’t a little loud, am I right?

What I like: Aside from the fact that I love the eye-catching, bright yellow background, Vaynerchuk does a great job of incorporating screenshots on each slide to create a visual tutorial that coincides with the tips. He also does a great job including a visual table of contents that shows your progress as you go .

13. “20 Tweetable Quotes to Inspire Marketing & Design Creative Genius,” IMPACT Branding & Design

We‘ve all seen our fair share of quote-chronicling presentations but that isn’t to say they were all done well. Often the background images are poor quality, the text is too small, or there isn't enough contrast.

Well, this professional presentation from IMPACT Branding & Design suffers from none of said challenges.

What I like: The colorful filters over each background image create just enough contrast for the quotes to stand out.

14. “The Great State of Design,” Stacy Kvernmo

This presentation offers up a lot of information in a way that doesn't feel overwhelming.

What I like: The contrasting colors create visual interest and “pop,” and the comic images (slides 6 through 12) are used to make the information seem less buttoned-up and overwhelming.

15. “Clickbait: A Guide To Writing Un-Ignorable Headlines,” Ethos3

Not going to lie, it was the title that convinced me to click through to this presentation but the awesome design kept me there once I arrived.

What I like: This simple design adheres to a consistent color pattern and leverages bullet points and varied fonts to break up the text nicely.

16. “Digital Transformation in 50 Soundbites,” Julie Dodd

This design highlights a great alternative to the “text-over-image” display we've grown used to seeing.

What I like: By leveraging a split-screen approach to each presentation slide, Julie Dodd was able to serve up a clean, legible quote without sacrificing the power of a strong visual.

17. “Fix Your Really Bad PowerPoint,” Slide Comet

When you‘re creating a PowerPoint about how everyone’s PowerPoints stink, yours had better be terrific. The one above, based on the ebook by Seth Godin, keeps it simple without boring its audience.

What I like: Its clever combinations of fonts, together with consistent color across each slide, ensure you're neither overwhelmed nor unengaged.

18. “How Google Works,” Eric Schmidt

Simple, clever doodles tell the story of Google in a fun and creative way. This presentation reads almost like a storybook, making it easy to move from one slide to the next.

What I like: This uncluttered approach provides viewers with an easy-to-understand explanation of a complicated topic.

19. “What Really Differentiates the Best Content Marketers From The Rest,” Ross Simmonds

Let‘s be honest: These graphics are hard not to love. I especially appreciate the author’s cartoonified self-portrait that closes out the presentation. Well played, Ross Simmonds.

What I like: Rather than employing the same old stock photos, this unique design serves as a refreshing way to present information that's both valuable and fun.

20. “Be A Great Product Leader,” Adam Nash

This presentation by Adam Nash immediately draws attention by putting the company's logo first — a great move if your company is well known.

What I like: He uses popular images, such as ones of Megatron and Pinocchio, to drive his points home. In the same way, you can take advantage of popular images and media to keep your audience engaged.

And if you want more templates and examples, you can download them here .

PowerPoint Presentation Examples for the Best Slide Presentation

Mastering a PowerPoint presentation begins with the design itself.

Get inspired by my ideas above to create a presentation that engages your audience, builds upon your point, and helps you generate leads for your brand.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in March 2013 and has been updated for comprehensiveness. This article was written by a human, but our team uses AI in our editorial process. Check out our full disclosure to learn more about how we use AI.

Don't forget to share this post!

Related articles.

How to Create an Infographic in Under an Hour — the 2024 Guide [+ Free Templates]

How to Create the Best PowerPoint Presentations [Examples & Templates]

17 PowerPoint Presentation Tips From Pro Presenters [+ Templates]

How to Write an Ecommerce Business Plan [Examples & Template]

Get Buyers to Do What You Want: The Power of Temptation Bundling in Sales

How to Create an Engaging 5-Minute Presentation

How to Start a Presentation [+ Examples]

120 Presentation Topic Ideas Help You Hook Your Audience

The Presenter's Guide to Nailing Your Next PowerPoint

How to Create a Stunning Presentation Cover Page [+ Examples]

Marketing software that helps you drive revenue, save time and resources, and measure and optimize your investments — all on one easy-to-use platform

Home Blog Presentation Ideas 10+ Outstanding PowerPoint Presentation Examples and Templates

10+ Outstanding PowerPoint Presentation Examples and Templates

Nobody said it’s easy to make a PowerPoint presentation . There are multiple design decisions to consider, like which layout is appropriate for the content you have to present, font pairing, color schemes, and whether to use animated elements or not. 

Making these choices when working under the clock is overwhelming for most people, especially if you only intend to make a report more visually appealing. For this very reason, we curated a selection of 11 good PowerPoint presentation examples categories in different niches to give you insights into what’s valued and how to take your presentations to a professional quality. All the templates used on each case will be linked for easy access.

Table of Contents

General Guidelines for Professional-Quality PowerPoint Presentations

Business pitch powerpoint presentation examples, marketing plan powerpoint presentation examples, company profile powerpoint presentation examples, quarterly/annual results presentation examples, project proposal presentation examples, training presentation examples, change management presentation examples, industry analysis presentation examples, financial planning examples, inspirational presentation examples, academic presentation examples, final words.

Before introducing our presentation slide examples, we need to discuss a list of factors that transform an average slide into a professional-quality one. 

