How to prepare a good presentation: plan to slides

Presentations are one of the most common tasks in study, work and community life. A student defends a term paper, an entrepreneur explains an idea to partners, a staff member of an organisation reports on the year’s results. Many people think of a presentation as “making slides” and open the software straight away. In fact, a good presentation starts away from the computer, with a pen and a sheet of paper. In this article we go through preparing a presentation from start to finish: defining the goal and the audience, building the story, planning the slides, working with text, fonts, colour and visual order, choosing images and charts, the core functions of PowerPoint, Google Slides and free alternatives, getting ready for the day itself and avoiding common mistakes. At the end you will find a practice exercise and a checklist.

Throughout the article we will return to three hypothetical examples: Malika, a student, is defending her term paper; Bahodir, who owns a bakery, is proposing a partnership to a large chain of shops; and Nodira, who works for an education organisation, is preparing an annual report presentation.

Start with the goal and the audience

Before you open the first slide, answer two questions in writing.

1. What should the audience do, know or feel after the presentation? Write the answer in a single sentence. For example:

• Malika: “The committee should see that I carried out the research independently and that my conclusions are well founded.”
• Bahodir: “The shop managers should agree to sell our products in two branches on a trial basis.”
• Nodira: “Partners and sponsors should see what was achieved this year and support our plans for next year.”

If you cannot write the goal in one sentence, the presentation will come out scattered as well. This sentence becomes the yardstick for every later decision: look at each slide and ask, “Does this serve the goal?”

2. Who is the audience? Think about what they already know, what interests them and what might worry them. Committee members know the subject well and care about method and evidence. Shop managers are not interested in how bread is baked, but in quality, delivery and what happens to unsold goods. For sponsors, what matters most is concrete results and trust.

Also find out the practical conditions: how much time you have, what the room is like, whether there is a projector, whether the presentation is online, and whether the slides will be shared afterwards.

Story structure: problem, solution, result, call to action

People remember stories, not lists of facts. There is a simple structure that suits many kinds of presentation:

1. Problem. What situation or need exists? Why does it matter?
2. Solution. What are you proposing, or what did you do?
3. Result. What did it lead to, or what will it lead to? What evidence is there?
4. Call to action. What do you now expect from the audience?

Compare how this structure looks in the three examples.

Malika (term paper defence). Problem: pupils in her district have a weak reading habit. Solution: the survey and observation method she used. Result: the main findings and conclusions. Call to action: suggestions for further research and an invitation for the committee to ask questions.

Bahodir (partner presentation). Problem: fresh bread runs out quickly in the shops every morning, and customers are unhappy. Solution: the bakery’s twice-a-morning delivery system. Result: feedback from current customers, quality certificates, daily production capacity. Call to action: “Let’s try it for one month in two branches.”

Nodira (organisation report). Problem: young people in the region need digital skills. Solution: the courses and events the organisation ran during the year. Result: how many people studied, what changed, and one or two short stories from graduates. Call to action: next year’s plan and a concrete proposal for partners.

State your main point right at the start. Do not make the audience wait until the end: if the sentence “Today I’d like to propose a one-month trial in two of your branches” is heard in the first minute, everything else will support that idea.

Planning the slides: one slide, one idea

Now break the structure down into slides. Do this not in the software but on paper or in a simple text document. Write one line for each slide: the main point that slide will make.

A plan for Malika’s 10-minute defence might look like this:

1. Topic, name, academic supervisor.
2. Problem: why the topic matters.
3. Research aim and questions.
4. Method: who was surveyed and how.
5. First key finding (one chart).
6. Second key finding.
7. Third key finding.
8. Conclusions.
9. Recommendations and next steps.
10. Thank-you slide and invitation to ask questions.

One slide, one idea. This is one of the most important rules. If a slide contains two separate ideas, split it into two slides. Do not worry about the slide count going up: simple slides that change quickly are easier to take in than one overloaded slide.

A useful technique is to write each slide title as a conclusion rather than a topic. Instead of “Survey results”, write “Most pupils read a book less than once a week”. If you read all the slide titles in a row, they should add up to a short summary of the whole presentation, which is an easy way to check your plan.

On the number of slides: some experts recommend the “10-20-30” rule for business presentations, meaning roughly 10 slides, 20 minutes and a font size of at least 30 points. It is not a strict law, but it is a good guide: fewer slides, less time, bigger letters.

Text, fonts, colour and visual order

A slide is not a document. It supports what you say rather than replacing it. If the audience starts reading long text on a slide, they stop listening to you.

Cut the text

• Keep to no more than 3–5 short points per slide.
• Use key words and short phrases instead of full sentences.
• Put detailed explanations in the speaker notes under the slide; only you can see them.
• If detail is needed, prepare a separate handout or a report file.

Fonts and contrast

• One or two fonts per presentation are enough: one for headings, one for body text.
• Make the text large: at least 24 points is commonly recommended for body text, and larger still for headings. Someone in the back row should be able to read it.
• Use strong contrast: dark text on a white background or white text on a dark one. Pale yellow text on a light grey background is almost invisible through a projector.

Important: projectors show colours much paler than a computer screen does. If you can, test your slides in the same room beforehand.

Colour and visual order

• Choose 2–3 main colours and use them throughout. One accent colour is enough to highlight an important number or word.
• Keep recurring elements in the same place on every slide: the title at the top left, the logo in a bottom corner.
• Do not be afraid of empty space. Generous margins and gaps between elements make a slide look tidy.
• Use animations and transitions sparingly. Letters flying in distract from the content.

Images, charts and presenting numbers

A well-chosen image or chart can replace dozens of words. A poorly chosen one just takes up space.

Images. Use your own photos: a picture of Bahodir’s bakery or of Nodira’s course sessions is far more convincing than a generic image from the internet. Get people’s consent before using photos in which they appear. If you take an image from the internet, check that you have the right to use it, or use stock photo libraries with free licences.

Charts. Show numbers as a chart rather than a table. Choose the type according to the purpose:

• to compare categories, a bar or column chart;
• to show change over time, a line chart;
• to show parts of a whole, a pie chart, but with no more than 4–5 slices.

How to build and choose charts is covered in detail in our article on Excel and Google Sheets basics. To get familiar with the terms, see the data visualisation entry in our glossary as well.

Rules for presenting numbers:

• Show one key number large on a slide. For example, Nodira could place a large “240” in the centre of the slide and write “young people completed our courses this year” underneath (the number is hypothetical).
• Write the conclusion in the chart title: “Graduate numbers grew every quarter”.
• Remove clutter: unnecessary gridlines, 3D effects, shadows.
• Show the key bar or line in the accent colour and the rest in grey.
• Give the source in small print: “Source: the organisation’s internal records”.

You can read about collecting and analysing data in our article on data analysis. Every number in a presentation must be real and checked: a single wrong figure undermines trust in the whole presentation.

PowerPoint, Google Slides and free alternatives

The choice of software matters less than you might think: the core functions are similar everywhere. Microsoft PowerPoint is the most widespread; Google Slides runs free in the browser and is convenient for editing together with a team. There are free alternatives too: LibreOffice Impress (installed on your computer), Keynote on Apple devices, and Canva’s free plan. Menu names below follow the English interface.

Templates and the slide master

Do not decorate every slide separately. Set up the overall look once first, so the whole presentation looks consistent.

• PowerPoint: View > Slide Master. Here you set fonts, colours, logo and background once, and they apply to all slides. For a ready-made design, pick a theme on the Design tab.
• Google Slides: Slide > Edit theme. To switch themes, use Slide > Change theme.
• LibreOffice Impress: View > Master Slide.

Layouts

Choose a ready-made layout for each slide: title slide, title and content, two columns, title only and so on. Using built-in layouts is better than drawing text boxes by hand, because fonts and margins stay consistent.

• PowerPoint: Home > Layout.
• Google Slides: Slide > Apply layout.
• LibreOffice Impress: Slide > Layout, or the Layouts section in the sidebar on the right.

