We are Word template designers too (Shhh!)
28/02/19Word template designers
We didn’t want to shout about it, as it’s probably not cool at all: but we also have Word template designers here at Presented. (Obviously you already know that PowerPoint is our main cool-tool).
So if your company’s Word templates need some TLC, drop a line to team@presented.co.uk
How to make your presentations reflect the value of your business.
Step 1: Save time and stress by getting us, the experts, to do it for you!
The end.
I’m kidding, but also not kidding – you and your team have better things to do than slog away for hours in PowerPoint. We hear hundreds of sob stories every year about how many hours are wasted putting poorly designed presentations together.
We have the speed and expertise to take this pain away from you. And once you have a well designed set of slides – in a functional and easy to use template – you’ll find it easier and faster to maintain that standard. After all, most slides can be reused over and over, so if they already look amazing, then you’re set. It’s a worthwhile investment.
Step 2: Evaluate what your company is presenting
Many presenters think that what they do is fine – because everyone else is looking the same. But this should not be permission to keep producing low level presentations. A recent contact heard that his Sales team were satisfied with their presentations as they claimed to be “the best of a bad bunch.” His response?
Step 3: Make some simple changes
So, don’t settle for mediocrity: improve your presentations and your results / conversions / goals will improve too. The design council reported that for every £1 spent on design, you get a £4 return*.
We can help you; working with us isn’t at all painful, and you’ll have something beautiful/valuable to show for it. If you prefer to make your own small improvements, here are some pointers:
1) Avoid bullet points & paragraphs.
Alternative ideas to a list of bullets include popping each sentence into a shape (e.g. a square) and laying those out on the slide in a grid. And avoid paragraphs: do we need to tell you this!? Reduce your text so that it’s good for your audience to experience. They don’t want to read, they want to listen. They cannot listen if you’re presenting them with loads of text to read.
2) Use diagrams, icons, images – that are relevant
I think everyone knows “less text, more images”. But it’s best to avoid photography as it’s usually distracting to your message. Indeed, having no photo is often better (from a communication point of view) than one that looks amazing but is purely decorative. One of the few exceptions is when you’re sharing a photo of your product.
Instead, text content can often be transformed into infographics, data can be visualised in charts instead of tables, icons can be used to code recurring themes, and diagrams that build with animation can dramatically simplify processes and other complex content.
We love to transform all sorts of content types. It can be challenging, but our team have loads of creative ideas and love the challenge.
3) Follow your branding.
If you’re following a company template: Stick to your colours. Stick to your fonts. Use Layouts within your Slides Masters (these should be included in any decent template). Obey where your content should be located – you might follow a grid, or have a simpler rule to keep within certain margins. It looks terrible if your slide titles are inconsistently located or styled, or if everyone is doing different things. Try using the Reset button, or use guides to visually confirm the positioning.
Finally – here are some before and after samples to illustrate some of the above points:
