Slide presentations are incredibly common in the business world–they’re a part of daily life in the office. Yet despite that, 79% of people agree that most presentations are boring.
Did you hear that sound? That’s opportunity knocking.
That’s right–it’s your chance to create a great looking presentation that grabs your audience’s attention. After all, great design can be the difference between a compelling presentation and one that puts people to sleep.
In a survey of 269 individuals, the vast majority of whom were business professionals, 91% agreed that they would feel more confident if they had a beautifully designed presentation. But, nearly half of respondents also said that designing compelling layouts was one of the hardest parts of creating a presentation, followed by incorporating visuals at 41%.
The good news is, though, that there’s a way to make the process of regular presentation creation easier. The solution? A master presentation template–or as commonly referred to in PowerPoint, a slide master.
Acting as a basic framework, a master presentation template is a baseline for slides in future presentations, ensuring design and brand consistency in the long run. Create a great slide master, and you will have set yourself up for long-term success.
Why create a master presentation template?
By creating this bare-bones skeleton upfront, you automatically will:
Save time and energy
Once you create a template, the formatting for future presentations will be set up for you–everything from font to text size, logo placement to color schemes. This means you can easily add text and images without having to worry about the design component of your presentation.
So while creating a presentation template may seem like an extra step upfront, it will save you an immense amount of time–and therefore money–in the future.
Ensure brand consistency
Once your template is created, you can easily customize your entire presentation with just a few clicks.
This provides security not only for your own presentations but for others, as well–brand leaders can sleep easy at night knowing that whatever the team produces is on brand and includes correct brand fonts, colors, and more.
The goal here is to make the development and design process that much simpler, allowing you–and your team–to create one great presentation after another.
Related: 7 reasons to get your presentation professionally designed
To sum up, the major benefits of a master presentation template are efficiency and productivity–it allows you to make changes to every slide in your presentation quickly with minimal effort. Greater brand cohesion is another key benefit, as these set standards will ensure consistency not only across presentations but across individuals/teams, furthering your brand.
What to consider before you start
If you decide to create a master template, it’s important to first focus on the discovery phase. Think of the discovery phase as a mind dump, which you can then turn into a checklist.
Although you can modify this process based on your business objectives, the following steps will help guide you towards success:
Step one: Consider how your presentation template will be used
This is both the first and most important question to ask, as it will determine several design decisions.
Where and how your presentation will be used will impact your master template in terms of its theme, style, and more. Will you be mainly giving presentations in a boardroom, in a small office, or at large scale events? Will this only be emailed or printed out?
Tip: Light backgrounds are typically preferred for small spaces, while darker backgrounds work well for large venues.
Step two: Think about your color palette
Your color palette is very important when it comes to your brand, as evidenced time and time again. For example, brand colors help improve recognition by over 80%, yet only 21% of marketers use their brand colors on 8/10 of their presentation slides.
If you have a brand style guide, this is something you’ll want to provide your designer(s). If you do not currently have a color palette, one can be created for you during this process.
On top of which colors should be used, you should also consider colors you don’t want to use. For example, if your competitor’s colors are yellow and red, you may want to shy away from using these in your template.
Step three: Gather sample presentations and consider visuals
After you gather the brand materials available, such as font files and more, it’s best to collect past sample presentations. These presentations will assist you in evaluating how information is typically laid out by your brand.
While looking over these, record a few slide types that work well for your needs. The most popular slide types include, but are not limited to:
- Cover
- Agenda
- Section divider
- Paragraph text
- Paragraph text with photo (whether a screenshot, brand graphic, infographic, or any other kind of visual)
- Bulleted list
After this is decided, consider the visuals. For instance, do you want to use photography, icons, network diagrams, and/or other design elements? Have you considered animations and transitions?
Tip: Think about the story you want to tell and then select your visuals accordingly.
Step four: Consider your budget and timeline
If you are seeking assistance to create your slide master, you’ll need to decide on your proposed budget and timeline in advance.
In terms of deadlines, you want to leave a window so that potential changes can be made based on your feedback. And when it comes to your budget, invest in quality. Pay a good designer to do it right the first time.
The SketchDeck team is here for you
Need a great looking master presentation template? If so, we can help!
After discussing your needs, our team can have your first draft ready in as little as 24 to 48 hours. Learn more here and get started today!
And for more information on presentations, check out the following resources:
