presentation example slideshare

This simplistic presentation example employs several different colors and font weights, but instead of coming off as disconnected, the varied colors work with one another to create contrast and call out specific concepts.

What I like: The big, bold numbers help set the reader's expectations, as they clearly signify how far along the viewer is in the list of tips.

10. “Pixar's 22 Rules to Phenomenal Storytelling,” Gavin McMahon

This presentation by Gavin McMahon features color in all the right places. While each of the background images boasts a bright, spotlight-like design, all the characters are intentionally blacked out.

What I like: This helps keep the focus on the tips, while still incorporating visuals. Not to mention, it's still easy for me to identify each character without the details. (I found you on slide eight, Nemo.)

11. “Facebook Engagement and Activity Report,” We Are Social

Here's another great example of data visualization in the wild.

What I like: Rather than displaying numbers and statistics straight up, this presentation calls upon interesting, colorful graphs, and charts to present the information in a way that just makes sense.

12. “The GaryVee Content Model,” Gary Vaynerchuk

This wouldn‘t be a true Gary Vaynerchuk presentation if it wasn’t a little loud, am I right?

What I like: Aside from the fact that I love the eye-catching, bright yellow background, Vaynerchuk does a great job of incorporating screenshots on each slide to create a visual tutorial that coincides with the tips. He also does a great job including a visual table of contents that shows your progress as you go .

13. “20 Tweetable Quotes to Inspire Marketing & Design Creative Genius,” IMPACT Branding & Design

We‘ve all seen our fair share of quote-chronicling presentations but that isn’t to say they were all done well. Often the background images are poor quality, the text is too small, or there isn't enough contrast.

Well, this professional presentation from IMPACT Branding & Design suffers from none of said challenges.

What I like: The colorful filters over each background image create just enough contrast for the quotes to stand out.

14. “The Great State of Design,” Stacy Kvernmo

This presentation offers up a lot of information in a way that doesn't feel overwhelming.

What I like: The contrasting colors create visual interest and “pop,” and the comic images (slides 6 through 12) are used to make the information seem less buttoned-up and overwhelming.

15. “Clickbait: A Guide To Writing Un-Ignorable Headlines,” Ethos3

Not going to lie, it was the title that convinced me to click through to this presentation but the awesome design kept me there once I arrived.

What I like: This simple design adheres to a consistent color pattern and leverages bullet points and varied fonts to break up the text nicely.

16. “Digital Transformation in 50 Soundbites,” Julie Dodd

This design highlights a great alternative to the “text-over-image” display we've grown used to seeing.

What I like: By leveraging a split-screen approach to each presentation slide, Julie Dodd was able to serve up a clean, legible quote without sacrificing the power of a strong visual.

17. “Fix Your Really Bad PowerPoint,” Slide Comet

When you‘re creating a PowerPoint about how everyone’s PowerPoints stink, yours had better be terrific. The one above, based on the ebook by Seth Godin, keeps it simple without boring its audience.

What I like: Its clever combinations of fonts, together with consistent color across each slide, ensure you're neither overwhelmed nor unengaged.

18. “How Google Works,” Eric Schmidt

Simple, clever doodles tell the story of Google in a fun and creative way. This presentation reads almost like a storybook, making it easy to move from one slide to the next.

What I like: This uncluttered approach provides viewers with an easy-to-understand explanation of a complicated topic.

19. “What Really Differentiates the Best Content Marketers From The Rest,” Ross Simmonds

Let‘s be honest: These graphics are hard not to love. I especially appreciate the author’s cartoonified self-portrait that closes out the presentation. Well played, Ross Simmonds.

What I like: Rather than employing the same old stock photos, this unique design serves as a refreshing way to present information that's both valuable and fun.

20. “Be A Great Product Leader,” Adam Nash

This presentation by Adam Nash immediately draws attention by putting the company's logo first — a great move if your company is well known.

What I like: He uses popular images, such as ones of Megatron and Pinocchio, to drive his points home. In the same way, you can take advantage of popular images and media to keep your audience engaged.

PowerPoint Presentation Examples for the Best Slide Presentation

Mastering a PowerPoint presentation begins with the design itself.

Get inspired by my ideas above to create a presentation that engages your audience, builds upon your point, and helps you generate leads for your brand.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in March 2013 and has been updated for comprehensiveness. This article was written by a human, but our team uses AI in our editorial process. Check out our full disclosure to learn more about how we use AI.

Don't forget to share this post!

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• Presentations

How to Create Great PowerPoint Presentations (With Top 2024 Examples)

If you're in business, odds are great that you're going to have to create a presentation at some point during your career. And when you do, odds are also good that you'll use Microsoft PowerPoint to do it. According to statistics from iDatalabs over 150,000 companies use PowerPoint .

There's a real need for people who can create relevant, engaging PowerPoint presentations. But creating a good presentation is more than just throwing together a bunch of slides. Not everyone knows how to make a good presentation.

In this tutorial, you'll learn the steps to making good PowerPoint presentations. The steps can be used for any presentation, of course, but they're especially relevant to Microsoft PowerPoint. I'll provide some tips on how to use a PowerPoint template. You'll also see how to make a good slide presentation with Slideshare examples.

For even more information about how to make a presentation,   be sure to download our free eBook:  The Complete Guide to Making Great Presentations . It'll help you master the complete presentation process.

How to Make Great PowerPoint Presentations (Plan, Design, & Deliver)

Whether you're going to give your PowerPoint presentation as a speech or share it online, you'll want to make sure you create a good presentation that stands out. Here are seven steps you can follow to help you learn how to make a good PPT presentation:

Note : While these techniques specifically reference PowerPoint , most of them work well with other presentation author tools as well such as Keynote and Google Slides .

1. Know Your Target Audience

The target audience for your presentation is the group of people who you want to listen to or view your presentation. Not all audiences are the same. Audiences vary depending on your company's goals. A presentation that works well with one audience may not work well (or at all) with another.

Researching your target audience is a very important first step for creating any kind of marketing or informational material —that includes PowerPoint presentations. If you really want your presentation to be successful, learn all that you can about your audience.

For some guidance on how to define a target audience, study the following tutorial:

2. Target Your Presentation to Your Audience

Once you know who you're creating your PowerPoint presentation for, you can begin to customize it for them. Start by choosing a topic that you know will be relevant to your audience. Ideally, your topic will be something that interests your audience or solves a problem for them.

You also need to consider your audience's existing knowledge when writing your presentation. How will they take in and understand your presentation? 

Obviously, it won't be helpful to create a presentation filled with industry-specific jargon if your listeners don't know what those words mean. At the same time, if you're targeting a group of experts for your presentation basic information may bore them.

3. Start With an Outline

Once you've researched your target audience and chosen a topic that's relevant to them it's time to start writing your PowerPoint presentation . The quickest, most efficient way to do that is to use an outline. Plus, an outline can easily be converted to individual slides when the time comes.

Be sure to use language that's geared to your target audience. For most audiences, a conversational style works best. Also, limit the amount of material you put on each PowerPoint presentation slide. Cluttered slides are hard for audience members to follow.

To learn more about how to write a presentation, study these tutorials on how to write a speech:

4. Use a Professional PowerPoint Template

One way to make sure that you've got a great, visually appealing PowerPoint presentation is to use a premium PowerPoint template such as those available through Envato Elements or  GraphicRiver .

In fact, there are hundreds of creative PowerPoint presentations examples available on Envato Elements . 

All you need to do is pay one low monthly price and you can download as many templates as you want. You'll have access to other creative assets as well such as WordPress themes, stock photos, and even courses and eBooks.

Check out some of our best PowerPoint templates with creative ideas from Envato Elements in this quick video. Also, discover a handful of helpful PowerPoint presentation slide design tips.

You can find some more great creative PowerPoint presentation template examples in this article:

5.  Keep Slides Short

When it comes to making great PowerPoint presentations, it’s important to remember that your slide deck is a helpful tool that highlights the main points of your presentation and serves as a visual representation of the data and facts you’re sharing. 

To make a really great PowerPoint presentation, keep the slides short to avoid boring your audience and losing their interest.

6. Practice Your PowerPoint Presentation (For Live Presentations)

Great PowerPoint presentations don't happen without practice. So, if you'll be presenting your PowerPoint personally, set aside some time to practice it after you've created it. If you can, practice with a friend or family member. But if no one's available you may still be able to practice giving it alone.

For a helpful checklist for practicing a speech, study this tutorial:

If your job requires you to give a lot of PowerPoint presentations, you may benefit from improving your public speaking skills. Consider joining Toastmasters International  to become a better speaker. Or you can attend a Public Speaking Meetup .

7. Stay Focused

While you're giving your presentation, stay focused on your topic. If you're making the presentation in person, it's easy to lose track of what you're talking about.

Focus is another reason why practice is so important. If you've practiced your presentation, you're less likely to get off track. Also, if people have questions, ask them to wait until the end. That way you can stay focused on your topic.

If you're creating a presentation to be shared online, focus is still important if you want your PowerPoint presentation to be a great one. Review the copy you've written carefully to make sure that it fits with your target audience and goals. Be careful not to include irrelevant information.

8. Study Great PowerPoint Presentation Examples

One great way to learn how to make a great PowerPoint presentation is by example. Studying great PowerPoint examples can serve as inspiration for your own PowerPoint slideshow. By studying great PowerPoint examples, you'll be able to pick up common design elements that they use, notice how the slides are laid out, and how the whole PowerPoint presentation is structured. You can use that knowledge to your advantage, and it'll serve you well when it comes time to make your own great PowerPoint presentations.

5 SlideShare Examples of Great Presentations

In this section, I'm going to share five great presentations examples from SlideShare to help inspire you to create your own great PowerPoint Presentations. 

Each of these great presentation examples currently has over a million views on SlideShare, so you know that they must have done something right. For each example, I'll explain what works.

Now let's look at some great presentation examples:

1. Work Rules - Great Visual PowerPoint Presentation Example

This presentation from Laszlo Bock , former Senior Vice President of People Operations at Google, Inc., clearly explains the importance of culture at tech giant Google. He does it with engaging illustrations and a nicely coordinated yellow and blue color theme. Notice how each slide contains enough information to make his point, but none are too cluttered.

2. Pixar's 22 Rules to Phenomenal Storytelling

Consultant Gavin McMahon brings us this engaging slideshow on the importance of storytelling. Drawing inspiration from filmmaker giant and master storyteller, Pixar, was a great idea for this presentation. It gives the audience something they can relate to. Notice the use of bold colors throughout.

3. 25 Mission Statements From the World's Most Valuable Brands

Does your business have a mission statement? If it doesn't, it needs one. Palo Alto Software solves a problem for their target audience by using the mission statements of some of the most successful corporations as examples (good and bad). The presentation also links to a companion article from company founder, Tim Berry, with more details on the same subject.