Design Principles

For any professional-level slide deck, a consistent layout, color scheme, and font pairing are required throughout the presentation. The slides should remain uncluttered, with proper care of white balance across their composition, and stick to the 10-20-30 rule of presentations ’s concept of one concept per slide. 

Contrast between text and background color must comply with web design accessibility standards , meaning to work with a 4.5:1 contrast ratio for normal text, with exceptions for larger text. You can find more information in our article on accessibility for presentations .

A general rule in any graphic design project is to stick with fonts with ample legibility, like Arial, Helvetica, or Calibri. These are known as sans-serif fonts, and they work better than serif ones (i.e., Times New Roman) for larger text blocks.

Avoid using more than two different font families in your presentation; otherwise, the overall design will lose cohesion. Since you ought to ensure readability, the minimum size for body text should be 18pt, opting for larger variations and/or bold text for titles.

Using a combination of font pairing and font sizing helps create a hierarchy in your slides’ written content. For more insights on this topic, browse our article on fonts for presentations .

Color Scheme

Sticking to a color palette selection is one of the first design decisions to make when creating a custom slide deck . Colors have their own psychological impact on presentations, as explained in our article on color theory , so presenters must stick to 3-4 colors to avoid mixing up content in the slides. That being said, the colors have to be carefully selected according to the typical color scheme configurations, and using contrast to highlight key points on presentation slides.

Slide Layout

We can apply multiple graphic design guidelines to create professional-quality presentation slides, but in order to simplify the process, here are the key points to take into account:

• Grids and Guides: Divide your slide into sections using guides in PowerPoint or Google Slides. Then, you can build a grid that helps place elements and catch the viewer’s interest as they follow a logical flow while looking at the slide.
• Whitespace : Empty space is not your enemy. Slides shouldn’t be dense or feel hard on the eyes to read; therefore, work with a minimum of 30% whitespace.

Multimedia Elements

According to our expertise, video presentations and animation effects certainly increase the retention rate of the content you present. This is because they reduce the tiresome 2D presentation layout and add dynamism to the slides. Testing their functionality across different devices is a must to incorporate these elements into your presentation, especially if we consider that not all PowerPoint animation effects are compatible with Google Slides animations . 

Sound can be distracting in many scenarios unless you opt for an interactive presentation and require an audio track for an exercise. Action buttons in the form of quizzes or multiple-choice questions are fine examples of how we can integrate hyperlinks in interactive presentations.

The first professional PowerPoint example we will cover is when creating a problem slide business pitch. This selected business pitch PPT template has a 50/50 image-to-content balance that allows us to add images from our organization (or stick to the corporate placeholder image design) and quickly summarize the issue or need that our business aims to solve.

Remember that the selected colors for the text background area and text color are not 100% pure values—they are slight variations to reduce eye strain, making this slide a perfect choice for any kind of meeting room. Ideally, you can present up to three different problems to solve; otherwise, the text will look too small.

Another fine example of a PowerPoint presentation comes at the time of delivering an elevator pitch . As we all know, this concise presentation format requires a considerable amount of presentation aids to briefly expose each point in the speech under the allotted time frame. In this Revenue Model slide, we can find the answers to typical questions that help us shape the speech, all of them with icons and cues to remember from which areas the information comes.

If we aim to create a sponsorship pitch deck , it is important to bring proof of past sponsorship experiences to build our credibility in front of prospective sponsors. With this best PPT template tailored for sponsorship pitch presentations, we can display such data in an attractive visual format. The neat layout balances whitespace with content, with three distinctive KPI areas to talk about your history in sponsorship experiences. 

Talk about the market segmentation strategies of your marketing plan with this creative infographic template. This slide clearly illustrates that not all examples of PowerPoint presentations follow the same structure in terms of graphics-to-text balance. You can introduce data on how purchasing habits, user status, and brand loyalty influence buying decisions. Present key information about demographic & geographic segmentation and how psychographic information can provide deeper insights into consumer motivations to purchase.

Another PowerPoint example comes in the format of presenting market opportunities in marketing plans . You can list up to four points, which can be extracted from the outcomes of a SWOT analysis or from retrieved data from polls or stakeholders’ insights. The icons are entirely editable, and the crisp layout makes readability much easier.

Marketing agencies can benefit from this presentation PowerPoint example, which illustrates how easy it is to customize the content and repurpose slides for different client meetings. This and the other slides of this marketing plan slide deck allow professionals to discuss their expertise, past projects, and proposals for their target clients. In this case, the agency in question is offering insights on their work ethics through a clean slide layout with icons to flag key areas.

Our next PPT presentation example is suited for a Company Profile presentation in which we have to disclose key financial data. Thanks to the pie chart, presenters can segment revenue streams or do a balance between investments and profit. Additionally, the box placeholders allow us to deepen our knowledge of precise areas of interest.

Organizations who are looking to create a company profile can opt for a one-page arrangement to introduce the team members in charge, the overall services or products, the business model, the market, competitors, and relevant strategy information. The text boxes placed in the right area are a perfect opportunity to highlight KPIs.

In any company profile presentation, we have to introduce the organization’s Mission and Vision Statements. This presentation sample slide allows us to creatively discuss those topics. Including icons, users can summarize the primary aspects of their mission statement in one single, professionally styled slide.

Quarterly reports don’t need to be depicted as boring PDF files. We can work with clean layouts that provide information in an easy-to-follow format that focuses on the core elements of the report. This quarterly report presentation example is perfect for detailed reports as we cover all essentials in a one-page format for an employee’s performance review.

If, instead, you opt for a department-by-department approach, this slide presentation example illustrates two out of four quarters in the annual report. You can compare the product’s performance by production, allowing room to perform further optimizations based on sales behavior.

The construction industry requires a detailed presentation that covers all planned and contingency strategies for a project. Such an approach builds trust in the client, and that’s why we believe this PPT template for contractors is an essential tool for securing business deals. This presentation example template shows how to deliver a project proposal in style with accurate cost estimates.

A generic PPT project proposal template allows us to repurpose the slide for many projects—ideal for agencies, consultants, and academics. With this visual project proposal timeline, you can discuss the different stages of a project, plan for resources (both material and workforce), seek funding, or prepare for contingencies.

Once the project proposal’s core aspects are approved, teams must align efforts for project deliverables, acceptance criteria, and delivery format. This PPT presentation example illustrates a slide in a multi-team meeting to fine-tune aspects of the project deliverables, with an accurate representation of the due date and expected products.

Team training requires a framework in which the objectives of the workshop, coaching, or mentoring programs are laid out for management. HR teams can benefit from this presentation example by summarizing the objectives about missed business opportunities or expansion plans for the organization.

Before even delivering a training program, HR teams discuss the content to cover with the head of each department, mainly to spot any missing area of knowledge required for optimal operations. Presenters can repurpose this slide for that kind of training proposal presentation or the training presentation itself.

Intended for the early planning stages of a training program, this diagram is a well-rounded presentation example of how to discuss all points in one single slide, from the training budget to how to process employee feedback. We can expand each of these six topics in companionship slides.

Companies undergoing change management processes can opt to apply the DMAIC or the ADKAR frameworks to orient the workforce. This presentation slide allows management to compare both methodologies and pick the one best suited for their organization.

Since data sharing is delicate in charge management situations, implementing an information flow diagram is a good practice to orient your team, get the new owners or management the required information, and exchange information between departments.

For change management directed at process optimization, this example slide allows management to stress the importance between the current situation and the expected improved state. This PPT template can also introduce the different milestones per stage and involve the management parties per area.

Startups often present their industry analysis to procure investment from venture capitalists. This industry analysis presentation example showcases a typical FinTech segmentation. Presenters can describe the different types of crowdfunding, credit, and factoring services and provide examples of companies or platforms in each subcategory. They can discuss areas like asset management, payments, and other relevant aspects in detail, with successful stories from referents that helped shape their business model.

STEEPLE stands for Social, Technological, Economic, Ethical, Political, Legal, and Environmental factors. This framework allows us to perform a multidimensional industry analysis in which stakeholders can evaluate the appropriate approaches for venturing into a new business niche, renewing their overall strategy, or pursuing new goals based on recent industry changes, even those we don’t initially acknowledge.

The Gap Analysis concept compares a company’s current status to a desired future state. By doing so, organizations can identify deficits or areas that require improvement in alignment with the future state. Presenters can work with this metaphorical gap analysis template and express the need for a plan that bridges such a gap.

The next example of a PowerPoint presentation is oriented to the financial area, in which a consultant can refer to an organization’s asset management. By Scope, we imply the extent and boundaries of the asset management activities within an organization. It outlines what will be included in the asset management plan and what will not. On the other hand, Inventory points to a comprehensive and detailed list of all the assets owned by an organization. It includes essential information about each asset to facilitate effective management.

In financial presentations, the information must be clearly arranged so decisions can be made easily. In this case, we observe how a financial dashboard template can represent an organization’s relevant KPIs.

Think about TEDx presentations or Pecha-Kucha . They all have one factor in common: quality graphics to talk about inspirational stories. Graphics can feel overwhelming for some presenters, which ends in picking low-quality pictures or stock images unsuitable for the context of your slide deck. For this reason, we highly recommend you implement vector illustrations into your motivational presentation slides. Easy to customize, they are a valuable asset to mix & match PPT templates and create your custom deck.

Aligning efforts toward a common goal requires a powerful visual communication language. Images are easier to retain than words, so imagine adding a storytelling factor and turning a goal into a mountain to conquer. Presenters can work with this mountain PPT template and signal the different milestones to reach prior to fulfilling a significant goal for the company/organization.

Another take in inspirational presentations is when we need to share our success stories with investors or in networking environments to inspire others. With this roadmap PPT template, presenters can go stage by stage and present the key stages that made them reach their success, or even project for expected goals to achieve.

Academic presentations don’t have to look dull or excessively formal. We can incorporate a sleek layout into our slides and use icons to highlight key points. In this case, we observe a project overview for a research project, and the icons represent the main aspects to cover in this research.

A thesis presentation requires properly introducing the methodology to demonstrate the hypothesis. Rather than adding complex figures, we can work with a minimalistic slide design and briefly describe the research methods. This slide deck is suitable for thesis presentations as well as academic projects, research papers , and more.

As we can see, counting with a professionally designed slide deck makes a difference in how your presentation is perceived by the audience. By working with SlideModel PowerPoint templates, we can reuse and repurpose our slide templates as often as required or mix elements from different slides seen in these PowerPoint presentation examples to create uniquely styled slide decks.

Like this article? Please share

Presentation Approaches, Presentation Ideas Filed under Presentation Ideas

Related Articles

Filed under Design • October 17th, 2024

Architecture Project Presentation: Must-Know Secrets for Creative Slides

Impress your audience by mastering the art of architectural project presentations. This detailed guide will give you the insights for this craft.

Filed under Design • October 7th, 2024

Video to PPT Converter AI with SlideModel AI

Looking to generate a presentation from a video transcript? Discover why SlideModel AI is the best tool for the task.

Filed under Business • September 25th, 2024

Walking Deck Presentations: How to Craft Self-Explanatory Slides

Discover best practices for building walking deck presentations that leave a lasting impact. Create presentations that convey key ideas on their own.

Leave a Reply

Unsupported browser

This site was designed for modern browsers and tested with Internet Explorer version 10 and later.

It may not look or work correctly on your browser.

• Presentations

How to Learn PowerPoint Quickly (Complete 2024 Beginner's Guide + Video)

Trying to figure out how to use PowerPoint? This PowerPoint tutorial for beginners will help get you started. Learn basic tools as well as how to use PowerPoint templates in this PowerPoint beginner's guide. 

In this PowerPoint tutorial for beginners, I'll help you get up and running in Microsoft PowerPoint. Ever wanted to know how to use PowerPoint templates? You'll learn how to use PowerPoint to build a presentation in less time than you ever thought possible. We'll also cover some PowerPoint best practices to make sure you're doing things the easy way.

Remember to check out Envato Elements. One low price gets you unlimited access to thousands of professional PowerPoint presentations —as well as fonts, stock photos, audio, and much more! It's the ultimate resource for fast, simple, and professional assets.

Guide to Making Great Presentations (Free eBook Download)

Before you read on, be sure to grab our free eBook:  The Complete Guide to Making Great Presentations . It'll help you master the presentation process, from initial idea through to writing, design, and delivering with impact.

How to Learn PowerPoint Quickly (Beginner Tutorial With Tips Video) 

Are you ready to start learning PowerPoint? Watch this quick screencast to learn all about what PowerPoint is and how to use it . It's a perfect PowerPoint tutorial for beginners. 

Or study the complete written tutorial below.

Jump to content in this section:

What Is PowerPoint?

How to use powerpoint's ribbon, the steps to create a powerpoint presentation for beginners, how to power up powerpoint, how to customize a premium ppt template quickly (in 5 simple steps), powerpoint tools to learn (for presenters), 5 tips and tricks for a successful powerpoint presentation, more beginner powerpoint tutorials (free to learn online).

Microsoft PowerPoint is undoubtedly the most popular app used to give presentations. You're likely to see PowerPoint presentations being used for everything from presentations at the world's largest companies to grade schoolteachers sharing lessons.

PowerPoint is often the butt of the joke. Many decry PowerPoint as boring and a crutch for poorly prepared speakers.

Only a bad carpenter blames the tools. And like any tool, PowerPoint is incredibly useful when used properly. Use it as an aid on your speaking engagements to build comfort and drive points visually with your audience.

In this tutorial, we're going to focus on working inside of PowerPoint to build a presentation. This PowerPoint guide has everything you need to get comfortable in the app. To master the app, we'll talk about and cover the most common steps a rookie PowerPoint user needs to know.

Here are the key actions you'll need to take to build a PowerPoint presentation:

• You'll need to add  slides,  the individual pages in the presentation.
• You'll add  content  to the slides, such as text boxes, images, charts and graphs.
• Change themes and styles  to make your presentation look professional and fit the occasion at hand.
• Prepare presentation aids like  Speaker Notes  and Presenter View to help you feel comfortable with presenting.

We'll cover each of these in this PowerPoint tutorial so that you can get up and running quickly. 

To get up to speed with PowerPoint, it helps to understand the layout of the app. Let's walk through the key menu options so that you can learn PowerPoint quickly. If you understand the way that the app is laid out, you're likely to find any feature you need quickly.

This part of the PowerPoint guide will focus on the interface. Note that these previews are in Microsoft PowerPoint for Mac OS, but the same will apply for PC.

1. The Ribbon

The ribbon menu is found across many of Microsoft's apps, such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. It lives above the main area of the application. In this example, "Home" is the selected tab in the Ribbon.

The ribbon contains a series of tabs that you can switch between. Each of these have a unique set of tools to work with your presentation differently. When you switch tabs on the ribbon, you'll see new buttons and options to change your presentation:

• Home . A general-purpose collection of the most common tools that you'll use in PowerPoint.
• Insert . An all-in-one tool to add every imagine-able type of content, such as tables, pictures, charts, video, and more.
• Draw. Use this tab to draw elements in your presentation.
• Design . Controls the look and feel of your presentation with theme and style settings.
• Transitions . Add animations when you switch slides.
• Animations . Controls the order and style that objects will enter or exit your slide with.
• Slide Show . Control settings related to the way your presentation appears when sharing it with an audience.
• Review. Check spelling, check accessibility, and leave comments on your presentation here.
• View. You can choose multiple ways to view your work from this tab. 
• Record. Record video, audio, or take a screenshot here.
• Acrobat. You can create PDF files using Adobe Acrobat from this tab.
• Tell Me. Click this to ask a question—it's an easy access help space.

Now that you understand the layout, you've got a better idea of how you can jump to the feature you need. Let's dive a bit deeper into how you can use several of these key tabs.

