How to design effective powerpoint business documents (reports, presentations). This will give you all the elements to produce consulting quality documents.

2. How to design effective Powerpoint® documents Layout, structure and messages November 2008

5. L ayout

7. You have to be consistent all through the document Your document has to be professional. Try to imagine you’re designing a book that will be printed and sold. 1 4 3 2 Use the same font all through your document (but you may include some variations : bold, italic or underline). Choose a sans-serif font (ex : arial or helvetica). Do not use too much colors. 2 hues maximum (1 for highlighting messages), plus the text color (black is best). For each hue, you can use a different brightness Try to use the same line spacing all along your document Try to avoid cliparts (especially Powerpoint ones : everybody already saw them a thousand times elsewhere) Free download at : www.thepptlibrary.com

9. Each part of the document format has its own objective Each page tells a different story 1 2 3 The headline tells the story The content explains the story The kicker-box tells the implications of the story Free download at : www.thepptlibrary.com 1 3 2

11. The content explains the story : use all the elements you need to make your audience understand easily 2 Well-ordered bullet-points Examples Content of the page Diagrams Maps Charts or data tables All these elements should help you design a content that explains clearly very complex messages Free download at : www.thepptlibrary.com

13. S tructure

14. Each part of a presentation has its own purpose and is necessary Body Title page Objectives Summary Next steps Executive Summary Should be as explicit as possible Summarizes the storyline and the key messages Tells the purpose of the study / report / presentation Tells the whole story Tells the key messages again Explains what will happen next Level of attention at its peak 1 2 3 4 5 6 Free download at : www.thepptlibrary.com

16. The executive summary should summarize the storyline and the key messages Summarizes the storyline Should fit on one single page Contains the key messages Contains the key results numbers (revenue, loss, market share…) Executive summary Free download at : www.thepptlibrary.com

18. An effective presentation should be a logical series of headlines that tell the whole story Arguments and supporting evidences Arguments and supporting evidences Arguments and supporting evidences Arguments and supporting evidences Arguments and supporting evidences Free download at : www.thepptlibrary.com from the beginning to the end and follow the storyline to help your client understand your reasoning should logically follow the previous one Each headline

21. A storyboard will help you visualize your document during its design You wanted to know the main reason for… We set up an exhaustive diagnosis… The main findings were… Because of… And of… We recommend that… The main opportunities are… But one big threat is… Therefore our action plan will be… Free download at : www.thepptlibrary.com

22. To increase your effectiveness you’ll have to revise and refine your storyboard over the course of the project Structure + first hypothesis or ideas Final version of your document First draft of your document Successive versions of your document Start Finish - Evolution of the storyboard - When in project, start to design your storyboard at the very beginning Free download at : www.thepptlibrary.com

23. A storyboard will help you design your storyline, especially when working in team Helps to check the state and progress of the document Helps to communicate ideas Helps to check the logic flow (is my story coherent ?) Allows to visualise each page of the document Storyboard Organizes the document production among the team Free download at : www.thepptlibrary.com

25. M essages

30. Your sentences have to be short, sharp and active Write short sentences and avoid too much adverbs and adjectives : the message will be understood quickly. Tighten up your writing ! Be sharp and direct : it will focus your audience / reader on what should be remembered Use verbs in active form : Active form is especially meaningful as you describe work that you have completed or are in the process of completing. Message with sharp and short sentences are easily remembered Sentences Free download at : www.thepptlibrary.com

32. C heck-list

33. Document Quality Check-list One can understand the main idea of the document from the title The executive summary gives the key messages of your document Headlines are linked logically and tell a story The objectives of the document are clearly told at the beginning In all pages, the content support the headline There’s only one message per page The sentences are short and direct Every element on each page is useful to understand the story (no useless elements) Each headline is explicit (and is a real sentence) The layout is simple There are diagrams, charts and maps to support my messages (not only bullet points) There are few colors used in the document There are no cliparts (especially Powerpoint one’s) The kicker boxes answer a « so what question » All the pages are consistent Layout Structure Messages Free download at : www.thepptlibrary.com