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How to Make a Great PowerPoint Presentation
Last Updated: March 2, 2024 Tested
This article was co-authored by Maureen Taylor . Maureen Taylor is the CEO and Founder of SNP Communications, a leadership communications company based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She has been helping leaders, founders, and innovators in all sectors hone their messaging and delivery for almost 30 years, and has worked with leaders and teams at Google, Facebook, Airbnb, SAP, Salesforce, and Spotify. There are 10 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. The wikiHow Tech Team also followed the article's instructions and verified that they work. This article has been viewed 498,957 times.
PowerPoint is a Microsoft Office Suite program which is used to make presentation slideshows, combining text and images to create captivating and motivating presentations. However, the skills and secrets to make these excellent presentations are often, simply not there within the ones who make them! If you feel your presentation could use a little extra something, read below for some helpful ideas to take it from so-so to absolutely amazing.
Create Your Narrative
- The structure of an academic presentation should follow roughly the same structure as an academic paper, first introducing your main point, supporting it with evidence, and then a short conclusion.
- The Problem
- Your solution
- Business model
- Underlying magic/technology
- Marketing and sales
- Competition
- Projections and milestones
- Status and timeline
- Summary and call to action
Utilize the Format
Nail Your Presentation
- It’s not enough to show why your information is important to someone else; you have to make it important to your audience. Make them understand why they should care. For example, don’t give a lecture on history and just expect students to care. You need to show them how that history directly ties to current events and affects their lives. Look for parallels and direct correlations to tie your information to your audience.
What Is The Best Way To Start a Presentation?
Sample PowerPoint Presentations
Expert Q&A
- If you're using Flickr Creative Commons images, make sure you give attribution to the owner of the picture (you can do a whole page of credits at the end of your presentation). Thanks Helpful 2 Not Helpful 0
- Remember the 10/20/30 Rule -- no more than 10 slides, no longer than 20 minutes, and no smaller than 30 point font. Thanks Helpful 2 Not Helpful 0
- Don't use someone else's image unless you are sure that you have permission to do so. Thanks Helpful 2 Not Helpful 0
- Even if you miss a slide or miss a topic, avoid fumbling to find it. Move along and just before the end, say that you need an important addition to be looked upon which you had skipped purposely and then revert to the slide that you have missed and fill in the gaps. At no point should it be felt that you are not in-charge of your own PPT. Thanks Helpful 19 Not Helpful 1
- Sometimes the projector you are using may develop a problem. Be patient and let the appropriate authorities handle it. Do not swear or sweat , it happens! Then, once it's fixed, you may continue from where you left with a smile or a short joke or, if the repair took a very long time, start from the beginning. Thanks Helpful 17 Not Helpful 1
- Never read your slides word for word. Thanks Helpful 23 Not Helpful 4
- Do not overdo with the transitions and slide animations, as it can become a distraction Thanks Helpful 9 Not Helpful 2
- Practice makes perfect. Finish your presentation and then speak it out loud. Try again until you have it "down." Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
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- ↑ https://www.inc.com/guides/201102/how-to-create-a-great-powerpoint-presentation.html
- ↑ http://www.forbes.com/sites/johngreathouse/2012/09/24/9-easy-ways-to-create-powerpoint-slides-that-suck-less/
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Feb 20, 2017
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