Your presentations aren’t the only tasks you have to accomplish at work.
As much as you want to prepare a well-planned deck, your busy schedule might not permit you to do so.
You need to balance content and design to deliver a winning pitch.
To avoid a presentation snafu, work on your PowerPoint while maximizing your time.
Here are five tips to finish your PowerPoint deck before the deadline:
Review your schedule and move things around
Preparing for a presentation is a long process.
It’s better to finish tasks gradually than try to do everything in one go. That way, you have the leeway to aim for quality and focus on one thing as you go along.
Check your schedule and see if there are things you can move around to make space for your tasks. Work around your free time and split up what you have to do.
Even if you’re days away from the big presentation, organize a to-do list to maximize the time you have left.
Prioritize tasks accordingly
If you’re finishing your deck on a tight deadline, you need to learn how to prioritize. Accomplish your PowerPoint deck following a particular order.
Start with a structure for your presentation before drafting the content and finally working on your slide design. This hierarchy will determine which direction you should take your PowerPoint deck, so make sure you have a solid foundation before you move on to the next task.
Look around the web for inspiration
Coming up with your own design concept isn’t that hard. For one, there’s plenty of inspiration to be found by browsing around the Internet.
You can check out these links to see what type of aesthetic you’d like to go for in your presentation:
Re-purpose old presentations
Save yourself time by working with something you already have. In his article for Content Marketing Institute, Vertical Measures CEO Arnie Kuenn suggests repurposing previous content for marketing strategies to save time and money.
Similarly, this principle can apply to your overall presentation as well. Review your old files and find some PowerPoint files that you can easily edit and turn into a different presentation. Change up the color scheme or replace images you used with new ones you found online. Be as resourceful as you can.
Perfection is the last step
While you need to make sure that each task is accomplished properly, don’t try to chase perfection just yet.
Due to your limited time frame, you can’t spend too much time ironing out details.
The most important thing is to finish your PowerPoint deck. Once you’ve done that, review your presentation one last time and tweak the areas that may need improvement.
If you run out of time , it’s better to present a complete PowerPoint deck than something that looks hurried and incomplete.
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Preparing an effective PowerPoint deck will take some effort. Make sure you maximize the time you have by taking note of these easy tips.
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Kuenn, Arnie. “Repurposing Benefits.” Content Marketing Institute. October 28, 2013. Accessed March 12, 2015.
“The Pyramid Principle: Tips for Presentation Structure.” SlideGenius, Inc. December 21, 2014. Accessed March 12, 2015.
Featured Image: Life of Pix