2. The Home Tab

Use it for: a general selection of the most popular tools in PowerPoint.

I usually stay on the Home tab when I'm working in PowerPoint. The reason is because it's got practically every tool you need. From adding a new slide to changing text and paragraph settings, the Home tab is the default for most users.

3. The Insert Tab

When you're working on adding content to a slide, the  Insert  tab has every possible tool to add new content to a slide. Choose one of these types of objects to add it to the slide.

PowerPoint has a variety of views that are simply different ways to work with the same presentation. Change the view to get a different perspective on your content.

Use views for a different way to edit and build your PowerPoint presentation.

In the screenshot below, you can see the difference between the default  Normal  view and  Slide Sorter  view. Normal view shows each slide front and center. Slide Sorter view creates thumbnails that you can drag and drop to reorder the presentation. 

Normal View in Microsoft PowerPoint

Slide Sorter View in Microsoft PowerPoint

5. The Design Tab

An attractive presentation can really grab your audience's attention. We use themes and styles in PowerPoint to add visual appeal to the presentation, and the  Design  tab really controls these settings.

On the Design tab, click one of the themes to restyle the presentation. Or try out a different Style thumbnail to overhaul the color theme.

We've tackled the interface of PowerPoint, so you should be feeling comfortable with how to get around the app. Now, let's talk about the actions you'll find yourself using repeatedly and how you can do that in PowerPoint. Whether you want to know how to use PowerPoint templates or how to build a presentation from scratch, these will be handy.

1. How to Add Slides

Think of  slides  as the individual units in your presentation that you can fill with content. To insert a new slide, go to the  Insert  tab on PowerPoint's ribbon. Then, click on the  New Slide  button to add a new slide to your presentation.

Each of the thumbnails that you'll see on the sidebar represents a slide. Then, you'll add content to each slide.

There's no practical limit to the number of slides that your PowerPoint file can contain. But you should consider how many slides it actually takes to make your point. It's often the 

2. How to Add Content

Content is what defines each slide. PowerPoint accommodates a wide range of content like text, graphs, tables, charts, and more.

The easiest way to add content is to start off by choosing a  Layout,  which you can choose from the  Home  tab. This PowerPoint template comes with premade layouts we can choose from too.

These layouts have content boxes that are easy to add your own content to. Simply choose a layout, and then start adding your content.

3. How to Choose a Theme and Style

After you build out your presentation's content, it's a great idea to think about adding visual style. For this, you'll jump over to the  Design  tab, and click on one of the thumbnails for a theme. Choosing a new theme in this PowerPoint template made it easy to switch from an orange to a green theme. Check it out. 

Using a PowerPoint theme is the preferred alternative to adding backgrounds, color and type styles to each slide. Changing the theme typically will adjust the entire presentation simultaneously. This greatly reduces the time involved with building a presentation.

With just these three steps, you've got the repeatable sequence of actions needed to build a presentation. 

With every creative app I've ever learned, there are always those insider tricks of the trade that you learn many months later. They make you wish that you had known them all along and think about the many hours you wasted on the learning curve.

PowerPoint is no exception to this rule. It's especially important that you can cut to the chase when you're rushing to prepare for your presentation.

The best way to save time on your presentation is to start with a pre-built PowerPoint theme .  And you can find those on Envato Elements, which is an unlimited download service for creatives.

Discover  simple PowerPoint template designs with powerful features on Envato Elements. The right premium PPT template  will help you make a great presentation quickly. 

Browse through these  simple professional presentation designs  that you can use today:  

Now, most of the files that you'll grab from the Elements PPTX themes will appear to be finished presentations. You might be wondering how to use these pre-built presentations for your own needs.

Curious about how to use PowerPoint templates? To use Elements themes, it's really all about cutting it down to the slide designs that you'll use. A premium theme is really about the ideas  that are included as part of it. Simply use these ideas as starting points that you can add your own content to.

Again, the value of Elements is that you can download as many files as you want while you're a subscriber. And if you stop subscribing, you'll still have the right to use the creative assets you grabbed. It's much faster than building every slide from scratch.

When you contemplate how to use PowerPoint, don’t imagine building slide decks from scratch. That’s where premium PPT templates come in. They take the hard work out of using PowerPoint. 

You can take advantage of designer styles in a simple format. That’s the ultimate PowerPoint lesson to take to heart. Let’s look at just how easy it is to customize premium PPT templates in this quick PowerPoint training tutorial!

If you want to follow along, download the beautiful Agio PowerPoint template from Envato Elements.

Let's get started:

1. Choose Slides for Your Presentation

Premium PowerPoint PPT templates often include hundreds of handcrafted slides. For you, it’s best to select only a handful to build a slide deck. In PowerPoint, find Slide Sorter on the View tab. 

In Slide Sorter view, click and drag on the slide thumbnails to reorder them. Hold down Shift , click, and press Delete to remove unwanted slides. Jump back and start working by clicking Normal on the View tab.

2. Add Your Own Text

The PowerPoint basics include text and images. Adding custom text is one of the easiest and most common edits to make. 

Pre-built layouts include text boxes already arranged on the slide. To add your own words, highlight the contents of any text box. Then, simply start typing. Repeat throughout the presentation. 

3. Add Images

Wondering how to add PowerPoint presentation images? The easiest way is to turn to premium templates with image placeholders. Identify them by finding the image icons on a given slide. Jump to where images are stored on your computer. 

