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title: Write a Professional PowerPoint Presentation date: 2024-01-01 cover: 1.jpg author: tutsplus.com tags:

• Presentation Tips
• PowerPoint Writing
• Public Speaking

Learn how to write an effective PowerPoint presentation. Discover the writing process for PPT. Take your idea from concept to draft to polished presentation.

Understanding the Writing Process

Are you writing a PowerPoint presentation? Learning how to create a PowerPoint takes practice. The writing process helps you organize the steps to produce a presentation.

You know your topic and audience. You understand that your slides must grab attention, follow a logical order, and flow smoothly. This takes some work. But the first step in figuring out how to make a business presentation for PPT is to sit down and begin to write.

Before jumping in, look through our professional templates on Envato Elements. We will explain how to plan and how to write a PowerPoint presentation. This introduction to PowerPoint writing has everything you need.

Quickstart Video on Writing a Presentation

Do you want a head start on learning how to write a presentation? Review this short video that explains the basics of writing a PowerPoint presentation:

You’ve just learned how to create a PowerPoint. But there’s more.

Download your free eBook on making presentations below. And don’t forget to read the written tutorial for even more tips about writing a PowerPoint presentation.

Guide to Making Great Presentations

Take what you’ll learn in this tutorial further. Download our free eBook: The Complete Guide to Making Great Presentations.

Learn the complete presentation process in this comprehensive guide. That way, you can go beyond writing your presentation. You can learn to design all your slides like a pro, deliver to your audience with impact, and more.

In our tutorial, we make it simple. We go over how to write a PowerPoint presentation—quickly and painlessly. We’ll start with how to write a compelling introduction with a fail-proof “hook.” Then, we’ll look at how to create an outline, and how to finish strong. Finally, we’ll wrap it up with some helpful design tips. These help the written and visual components of your presentation come together.

We’ve got the steps you need as an introduction to PowerPoint writing. Now let’s get into the writing process that leads to a professional PowerPoint presentation!

Research for Your Presentation

Before you can write your presentation, you need to do some research. Here are the steps to take:

Step 1: Develop Your PowerPoint Presentation’s Thesis

Right now, before you get any further in the process, write out what your topic is in one sentence. Think of it as a mini thesis for your presentation.

To be effective, your single sentence “thesis” must be specific, relevant, and debatable. It’s an argument that you’ll spend the rest of your presentation proving.

For example, you may start by saying:

“It’s good for photographers to be aware of their surroundings.”

Think how this would read if you were a bit more specific:

“As a street photographer, it’s important to be clear about your circumstances.”

Both phrases essentially say the same thing, but the second is more focused.

And finally, getting as specific and clear as possible might look like this mini-thesis from one of our photography tutorials:

“Few things are more important as a street photographer than being clear on the context, or circumstances, in which you are photographing.”

Step 2: Identify the Most Relevant Points

Now that you’ve written out your topic’s mini thesis, it’s time to get to the main points.

The simplest way to do this? Make a list. Jot down everything that comes to mind on your topic. Once you’ve done this, go back through the list. Highlight (or circle or underline) the points that are most important.

Remember, one key factor of your thesis is debatability. Treat this like an argument that you’re trying to win. If you only had five to six main points to persuade a listener to agree with your opinion, which points would you choose?

Step 3: Write an Outline for a PowerPoint Presentation

An outline for a PowerPoint presentation helps you organize your thoughts. And it helps you decide exactly what to include.

A PowerPoint presentation outline is a roadmap for your written presentation. Use one whenever you think about how to create a PowerPoint. List the essential points you’ll explore, which you’ve already identified in the step above, and organize them in a logical way, starting with your introduction.

1. The introduction is where you tell your audience what you’ll cover in your talk.
2. Next, write a topic sentence for each of the main points you’ve decided to cover.
3. For each topic sentence or main point, you’ll now write two to three supporting ideas or arguments.
4. Your PowerPoint presentation outline needs a conclusion. The most effective conclusions end on as strong a note as the presentation began, generally restating the key points you’ve made and concluding with a call to action, a compelling story, or a memorable quote.

Now you know how to write a PowerPoint presentation outline. Next, let’s look at how to write a script for a presentation.

Sit Down to Write

Once you’ve done your research and you understand your topic, you’re ready to start writing:

Step 1: Start Strong

Remember that mini thesis we worked on? You’re about to be glad you did it.

Your introduction should consist of two things: your thesis and a summary of your outline. It’s important to find the right balance with how you approach this. You want to neatly skim over each of the main points you’ll cover, but without giving too much away too early.

