Course to learn how to design efficient PowerPoint documents
Course to learn how to design efficient PowerPoint documents
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Objective : why this document ?
- The purpose of this document is to help you design stunning powerpoint documents
- It is based on our personnal experiences of making powerpoint reports and from what we learnt in consulting companies we have been working for.
- We often have heard from clients that they were really impressed by consulting reports and presentations : clear, direct, well structured and always very professional looking.
- We hope that after reading this document, and after practicing you’ll be able to design stunning powerpoint presentations
- Choose a very simple layout and be consistent all through your document.
- Do not use only bullet points : insert diagrams, charts, maps to support your messages.
- Your presentation should be a logical series of headlines that tell the whole story : organize your arguments to support your key-messages.
- Use storyboarding to help you structure your story
- The headlines must be explicit with short and direct sentences
First, you have to choose a very simple and standard format
- If you are an employee, choose your company’s template
– The look of the template typically reflects the company’s culture
– It also reflects the way the company want to be perceived in case of an external audience
– if there are several different templates, choose the one that is the more simple, with the less objects or information on it.
- Otherwise, use a simple and standard template (just the one used for this document)
You have to be consistent all through the document
Use the same font all through your document (but you may include some variations : bold, italic or underline). Choose a sans-serif font (ex : arial or helvetica).
Do not use too much colors. 2 hues maximum (1 for highlighting messages), plus the text color (black is best). For each hue, you can use a different brightness
Try to use the same line spacing all along your document
Try to avoid cliparts (especially Powerpoint ones : everybody already saw them a thousand times elsewhere)
Your document has to be professional. Try to imagine you’re designing a book that will be printed and sold.
It will speed up your document production and enhance communication effectiveness
Document production
- A simple and standard format will provide you with a ready-made framework.
- It will help you structure your ideas in an efficient and sharp manner.
- It will suppress the necessity to make decisions about format when producing your document.
- It will speed up your writing and so enhance production efficiency
Communication effectiveness
- The audience (or readers) will easily know where to look for particular kinds of information :
– In particular (Key) messages
– Explanations…
- A simple and standard format will disappear to the eyes of your audience and let them concentrate on what is important, the substance.
- It will give a feeling of repetition that will promote your audience comfort.
… … …
The kicker-box tells the implications of the story for your readers and audience
- The kicker-box usually answers the “so-what ?” question at the end of the page.
- It is NOT a continuation of the headline.
- Kicker-boxes have to be concise and straight to the point.
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The title page is as important as the rest of the document
The title page has to set the tone of the document and should give a first idea of its objectives and key messages
- Therefore, it should include a few basic elements :
– In case of a presentation, the name of the target audience / comity
– An active title that generates interest, preferably including a verb (ex : How to design effective presentation) : it has to be as explicit as possible
- It may be sometimes interesting to complete the title information by the use of a subtitle
– The name of the author
– The date of the presentation or delivery report
The key messages are greatly dependent from the context of your presentation
The different kind of objectives of your document
- To inform
– Is the subject complex ?
– Is it very innovative ?
- To convince
– Does it imply a tough decision ?
- To trigger action
– What will trigger the action you want your audience to take ?
The audience / readers
- What is their feeling on the matter of your presentation or report?
- What are their main concerns and interests ?
- Is somebody in a position to take a decision or trigger action ?
- What is their attitude towards the author / presenter (you) ?
- Will they be receptive or skeptical about your messages ?
… … …
It has to be a real sentence
To be avoided
- Context
- Methodology
- Volume of sales
- Profit
- Roadmap
- Key success factor
To be written
- Your company has been heavily impacted by the downturn economy
- Our methodology will be based on employees interviews
- The volume of product X sales has increased by 10% over the past two year
- The company’s profit is far below expectation
- The three phases of the project will be finished end of april
- The success relies mainly on management involvement
Your sentences have to be short, sharp and active
Sentences
Write short sentences and avoid too much adverbs and adjectives : the message will be understood quickly. Tighten up your writing !
Use verbs in active form : Active form is especially meaningful as you describe work that you have completed or are in the process of completing.
Be sharp and direct : it will focus your audience / reader on what should be remembered
Document Quality Check-list
Layout
The layout is simple
All the pages are consistent
There are no cliparts (especially Powerpoint one’s)
There are diagrams, charts and maps to support my messages (not only bullet points)
There are few colors used in the document
The kicker boxes answer a « so what question »
Structure
One can understand the main idea of the document from the title
The objectives of the document are clearly told at the beginning
The executive summary gives the key messages of your document
Headlines are linked logically and tell a story
Messages
In all pages, the content support the headline
There’s only one message per page
Each headline is explicit (and is a real sentence)
The sentences are short and direct
Every element on each page is useful to understand the story (no useless elements)