branding | Presentation Xpert

In a recent Billion Dollar Graphics class I was asked, “What happens if I’m railroaded by my company’s PowerPoint template?” Meaning, “What happens if I’m forced to use my company brand standards and templates even if I don’t like them?” My answer may surprise you. However, before I share my solution, let’s conduct an experiment.

Question 1: How many of the following 40 logos do you recognize?

Question 2: What package delivery company do you think of when you see this (brown) color?

Question 3: Which color is associated with Home Depot’s brand?

Question 4: Which row of logos are colored correctly (i.e., are the correct brand colors)?

For this reason, when making a presentation, I recommend picking one of two paths:

Use your company’s brand, because it is either building mindshare or already has, which elicits feelings of trustworthiness.
Use your audience’s brand, which is known, and similarly, elicits feelings of trust.

Mixing the two results is a watered-down version of each. It is often unidentifiable as either brand because of brand elements conflict. Mixing is only acceptable when done judiciously for a specific, clear purpose (e.g., to identify roles). Be consistent and make professional choices.

If your company’s brand standards and templates are unprofessional, politic for a change. Show examples of good company-branded PowerPoint templates. Share the benefits of making the switch. In the meantime, unless your company’s template is egregiously bad (I mean really, really unprofessional), use it.

Your personal bias for or against your company’s template and brand (assuming you are not the target audience) is eclipsed by the power of mindshare. Mindshare builds trust and trust is needed for almost every presentation to be successful. Even if you fail to achieve your goal after presenting, you are still building mindshare and improving the odds of future success.

So, my short answer to presentation professionals who don’t like their company’s PowerPoint templates is to use it, because you want your company to become a recognizable brand. It takes time to build mindshare and it’s absolutely worth it.

About Mike Parkinson, Microsoft MVP, CPP APMP Fellow:

Mike is one of 16 Microsoft PowerPoint MVPs in the United States. He is a PowerPoint and visual communication expert, a professional speaker, an educator, and an award-winning author. He regularly conducts workshops and creates graphics, presentations, and content for companies like Microsoft, FedEx, Xerox, Dell, and Boeing, as well as at learning institutions and small organizations. In 2015, Mike sold GetMyGraphics.com (a PowerPoint graphics product) so that he could focus on helping others achieve their presentation and educational goals.

Mike owns Billion Dollar Graphics (BillionDollarGraphics.com) and 24 Hour Company (24hrco.com), and authored a successful visual communication book (Do-It-Yourself Billion Dollar Graphics). Contact Mike at mike@billiondollargraphics.com to learn more.

Presentations are still the last place winners when it comes to allowing the right amount of time to prepare and develop for an important meeting or pitch. They are the first place champions when it comes to the level of impact they are expected to produce. This dichotomy is a never ending battle, and one that makes our pulses race (no pun intended!) here in our agency, and within the greater presentation landscape. However, from the hundreds of presentation requests and solutions created, we’ve benchmarked the following calendar guide with tips that will better prepare you on the time to allow for developing your next, winning presentation.

1. Always start with your due date and work backward!

When I say the due date, I mean the date you’re going to be giving the presentation- in the room, on a webinar, etc. This day should never be used for anything else, other than making sure you’re wearing the right attire, and having eaten a proper breakfast. My due date for this example is going to be: April 1st.

2. Next, start with what day it is currently.

So, this is where it gets exciting. If you say your current date is March 30th, then your procrastination skills need an alignment job. The start of any presentation should never be this hairline close to your due date. Anything starting and ending within the same week is even dangerous. In our case, the real current date is Feb 24th.

3. Calculate the total dates available.

Break out the calendar and do this manually, or a better way is to go to: Time and Date Website to get this answer. In our case, the total is 37 days. From these 37 days, exclude weekends and holidays, and the real answer is 27 days.

Now that we have the total days in mind, we can take a look at estimating how long it’s going to take to build out the elements that go into making a presentation:

Element 1: Template
Every presentation needs a solid backbone, which is the template. If you’ve been using a template that offers little structure or brand infusion, then it this would be a good time to consider developing a new one. A good template range typically falls between 12-15 slide types. Elements should include company branding (logos, colors), a selection of visual elements (icons, photography), and proper slide programming for slide numbers, footnotes, etc.
Days to allow: 3

Element 2: Total Presentation Time
The length of time you’re allowed for your presentation is going to navigate your storyline and how many slides you’re going to develop. For our example, it’s an hour long presentation, and we’ll allow an average of 2 minutes per slide, for a total of 30 slides.
Days to allow: (n/a)

Element 3: Storyline
Scripting the content for your presentation is going to take up the largest part of your total time. It’s the most important piece because it’s the heart of it all. A great way to start is by using a Word Document and then narrowing and filtering your story down to its core messages. Remember, researching and sourcing your content properly will take up time as well.
Days to allow: 8
Element 4: Drafting a Visual Outline
Using your finalized storyline, copy and paste your content into your template, as well as any visual elements that help inspire your messages. Don’t over analyze this step from a creative point of view. Allow this time to for your visual freedom and storytelling to guide the bones of these slides.
Days to allow: 2

Element 5: Designing Your Slides
Once you feel comfortable with your visual outline, this next step can be daunting if you’re not a pro. However, it’s best to keep in mind a few tips:

Keep your on-screen text limited
Use enough visuals to fill up your canvas
Don’t be cliché, choose font sizes large enough for all viewing types, combine key stats and images
And most importantly- create as much consistency with the style of your design across all slides.

Days to allow: 5

Element 6: Edits and Revisions
A good rule of thumb we’ve found is allowing for 3 rounds of edits and revisions. Round 1 allows for first impressions, round 2 allows for updates and changes, and round 3 for finishing touches. A good suggestion for this time is to review and collect feedback with someone who’s unfamiliar with your presentation- these fresh eyes are invaluable for perfecting the final touches that are needed before you face your real audience.
Days to allow: 3

Element 7: Rehearsal
Once the final presentation is locked and finalized, it’s time to rehearse and become familiar with navigating the slides along with your speech. Like designing your slides, this step can also be daunting if you’re not a pro. But keep in mind these few tips: rehearse silently and pace yourself through each slide, remember to articulate and reinforce your main key points, and time yourself and keep under the time limit- which is always a safer place to be than running over.
Days to allow: 4

Time Check-in
With taking into account all these elements, we landed at 25 days, out of our 27 total. We were able to meet our presentation deadline and feel well prepared for it too! It is amazing how much time can go into creating a presentation when you really break it down, and our example is just one that mimics the vast amount of circumstances and situations affecting presentations out there. But our key takeaway is that more time should be allowed and considered when developing a presentation- because it’s a well-developed one that always wins the race.

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With over 18 years of design experience and a Masters in Architecture, Tany Nagy transformed using her design skills from blueprints to presentations when she founded Pulse Design Studio in 2008. Her love for presenting stories as state-of-the-art communication materials launched Pulse into becoming a quickly recognized and sought after presentation design agency on a national and global scale. As creative director at Pulse, she has created hundreds of award-winning and dynamic presentations, from keynotes to pitches for Fortune 500 CEOs, leading healthcare organizations and funded start-ups. Her passion to push the boundaries on developing latest techniques and solutions drive her creativity to bring the very best in the industry to her clients. As an educator, she has been a featured speaker at several events in the Detroit area focusing on the evolution of presentations in today’s marketplace and digital landscape. You can reach her directly at her email: tany@pulsedesignstudio.com or by visiting her website at: http://www.pulsedesignstudio.com