40+ Tips for Awesome PowerPoint Presentations

PowerPoint. Whether you love it or hate it, we’ve all had to use it before. Personally, I think it’s a great tool. It’s easy to use and I love starting with a blank slide and creating my own masterpiece. You can even link slides and shapes and make really cool branched scenarios. Creating visually appealing PowerPoint presentations is definitely possible.

So, if you need to create a PowerPoint presentation and you’ve decided you want it to be great, check out the 40 tips below and you will be well on your way!

Structure

• Decide on your goal – what is it this presentation is going to achieve?
• Select a structure for your presentation
• Divide your content into small sections
• Include an introduction, content and a summary/ending
• Add an agenda or outline slide, to let everyone know what to expect
• End your presentation with a question slide

Design

• Use a template or master slides
• Design a presentation that is basic, simple, and clear
• Choose a theme of 2-3 complimentary colors and stick to it
• Select contrasting colors that go well together
• Don’t overdo the corporate branding
• Avoid excessive animations and slide transitions
• Leave plenty of white space on your slides

Text Content

• Double-check your spelling and grammar
• Organize your content sequentially
• Use short sentences, not long paragraphs
• Don’t use more than 3-4 bullets per slide
• Incorporate key phrases and essential information
• Bring in bullets or points one at a time
• Don’t overload the screen with too much information
• Align text either left or right (centered text is harder to read)

Fonts

• Use the same size font on every slide
• Stick to a maximum of two font styles
• Do not use more than one decorative font
• Avoid fonts that are difficult to read
• Use a sans-serif font for body text
• Choose a font color that contrasts strongly against the background
• Use a font size larger enough that everyone can read easily

Visuals

• Don’t overload slides with too many visuals
• Use charts and graphics to convey important data
• Use well-selected photos and graphics
• Include various forms of multimedia (video, audio, etc.)
• Use photos with high quality resolution
• Choose graphics and photos that are consistent in style
• Use animations sparingly