4. Congratulations Graduate! Eleven Reasons Why I Will Never Hire You

With the shocking opening statement, PR Managing Director Mark O'Toole is sure to capture the attention of his intended audience of young graduates. Add to that a bold red and black color scheme and plenty of engaging graphics and you've got a slideshow that's gotten over two million views. Incidentally, viewers who read to the end will gain some valuable job-hunting tips.

5. Thirst - Good PowerPoint PPT Presentation Design Example

The one word in the center of the compelling graphic on the cover of this slideshow from Jeff Brenman of Apollo Ideas draws the viewer in. As you begin to scroll through the slides, arresting images combine with startling quick facts to convey an urgent message: the world is facing a serious water shortage. This compelling presentation is sure to stick in the viewer's mind for a long time.

For even more great examples of good presentations, look at these articles:

5 Tips for Working With PowerPoint Presentation Design Templates

We've already mentioned some of the advantages of using a PowerPoint template to create your presentation. Here are three tips to make sure you get the most from the PowerPoint templates you select:

1. Don't Fall Into the Free Templates Trap

If you've decided to use a PowerPoint template, you may be tempted to download a free PPT template . However, downloading a PowerPoint template for free is usually not the bargain you might think it is. Here are some disadvantages to free PowerPoint templates:

• Little to No Support . Often free templates don't have support or aren't updated. If you run into problems, you're on your own.
• Lack of Uniqueness . Since free templates are available to everyone, it's more likely your audience will have seen the template before.
• Limited Slide Designs . Free templates are often limited to only a few simple slide designs that you may or may not be able to use.

2. Look for a Reputable Template Provider

Your best bet for selecting great PowerPoint templates is to choose a reputable provider, such as Envato Elements or GraphicRiver . These services have thousands of creative assets available (including PowerPoint presentation templates)—all created by professional designers. 

Each template offers the flexibility and design options you need to make your presentation really unique.

What’s more, when you sign up for Envato Elements low monthly plan, you'll get access to thousands of other creative design assets such as fonts, images, and more. Each asset, whether it’s a PowerPoint presentation or a font, can be used in an unlimited number of projects and you can download as many items as you need.

You can then use these elements in your PowerPoint presentations and take them to the next level.

3. Do Incorporate Creative Elements

If you're creating a presentation, you might hesitate before adding a truly creative element such as an infographic or timeline to your presentation. After all, designing a creative element can add a lot of extra time and work to your project.

This is exactly where pre-built templates can help. Many templates include pre-designed creative elements that you can simply adapt to your own needs. Here are a few creative PowerPoint presentation examples:

Even if you can't find a template specifically tailored to your field, it's easy to customize these templates to suit your need.

4. Choose a PowerPoint Template That Matches Your Topic

When you’re going through the process of choosing a PowerPoint template, be sure to keep your presentation topic in mind. This will make it a lot easier to customize the template as you won’t have to spend time looking for extra elements such as the right icons or the right presentation elements.

For example, check out this great PowerPoint example that was tailored made with the architecture industry and topic in mind:

5. Experiment With Slide Layouts

When you’re creating a PowerPoint presentation, take advantage of all the different layout options that the template offers. You'll make your presentation more visually engaging and interesting. Take a look at this professional PowerPoint example that offers a number of different layout designs for each slide type:

How to Make Great PowerPoint Presentations Quickly (With PPT Templates)

It's easier to learn how to make a good PPT presentation when you start with a template. You'll find the pre-built slide designs that are sure to spark ideas and creative designs. But, how can you make them your own?

Have no fear: templates help you master how to make a great PowerPoint presentation . They're flexible enough to adapt to your presentation purpose.

Let's work with The X Note   in this section. We'll customize two slides in five steps. This section will show you how to make a good PowerPoint presentation with the help of a template.

1. The Team Slide - Update Images

One tip I advise every presenter learning how to make a good presentation PPT: remember your team! You've got to credit and showcase the key members that contribute to your project. Let's use slide 7 to do that.

As a first step, let's update the images on this slide. We need to add the members of our team in the image placeholders. 

To do that, start by right-clicking and choosing  Group > Ungroup  on the circle graphics. This helps us select just the shape that we can fill with an image.

Now, right-click an image and choose  Format Pictures.  You'll see a new menu open. on the  Fill  settings, choose  Picture or texture fill,  then browse to your replacement profile image.

Just repeat this process with the other image placeholders. Soon, you'll have a totally personalized and people-focused PowerPoint slide.

2. The Team Slide - Update Text

Now that you've added your team's photos, there's another crucial step: updating the text! As you'll see in templates that help you master how to make a good PPT presentation, the included text boxes tell the story.

To update text, all you need to do is type over the placeholders. Use the pre-built text boxes to help you avoid the hard work of selecting fonts, sizing, and colors each time.

You can also delete any text boxes that you don't need. Just click and select them, then press Delete on your keyboard. That removes text boxes. Less is often more, according to pros that know how to make a great PowerPoint presentation.

3. The Team Slide - Update Branding

You might have noticed while working with this slide that there are a few objects that don't seem to be selectable. That includes the logo in the upper corner and text in the lower-left corner.

That's because this text lives on the  Slide Master.  To adjust it, we'll need to edit the lower-level slide design. Go to the  View > Slide Master  menu. Now, you'll find that you can select and edit elements that were previously locked.

Consider replacing the logo with one of your own, plus adjust the text reading Presentation name goes here.  That makes your slide totally customized. Let's move onto editing another slide.

4. The Data Slide - Update Data

Let's switch gears and work on a second slide. Slide 27 includes a pre-built chart. This is a great example of easing the learning curve of creating a good PowerPoint presentation. Use the starter chart template with your data.

Right-click on the chart and choose  Edit Data.  You'll see an embedded Excel window. This table controls the data that shapes the chart. Just type over the start data to update it.

When you're finished, close the embedded Excel window. The chart will automatically update with your new data. You can always update data by returning to this same menu.

5. The Data Slide - Update Text

This last tweak is an easy one. Just like our prior slide, typing over the text boxes is all that it takes to finish rounding out the slide.

As you can see in the example above, reducing the text helps too. I deleted the sub-headline so that there's more focus on the data.

As you saw, templates are like the answer key to a test of how to make a good presentation PPT. Use templates like The X Note to tap into the secrets of great PowerPoint presentation design.

5 Great PowerPoint PPT Templates for 2024

If you're learning how to make a good PowerPoint presentation, don't forget that templates are a major advantage. They're the antidote to creating designs on a totally blank canvas. They help you leverage the learning and design work of others.

With the help of Envato Elements , you unlock unlimited downloads. That includes PowerPoint presentations plus stock photos and graphics that really complement your content.

You don't have to learn how to make a good PowerPoint presentation design on your own. Instead, see what makes a great PowerPoint presentation when you use templates.

Let's look at five of the best PowerPoint presentations included with Envato Elements:

1. The X Note - PowerPoint Template

Time and time again, presenters learning how to make a great PowerPoint presentation choose The X Note. It's easy to see why. The slides feel like a professionally designed presentation that a seasoned executive would trust. A PowerPoint presentation design like this instantly gives your content credibility.

2.  Fashioned Stylist PowerPoint

Here's a tip while learning how to make a good presentation PPT: use on-trend designs. When your presentation matches trendy and modern designs, your audience knows that you stay up-to-date. That's why a template like Fashioned Stylist is so powerful. It instantly builds credibility and trust so that you command attention from the audience.

3. SINDE -  Business PowerPoint Template

Templates like Sinde hold the secret of how to make a good slide presentation. With 30 slides and five color schemes mean that you've got all of the combinations you need to create a polished and professional presentation. You'll find slides like portfolio layouts that help you put your best foot forward.  

4.  Oceania - Sea & Ocean PowerPoint Template

Isak Dinesen once said, "the cure for anything is saltwater: sweat, tears or the sea." The last of those options is the inspiration for this template. Oceania evokes feelings of relaxing on the beach with the sea in sight. As you learn how to make a good presentation PPT, keep this in mind: templates are only the starting point. Use the ocean-inspired view to start your design, but remember that it works with any content.

5. Galaxi PowerPoint Presentation Template

Blast off to success with a PowerPoint presentation like this one. It's got infographics that help you master how to create a good PowerPoint presentation, easily. The graphics serve to explain complex ideas with easy-to-follow visuals.

Still want to learn how to make a good presentation slide? Try out even more templates. Jump to our articles below for more PowerPoint presentations:

Make Great PowerPoint Presentations ( Free PDF eBook Download )

Our free eBook makes a perfect complement to this tutorial. It'll take you through the complete presentation process—from start to finish.  Learn how to make a good PowerPoint presentation from writing it, designing it like a pro, and preparing it to present powerfully.

Download our new eBook:  The Complete Guide to Making Great Presentations . I t's available for free with a subscription to the Tuts+ Business Newsletter.

Learn More: How to Make the Best PowerPoint Presentations Fast

We also have a number of helpful PowerPoint tutorial resources on Envato Tuts+. Learn more about working creatively with PowerPoint to make great presentations quickly : 

Start Making Your Own Great PowerPoint Presentations Today

You've just learned the steps for making great PowerPoint presentations. I've also shared some good presentation examples with creative ideas that could apply to your PowerPoint presentation design. You now have the information you need to begin making your own great presentation.

As we discussed earlier, one way to give your PowerPoint presentations a head start is to use a premium template designed by professionals. We've even shared some tips on how to design a PowerPoint presentation by working with top PowerPoint presentation templates . 

Why not download a presentation template from Envato Elements or GraphicRiver and begin creating your own great PowerPoint presentations today?

Editorial Note: This tutorial was originally published in October of 2018. I t's been comprehensively revised to include new information—with special assistance from Brenda Barron  and Andrew Childress .

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• Content Marketing

The Complete Beginner’s Guide to Slide Decks: 10 Actionable SlideShare Tips for Maximum Results

Former VP of Marketing @ Buffer

Is SlideShare part of your content strategy? Truth be told, we have yet to fully integrate it into our content creation process here at Buffer. We’ve felt lots of great nudges, though.

We’ve heard tell of the amazing opportunity on SlideShare , how it’s a primed network of highly engaged influencers just itching to find and share your stuff . What might ultimately sell us, though, is the response we got from a single slide deck , created in a hurry, that garnered over 5,000 views in one weekend.

It would appear that SlideShare has the potential for big returns on a small investment.

I dove into some research on SlideShare content in order to see the best route to success and how to best invest your time. Here are the best Slideshare tips and resources I found.

Our SlideShare experiment: 5,000 41,000 views for 10 minutes of work

We’ve long been told that SlideShare is a great place to invest quality content creation time. The stats bear this out .

There are over 60 million unique visits to SlideShare every month.

Seven million SlideShare pages get viewed every single day.

SlideShare receives 500 percent more traffic from business owners than Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

SlideShare was one of our key suggestions for advanced content tips and ways to take content beyond the standard blog and social scenes . We just hadn’t quite fit it into our schedule yet.

