How to write a killer PowerPoint preso

What do you and Jeff Bezos have in common?
 
Okay, how do we leap from “PowerPoint” to “Jeff Bezos”? And what do you have in common with him? 
 
(Aside from your vast wealth, that is.) 
 
We’re going to cover all of that, here. All these planets orbit the same star. And, true to the theme of these articles, this isn’t about art or touchy-feely vibes. It’s about helping your business make more money. A lot of times, your foot in the door is a PowerPoint deck. It has to kill. 
 
So let’s deconstruct the challenge, and walk you through the important aspects of attaining that goal. 
 
Think like a mystery writer
 
You probably know this already: Great mystery writers all approach their craft backward. It’s the easiest, most logical way to go about it. They start with the ending. “Whodunnit.” They concoct the crime, they know who committed it and why, and then they work to cover up those tracks and introduce new characters with varying motives that make them appear suspicious, too.
 
Mystery writers could craft great PowerPoint decks. Because your challenge here, is the same. Start with the ending. What is it you want to accomplish? 

• Is this an introductory, get-to-know-you meeting? 

 

• Is this a presentation of findings? 

 

• Is it a presentation of a challenge that needs to be addressed—with you being the one who should get paid to address it? 

 
In other words, when your presentation is over, what do you want your audience to do? That’s the “ending” you need to work backward from. 
 
Structure is everything
 
All great works have great structure. A building, a play, a form of government. Your PowerPoint is no different. 
 
Not all finished works make their structure readily apparent; you don’t think of a summer blockbuster movie as having a three-act structure, but they usually do. It helps the writers to craft the story. But there’s no need, in that medium, for them to flash a big title card at the audience that says, say, “ACT TWO.” The story just moves along. 
 
You can do your PowerPoint that way. But more often than not, you’ll want the structure exposed, Bauhaus-like, for all the world to see. Why? It’s because of one safe assumption you can make when you craft it: Your audience is time-constrained, and can’t wait for you to make your point and wrap it up. So if you have a structure, and make it clear, the audience will be encouraged to stay on board, since they’ll have their expectations properly set from the beginning. 
 
Tactically, this translates to 1) figuring out your outline; 2) making the whole deck follow that outline, with actual chapter headings on appropriate slides (the analog of “ACT TWO”); and 3) creating an intro slide, right up front, which gives the audience an outline of the entire presentation.
 
Go for drama
 
Here’s where we’ll channel Jeff Bezos. He once said, in an interview, that he hates PowerPoint presentations. He insightfully noted that they’re easy for the presenter, but hard for the audience.
 
Think about that. It’s a spot-on commentary. It’s relatively easy for the presenter to “puke” tons of info into a PowerPoint deck; that doesn’t mean that anyone viewing it will understand it. We’ve been handed slide decks that have literally taken us hours to read; it’s like someone just took a huge Word doc, and copied-and-pasted their way into PowerPoint. 
 
Don’t do that. 
 
In fact, do the opposite. Go for minimalism. You don’t “show” a PowerPoint deck like you do a video, as a standalone piece. It’s not foreground; you’re the foreground! Don’t forget that. The slides are your background. Your projector can crap out at the last second, and you should still be able to make your presentation, based on your notes, just fine.
 
So what you want the PowerPoint to do is to underscore your most important points. And use it dramatically. If you’re following best practice by keeping your slides as terse as possible, then you can have fun with them, and keep the audience engaged at the same time. Imagine, for example, a slide that reads: 
 
            “And do you know what the survey revealed?” 
 
It’s a page-turner, by its very nature. You can milk the pause, and the suspense, to your benefit. Just imagine: An audience that enjoys a PowerPoint preso! 
 
A few more PowerPoint pointers
 
Here are some other things to keep in mind as you craft that PowerPoint deck: 

• Start in Word. Don’t get bogged down in fonts, templates, or stock photos. Craft your basic content first, without the distractions. You can pretty it up later. 

 

• Stay in sync. There’s nothing worse for an audience than seeing a screen full of bullet points while you say something else than what they’re trying to quickly read. Keep your bullets brief. Craft the slides so that new bullets get added, click-by-click.

 

• Consider secondary distribution. We’ve talked all about your being in the room when you present. But lots of times, you’ll need to email a copy of the slide deck to your client afterward, so they can share it with others. In that case, you can still keep your slides terse, but make sure the “speaker notes” are complete and provide the same level of detail as your live oral commentary. 

 
Don’t go it alone
 
We know all these tricks because we employ them, all the time, on our clients’ behalf. Why? Because they’re smart enough to keep focused on higher-value activities. You can, too. Simply contact us today, and we’ll help you with that next presentation challenge. 

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