Then, simply drag and drop them onto the placeholder. Not only will all your photos import automatically, they’ll also size and scale to fit perfectly!

4. Change Object Colors

Changing theme colors is a fast way to adjust the visual look of your slides. For example, change object colors to add a bit of contrast. 

To get started, click on any object, like a shape, to select it. Choose Format at the top menu, to view your formatting options. Try Format Object to open the Format Pane .

In the Format Pane, you can choose things like a new Fill Color for this shape. 

5. Customize Fonts

No Microsoft PowerPoint tutorial would be complete without customizing fonts. Sometimes, it’s easy to overlook text as a design element, but with a few quick edits you can make your words really stand out. 

Highlight a block of text, then go up to the Font section of the Home tab. You’ll see drop downs to change the font style, size, and color. After that, add quick effects like bold letters, italics, and more!

The content and design will vary greatly from one presentation next. But, no matter what the goal of your presentation is, there are common tools that every presenter can benefit from using. We've developed PowerPoint lessons for those tools.

Let's focus on the most valuable tools for speakers in this PowerPoint tutorial. I always mention these tools as a way to build confidence and comfort for presenters.

1. Speaker Notes

Forget writing out note cards or keeping a printed outline nearby. Speaker notes are a way to add the things you need to say to each slide.

Speaker notes are added to each individual slide, and the best way to add them is from  Normal  view. Click on  Notes  below the presentation area and type your slide-specific notes.

Speaker notes will show up in printed copies of your presentation. So, it's easier to build them into PowerPoint instead of scribbling note cards you may lose.

2. Presenter View

Another feature that's a must-use is Presenter View , which is perfect for two screen setups while presenting. While your audience will see the presentation you've built on the projector or LCD screen, you'll have your own private view with speaker notes, upcoming slides, and more.

Turn on Presenter View from the slideshow tab by clicking  Use Presenter View.

Check out a full guide below on getting the most from Presenter View:

3. Spelling and Grammar Check

There's nothing worse than missing a key typo before you give your presentation. To avoid this problem, it's a great help to run a spelling and grammar check before you give your presentation.

To check for common spelling issues, simply jump to the  Review  tab and click Spelling . PowerPoint will check for the most common issues and allow you to correct them as needed.

4. Insert Multimedia

You can use multimedia in your PowerPoint presentations, and they can really enhance the experiences. Remember, you can find these tools in the Ribbon, via Insert . For example, how about inserting a short audio clip of a quote or maybe a short video relevant to your topic? If you'd like to make these additions, Insert makes it very easy to do.

Want to learn more about adding Multimedia to your PowerPoint presentations? Check out these free tutorials to learn more:

5. Add Bullet Points 

How you organize your content can make a huge difference—both for your audience and for you, as the presenter. Presenting a long passage of text can be difficult and even boring for the viewer. Consider breaking your content up into easy to read and easy to digest bullet points. 

PowerPoint makes this easy. When you edit your text, select Home in the Ribbon. There, again, you'll see your text options. Need some extra help with bullet points? Check out this easy-to-follow walkthrough:

6. Transitions and Animations

PowerPoint has so many different options, when it comes to transitions and animations. You can have specific transitions from slide to slide. You can animate specific elements in your presentations.

Looking the PowerPoint Ribbon, remember to turn to the Animations section. There, you can find a host of options that you can apply to your presentation.

Never used these tools before? Check out these walkthroughs. They'll show you how it's done.

In this PowerPoint tutorial for beginners, you’ve learned how to use PowerPoint presentation templates. We walked through a quick PowerPoint lesson to customize them. But you may be wondering: is that enough to deliver a winning PowerPoint presentation? 

Part of PowerPoint training comes from adopting the tips and tricks used by the best presenters. Follow these, and you’ll have a happy (and engaged) audience every time!

1. Have a Clear Objective

Let’s face it: we’ve all endured lengthy, boring PowerPoint presentations that seem to drift without a clear purpose. When you build your own PowerPoint, start with a goal in mind. Typically, that goal will be to inform or persuade an audience. It pays to outline that goal in advance and work towards your objective with a series of clear and concise slides.

It may sound daunting, but you can learn the technique in moments with our full PowerPoint training to help build persuasive slide decks:

2. Illustrate Concepts With Infographics

A key PowerPoint lesson for beginners is this: never get bogged down trying to talk through concepts. Visual aids are essential, and audiences demand them today. Infographics are a successful presenter’s best friend. Infographics combine information and graphics to create stunning visuals. 

Learn to build them yourself. Or sample from the very best pre-built PPT templates today in our infographic-centric set of PowerPoint instructions:

3. Be Subtle Animations and Transitions

Animations and transitions: fundamental elements of any deck, they should be used sparingly. When carefully applied, they create beautiful segues between slides. They can also help introduce new ideas in exact sequence. But use too many, and they become obnoxious distractions guaranteed to annoy an audience. 

Moderation is the name of the game here. Read our full Microsoft PowerPoint tutorial on animations to use them with confidence:

4. Be Interactive to Engage the Audience

No matter how compelling your narrative, you can’t simply talk to an audience and expect full participation. Instead, you need to engage your audience. A quick and fun way is with a quiz slide. They get the audience involved and help your slide deck stay focused. 