When the opportunity arose to practice what we preach and create a slide deck of an existing blog post, I jumped on it. I hopped into Google Presentations—one of the cloud services that come with Google Drive—and started building with a template. I pulled headings and images from our social media frequency guide and uploaded them into the slides. I placed the featured image from the blog post as the background. I added some sources and a call to action. Voila!

When the slides were done, I saved as a Microsoft PowerPoint file and uploaded to SlideShare. All told, the presentation was 12 slides and included fewer than five words per slide.

Since I created the slide deck as part of a blog post that had yet to go live, we gave it zero promotion. And yet, when we happened upon our SlideShare page the following day, it had earned over 3,000 views. The presentation got picked up as a featured slideshare on SlideShare’s social media page . Our 10 minutes of quality time to build it resulted in over 5,000 views in one weekend. Today, after a slide facelift from Ethos3 and Slideshare , it has 41,000 views and counting.

What did we learn from this?

• SlideShare is worth our time.
• SlideShare users are eager for quality content.
• SlideShare has huge potential for businesses and brands looking for a new audience.

Of course, it all starts with the slides.

5 critical elements to creating a beautiful, viral slidedeck

The most important rule of SlideShare: If your presentations aren’t good enough, you won’t get anything from SlideShare.

Talk about pressure! This quote comes from blogger and presenter Mauro D’Andrea who put together a huge resource of SlideShare information for the KISSmetrics blog . D’Andrea’s biggest takeaway from the post: Design a great presentation.

I might amend that bit of advice just a tad. I’m not sure I was well equipped or capable of building a great presentation on my own, yet we still saw good results. So how about: Design a good-to-great presentation. It doesn’t have to be Picasso; it should be better than elementary.

A great place to start in understanding how to design beautiful, viral slidedecks is with this all-encompassing presentation from Slides That Rock .

In summary, here are the five principles of good SlideShare design:

• Your message
• Keep it simple
• Stunning images
• Awesome colors

1. Your message: Focused and clear

A strong message is focused, clear, and concise. Know where you’re headed with your presentation before you begin. D’Andrea, the author of the KISSmetrics resource, has some further advice on what makes slide content stand out. If you’re aiming for a strong message, consider one of these elements:

• Show something shocking
• Explain useful information
• Evoke emotions

2. Keep it simple: The average Slideshare deck is 14 slides

A strong, focused message will help prevent your presentation from veering off into complex, superfluous territory. Simple works best on SlideShare. Keep in mind that the average SlideShare presentation is 14 slides and fewer than 25 words per slide.

New Rainmaker , a branch of CopyBlogger, has some of the simplest (and beautiful) slides out there. Here is an example from their first presentation .

3. Cool fonts: Look beyond the basics

Choose a font outside the norm. Here are some standard fonts alongside some alternatives.

Many graphic design/presentation programs allow for adding custom fonts to a design. If you can’t find a new font from the drop-down list of fonts in your tool of choice, you might see something you like at Font Squirrel , a free font resource.

4. Stunning images: See our guide of free sources

Emphasizing visual content is important not just on blogs and social media but also on SlideShare. The more stunning images you can include, the better. If you’re in need of a resource (or two, or 53) for free images, you can check out our complete roundup of free image sources . A couple of sources I use every day are compfight , Photo Pin , and Death to the Stock Photo .

The slides from Rand Fishkin ‘s presentations are very image-focused. Here is a recent example from his presentation on content marketing .

5. Colors: Create a consistent palette

Not only is it great to include awesome colors but also consistent colors. Choose one or two colors to be consistent throughout your slides , and if you can make them awesome colors, all the better!

One fun tip is to pull colors from a main image or logo in your presentation. Pictaculous is a tool that lets you upload an image, and get a full color palette based on the image you uploaded.

Here’s a before-and-after of a Buffer presentation

We held our first webinar back in March , which also meant our first opportunity to put together a set of slides . They got the point across but were far from elegant. So we went to the presentation experts at Ethos3 for a slide makeover.

Here are some of the images—before and after—along with the advice behind the changes.

Ethos3’s advice : Add a stunning image and a complementary icon to the slide. Find a custom font that relates well to the theme of the presentation (in our case, a thin, modern font helped support the theme of “science”).

Ethos3’s advice : Place floating screen captures into a picture of a laptop, giving the image a sense of purpose and place and helping the viewer get an easier sense of where the Buffer screen grabs belong. The bright green should be the central color of the presentation; it’s carried over here from the opening slide.

Ethos3’s advice : Instead of screen-capturing a quote from another site, create your own in your presentation builder. In the new example, Ethos3 used our new standard font and standard green color.

Ethos3’s advice : Title decks like these can be highlighted with some well-chosen iconography or imagery (plus the return of our green color and modern font).

In general, some quick wins for any amateur slide designer can be broken down into these points:

• Find a custom font and eye-catching color , and stick with them throughout the presentation.
• Use visual metaphor to supplement the text on a slide. Try iconography and images that support the message.
• Fill the slide with an image . Avoid placing an image in the center of the slide (with white border around it), if at all possible.

5 tips for working faster and smarter when creating slides

Once you know the basics, you can add a few new tips and tricks to your toolbox to really make the most of the slide deck time you have.

Tip #1: Pick a favorite presentation builder and get good at it

The better you know your design tool, the faster you can work. Some of the top presentation tools out there include:

• Google Presentations

I’ve mentioned before that my go-to tool for building visual content is Canva, which has a lot of customizable, premade templates to get you started on a design, and you can copy past presentations to modify for future slide decks.

(I used Google Presentations to build the slide deck that earned 5,000 views in one weekend. The templates and customization options are quite intuitive there as well.)

Tip #2: Create a template and use it forever

The single best bit of advice I can give for building SlideShare into your workflow is to create a template. It’s like paying in advance for a season pass. The upfront investment is big, but the template will pay for itself before you know.

My template solution might be a bit of a muddle. I simply copy a past presentation and use it as the basis for building a new one, deleting out all the old text and images and replacing them with new. (If you’ve got a more elegant solution, I’d love to hear about it in the comments!)

Tip #3: Build your slides to fit the full SlideShare screen

Notice a difference between these two presentations?

One is letterbox and one is full-screen. This comes down to the size of slides that you upload to SlideShare. When I built a presentation in Google Presentations, the default size was letterbox, and the resulting upload failed to fill the full size of the SlideShare viewer.

If you want to have a presentation that fits snugly, build slides that are 1024 pixels wide by 768 pixels tall , or a similar aspect ratio.

Tip #4: Include links, starting with your fourth slide

Clickable links are not allowed on the first three slides of a SlideShare presentation. If you happen to have one there, SlideShare will disable it.

Starting with the fourth slide, though, you can add links to your heart’s content. Hubspot has a helpful post about how this process works ; essentially, you create hyperlinked text boxes in PowerPoint, export to an Adobe PDF, then upload to SlideShare.

At the very least, your slides can include the text of the URL so that viewers can type it in themselves. If you happen to be linking to a long URL on your call-to-action page, you might be interested to try bit.ly’s custom URL shortening for a snappier, easier, more memorable link to type.

Tip #5: Make the most of the upload process—optimize, optimize, optimize

Did you know that the information you enter when you upload your SlideShare file is the information indexed by Google? And did you know that 12 million visits every month come from Google traffic alone?

Here are some quick tips on the most important elements of a successful SlideShare upload (for more specific details, I’d recommend this SlideShare post by Ian Cleary of Razor Social ).

Give your presentation a good title and description

Both the title and description you enter at upload will be the title and description Google uses in search results. Google will grab only the first 65 characters of a title and the first 155 characters of a description. Keep this in mind when you’re composing.

(It’s okay to go longer with your SlideShare description, so long as the first 155 characters represent a solid summary.)

Tag and categorize your content so it gets found on SlideShare

Users find presentations on SlideShare using these tags, so be sure to hit three or four of the most relevant ones for your upload. FYI: the six most-used tags on SlideShare are business, statistics, social media, market, trends, and research.

Allow others to share your slides, and then share your slides yourself

Double check that the share settings are enabled for your presentation, including the option for others to embed your slides on their site.

You can also promote your slides yourself. SlideShare presentations are easily shared on Twitter via built-in embedded media. Here’s an example.

You should be more like Jay-Z to become a better leader, says @piethis. Here’s why: http://t.co/UBTLjs17yD — SlideShare (@SlideShare) May 27, 2014

What will you share on SlideShare?

Hopefully this post has made the idea of SlideShare an attractive option for your content strategy. We’re excited to dive in with more SlideShares ourselves and to continue to get better and faster at our creation process.

Have you used SlideShare before? What tips do you have for those just getting started?

Is SlideShare something you might consider for your brand? What other questions can we answer to help you decide?

It’d be awesome to take this conversation to the comments. Let me know how you plan to use SlideShare and if you have any questions about how we might use SlideShare at Buffer.

P.S. If you liked this post, you might enjoy our ">Buffer Blog newsletter . Receive each new post delivered right to your inbox, plus our can’t-miss weekly email of the Internet’s best reads. ">Sign up here .

Image credits: michael+yan

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Blog Data Visualization 120+ Presentation Ideas, Topics & Example

120+ Presentation Ideas, Topics & Example

Written by: Ryan McCready May 08, 2023

Did you know that 46% of people can’t sit through a presentation without losing focus? 

That’s why I wanted to learn how to make a presentation that will captivate an audience. After looking at hundreds of different authors, topics and designs, I’ve assembled over 100 presentation ideas and tips on how to design a compelling presentation for:

• Social media
• Online courses
• Pitch decks
• Lead generation

In this blog, you’ll find 120+ presentation ideas, design tips and examples to help you create an awesome presentations slide deck for your next presentation.

To start off, here’s a video on the 10 essential presentation design tips to make sure that your presentations don’t fall under the YAWN category.

1. Use a minimalist presentation theme

CREATE THIS PRESENTATION TEMPLATE

The best designs can also be some of the simplest you see. In the Airbnb pitch deck below, they use a minimalist color scheme and font selection.

A minimalist design is sleek, organized and places the most important thing in focus: your information. There are no distracting stock images, icons, or content. Everything on this unique presentation feels like it belongs and works together perfectly. 

Learn how to customize this template:

2. Use a consistent design motif throughout your presentation

Here’s a go-to tip to for a cohesive presentation design: use a design motif. The motif could be a recurring shape (like circles, lines or arrows) or symbol (like a leaf for “growth” or a mountain for “goals”). For more ideas, check out our guide to common symbols and meanings used in design .

For example, this  presentation template uses circles as a design motif. The same circle icon is used in three different colors to add a bubbly touch to the design. The team photos are also incorporated using circle frames:

3. Use an eye-catching presentation background image

Like with any type of design work, you should want to catch the eye of your audience. In a presentation, this should be done from the beginning with a  compelling background image or a color gradient.

In this presentation template, the creators were able to do just that with a landscape photo. When a presentation like this is seen on social media, during a webinar or in person, your audience will definitely listen up.