Your introduction shouldn’t just be informative, it needs to be engaging, too. It’s your opportunity to convince your listeners that what you’ve got to say is interesting and worth their attention.

Step 2: End Strong

Your conclusion will look and sound a lot like your introduction. But there’s one key difference. Your introduction is to intrigue, and your conclusion is to call your listeners to action.

Avoid watered down phrases as you wrap up your points. Learning how to write a presentation means sharpening your focus. Don’t give hints or suggestions. Instead, use direct language and make impactful summary points.

Focus on that key last impression. Imagine what you want your listeners to leave your presentation with.

Step 3: Create a Compelling Hook and Angle

Your goal with the first statement of your introduction is to hook your listeners. You want to say something that makes them want to keep listening.

Ways to hook your audience:

• Use a provocative statement.
• Tell a brief story or anecdote.
• Ask a rhetorical question.
• Say something that shocks or surprises your audience.
• Bring up a problem and share the solution.

Step 4: Turn Your Main Points Into Mini Hooks

Think of each main point as a mini hook. A point is an opportunity to draw your audience in. Take advantage of this. Every main point you make should be a memorable one-liner.

When it comes to the delivery of each point, remember to speak clearly, state slowly, and pause where appropriate for effect.

Get Your Presentation Design Right

The writing process for PowerPoint doesn’t work in isolation. It’s one of many contributing factors that fuel a winning slide deck. Design is equally important.

Nothing will distract your audience more than a poorly designed PowerPoint presentation. It’s essential to have a clear design strategy that pulls your presentation together. If you’re lacking one, you won’t inspire your audience. Here are a few critical design steps to take:

Step 1: Choose an Engaging PPT Template Design

Your slides need to be up-to-date and relevant. Have you ever seen a presentation that used a template that looks like it’s outdated or overused? So has your audience. Instead, download one of the many fresh modern PowerPoint templates from our Envato Elements.

The PowerPoint presentation format also needs to be on target with your goals. Learning how to make PowerPoint slides means knowing that every design isn’t perfect for every occasion.

Step 2: Work With Relevant Presentation Graphics

Photos and graphics can make a presentation more engaging if chosen well. However, they can also be distracting. Use just enough graphic assets to shine.

Graphs are more likely to cause your audience to focus on the screen instead of on what you’re saying. If you decide to use a graph or infographic to illustrate a point, choose one that’s simple to read.

Step 3: Keep It Consistent

One big problem with PowerPoint presentations occurs when you add content. If you’re not careful, you may end up with a PowerPoint that’s more like a patchwork quilt than a well-built slide deck.

It’s important that you use the Master Slide effectively to keep formatting consistent. Keep an eye on the overall feel and look of your presentation. This lets you create a presentation that’s consistent and feels like a cohesive whole.

Step 4: Format Your Slide Text for Readability

Your text formatting should be purposeful and visually consistent. Your main points should act as headlines to a slide and should be a different size (or even font) than your body text. The fonts and sizes for each should remain the same throughout all your slides.

When it comes to what’s included on your PowerPoint presentation slides, less is always more. If you add too much, it can quickly clutter your slide, and confuse your points.

Step 5: Keep It Simple

We often have so much we want to share in a presentation, that the temptation is to keep adding text. But one of the most important things to remember when designing your slides is to keep things simple.

The beauty of PowerPoint is that it offers you all the tools you need to format your slide easily and consistently.

Best PowerPoint Templates on Envato Elements

To save time while designing a professional PowerPoint presentation, a premade template comes in handy. Here are some of the best-selling PowerPoint templates from Envato Elements.

1. Colington - Creative PowerPoint Template

The Colington template has a fresh and creative design that’ll help you present your company as well as your portfolio. The template is easy to customize and includes a total of 30 modern slides. It’s designed in widescreen PowerPoint format.

2. Agio - Modern PowerPoint Template

Try the Agio template if you prefer a minimal and clean design. Use this template for any type of presentation thanks to its simple and versatile slides.

3. 44 Clean Presentation - Simple PowerPoint Template

This template is another great choice if you’re looking for a simple and clean design. It includes 44 slides, image placeholders, and subtle animations.

4. Model - Modern PowerPoint Template

The Model is a modern PowerPoint template suitable for business presentations, complete with easy-to-edit image placeholders and various infographic elements.

Envato Elements: Design Without Limits

Envato Elements has a single compelling offer. For a flat rate, you can download as many PowerPoint presentation templates as you want.

What’s more, you can download millions of other creative design assets too! PowerPoint file types are just one of the many assets you can leverage.