How many times have you heard the expression “we need a deck…” ? This usually means countless hours of working on a Power Point presentation that is likely to be edited and reedited wasting your time while consumers and customers pass on your brand because you’re too busy creating a presentation. I have been in Power Point hell creating decks as long as 80 pages and it’s not fun. The worst seems to be when someone in the process decides to remove key data or insights. Here are some suggestions to market your Power Point internally and get your audience to come to the conclusions you want them to come to.
1ne: You should always keep a Power Point “master deck” with information that supports what you are doing. Keep adding slides when you come across a key data point or information via an article on the web. By maintaining a master deck you can easily pull information you need for your audience.
2wo: Your deck should not be slides with charts and bullet points. It should tell a story and engage your audience. Remember you are selling internally.
3hree: The less people you get involved in the approval process the less changes you’ll have to make.
4our: Never use colored slides. Always use a white background.
5ive: It’s OK to use images but don’t over do it.
6ix: Never read from your slides during the presentation. You are there to win your audience and build consensus.
7even: If you have a lot of data include the slides as back-up.
8ight: Be wary of managers who want to hide data such as slides that show a particular tactic is working. They have hidden agendas.
9ine: Be confident when you present. Rehearse and know your presentation inside and out.
10en: If you are doing Power Point decks every week than you need to ask “why” and how that time can better be used to get closer to customers and provide brand value.