4. Visualize your points with icons

Icons are the perfect visuals to include in presentations. They’re compact and can convey a concept to your audience at a glance. You can even combine multiple icons to create custom illustrations for your slides. 

Use the Icon Search in Venngage to find illustrated and flat icons:

5. Use a black & white color scheme for a corporate presentation design

In the presentation below there are only two colors used: black and white. Now, you might be worried that only using two colors is boring, but it all comes down to balance.

Playing off the ideas of classic minimalism, the designer made this presentation look sleek and professional. And now your content can be the main attraction of your presentation as well!

6. Repurpose your slide deck into an infographic 

Different types of presentations serve different purposes and sometimes it helps to work smarter, not harder when you are creating a unique presentation. In fact, the spacing, layout, and style used in this presentation makes it easy to repurpose the same images into an infographic.

This allows you to create two unique pieces of content from one idea!  Which is exactly what  Officevibe did .

Join Venngage’s CEO, Eugene Woo, to learn how you can design impactful infographics that will help maintain trust, increase productivity and inspire action in your team.

SIGN UP NOW

7. Break your genre mold for a fun presentation idea

When I first clicked on this creative presentation from SEMrush, I was not expecting to be transported into a comic book. I’m glad I clicked because it may be the most unique slide deck I have ever seen. Going this extreme with your presentation ideas may seem a bit risky, but to be able to break the mold in this age of cookie-cutter presentations is worth it.

To leave a lasting impression on your audience, consider transforming your slides into an interactive presentation. Here are 15  interactive presentation ideas  to enhance interactivity and engagement.

8. Make your presentation cover slide count

As I was scrolling through all of the presentations, this one made me stop in my tracks. It could be that I have a life-long love of Star Wars, or it could be that their presentation cover slide was designed to do just that: grab your attention. That’s why you should not stick with a boring, text-only title slide. Don’t be afraid to use icons and illustrations to make a statement.

9.  Alternate slide layouts to keep your presentation engaging

Keeping your audience engaged throughout an entire presentation is hard, even if you have been working on your presentation skills . No one wants to look at slides that look exactly the same for an hour. But on the other hand, you can’t create a unique masterpiece for each slide.

That’s why I’m very impressed with what the designers did in the presentation example above. They use a consistent visual theme on each slide, but alternate between vertical and horizontal orientations.

The swapping of orientations will show people that the presentation is progressing nicely. It can help you make a strong, almost physical, distinction between ideas, sections or topics.  

10. Make your audience laugh, or at least chuckle

Sometimes you need to not take your business presentations too seriously. Not sure what I mean? Go check out slide number 10 on this slide deck below.

If you did not actually laugh out loud, then I don’t know what to tell you. Small illustrated embellishments can be very powerful because they evoke an emotional response and to gain your audience’s trust.

Did you know 70% of employees think that giving a good presentation is an essential workplace skill? Check out the top qualities of awesome presentations and learn all about how to make a good presentation to help you nail that captivating delivery.

11. Supplement your presentation with printed materials

Printed takeaways (such as brochures and business cards ) give audience members a chance to take home the most important elements of your presentation in a format they can easily access without using a computer. Make sure you brand these materials in a way that’s visually consistent with your slide deck, with the same color scheme, icons, and other iconic features; otherwise, your recipients will just end up scratching their heads.

If you’re giving people multiple materials, try packaging them all into one convenient presentation folder. There are over 100 styles with a wide range of custom options, so feel free to get creative and make your folder stand out. Sometimes a unique die cut or an unusual stock is all you need to make something truly memorable. Here are some brochure templates to get you started.

12. Only use one chart or graphic per slide 

Having too much information on a slide is the easiest way to lose the focus of your audience. This is especially common when people are using graphs, charts or tables .

In this creative slide deck, the author made sure to only include one focal point per slide, and I applaud them for it. I know this may sound like a simple presentation tip, but I have seen many people lose their audience because the slides are too complex.

13. Keep your employee engagement presentations light   

Sometimes you need to get away from stuffy, professional presentation ideas to capture your audience’s attention. In this case, Officevibe used some very colorful and playful illustrations to stand out from the crowd.

I mean, who could not love the plant with a face on slide number 9? And if you want to see some more icons and illustrations like this, be sure to check out our article on how to tell a story with icons.

14.  Feature a map when talking about locations

Including a map in your creative presentations is a fantastic idea! Not only do they make an interesting focal point for your slide layout, they also make location-based information easier to understand.

This cool presentation example by our pro designers at Venngage uses maps to visualize information. This map both dominates the screen, and also displays all the locations being covered.

15. Use a font that is large and in charge 

If you are presenting to a small group or a packed stadium, make sure your audience can see your text! Use a large and in charge font that can be read from even the nosebleed seats. 

Honestly, you really never know where your unique presentation will be seen. It could be seen in a conference room or conference hall, and everything in between. Be ready to present almost anywhere with a bold and easy to read font.

16. Use pop culture references to build a fun presentation 

Using a meme or pop culture reference is another way that you can jive with your audience. It can be used to quickly get a point across without saying a word or create a moment that you can connect with the room. For example in this presentation, they used Napoleon Dynamite to give the audience feelings of nostalgia.

17. Use more than one font weight on your presentation cover slide

Just like you would never use one font on an infographic, you should never use just one font on your presentation (for more tips, read our guide on how to choose fonts ). In this presentation example from HubSpot, they use a bunch of different font weights to add emphasis to key words and ideas.

As you can see, they use a bold font on the presentation cover to bring attention to Steve Jobs name. This makes it easy for the audience to know what your presentation is going to be about from the beginning as well. 

18. Use a color theme for each idea 

Color is another extremely powerful nonverbal tool that you can use to guide your audience. By using a different color for each section of your creative presentation, Dell is able to clearly indicate when they are switching points or ideas.  Going from green to orange, and even red almost effortlessly.

This is a great way to design a list, guide, or a  how-to presentation as well. And each color can be assigned to a different step or number with ease. 

Need help picking the perfect color palette? Start here !

19. Use illustrations instead of pictures 

An easy way to keep your design consistent throughout your unique presentation is to use illustrations like in this slide deck by Domo.

They used illustrations instead of pictures to show off their subject on slide numbers 4-10 and it looks fantastic. This will ensure that the audience focuses on the content, instead of just the photo they could have used.

It also helps that illustrations are a top design trend for 2020 .

20. Use contrasting colors to compare two perspectives or sides of an argument 

Contrasting colors can be used to quickly show each side of topic or an argument. For example in this presentation, they use this trick to show the difference between their company and the competition.

They use color very effectively in this example to show their company is better, in a nonverbal way. With a lighter color and illustrated icons, the company is able to position them as the better choice. All without saying a word.  

Now if they would have used similar colors, or a single color the effect wouldn’t have been as strong or noticeable.

21. Include your own personal interests

This example is one of the most interesting and cool presentations I have seen in awhile, so I suggest checking out the entire thing. The creator inserts a bunch of his personal interests into the slide to make his presentation about education fun and relatable. And they even use a Super Mario Bros inspired presentation cover, so you know it has to be fantastic! 

22. Try to stick to groups of three 

How many major ideas should be present on your presentation aid? Never break your  presentation layout down into anything more than thirds. This means there should be at most three columns, three icons, three ideas and so on.  A great example of this idea starts on slide number 9 in this slide deck and continues throughout the rest of the presentation.

 Here is a great three columned slide template to get started with.

23. Add a timeline to help visualize ideas 

One of the best ways to visualize a complex process or historical event is to use a timeline presentation. A list of all the steps or events is just not going to cut it in a professional setting. You need to find an engaging way to visualize the information.

Take the presentation example above, where they outline the rise and fall of Athens in a visually stimulating way.

24. Label your graphs & charts 

If the people at Pollen VC had not added those annotations to the graphs on slide number 5, I would have definitely not known what to make of that graph.

But when you combine the visuals on a graph with descriptive text, the graph is able to paint a picture for your audience. So make your graphs easy to understand by annotating them (this is a chart design best practice ).

Create a free graph right here, right now!

25. White font over pictures just works 

There is a reason that you see so many quotes or sayings in a white font that are then overlaid on an image. That it is because it just works in so many situations and the text is very easy to read on any image.

If you do not believe me, look at the slide deck example above where they use a white font with a few different fonts and about 100 images. Plus the presentation template is chocked full of other tips on how to create a winning slideshow.

26. Color code your points across the whole presentation 

Here is another example of a presentation that uses color to keep their points organized. In this case, they use 10 different pastel colors to match the 10 different tips for employee engagement.

Check out our guide for how to pick the best colors for your visuals .

27.  Use a simple flow chart to break down a process

If you’re a fan of the movie Step Brothers , you may have heard of Prestige Worldwide before. In this fun presentation example they are back to sell you on their business model and growth plans.

This time, the presentation will be effective because it actually talks about what the business does.

Instead of making a music video, they use a helpful flowchart template to explain their business model. I would recommend following their lead and creating a dynamic flow chart to visually break down any process.  Try making your own flowchart  with Venngage.

28. Make your slide deck mobile friendly 

As more people move to mobile as their main device each year, making your presentations mobile-friendly is becoming increasingly important. This means that the text is large and there aren’t too many small details, so everything can scale down. Just like in this presentation example from the creators at Globoforce.

29. Don’t be afraid to include too many examples 

If you are presenting a complex idea to a group, especially a large audience, I would recommend having a ton of good examples. Now, I would try not to overdo it, but having too many it is better than having too few.

In this creative presentation, the people at With Company spend about 20 slides just giving great examples of prototyping. It doesn’t feel too repetitive because they all are useful and informative examples.

30.  Use consistent visual styles for an elegant presentation design

I have already written extensively about using icons in all of your design projects . I haven’t talked as much about matching icons to your presentation template.

But that’s just as important, especially if you want to create a professional presentation for your audience.

As you can see in the example above, the designer used minimalist icons that fit the slide designs. All of the other graphics, charts and visual elements fit together nicely as well.

Plus the icons don’t distract from the content, which could ruin a stellar presentation.

31. Use a consistent presentation layout 

In this example from Bannersnack, they use a consistent layout on each of their slides to help with the flow by using the same margins and text layout.

It’s a solid presentation example because they help the user know where to look immediately. It may seem like they are playing it safe, but anything that can speed up the time it takes for a user to read the content of the slides, the better.

32. Use loud colors as much as possible 

This is one of my favorite presentations because of the highlighter yellow they chose to use as their main color. It is actually very similar to one that I saw presented live a few years ago and I have used this same approach in a few presentations ideas of my own.

33. Pull your design motif from your content 

If you are talking about an interesting topic, why not use the topic as the main design motif in your creative slide deck? For example, in this presentation about sketchbooks, the creator uses a sketchy, handwritten motif. It is something simple that helps the audience connect with the topic. Plus, it allows you to include a ton of great examples.

