How to Start a PowerPoint Presentation – The Best Way
September 21, 2024
How do you make a PowerPoint Presentation? How do you create a powerful PowerPoint presentation? How do you start a PowerPoint Presentation?
Meet the Author: Benjamin Ball
Ben is the founder of Benjamin Ball Associates and leads the presentation coaching and pitch deck creation teams. Formerly a corporate financier in the City of London, for 20+ years he’s helped businesses win with better pitches and presentations, particularly investor pitches. He is a regular speaker and a guest lecturer at Columbia Business School and UCL London. Follow Ben on LinkedIn or visit the contact page.
To make a PowerPoint presentation can be daunting, but when done right, it sets the tone for a successful delivery. For a business audience, especially in the UK, where presentations often carry high stakes, a great way to start a PowerPoint presentation is to begin by using a clear process.
Below, we’ll give you a step-by-step guide to the best way to make your PowerPoint presentation, avoiding common pitfalls, and creating a professional, polished experience for your audience.
How to Start PowerPoint Presentations – step-by-step guide
1. Avoid The Most Common Mistakes When Making a PowerPoint Presentation
What’s the biggest mistake to avoid when you start a PowerPoint presentation?
The biggest mistake is diving straight into PowerPoint without proper planning. Many presenters rush to create a PowerPoint before they’ve outlined their key points or determined the main takeaway for the audience. Making your PowerPoint with a clear purpose and solid structure is essential to create a PowerPoint presentation.
A few of the most common mistakes include:
Diving into details too quickly: This overwhelms your audience before they understand the context.
Reading off slides: Instead of engaging with your audience, some presenters simply read word-for-word from their slides, creating a monotonous experience.
Relying on busy visuals: Cluttered slides packed with text or graphs are hard to digest and distract from your message.
Starting with a table of contents: While it may seem logical, this often bores the audience.
Avoid these mistakes so that your presentation is more effective and engaging right from the start.
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The success of any presentation relies on how well you plan before opening PowerPoint. Preparation is key. Without thorough planning, your presentation may lack structure, coherence and the right balance of detail.
So, dedicate time to research, outline your main points, and understand your audience. Remember, a well-structured presentation doesn’t happen by accident—it comes from a strong foundation of planning.
3. Are You Creating an Oral Presentation or a Slide Deck?
What’s the difference between an oral presentation and a slide deck? An oral presentation is designed to be delivered live, with slides that support what the speaker is saying. These slides should be simple and visual, highlighting key points without overwhelming the audience.
A slide deck, on the other hand, is often created as a stand-alone document meant to be read without additional explanation. Slide decks are usually more detailed, as they need to convey all the information on their own.
As a first step, it’s important to distinguish between two different types of presentations:
Oral presentation: The slides support what you are saying but are not the main focus.
Slide deck: This is a stand-alone document designed to be read without additional verbal explanation.
The difference is subtle but crucial. It’s like the difference between a poster and a book. If you’re speaking live, your slides (a poster) should enhance your talk, not overwhelm it with excessive text or data. If you’re sharing the slides to be read at a desk or after the presentation (a book), they may need to be more detailed.
4. Don’t Open PowerPoint Yet
Why shouldn’t I start creating slides right away? To make a PowerPoint presentation by jumping straight into PowerPoint without planning leads to disorganised slides and a lack of clear messaging. Before opening PowerPoint, it’s important to outline your key points, structure your presentation, and define your takeaways. This way, your slides will reinforce the message, rather than dictate it.
Many people make the mistake of jumping straight into PowerPoint and starting to create slides without thinking through the flow of their presentation. Don’t be one of them. PowerPoint is just a tool to help you communicate your message, but it shouldn’t drive your content. PowerPoint is a poor planning tool.
Before you even open PowerPoint, check you’ve mapped out your ideas, objectives, and key points. This step will make the process of designing your slides much smoother and prevent you from being too reliant on the software itself. In fact, PowerPoint should be the last step in the process of creating a great presentation.
5. The Best Way to Make a PowerPoint Presentations
The best way to start is with a solid understanding of your audience and your objective. Ask yourself:
Who is my audience?
What is the purpose of this presentation?
What do I want the audience to do or know by the end?
Once you’ve answered these questions, you’ll have a clear foundation on which to build your presentation.
6. The Most Important Thing is to Decide Your Main Takeaways
How can I make sure my audience remembers the key takeaways? To be certain your audience retains your key points, be consistent and clear throughout your presentation.
Use action titles on each slide, reinforce important messages in both your visuals and speech, and summarise the main takeaways in your conclusion. Repetition of critical points helps solidify them in your audience’s memory.
Every presentation should have one or two key takeaways that you want your audience to leave with. What is the core message or action you need to communicate? These main points should guide the rest of your presentation and help keep you focused.
When deciding on these takeaways, consider what will be most valuable or important for your audience. Keep these front and centre as you develop your presentation.
7. Be Clear on the Purpose of Your Presentation
To avoid confusion and keep your audience engaged, you must be clear about your presentation’s purpose from the beginning. Is your aim to inform, persuade, or inspire? This will influence the structure, tone, and content of your slides. If you’re not clear on your purpose, neither will your audience.
8. A Good Introduction Will Grab Your Audience’s Attention
How do I create a strong introduction? A strong introduction grabs your audience’s attention right away. You can achieve this by using a thought-provoking question, a compelling statistic, or a relevant anecdote that ties into your main message. It’s also crucial to clearly explain why the topic matters to your audience, setting up a purpose-driven presentation.
The start of your PowerPoint Presentation is critical because it sets the tone for the rest of the presentation. To captivate your audience from the start:
Start with a thought-provoking question or a powerful statistic.
9. Summarise Your Entire Presentation on Your First Slide
One technique that works well is summarising your key message on your very first slide.
Why should I summarise my presentation on the first slide? Summarising your entire presentation on the first slide helps set expectations and frames the key message for your audience. It gives them a high-level overview of what they’re about to hear and allows them to better focus on the most important points throughout your presentation.
Instead of the traditional agenda slide, use this opening slide to give the audience a high-level overview of the main takeaway. This helps set expectations and means that they know where to pay attention.
For example, if you are giving a financial forecast, your first slide could summarise the most critical metrics or trends. This prepares the audience for what’s coming and provides context.
10. Never Include a Table of Contents
A table of contents slide is an outdated and ineffective approach to starting a presentation. It often feels like unnecessary filler that delays the actual content. Instead of listing out every section, allow the flow of your presentation to guide the audience naturally. The less time spent on formalities, the quicker you can dive into meaningful material.
A table of contents or agenda slide often bores the audience and gives away too much upfront. Instead of outlining everything in advance, let your presentation flow naturally, engaging the audience as you introduce each new point. This keeps them focused and interested in your message rather than passively waiting for the next section.
An action title is a slide heading that clearly communicates the key takeaway or next step related to that slide’s content. Instead of using vague titles like “Analysis” or “Results”, use action-oriented titles like “How This Analysis Improves Efficiency” or “Key Results You Need to Know.” These titles guide the audience, making the presentation easier to follow and give it more impact.
Action titles help guide your audience through your presentation and keep them focused on the most important points. Instead of vague or generic slide titles, use action-oriented phrases that communicate a key takeaway. For example:
Instead of “Market Trends”, use “How Market Trends Will Impact Your Sales in 2026”.
Instead of “Product Features”, use “Why Our Product Will Save You Time”.
This small change makes your slides more compelling and engaging, making it easier for your audience to follow along and retain key information.
12. Finish with a Summary and a Call to Action
What should I include in my conclusion? Your conclusion should summarise the key points of your presentation and include a call to action. Whether you want your audience to take a specific action, implement recommendations, or schedule a follow-up, a clear next step makes sure your presentation leaves a lasting impact.
As you wrap up your presentation, summarise your key points to reinforce your message. A strong conclusion should leave your audience with a clear understanding of what you want them to remember or do next.
Include a call to action—whether it’s scheduling a follow-up meeting, implementing your recommendations, or simply reflecting on the information you’ve shared. Ending with a clear next step helps your presentation to have a lasting impact.
Next Steps to Make a PowerPoint Presentation
If you follow these steps and avoid common mistakes, you’ll make a PowerPoint presentation with confidence, setting yourself up for a strong delivery that captivates your audience and delivers real value.
If you want a powerful presentation, call us today.
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Frequently Asked Questions about How to Make a PowerPoint Presentation (FAQ)
1. How can I grab attention right from the very start of my presentation?
A good introduction is critical for engaging your audience from the beginning. Start a PowerPoint presentation with a thought-provoking question, a surprising fact, or a personal experience that relates to your main takeaways. This sets the stage for the rest of the presentation and makes sure your audience is hooked from the first presentation slide.
2. What’s a good rule of thumb for the amount of text on each slide?
A good rule of thumb is to keep text minimal and focus on captivating visuals to support your message. Your slides should enhance what you’re saying, not overwhelm your audience with too much body text. Instead, use bullet points or action titles to summarise your main ideas and guide your audience through the presentation.
3. Should I include a table of contents slide?
It’s usually better to skip the table of contents slide in your presentation. Starting with a clear purpose of your presentation and jumping into your key points keeps your audience engaged. A table of contents can feel outdated, is boring and rarely offers any value – which can reduce the impact of your message.
4. How can I use a black screen or white screen in my presentation?
During presentation mode in PowerPoint, you can create a black screen or white screen as a way to focus attention on yourself or start a dramatic pause. This feature is available in the slide show mode by pressing “B” for black or “W” for white. It’s a great tool to use when you want your audience to focus solely on what you are saying.
5. What’s the best way to summarise my presentation?
Summarise your entire presentation on the first presentation slide to provide a clear roadmap. Use your final step to reinforce the main takeaways and include a call to action that gives your audience clear next steps. This leaves a lasting impression and helps your message to be remembered.
6. Should I use serif or sans-serif fonts in my slides?
For content slides, it’s usually better to use sans-serif fonts because they are easier to read on screens. Serif fonts can be used for headings if you want a more formal or traditional look, but they can be harder to read in longer blocks of text.
7. How do I collaborate on a group presentation?
When working with team members on a group presentation, it’s important to assign specific slides to each person and maintain consistency in the colour scheme, font choice, and overall design. Regular check-ins help check that everyone is aligned, and reviewing the presentation in slide show mode with the entire group can help catch any inconsistencies.
8. What should I do before opening PowerPoint?
To start a PowerPoint presentation, before opening PowerPoint, it’s essential to understand the purpose of your presentation and outline your main ideas. Knowing exactly what message you want to convey helps you stay focused and avoids the mistake of letting the tool dictate the content.
9. What is a pitch deck, and how is it different from a typical presentation?
A pitch deck is a shorter, more focused presentation aimed at persuading investors or stakeholders to take action, typically used in business or startup contexts. Unlike a regular slide deck, which might be more detailed and informative, a pitch deck needs to quickly convey your value proposition and main takeaways in a concise and compelling way.
10. How can I create a good story in my presentation?
Creating a good story involves structuring your presentation in a way that flows naturally, leading your audience from the introduction to the conclusion. Use clear action titles and well-placed pauses to keep your audience engaged. A good story helps you present your main ideas clearly and makes the content more memorable.
11. How can I check for spelling mistakes or grammar issues in my slides?
In PowerPoint, you can use the status bar or go to the Review tab to check for spelling errors or grammar issues. For mac users, this feature is also accessible via the Tools menu. Taking a few minutes to review your presentation file for errors is a helpful to give the impression of professionalism. You can always check with Microsoft for answers to questions.
12. How do I add a new slide in PowerPoint?
You can add a new slide by clicking the New Slide button under the Home tab. Make sure to choose the appropriate slide layout based on whether it’s a title slide or a content slide. If you’re working with an existing presentation, be mindful of maintaining consistency with the previous slides.
13. Can I include audio files in my presentation?
Yes, PowerPoint allows you to add audio files for narration, background music, or sound effects. You can insert audio using the Insert tab and selecting Audio. Just be sure that the audio supports your message and doesn’t distract from your main takeaways.
14. What’s the best way to end a group presentation?
Once you start a PowerPoint presentation, you need to work out how to finish it. The final step in a group presentation should include a unified call to action and a summary of the main takeaways. Make sure all team members are aligned on the key points and that your conclusion leaves the audience with a clear understanding of what you want them to do next. Learn more about how to end a presentation.
15. How can I use Presenter Coach to improve my presentation?
Presenter Coach is a PowerPoint feature that gives you feedback on your delivery, pacing, and tone during a practice run. It’s an interesting tool for refining your speaking skills and ensuring your pitch deck or slide deck is delivered effectively. It even identifies if you’re using filler words or reading directly from your slides too much. There is divided opinion on whether it really helps. You might do better to work with a presentation coach, or to record yourself and listen back to your talk.
16. How should I handle the colour scheme in my presentation?
When you start a PowerPoint presentation, choose a colour scheme that is consistent and professional. It’s important to make sure your text stands out clearly from the background, especially for content slides. Avoid overly bright or clashing colours, as they can be distracting. Keep accessibility in mind, using contrasts that are readable for all viewers. For important presentations it’s worth employing a professional designer.
17. Should I use personal experience in my presentation?
YES. When you incorporate personal experience you can make your presentation more relatable and engaging. Share a relevant story or anecdote to build a connection with your audience and reinforce your main ideas.
18. How do I properly credit an image source in PowerPoint?
When using images in your presentation, make sure to include the image source at the bottom of the slide or in a reference slide at the end. This is especially important for presentations shared publicly or professionally, ensuring proper credit is given for any visuals you did not create yourself.
19. What’s the benefit of using a surprising fact in the opening lines?
Starting a PowerPoint presentation with a surprising fact can immediately grab your audience’s attention and make them curious to learn more. This can serve as a strong hook, helping to create a good introduction that sets up your main takeaways effectively.
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