To construct a design template for your presentation, you'll first need to acquaint yourself with the Slide Master in PowerPoint. The Slide Master is the foundation upon which presentation backgrounds are created. It should be used to set text fonts and point size, the placement of text or other items repeated in the presentation and the slide color scheme. By using the Slide Master all your slide titles, colors and text will look consistent throughout the presentation.

When used properly, you'll also save much time. For instance, using the Slide Master allows you to revise the color of all the titles in your presentation in one simple move - without having to change the color in each of 30 slides.

Placing titles

Where you place your title can determine the readability and visual appeal of your slides. Titles on PowerPoint presentations should appear at the top one-sixth of the screen. This allows room for bulleted items and charts or graphics appearing below the title, and it provides enough white space (areas where there are no design elements or text).

Poorly placing a title can crowd the information you want to convey. Consider this "Before" or "Red light" slide. Because the title is placed so low on the slide, there is not enough room for the text. As a result the presenter is forced to use a point size that is too small and too difficult to read. (In this slide, it is 20 point.) This placement also crowds the text. The title blends right in with the body copy.

Placing the title on the upper portion of the slide provides room for a larger, more readable text. In the revised or "green light" slide, the title appears in 28 point. Placing the title higher on the slide also creates a little breathing room or white space. (You should always leave some white space or empty space on your slide. This is like putting a park between city buildings. Everything just looks and feels better.) Once the title is correctly placed, the rest of the slide no longer looks cluttered.

To see a large image of the revised slide, click here.

PowerPoint Tip. Using the Slide Master, you can easily change the location of the title and any other object in a PowerPoint template. In this example, the title text box was moved once in the Slide Master. To change the title placement for the entire presentation, go to View>Master>Slide Master.

Tailor the presentation for your audience

The best way to design your presentation is to think about how the audience would like to hear the information presented. When constructing your content, focus on the audience's interests - not on your perspective or what you would like to address.

Too many presenters start their sales presentations with ten slides about their company. The audience is bored long before the tenth slide.

Take for example the red-light slide here. As an opening slide, it lists the company's products and services, but it does not focus on the customer's interests or concerns. What particular service or product does this client need? What is this client trying to accomplish?

Instead, start with your audience's concerns. Once you've determined what your audience wants, you can weave in information about your company. If your client is considering your services, think about the customer's decision process. Organize your speech with that process in mind.

For instance, the revised slide shows how the presenter's company proposes to bring its clients up-to-date electronically. This opening slide presents this proposal as a four-step process - and indicates what the presentation will convey.

To see a large image of the revised slide, click here.

This slide also gives presenters several options for tailoring their message to the audience. If they know the prospect, they can walk through these steps using the prospect as an example. If they don't know the prospect's needs, they give an example of how another customer benefited from their one-stop shop. It also encourages presenters to discuss their company's success stories and make the case that their group can do the job.

Stay tuned next month for more presentation design ideas.

All slide backgrounds designed by Creative Minds Inc., copyright 2001 © all rights reserved.