34. Utilize a call & answer cadence

In this SlideShare about how to create a presentation, Peter Zvirinsky uses a two-step process to present a point. First, he presents the header presentation tip in a speech bubble. Then he shows a supporting point in a responding speech bubble. This gives the presentation a conversational flow.

35. Repurpose ebook content into a creative presentation

This slide deck was adapted perfectly from a Seth Godin ebook into the presentation example you see above. In the slide deck, they take a piece of content that would usually take a while to read and cut it down to a few minutes. Just remember to include only the most important ideas, and try to present them in a fresh way.

36. Add a timed outline to your presentation

We have already covered how important it is to have a table of contents in your slides but this takes it a bit further. On the second slide of the presentation below, the creator added how long each of the slides should take.

This is great because it helps your audience know the pace the presentation will take and will help keep them engaged. It also will help them identify the most important and in-depth parts of the presentation from the beginning.

37. Use a “next steps” slide to direct your audience

One of the worst things you can do as a presenter is to leave your audience without any idea of what to do next. A presentation should never just end because you ran out of slides.

Instead, use a conclusion or “next steps” slide like in the example above to finish your presentation. Sum up some of your main points, tell your audience where they can get more information, and push them to take action.

38. Go a bit crazy with the design 

Sometimes you need to throw convention to the wind to create something unforgettable. This presentation from Velocity Partners does just that, and I think it is one of my favorite ones from this entire roundup.

They use unconventional typography, quirky icons, and unusual presentation layout to make each slide surprising.

39. Make your slide deck easy to share 

If you are looking to get a lot of eyes on your presentation I would make sure people will want to share it on social media. How do you do that? By presenting new and interesting value. This means your content needs to answer a common question and your design needs to be clutter-free. For example, look at this very social media-friendly. The slides are simple and answer questions directly.

40.  Use shapes to integrate your photos into the slides

Want to include a bunch of images in your presentation? I say do it!

Now most of the time you would add a raw image directly to your slide. However, if you want to present images in a professional way I would recommend using an image frame .

Like in the example above, you can use these frame to create a collage of images almost instantly. Or provide a similar visual theme to all of your slides.  

Overall, I believe it’s a great way to add a new visual component to your presentation.

41. Hijack someone’s influence in your marketing slides

If you are stuck in the brainstorming phase of your presentation, focusing on a brand or influencer is a great place to start. It could be a case study, a collection of ideas or just some quotes from the influencer. But what makes it effective is that the audience knows the influencer and trusts them. And you are able to hijack their awareness or influence.

42. Put y our logo on every slide 

Whether you have a brand as powerful as Moz, or you are just getting started, you should always have your logo on each slide. You really never know where a presentation is going to end up–or what parts of it will! In this presentation template, Moz does a good job of including their branding and such to get others interested in Moz Local. Don’t have a logo yet? Our logo design tips will help you create a logo that’s iconic and will stand the test of time.

43. Lead your audience to it 

In this example, the creator uses something very similar to the call and answer approach I mentioned above, but with a little twist. Instead of just throwing all the info up at once, they use three slides to build to a particular point and include a subtle call to action in the third slide.

44. Make visuals the focal point of your presentation slides

If you haven’t noticed, illustrated icons are having a revival in 2020 and beyond. This is likely because minimalist icons dominated the design world for the past decade. And now people want something new.

Brands also like using illustrated icons because they are seen as genuine and fun.

And because they are so eye-catching you can use them as focal points in your presentation slides. Just like they did in the creative presentation example above.

Picking the perfect icon is tough, learn how you can use infographic icons like a pro.

45. Use a quirky presentation theme 

In this slide deck, the authors show you how to become an Animation Ninja…and they use ninja graphics and icons extensively. This caught my eye immediately because of the amount of work that I knew was behind this. It takes a lot of time and effort to line all of the content and graphic up to create a cohesive theme, but the payoff can be massively worth it.

46. Use a consistent background image 

I am a big fan of the way that Aleyda Solís uses only a single presentation background image throughout her presentation.

By using this tactic the audience is able to focus on what is happening in the foreground. Plus it gives the whole presentation a different feel than all the other ones I have looked at.

47. Summarize your points at the end

It’s a good idea to summarize your points before you end your presentation , especially if you’ve covered a lot of information. In this presentation example, Deanta summarizes exactly what they do on slide numbers 16-18. They also provide their contact information in case their audience has any more questions. I think that every presentation should use this same approach, especially the ones you are presenting outside of your company.

48. Use a minimalist presentation template

This slide deck from QuickBooks uses a minimalist theme to help the audience focus on what is important, the content.

There were only five colors used in the entire presentation and the graphics were simple line drawings. This made it easy to read and very pleasing to the eyes.

49. Split your slides length-wise 

Here is a simple template you can use to separate your headers, or main points, from your body text in a presentation.

Instead of using a solid presentation background, split the slide in half like Sequoia did in their slide deck. They used their brand color for the title portion and a neutral white for the supporting content.

Use this company report template to create a very similar slide right now!

50.  Embrace a bold color scheme throughout your presentation

My favorite part of the creative presentation example above is the use of complementary colors in each slide. As you can see, not one of the slides use the same color scheme but they all feel related connected.

This approach can be used to make your presentation visually unique, without abandoning a cohesive theme or idea.

51. Put text in the top left corner 

English speakers will instinctively try to read text from a top to bottom, left to right orientation. I would recommend using a left alignment for your text and adding additional things from top to bottom, just like Aaron Irizarry did in this presentation layout.

52. Break up your tables 

A plain table with a white background with black or gray lines are difficult to read on a computer screen, so why would you create one for viewing on a large presentation screen? You shouldn’t!

Instead, follow Intuit’s lead and break up the rows with a bit of color. This applies to data visualization in general , but think it is even more important when it comes to presentations.

53.  Present connected information in a visually similar way

In this startup pitch presentation example, they have a ton of information to get through. But they present their most important slides, the problem and solution, in a visually similar way.

By using a similar layout on each slide, the audience will be able to quickly make a connection. If you want to present two connected pieces of information, use this tactic.

From the font to the layout, it’s all basically the same. The main message they’re trying to impart is a lot more impactful to the reader.

If they would have used two wildly different presentation layouts, the message may have been lost.

54. Roundup expert tips into one presentation 

If you are looking for useful insights into the topic of your presentation, talk to some influencers in your niche. These are called “expert roundups” in the content marketing world and they are incredibly shareable.

Plus, they are pretty easy to create and have a great shelf life. In the example above, we talked to a gaggle of marketing experts about what makes a SlideShare great.

55. Use bold & brash colors throughout 

B old colors usually make your presentation template a lot easier to read and remember. Like at this slide deck made by our talented designers, which doesn’t shy away from bright, bold colors.

Want to pick a perfect color palette for your presentation? Read this blog on the do’s and don’ts of infographic color selection .

56. Make your graphs easy to read & interpret 

It should not require a Master’s degree in statistics to understand the graphs that someone uses in a presentation. Instead, the axis should be easy to read, the colors should enforce the point, and the data should be clearly plotted.

For example, in this presentation on slide numbers 14 and 25, the graphs nail all of those tips perfectly.

57. Condense your presentation into a memorable line 

If you can, try condensing your information into a simple one-liner to help the message stick with your audience. In slide number 36 of this presentation, Mika Aldaba does just that and shows that “Facts + Feelings = Data Storytelling.”

He does this again a few times throughout the presentation with other memorable one-liners.

58.  Bring attention to important figures with colorful icons

If you’re including a figure or number on your slides, I’m guessing you want the audience to actually see it.

That’s why I would recommend using an icon or graphic to highlight that figure. Maybe use a color or icon that isn’t used anywhere else in the presentation to make sure it really jumps off the screen.

In the presentation example above, all that’s used is a simple circle to make each figure a focal point. It’s really that easy, but many people leave it out of their presentations.

59. Anchor Your Text With Icons 

Having your text or content floating out in the white space of your presentation is not a good look.

Instead, you should use anchor icons to give the text something to hold onto and draw the audience’s eye. If you need some examples of good anchor icons, check out slide numbers 4, 7 and 9 in this presentation example.

60. Add semi-opaque lettering as a presentation background 

A neat way to keep your slide deck organized is to number your slides or points using semi-opaque lettering in the background.

Then, place your slide content on top of the opaque lettering. This helps your audience know that you are on the same point or idea, plus it just looks really good when done right.

61. Use simple or minimalist borders

An easy way to class up your slides is to put a border around your text. Take this presentation from Venngage that uses a couple of different types of borders to make their slides look professional.

Plus it helps keep all of your content contained on the slide!

62. Feature one idea per slide

Nothing is worse than a confusing, cluttered slide. Instead of trying to pack a bunch of ideas into one slide, focus on one core idea on each slide. If you need to flesh the idea out, just make another slide. 

Having trouble condensing your slides? Our presentation design guide can help you summarize your presentations and convey a singular idea with a clear focus.

63. Keep your style consistent with your brand 

You might be tempted to switch up the style of your creative presentations each time, but think again. If your brand is known for fun and lighthearted content, like Officevibe, let that be your style throughout all of the presentations you publish under that brand. This will make your slide decks recognizable and will enforce your brand’s message .

64. Use accent fonts to emphasize important numbers

Some people hate pie charts with a passion, but I think they are perfect for presentations. Especially if you want to bring attention to a figure or percentage point .

In this simple example, the pie charts are used to visualize each figure in an interesting way. Plus the pie charts fit the circular and fun theme of the rest of the presentation very well.

65. Use patterned and textured presentation backgrounds

Source  

Adding some subtle textures, icons or shapes to the presentation background can help make your slides more interesting. This is especially effective when you are only showing one point per slide, because it makes the slide design less sparse.

You can even switch up the colors on your shapes or textures to match the theme of the slide like DesignMantic did in this presentation.

66. Illustrate complex or confusing concepts with icons 

Ideally, you don’t want every slide in your deck to just be text. Instead, switch things up every few slides by using just pictures.

This slide deck by Gluwa uses icons to create little diagrams to illustrate their presentation ideas. Their slides still communicate concepts to the audience, but in a new way.

67. Overlay stock photos with color 

One problem many people encounter when creating a presentation or slide decks are finding photos with a consistent style. An easy way to edit photos to make them consistent is to add a transparent color overlay. In this example, Change Sciences uses a blue overlay on all of their photos. Plus, the color you choose can also help convey a particular mood.

68. Use black and white blocks 

An easy way to make your text pop, particularly on a photo background, is to use white font on a black blog background (and vise-versa). Check out this slide deck by Abhishek Shah, which uses this trick in an effective way.  

Now if you want to become a better leader this year, check out some of our favorite leadership infographics .

69. Use photos with similar filters 

Using a bunch of photos with wildly different filters can be jarring in a business presentation. To maintain a consistent flow, use photos with a similar filter and color saturation.

Take a look at this example from HubSpot across slide numbers 1-6 and you can see what I mean.

70. Visualize your points with diagrams 

Sometimes the best way to get your point across is to throw some diagrams into the presentation mix. But be sure to make is something that the audience can pick up on in three to five seconds tops.

For example, Jan Rezab uses a diagram to illustrate what takes up time in our lives on slide numbers 4, 5, 7 and 9!

71. Get experts to share tips

If you want to provide even more value to your audience than you can offer yourself, why not call in some expert reinforcement? See what experts in your field have to say on the topic of your presentation and include their tips and insights. Plus you can hijack their influence and expand your audience fairly quickly. 

72. Mimic a popular presentation style 

Uber’s pitch deck helped them raise millions of dollars in venture capital eventually leading to the glorious moment when they IPOed this year.

Aside from our sleek design upgrade (hey, we love good design!), this pitch deck template is the exact same one that Uber used to go from Idea to IPO.

And who knows? Maybe you might start the next Uber. But to raise money, you will need to create flawless business pitch decks to impress investors and raise those dollars.

73. Plan your presentation idea ahead of time

I know that minimalist designs are all the rage this year, but there is a big difference between a well-thought-out minimalist design and a lazy design without the finish touches. The same goes for a cluttered design with too many things going on at once.

That’s why it’s worth it to take the time to really plan out your presentation ideas and design concepts. Take this slide deck about storytelling by HighSpark. A quick glance will tell you that they put a lot of thought into designing their slides.

74.  Use tables to compare your brand to the competition in sales presentations/pitch decks

There are a lot of ways to visually compare similar things in this day and age. You could use a comparison infographic , or even a venn diagram!

However, when it comes to presentations I think that the simple table is best. Especially if you are comparing more than two things, like in this presentation example.

With a table, you can clearly lay out all the pros and cons of each idea, brand or topic without it being overwhelming to the audience. Plus, virtually everyone knows how to follow a table, so your information will be easy to consume.  

See more examples of the best pitch decks .

75. Blend icons & content effortlessly

Usually, icons are used as eye-catching objects detectors or anchors for text in a slideshow. But they can be used for so much more than that!

Like in this marketing presentation from Constant Contact they are very large but do not distract from the content.

76. Make your audience want more 

This tactic has been used by everyone since the idea of marketing was invented (or close to that). In this presentation example called “100 Growth Hacks, 100 Days” the creator only shows the audience the first 10 days of it and then uses a call to action at the end of the presentation to encourage them to seek out the rest.

The only risk with these kinds of presentation ideas is if your initial content is not great, you can’t expect your audience to seek out more information.

77. Use memes (for real, though) 

Usually, memes do not have a place in a serious business setting, so maybe don’t use them for formal presentations. But if you’re covering a lighter topic, or if you’re going for a fun presentation that will connect with your audience, don’t be afraid to throw a meme or two into the mix.

The audience immediately knows what you are trying to say when you use a popular meme in your presentation. For example, on slide number 7, the creator uses a meme to show that it will be hard to create great content

78.  Include a slide that introduces your team in pitch decks

In this presentation example, the creators decided to include their team on a slide. I think it’s a great gesture.

Showing your team can help the audience put a face to your brand and make the whole company feel more genuine. So if there is a team that has helped you get where you are today, give them some recognition!

79. Feature a complementary color palette

Even though I am not a formally trained designer, I still understand that proper color usage is the base of any good design. Although not all of the tenets of color theory work great for presentations, complementary colors are always a great pick.

Take a look at the color usage in this business presentation from Gary Vaynerchuk below . The purple and Snapchat yellow, which are complementary colors, look fantastic and the content jumps off the screen.

80. Use a heavy or bold font 

The very back of the room should be able to read your content if you are giving a group presentation. To ensure that your entire audience can read the slides I would not only use a large font, but also use a heavy font.  If you are confused by what I mean by a heavy font take a look at this unique presentation example by Slides That Rock.

81. Do the math for your audience

If you are going to use a graph in your presentation to compare data you should do the match for your audience. Do not make them do the calculations in their head because you will quickly lose their attention. For example, on slide number 5 the people at Sickweather lay out exactly what figures they want the audience to take from the slide.  

82. Use unique colors for different sections

The example below has 145 slides but it does not feel overwhelming or confusing.

That’s because each section has a different corresponding color, which makes it easier to flip through the slide deck and find a particular part.

83.  Give your presentation a catchy title that anyone can remember

What I really love about the presentation example above is that it features a catchy tagline on the second slide–“The 3S Framework.” It’s simple but it works!

This motto helps outline the structure of the presentation, and each slide referring back to it. Plus, the tagline will give the audience something to latch onto and remember from the presentation.

84. White backgrounds are not always bad 

A lot of people think that plain white background is a boring presentation faux pas. So the first thing they do is add color or image, which is not a bad thing at all.

But I also think that when used correctly, like in this example, plain white backgrounds can lead to beautiful presentations.

85. Split the header text from the body text

This idea is very similar to the one-two punch tactic that I talked about above, but it spreads the content over two slides as opposed to a single slide.

Use this design choice when you have fairly easy to follow presentations, like the one below from Steve Young. I know that this is effective because it allows the audience to focus on the main point before he drives it home with the supporting details.

86. Feature circle image frames 

I am a big fan of the design choices that Frank Delmelle uses in this slide deck about content strategy. He uses circles as his main design motif and frames his images in circles as well.

87. Talk directly to your audience 

This slideshow tops out at 70 slides but it’s a breeze to flip through. That’s because the creator, Ian Lurie, decided to present it in the form of a conversation instead of a classic slide deck.

While each slide only has one or two sentences, it flows just like a friendly chat. He also includes the necessary pauses, breaks and other conversational tics that helps make it even more convincing.

88. Illustrated icons are key this year 

Icons add a fun and functional element to your designs. In this presentation by Iryna Nezhynska, they use illustrated icons to make a potentially intimidating topic seem manageable.

89. Highlight key numbers and percentages 

Surprising percentages have the ability to excite and shock an audience. To make the percentages on your slides even more impactful, present them in a different color or font than the rest of the text.

In the presentation example above, Contently uses that exact tactic to bring more attention to key numbers.

90. Use a gradient as your presentation background 

Just like bold color schemes, gradients are a current social media graphic design trend . They may feel retro to some, but I believe they will be around well into the future.  

Gradients are perfect for presentation backgrounds because they are so versatile and eye-catching. I mean, you can literally create a gradient with any colors you can think of! And they look a lot more interesting than a simple flat background.

So embrace the future and use a gradient in your next presentation!

91. Track the steps in a process 

In this example, the creators from O.C. Tanner add a very interesting feature to their slides, starting on slide number 6. If you take a look at this business presentation template, you will see that they number the steps in a process and track which step they’re on at the bottom of the slides.

92. Use mind blowing font pairings 

The creator of this slide deck uses at least 10 different types of fonts. And it looks fantastic because they know that one font choice is boring. But this does not mean that you should use a bunch of random fonts–pick font pairs that play well together and keep your font choices for different types of information consistent throughout the presentation.

93. Make your ideas as obvious as possible 

Your audience shouldn’t be guessing at what you mean. That is why I think that this presentation example from In a Rocket is so powerful because they make the information easy to digest.

Learning to code can be challenging, but they break the information down with simple diagrams and clear examples. Heck, I have not touched CSS in a few years and I could still follow what they were instructing.

94. Use images that will actually scale 

A large mistake that you can make in your slide deck is using low-quality images. They may look great on your computer, but as soon as the slides are put up on a screen, the low quality will show. In this example by ThoughtWorks, all of their presentation background images look great and will scale well to a bigger screen. And that is even after the image compression that LinkedIn most likely does!

95. Take risks with your presentation layout

I honestly was blown away the first time I saw this presentation because it capitalized on such a risky design idea. The creators from Weekdone literally turned their presentation into an 8-Bit video game. A nd if you are looking for something that will stick with your audience, I would take a few creative cues from them!

96. Seriously, you better use memes 

In this day and age memes are mainstream, so why wouldn’t you use them in a creative presentation? These do not have to be the coolest meme that all the hip kids are sharing, they can be some of the classics. Like the one that Dana DiTomaso uses on slide 16 to emphasize that it’s a trap!

97. Follow a clear design rhythm

I really like how this presentation introduced each new point in three or four steps, using the same design. It gave the presentation a rhythm that flowed almost like a song!

I would recommend using this approach if you have to introduce multiple points per slide.

98. Use LOTS of icons

If you have made it this far in the list you have already probably seen how effective icons are in presentations. They are the perfect way to support your ideas and make your presentation more pleasing to the eyes.

For example, take a look at all the icons SlideShop uses in this presentation. Almost every slide has at least one icon and a few have more than ten!

99. Give each slide its own spark

I know this goes against earlier points I had about creating a cohesive theme in your presentation layout, but everyone knows that rules are made to be broken (if you can do it better)!

In this slide deck, the team at Officevibe literally created different designs for all 27 of their slides. And to top it off, each of the designs fit the quotes they used extremely well.

100. Use LARGE header cards 

An easy way to stick to that “one piece of content on each slide rule” is to use header cards. They are basically the header that you would normally use in a blog post or article, but it gets is own slide before the content. Here is an example of that idea in the real world in this presentation from Brian Downard.

101. Ask your audience questions 

I think one of the most common elements I saw in all the slide decks was that they asked the audience questions. You can use questions to engage with your audience and get them thinking a bit harder about the topic. The Site By Norex team did an exceptional job of this when they explored what the topic of what makes up a brand.

Need some more info about creating a memorable brand? Check out some of the best branding stats for 2020 and beyond!

102. Introduce yourself and your brand 

I would say that a majority of presentations that I looked at in this list just jumped right into the content without an introduction to the author or brand in the actual slide deck.

This introduction is very important because it establishes your credentials from the beginning, especially if someone is just reading the slide deck. In this example from Losant, they do just that by spending the first few slides telling the audience who they are.

103. Mix up your mediums 

Finally, this slide deck effectively marries two very distinct content forms together: digital images and hand-drawn illustrations. In this example, Freshdesk uses the timeless classic of a comic strip, Calvin & Hobbes, in something so modern to inform the audience in a fun way.

104. Show off your credentials 

Just like with any piece of content, people are more likely to believe what you are saying if they know what your company does. That is why I really like when people insert their qualifications right into the presentation slides. Just like Andreas von der Heydt, from Amazon, did at the beginning of this presentation about thinking big.  

105. Highlight key data points 

If you are presenting a chart or graph on a dry topic, I would recommend using a single color to highlight the most important data point. For example, the investment firm a16z uses orange to highlight the data points they want their audience to focus on in each of their charts.

Check out some examples of how to highlight your key information in bar charts .

106. Show your audience where to find more information 

A lot of people end their presentations by literally just running out of slides, and that is the wrong way to do it. Instead, CBInsights consistently pushes their readers towards another piece of content at the end. This is also where you can insert a call to action!

107. Tell your origin story

  Source

This idea is kinda similar to showing off your company qualifications at the beginning of your presentation. But with this approach, you are trying to make an emotional connection with your audience instead of just showing off accolades.