Even better: pre-built templates make it a breeze. They're PowerPoint instructions inside a PPTX file. Get started building interactive quizzes in PPT today with our guide on how to create PowerPoint quizzes:

5. Close Strong for an Enduring Message

The very best PowerPoint presentations make a great first impression. But equally (and perhaps even more) important is the winning last impression. It’s critical to conclude with a strong close. Leave on a memorable anecdote, recap your key points, or make a big “ask.” All these techniques and more help to ensure a strong close.

Don’t go it alone. We’ve created expert PowerPoint training on building a strong close. Check it out here:

This PowerPoint tutorial helped you get off the ground with using Microsoft PowerPoint. You learned the steps for creating slides and the shortcut to a better presentation with pre-built themes.

At Tuts+, we've been building out a series of PowerPoint tutorials that can help you build your presentation skills. Check out all these PowerPoint tutorials for free. One ideal place to start is the PowerPoint Ultimate Tutorial Guide that we've developed. If you're feeling nervous about giving a presentation for your job or freelance practice, try out more of these tutorials like the ones below.

Need Help? Grab Our Making Great Presentations eBook (Free)

You can find more information in our eBook on making great presentations . Download this PDF eBook now for FREE with your subscription to the Tuts+ Business Newsletter.

It'll help you master the presentation process, from: initial creative ideas, through to writing, design, and delivering with impact.

Get Started Using PowerPoint Today

Presentations can be daunting to take on, but a bit of knowledge about Microsoft PowerPoint can ease the process. We've got tutorials that show you how to create a PowerPoint presentation, for beginners. Jump to the following links to speed up your learning process and spend less time in PowerPoint:

• Envato Elements is the best place to grab premium PowerPoint templates  that save you hours of design work and leave you with a finished presentation that you'll feel confident in.
• Courses included with Envato Elements are complete walkthroughs of how to build a presentation. They're perfect PowerPoint tutorials for beginners.
• The PowerPoint Ultimate Tutorial Guide  is a complete learning resource with the top tutorials to take you from beginner to expert. 

Editorial Note : This post was originally published in 2017. It's been comprehensively revised to make it current, accurate, and up to date by our staff—with special help from Andrew Childress and Daisy Ein .

17 PowerPoint Presentation Examples That Show Style and Professionalism

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter

By Iveta Pavlova

in Inspiration

6 years ago

Reading time: 2 min

Viewed 203,454 times

Spread the word about this article:

There are way too many bad PowerPoint presentation examples that can bore you to death. Well, today’s post is not about them. We believe that it’s always important to show the good examples out there and follow their lead. We admit it, it was pretty hard to dig out the good PowerPoint presentation examples from the mass. We’ve added our opinion on each piece and why we believe it’s worthy of being included in this collection. Let’s begin!

You may be interested in  The Best Free PowerPoint Templates to Download in 2022

1. The Sketchnote Mini-Workshop by Mike Rohde

An eye-catchy PowerPoint presentation example whose content is fully hand-written. What we love about this design, is the high personalization level that is achieved via handwriting. It almost feels like the author is drawing and writing in front of the viewers’ eyes. A digital presentation that conveys a physical feeling.

2. 10 Ways to Spread The Love in The Office by Elodie A.

The following presentation is a real eye candy. We can’t help it, the cartoon style lives in our hearts. An incredibly appealing PowerPoint presentation that brings positive vibes and a good mood through vibrant cartoon illustrations. It gets bonus points for the usage of bullet points and little text.

3. The Great State of Design with CSS Grid Layout and Friends by Stacy Kvernmo

A presentation that tells a story is always a good example that everyone should follow. This PowerPoint presentation has a lot of slides that tell different mini-stories. The way they are depicted is really engaging – they almost look like a sequence of frames that make up a video. This technique really nails the viewers’ attention.

4. We live in a VUCA world by Little Dragon Films

A classy design of a PowerPoint presentation example – a dark theme and white font on top with just a single color accent – red. Such designs are really suitable for serious topics like this one. To soften the contrast between the black background and white font, the author has used a gradient on the background which gives the illusion of soft light in the middle of the design.

5. 2017 Marketing Predictions—Marketo by Marketo

A design that was made over a year ago but it’s still really trendy. In the following PowerPoint presentation example, we can see the combination of 3D shapes, beautiful hand-written fonts, negative space techniques, and more. The overall feeling is of futuristic design. Moreover, they used the color of 2018 – Ultra Violet for their color scheme. Maybe, they did predict the future after all.

6. 10 Ways Your Boss Kills Employee Motivation by Officevibe

Who doesn’t like to see a familiar face? We know your audience does! It’s proven that if you show a familiar face to your viewers, you nail their attention and boost their engagement level. This is the technique used in the following PowePoint presentation. Moreover, the inner slides of the presentation are also cartoons with big conceptual illustrations and little text. The formula for a really good presentation.

7. How to Successfully Run a Remote Team from Weekdone.com

We haven’t really seen many PowerPoint presentation examples with top-view illustrations. The following presentation really reminded us that when presenting to an audience, you should always think: How to make your design stand out from the rest? Well, this one really caught our eye. In addition, we love the bright colors, geometric shapes, and overall flat feeling, all of which are among the graphic design trends for 2022 .

8. SXSW 2018 – Top Trends by Matteo Sarzana

People love visuals and this is an undeniable fact. The whole PowerPoint presentation is built on high-quality photos, each including a little tagline in the middle. We love the consistency, we love the factor of surprise, and we love the high engagement level this presentation creates. Just make sure to back up such presentation type with a good speech!

9. How to study effectively? by sadraus

Semi-transparent overlays, geometric shapes, a video inside… Everything about this PowerPoint presentation screams “modern”. The grayscale coloring is accompanied by a fresh green color accent. The choice of images clearly suggests that the target audience is young people. The overall feeling that we get from this PowerPoint presentation – is youthful and modern.

10. Study: The Future of VR, AR, and Self-Driving Cars by LinkedIn

A presentation about the future should look futuristic, right? The following PowerPoint presentation example is proof that you should always connect the subject of your presentation to its design. Everything in this presentation speaks of futuristic: the choice of fonts, colors, effects, and even some elements look like holograms from the future.

11. 9 things I’ve learned about SaaS by Christoph Janz

A PowerPoint presentation example created in a consistent style by using a blue theme. Why did we include this presentation? We love the fact that the author has shown an alternation of text and visuals (from slides 7 to 22). This technique is proven to hold the attention of the viewer. Moreover, the way the graphics are presented (on a napkin) draws the interest even more.

12. How To Achieve Something Extraordinary In Life by Sultan Suleman Chaudhry

A PowerPoint presentation example that shows consistency and style by using a strict color scheme: orange, beige, and deep blue. Orange and blue are one of the most popular contrasting combinations widely used in all kinds of designs. If you are not sure what colors to go with, simply choose a tested color scheme.

13. New trends to look out for 2018 winter season by FemmeConnection

Geometric shapes and negative space techniques are among the  graphic design trends for 2018  which is why we see them often in PowerPoint presentation examples and other designs. In the following presentation, we can see a collection of women’s clothes presented in a very engaging way with the help of rounded geometric shapes, negative space technique, and the color pink.

14. Fear of Failure by Sultan Suleman Chaudhry

Speaking of the usage of geometric elements in the presentation’s design, let’s see another example. An elegant design decorated with circles, triangles, and more geometric details. What else we love about this presentation is that it only has one color accent – light yellow which looks classy and pleasant for the eye.

15. The Three Lies About Your Age by Sean Si

A great choice of fonts, beautiful semi-transparent geometric elements, and trendy futuristic colors. This is one of the PowerPoint presentation examples that we absolutely love. The story is engaging and the design is extremely appealing – a combination that keeps the viewers’ eyes on the screen from the beginning till the end.

16. Secrets to a Great Team by Elodie A.

Bright, fun, using lots of illustrations and cartoon characters – definitely our kind of PowerPoint presentation. Why do we love it so much? Well, cartoons are real ice-breakers between you and your audience. Moreover, cartoon characters are easier to relate to than a real human face. If you need to connect on a deeper level with your audience, this is your kind of presentation!

You’d probably like to learn  4 Invaluable Presentation Design Tips You Wish You Knew Earlier

17. How to Build a Dynamic Social Media Plan by Post Planner

A great presentation PowerPoint example with watercolor illustrations and backgrounds that look hand-drawn. We also see semi-transparent colorful overlays, high-quality conceptual photos, and great, useful content. What more would you want from a presentation, right?

We always love to hear your opinion about stuff. So, what do you think of these PowerPoint presentation examples? Do you think that you’ve created a presentation better than these? We’d love to see your own creations in the comments below if you want to share them with us.

You may also be interested to read these related articles:

• 7 Most Popular Software for Presentations
• 4 Invaluable Presentation Design Tips You Wish You Knew Earlier
• 70 Inspiring Presentation Slides with Cartoon Designs
• Need PowerPoint Backgrounds?The Best Places to Check Out [+ Freebies]

Add some character to your visuals

Cartoon Characters, Design Bundles, Illustrations, Backgrounds and more...

Like us on Facebook

Subscribe to our newsletter

Be the first to know what’s new in the world of graphic design and illustrations.

• [email protected]

Browse High Quality Vector Graphics

E.g.: businessman, lion, girl…

Related Articles

17 inspiring ui/ux designer portfolios that take design to the next level, vector art inspiration: 60 stunning examples of contemporary art, 24 effective landing page design examples that convert in 2022, good color combinations that go beyond trends: inspirational examples and ideas, retro design in modern times: an ultra inspiring collection, 500+ free and paid powerpoint infographic templates:, enjoyed this article.

Don’t forget to share!

• Comments (1)

Iveta Pavlova

Iveta is a passionate writer at GraphicMama who has been writing for the brand ever since the blog was launched. She keeps her focus on inspiring people and giving insight on topics like graphic design, illustrations, education, business, marketing, and more.

Thousands of vector graphics for your projects.

Hey! You made it all the way to the bottom!

Here are some other articles we think you may like:

Inspiration

Email newsletter examples: 10 brands that enchant the inbox.

by Iveta Pavlova

Creative Modern Menu Designs that Boost the Appetite

by Lyudmil Enchev

25 Engaging Visual Content Marketing Examples Feat. Illustrations

Looking for design bundles or cartoon characters.

A source of high-quality vector graphics offering a huge variety of premade character designs, graphic design bundles, Adobe Character Animator puppets, and more.

[email protected]

Click to copy

Email copied!

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.

Recent articles

View all articles

Figma Slides: A new presentation tool taking on PowerPoint and co

Presentation tools

How to prepare a great conference keynote presentation

Public speaking