How to Write a PowerPoint Presentation

PowerPoint presentations contain plenty of information which should be presented in the proper way. As everyone knows, a presentation is focused on a given topic and is addressed to particular audience. Thus, a presentation is always contextual; i.e. it should be modified and changed according to the aims of the presenter and to both the needs and interests of the audience.

Usually, a PowerPoint presentation contains a lot of images and other media files, but they will not be enough to represent a particular topic. They should be accompanied by verbal exposition of the topic and its dimensions. In the present paper you will find some tips on how to write a PowerPoint presentation, i.e. how to create this verbal content and how to present it.

Writing a PowerPoint presentation – 5 key things

1. Define your topic, goal and audience

Whether you are doing a business presentation, an academic presentation, or a mere school presentation, you need to know what your goals are. The first important goal is, of course, to convince the audience in the quality of the particular business product, plan or idea. With academic and school presentations, the goals should be to analyze a given issue and to present some solution to it.

Advice: adhere to the definition of your topic. Do not go astray from it because this will distract the audience. Remember that a presentation longer than 20 minutes will make the people bored even if they want to see and listen more.

2. Organize your text

Create a blank Word document. Divide it into sections. For example, if this is a business product, the section could be like the following: information about the company offering the product; project manager and staff; what is the product; how to use it; how it can be competitive; when it will pay out; and so forth. Afterwards, divide the sections into slides: slide 1, slide 2, and so on.

Once you have organized the structure, you can insert text under the sections. In this way it will be easier for you to remember your main ideas. Some people prefer creating their presentation first and then inserting text, but in this way you can forget some of your ideas. It is better to write the text as a draft and then to insert it in the presentation file.

3. Write short sentences only

You should write short sentences only. In order to do this you can use key words. Every slide should contain two key words (but not more than five). The total number of key words should not exceed ten in the whole presentation. The text needs to turn around them. The length of the text should not exceed 30-35 words per slide. In the ideal case it should consist of 20-25 words.

4. Relate the text contents to images or other media files

The text should be related to images or other media files which can make the comprehension of the main idea of the presentation easier for the audience. You have to choose appropriate images which can explain your idea, pictures, diagrams, tables, etc.

5. Make rehearsals

Once the presentation is ready you have to rehearse. The most important thing is to evaluate your time. If it appears that the presentation is longer than 20 minutes (during seminars and conferences there can be other restrictions also), then you need to reduce the number of slides. If it is possible, invite a friend to listen to you and to make some suggestions for improving the presentation.

As it can be seen, writing a PowerPoint presentation requires some time and efforts, so you need to be well-prepared in order to present in the best possible way.