And Rand from Moz does this extremely well in the presentation example above.

108. Use one focused visual 

This presentation uses a central visual of a structure, with each slide moving down the levels of the structure. This is incredibly powerful because the entire presentation is about sinking your company, and the visual they designed mirrors that idea perfectly. Using one focus visual also makes your slide deck design cohesive.

109. Don’t take presentation design too seriously

Sometimes we get caught up trying to make the perfect presentation and it ends up making us crazy!

But in this presentation example, Jesse Desjardins uses a mix of wit and hilarious retro images to create a memorable and light-hearted presentation.

110. Use size to your advantage 

I am a big fan of using bubble charts and other charts that use size to compare two pieces of data. That is why I like this pitch deck from the ShearShare team that utilizes a size-based chart on slide number 9. The chart is used to illustrate the massive growth potential in their industry.

111. Split section headers from the main content with different background colors 

In this presentation, Seth Familian uses alternating colors in a very interesting way. For each of the title slides, he uses a black color background, but for the content slides he uses a white background.

This helped the readers follow along and comprehend what was on the page even faster. And when you are presenting to hundreds of different types of people, this can make or break your presentation.  

112.  Have a conversation with your audience 

Take a conversational tone in your presentation is a great way to encourage your audience to participate.

In this slide deck example, we presented a simple storyline and use questions to engage with the audience throughout. And it helped create a flow throughout the  presentation template  that is easy to follow.

113.  Include your branding throughout your presentation ideas

Another thing that people seem to forget when they are working on a presentation is to include their business’s branding. You honestly never know where your work is going to be shared, so it is important to make sure people know it’s yours. HubSpot does an outstanding job of this on all their presentations, as you can see in the bottom left corner of each slide.

Plus you have spent a ton of time creating your  brand guidelines , might as well use them.

114.  Include multiple slides to build to your main point

Try using multiple slides to build to your main point. This helps you walk through the components of one overarching point while also building suspense. In this slide deck, the creator uses 6 slides to build up to one main point, adding a new illustration to the diagram on each slide.

115.  Split the difference 

Use either the left or right side of the slide to hold your text and the opposite to display an image. If you are using a photo or graphic as the main background in your slides, this is a great way to keep things organized. 

116. There are millions of fonts out there…use them

Hey, I love simple fonts just as much as the next guy, but sometimes you need to step up your font game to stand out. For example, WebVisions uses a very gritty, probably custom font in their unique presentation that fits the topic extremely well. Take a look!

117.  Build your presentation content around icons 

Try using icons as the focal points of your presentation layout. This example from Omer Hameed  uses icons to draw the audience’s eyes  right to the middle of the presentation, where the main points and headers are located.  

118.  Mix up font style to emphasize important points

If you would like to draw some extra attention to a certain word or idea,  switch up the font  to one that is bolder. For example, in this oldie but goodie presentation from HubSpot they use a heavy sans-serif font to highlight ideas, as opposed to the serif font for the other text.

119.  Add personal touches to your presentation

If you want to create a truly unique presentation, add personal touches. In the slide numbers 6-13 from this presentation, the creator adds something to their design that no one else could ever have: they use original drawings they did themselves.

120.  Harness the power of your own brand colors

Sometimes people forget that they already have a battle-tested color palette that they can use in their  brand colors . I try to incorporate one of our brand colors in most of my designs and it makes so much easier to choose colors.

In this simple presentation example, Spitfire Creative used a palette that had both of their brand colors throughout the slideshow.

121.  Used dark-colored blocks to highlight words

I have seen this trick used in a lot of presentations and it works well. Highlight certain words or phrases by laying them overtop a colored rectangle. Take slide number 7 in this presentation example as a great guide. Use it to bring attention to a saying or idea you really want your audience to remember.

122.  Show the audience your mug 

This presentation example comes from the same presentation as a previous one, but it was too good not to share. Throughout the slides, you will see Rand from Moz pop up to add a human element to the design. Using an image of your team or yourself can put the audience at ease and make it easier to connect with the presenter.

123.  Include a helpful table of contents 

I only saw this presentation idea used a few times throughout my research, but I believe it should be used a lot more. A table of contents will help the audience know what to expect and keep their focus throughout. Especially if you are creating a presentation that is a bit longer than normal.

124.  Do not post just screenshots, do more

Screenshots of a program or app are very common in any blog post, but I think you can do a little better when it comes to presentations.

So instead of just posting a boring screenshot, add a little more to the slide by using illustrations and product shots. If you are not sure what I am talking about, just check out how great the screenshots look at slide numbers 7 and 8 in this presentation.

125. Highlight keywords using BOLD color 

Here’s another slide deck that uses different colors and blocks to highlight keywords. If you are going to use text-heavy slides, then make sure the key points are easy to pick out. Take this slide deck: starting in slide number 4, they highlight exactly what they want you to take away from the text on each slide!

Enough presentation ideas for you?

You made it! I applaud you for making it through all those presentations. Hopefully, now you have a few nifty presentation ideas ready for when you need them.

The next step is to create a presentation that will captivate a meeting room, an amphitheater, and even the world (hey, it doesn’t hurt to dream big).

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Breaking SlideShare: How I Got 2,000,000 Views from Only 16 Presentations

Our first guest post! Eugene and team reached out to us about their success with Slideshare and we didn’t believe their results until we saw the post ourselves. We thought it was an awesome example of scaling content marketing with a proven process and that’s why we wanted to share it with you. So without further ado…

-Benji and Devesh (more detailed note at the bottom)

Over the past 3 years, I’ve gotten over 2M views across 16 of my presentations on SlideShare.

One of those presentations brings me a staggering 1.6 Million views and 400 new email leads every month. The rest boast an impressive average of 20,000 views.

A question I get often is: “ How do you get consistent results till you hit the big one? ”

I’ll let you in on a secret –  I’m not that much different from you. In school, my tutor gave me a ‘C’ for a design elective.

With the right methods, content, and practices – you can replicate my success. In fact, you can do way better if you go at it consistently.

In this post, I’ll be explaining why you need to have SlideShare as part of your content outreach and how you can do it with the least amount of effort.

Why SlideShare?

There are a lot of content channels nowadays from podcasts to blogs to Facebook and Twitter.

While we have been taught to spread risks and not put all our eggs in one basket – go for calculated risks.

We are talking about 70 million visitors on Slideshare per month and an Alexa ranking of 174.

Slideshare is often undermined – but this “Quiet Giant” amongst social media networks has more opportunities for any internet marketer than all of Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn combined.

Generate Massive Traffic

One big reason why you should focus efforts on SlideShare especially if you’re selling B2B is because of the amount of potential returns you can get in terms of traffic. Slideshare is one crowded network which means it has a robust and highly-targeted traffic with very little competition.

In fact, SlideShare has up to 5 times more traffic from business owners than Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and even LinkedIn!

One of our more popular SlideShares is still collecting subscribers and driving us more than 400 leads a month!

[slideshare id=36913987&doc=slidesharesethgodin-140712204335-phpapp01]

SlideShare works slightly differently vis-a-vis other social networks. It gets plenty of organic traffic on its own because of its high authority (top 150+ sites in the world) on search and the nature of the content is highly shareable.

The real challenge with Slideshare is there’s way too much content to digest. Your presentations need to be engaging and compelling enough to grab attention because there are thousands of other presentations out there and if yours isn’t good enough, you might lose your audience’s attention.

In fact, the most recent SlideShare we put up saw more than 300 social shares within a week. This is in comparison to BuzzSumo’s estimate that the average piece of content gets only 8 shares. There’s a method to our success and you can replicate it as well.

Rank on Search

One of our expert interviewees: Dave Gerhardt, marketing lead at Drift shared the story of how he got to the front page with their deck on ‘ Product Marketing ’:

[slideshare id=54542255&doc=whatisproductmarketingdesignversion-151029203116-lva1-app6892]

Besides getting 30,000 views, Drift also managed to get their SlideShare and subsequently their blog post on the front page of Google for the search term: “product marketing” within 30 days -all that for a one-time effort in building a good SlideShare.

One platform becomes many

The content that you create for SlideShare can not only live on SlideShare’s own platform, it can also be embedded on platforms you own like your blog or site and even platforms you don’t own like guest posts for another high-traffic blog.

This is why you should always strive to get your SlideShares embedded on high-traffic and high-authority sites because these can all become a flexible platform for you to manipulate your marketing messages in your SlideShare at a later time. Additionally, the combined traffic is a force to be reckoned with.

An outlet to repurpose existing content

Another awesome way to save effort on your end is to repurpose content you already have or write with intention:

b.) If that sounds like too much work, try going for evergreen topics that are perpetual by pedigree and inject trends or news to capture a wider market. (e.g. How to be a Presentation Jedi)

c.) Check your Google Analytics on your site to analyze search terms and use that knowledge to go out and create a presentation from existing content you already own. This way you don’t have to do any new research and can just repurpose what you already have.

Better yet, consider taking content from a few of the top posts using Buzzsumo and re-hashing it into a presentation. That way, you can be sure it will be shared.

Additionally, by re-uploading your SlideShares in future, you can re-update the links and content on these earned platforms if you decide to change strategy.

Leverage on Visual Content

In a busy online social world where advertisers and content producers are constantly vying for consumer attention, it pays to be exceptionally visual with content that you put out.

Observe – people nowadays have much shorter attention spans but are more compulsive. This can be attributed mainly to a fast-paced technology wherein you can get anything almost instantly.

Competition is stiff in the virtual space, it only takes a few seconds or a fraction of a minute (at maximum) to catch the attention of your target audience, engage them further, and move them inches to the bottom of the revenue funnel. SlideShare’s the perfect platform to do exactly that – and so much more.

The design or visual content is the cherry on top of a delectable cake. It has to look mouth-watering or deliriously appetizing enough for someone to actually take their first bite and dig into the whole serving.

“ Visual content is more than 40X more likely to get shared on social media than other types of content.” ( source:Buffer)

SlideShare has a few really neat integrations with platforms like Linkedin, Twitter and more where you can interact with the SlideShare from within the same browser of those web apps.

This way, your content never loses its interactive visual nature and this gives you a higher chance of persuading users to view your SlideShare and share it from within their respective platforms.

Quick & Easy

As a marketer or business owner, you should know that time can either be the enemy or an ally. With Slideshare, presentations can be created in a breeze.

If you learn the process and get some basic understanding of design, you can knock presentations in 2 hours or less. There is less content per slide meaning you have to type out less and can focus more on the visuals.

In this post, we’ll teach you regarding the process we use as well as a timelapse of us creating one.

How To Get the Most From SlideShare

Have a story to tell.

If you think about it, why do you as a reader follow GrowandConvert.com? Really, it comes down to an interesting challenge Benji & Devesh have created – 40,000 uniques in 6 months. You can do practically the same thing with your presentations.

