8 Easy Ways to Know if your Presentation is Designed Well Enough

When it comes to PowerPoint or Keynote Presentation, which of these is tougher? Knowing “what to present” OR “how to present”? Thanks to your education at business schools and subsequent years of corporate experience, you are probably a subject matter expert by now. The “WHAT” comes easily…..but…..the “HOW” is where the nightmare begins?

Surely, you would not like your well thought out and well-prepared script presented poorly. You would like your slides to do the talking as you present them.

We often hear the phrase “It’s not HOW MUCH (or WHAT) you give, but HOW you give”. It is the same thing when it comes to presentation - “It is not WHAT you present, but HOW you present it”. You either bore the audience to sleep or have them hooked to your presentations slide after slide. So, knowing the “HOW” makes all the difference.

Here are 8 key points to keep in mind when designing your slides

1. Template: Template contains layouts, theme colors, fonts, effects, background style, and even content.A template is important for presenting a clear, consistent style in all the slides in your presentation.Does the presentation follow your company’s corporate template?
   Do you know the four simple rules to design a Corporate PowerPoint Template for your company?

   The master slide is the place where you design your template. Once you have a template, 50% of your work is done. You can now concentrate on the content for your slides.

2. Style guide: Each company has a style guide of its own. A guide that defines its brand. This is one of the important aspects of your presentation. It helps your audience to connect with you and the company you represent.
   If you do not have one….get it done pronto. Let your slides talk your brand.
3. Layout: Like mentioned above, design the layout for your slides in the template. Getting the right layout for each slide makes your presentation look clean and professional. Make sure the layout of design elements and content is consistent throughout the presentation. The content and graphics should be laid out in a balanced and consistent manner.
4. Consistency: We cannot stress this point enough. A good presentation is all about consistency – the flow of one slide to another should feel connected. Typeface, colors, layout and style should be made consistent for a neat look and feel. Never let this rule slip.
5. Visuals: Use relevant and meaningful images and icons wherever the content demands it. Purposeful and interesting graphics that complement the content should be used to communicate ideas effectively. Visuals are a great way to instantly communicate, but choose them carefully, not just any image from google.
6. Colors: Use your company’s color palette effectively and consistently! Do not overdo it, though. Effective use of colors not only helps in visually enhancing your slides but also in communicating the message of your presentation to the audience.Choosing the right color for your presentation is important.Again, if you had set up the right colors on your template, it would reduce a huge amount of your time.
7. Alignment: Proper alignment makes a slide look clean, well-formatted and professional. Especially in the case of content heavy slides, good alignment goes a long way in making it presentable. This is where the real test to 'attention to details' come into play.
8. Typeface: Choosing the right typeface gives your presentation a professional edge and augments your brand value.The right typeface or font family goes a long way in making your presentation legible on the screen at body text sizes and for printing.Setting this up from your master slide will make it much simpler and easier for you.

There you have it, the 8 essential characteristics of a well-designed presentation, without which we cannot have a great presentation.

Quite simple, isn't it?

To summarize:

A simple, consistent and well-formatted presentation communicates for itself. It connects with the audience instantly and exudes your brand value.

Use the below infographic and tick off one formatting step after the other.

Would you like a checklist to ensure your presentation looks crisp and professional?