They say if you want to be a good storyteller, you must first be an expert listener. Build trust and create brand awareness with an empowering story. The first few lines matter.

Give an intro in your presentations to address these questions: ‘Why’ are you making this?,

‘Is this for me?

Here’s an example:

Above: Empowered Presentations did a great job in building the case for you to care about smoking with their very compelling intro.

You can be more effective at this if you allow yourself to learn from other people’s stories. Watch more presentations and follow influential speakers. In this way, you hone your craft, promote your brand, and get more people involved in your network.  

Newsjacking

People are always on the lookout for fresh content. One of the most effective things you can do to ensure you have a viral piece of content is to jack what’s going on in the news and apply it to your business.

If you’re someone that keeps track of trending news, announcements or pop culture, why not use that to your advantage by putting out a relevant and timely piece related to that piece of news?

[slideshare id=56308435&doc=slidewars-151220040441]

Empowered Presentations did just that when they put out their Star Wars themed SlideShare shortly after the release of ‘The Force Awakens’ movie.

The result was a whopping 200,000 views and counting.

Another great example is Emiland De Cubber that put out ‘Dear NSA’ when the NSA released their horrible looking slides to the media.

[slideshare id=22805706&doc=dearnsa-130611074658-phpapp02]

He got 1.2 Million views for his SlideShare, 13 media features in outlets like Mashable, TechCrunch and Business Insider as well as more than 30,000 social shares (you read that right) and hundreds of leads.

All those results for a timely piece of content done up in a couple of hours. If he could do it, so can you.

Have a Distribution Strategy

Bake the distribution strategy into the deck. Quote several experts on your topic and then notify them when it goes live (using an automated tool like ContentMarketer.io).

ContentMarketer.io will pick out all the names mentioned and find their email and twitter profile allowing you to mass message them.

Sharing other people’s talks and events build trust within the community. Most often than not – they do return the favor. This radically gives you that competitive edge.

Sometimes, it really boils down to who you know and what they say about your work. In this case, if you can get easy endorsements by expert influencers, why not?

Another great way is to launch your SlideShare in conjunction with a blog post on high profile blog helps to dramatically increase your reach – this is what we did with Hubspot and that presentation got featured as one of the best SlideShares of 2014 and got us 400 opt-ins per month for the last year.

Optimize for SEO

Optimizing your SlideShares for SEO is a very straightforward process that most neglect to do after they’ve spent hours creating their content.

Not only does driving traffic to your SlideShare become easier if you rank for the right keywords, but this also means that you’ll attract people that are actually searching for stuff you create.

This means you are shooting towards a targeted and hungry audience.

Here’s a simple step-by-step process to optimizing your SlideShare for SEO:

a)          Grab the low-hanging-fruit (keywords)

Remember, don’t base your content on your keywords but look for keywords based on the content that you’ve already created so that you won’t mislead people who search up your content.

I’d recommend doing this only after you’re done with your SlideShare so you won’t get distracted.

Most internet marketers would base their content on relevant keywords or key-phrases which are highly competitive but will somehow give you lesser chances of moving up the front page of search engine results.

If you’re looking to rank for a popular keyword (for example, if you’re writing about digital marketing and want to rank for ‘digital marketing’) it’s going to be difficult if there’s too much competition.

This is why you’ll need to do your research, get on Google Keyword planner and start searching up some long-tail keywords that might not get as many monthly searches but are easier to rank for:

In this case, instead of choosing to rank for an overly-competitive term like PowerPoint, I chose to try ranking for ‘beautiful powerpoint’

When you put your SlideShare up, it’ll inherit SlideShare’s site authority and gives you a higher chance of ranking higher on Google

For my SlideShare, I managed to rank on the first page of Google after I channeled some traffic to it. Till date it’s gotten more than 900,000 views. That’s how you select a good keyword that gets results.

Upload SEO Optimization

Each of the fields in the upload window will add to your SlideShare’s discoverability both on search engines and SlideShare’s internal search function. Here are some of the main ones:

1) A compelling title that includes your keyword

Your title is the one that’s going to appear on search engine search results as the main header. The words you type here will also be included in your SlideShare’s URL. This means you need to be extra careful when selecting a title to ensure that it contains your keyword that you’re trying to rank for and will likely command your audience’s interest.

2) A brief description

I personally think this plays but a small part in your search optimization efforts. But since the description is referenced in the place of meta-text in the search results, it can play a part in your rankings if you write something relevant.

These tags typically affect SlideShare’s internal search engine more. With that in mind you should pre-empt terms that SlideShare users would search to find content related to your industry to increase discoverability.

4)Transcript

SlideShare automatically transcribes all the software-readable text within presentations that you upload in PDF or PowerPoint. This really increases the searchability of your SlideShare as there are much more keywords on the page and variation of content.

With this in mind, you can take extra effort to also optimize keywords within the presentation slides itself.

As mentioned above, the best thing about SlideShare presentations is that they can be re-uploaded and changed whenever you want.

So let’s say if you just wrote a post for a big blog, imagine being able to update your embedded SlideShare and changing it’s content anytime you want!

This is huge because there’s no other medium where this is possible (doesn’t work with images, YouTube videos, etc.)

Most SlideShare users only use this function to replace mistakes in their SlideShare, but the flexibility to change your embeds allows you to have more control over these platforms that you’ve spent so much effort to earn.

If you have a new product or event to announce or market, you can simply re-upload and include an extra slide with that new call-to-action on a guest blog post that you put in place possibly a year back!

This way you’ll be able to change your strategy as your objectives change for your SlideShares.

—–

How to Design Presentations in 2 hours or Less

Now, I know what you are thinking – this seems like a ton of work but let me assure you once you have a system down, you can start knocking these things out in less than 2 hours.

Here’s proof of me doing just that:

Step 1: Write Your SlideShare Story

Remember these two magic numbers – 10 / 50.

These stand for 10 words per Slide and 50 slides per presentation. Just like with blog posts, the longer your presentation is – the more views and shares you will receive.

Moreover, having fewer words per slide makes it easier for the reader to flip through your presentation by ‘skimming’.

Powerful headlines can make the difference between one share and one hundred shares (show some statistics).

Use a tool like Co-Schedules Headline analyzer to see if yours stacks up.

Hint: Make sure to include numbers and people love case studies and real life examples

Step 2: Creating a Quick Theme

Before you start rolling with the slides, you need to come up with a theme that will wrap up your presentation.

Pick two main colors

A quick way to create a color scheme quickly is to simply select two colors – a light or dark monochromatic color like white or black and an accent color that matches your brand or content.

Anything more is just playing with fire especially if you’re unsure about what you’re doing.

Pick a couple of fonts

Use Typegenius.com to choose a basic font pairing and you’re off and running. Pick bold fonts that grab attention and are legible to ensure that you compel readers to interact with your presentation.

Search for high-quality images

After you have your outline, searching for quality images is the next most time-consuming task.

I recommend searching for images on Pexels.com or Unsplash.com and simply put them in the background with an overlay if you’re short on time and design ability.

If you want to communicate something visually but can’t find the right image, consider using vectors. Sites like Freepik.com or thenounproject.com are awesome repositories to find icons, but make sure to attribute it to the artist.

And if you really want to take your presentation to the next level, then you might want to check out CreativeMarket or DepositPhotos for a wider selection of quality resources with more flexibility.

Often on SlideShare, your cover design plays the biggest part in determining the success of your presentation because it’s the first thing that your audiences and SlideShare’s editorial team will see. It pays to spend extra time to make sure this is top-notch or invest in a designer to create a quality cover for you, Ross Simmonds invested $20,000 in doing just that.

Copy Layouts

This is the part where most people falter. Finding layouts that work within the presentation for different kinds of content.

I always recommend beginners to visit sites like NoteandPoint.com,   Startup Pitch Decks  and slideshare.net/ssod to get inspiration for layouts when tackling their SlideShares.

There are only so many ways you can layout a slide, use this fact to your advantage by emulating layouts that already work in your SlideShare.

No shame in copying layouts if you use your own style, colors and seek inspiration from numerous sources.

Optimize and Upload Your SlideShare

As a last-minute check-list, it’s recommended that you optimize your SlideShare to avoid any unintended blunders on hindsight.

a)  Be extra careful with your titles because SlideShare picks that out and uses it for your URL.

Example: Ace your presentation in 10 minutes becomes: slideshare.net/ace-your-presentation-in-10-minutes/

If your titles or twitter handles are wrong, you might want to re-upload your presentation and delete your first upload.

b)  Double-check and proofread your SlideShare to ensure that its error-free, you wouldn’t want any embarrassing typos to spoil your professional image.

c) Uploading at midnight or 2am EST to give your presentation the most amount of chance to make it on the first page. The earlier you get it up in the day, the more time it has to collect views and get noticed by the editors at SlideShare.

d) Make sure to schedule a bunch of tweets to @SlideShare and other related users that are mentioned in your SlideShare. Doing simple outreach after you upload helps your SlideShare get an early boost and increases your chances of getting on the front page.

———–

If you’d like a starting point to better presentations online and offline, we made a template based off our SlideShare that got 20,000 views and 300 social shares within a week for you to swipe for FREE!

Get the template that gets results for free here:

…and start acing your SlideShares.

Eugene Cheng is the co-founder and creative lead of HighSpark (formerly Slide Comet, a strategic presentation consultancy serving Fortune 500 companies like: Panasonic, Dentsu, Nike. A self-confessed presentation obsessive, he relishes in building compelling visual content for his agency’s channel and his personal channel on SlideShare and is also a Keynote Author ( top 1% of SlideShare).

Note from Benji and Devesh: We were approached by Eugene Chen and his partners earlier this month and they mentioned the amount of traffic they got from Slideshare. This is something we’ve been wondering: ‘whether we could get traffic from repurposing our content on Slideshare’. So naturally we were interested in seeing what they did.

When we saw their results, we wanted them to case study it on Grow and Convert.

What we like about this concept is that Slideshare is a medium that is custom built for companies and brands to market on.

We like slideshare because:

a) most companies have info in PowerPoint form sitting around

b) more people inside the company can express themselves well through slides than writing.

c) As Eugene mentions towards the end of the post, you can use Slideshare’s domain authority to rank your presentation high for key search terms (if your presentation is good), so it’s a great lead generation tool.

So we think it’s a great content marketing opportunity for lots of companies.

One final note, at the end of the article, Eugene is giving away a professional presentation template so you can make a nicely designed presentation.

Since we’re all about transparency at Grow and Convert, we want to mention that it’s an affiliate link. The template is totally free, but if later you you decide to buy something from them, we’ll get a share of it.

If you’ve been following us you know we’re not really trying to create products or think about revenue yet, and that’s still true, so you won’t see any pushy sales from us on this.

We just think Eugene’s strategies are actionable for content marketers at companies and based on actual experience. Which means a perfect fit for our site. We thought this product would be useful for our audience if someone was interested in learning more about scaling Slideshare.

Hope you enjoyed the post!

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