Speaker notes and Presenter View

Write the main points you want to make in the notes area under each slide. During the presentation, Presenter View shows you the notes, the next slide and the time, while the audience sees only the slide itself.

• PowerPoint: open the notes area with View > Notes. Start the show with Slide Show > From Beginning; Presenter View usually switches on automatically when a second screen is connected. For rehearsing, Slide Show > Rehearse Timings is handy.
• Google Slides: View > Show speaker notes. Choose Presenter view from the arrow next to the Slideshow button.
• LibreOffice Impress: View > Notes.

Inserting a chart and saving as PDF

• PowerPoint: Insert > Chart.
• Google Slides: Insert > Chart > From Sheets; the chart is linked to a Google Sheets table and updates with it.
• PDF copy: in PowerPoint, File > Export > Create PDF/XPS; in Google Slides, File > Download > PDF document.

If you are just getting to know office software, our association’s free Computer literacy programme is a good place to start.

On the day: timing, rehearsal, questions and equipment

Even the best slides will not “work” without good preparation. This section is not about speaking itself, but about the practical side of delivering a presentation.

Timing and rehearsal

• Respect the time you are given. If you have 10 minutes, plan for 8–9; that leaves room for questions and unexpected delays.
• Rehearse the presentation out loud with a clock at least two or three times.
• Do not memorise a script. For each slide, remember the main point and a linking sentence: “Now let me show you how we achieved this result.”
• At least once, rehearse in front of someone you know, such as a friend, colleague or family member, and ask what was unclear.
• Decide in advance which slides you can skip if you run short of time.

Questions and answers

Anticipate the questions and prepare answers. For Malika these might be “Why did you choose this particular method?”, and for Bahodir, “What happens if a delivery is late?” For difficult questions, it helps to prepare extra slides after the main presentation; you show them only if the question comes up.

When someone asks a question, listen to the end, briefly repeat it if needed, and then answer. If you do not know the answer, do not make one up: saying “I’ll check the exact figures and send them to you tomorrow” is far more convincing.

Technical preparation

• Arrive early and check that the projector, screen and cable (HDMI or another connector) work.
• Keep the presentation in several places: on your laptop, on a USB stick, and in cloud storage or your email.
• Prepare a backup PDF. On another computer, fonts may be substituted or the software version may not match; a PDF looks the same on any computer.
• If you use Google Slides, be ready for the internet to fail: download a PowerPoint or PDF copy in advance.
• For an online presentation, practise sharing your screen beforehand and close unnecessary windows and notifications.

Common mistakes

• Opening the software and starting without a plan. The slides end up disorganised and the main point gets lost.
• Reading the text off the slides. The audience reads faster than you speak and gets bored.
• Cramming everything onto one slide. Tiny font, dozens of lines and several charts at once.
• A different style on every slide. Mixed fonts, colours and layouts make the presentation look messy.
• Numbers without a source, or unchecked. Once one error is spotted, doubt spreads to the rest of the data.
• Running over time. It is disrespectful to the audience and to the speakers who follow.
• Ending without a call to action. If you finish with “Well, that’s it”, the audience will not know what to do next. Show the main conclusion and the next step on the final slide.
• Arriving without a backup. If the USB stick will not open or the internet drops, you are left without a presentation.

Practice exercise and checklist

Practice exercise: a 5-minute presentation

Try out what you have learned on a small project. Choose a topic you know well: a proposal to improve one process at work, a plan for an event in your mahalla, or a report on a course you have completed.

1. Goal. Write one sentence saying what the audience should do after the presentation.
2. Audience. In three lines, describe who they are, what they know and what interests them.
3. Structure. Write the problem, solution, result and call to action, each in one or two sentences.
4. Plan. On paper, outline 5–7 slides and give each a title that states a conclusion.
5. Master. In PowerPoint or Google Slides, choose a theme and set the font and 2–3 colours in the slide master.
6. Slides. Fill in the slides using the built-in layouts. No more than 3–5 short points on each.
7. Visuals. Add at least one of your own photos and one simple chart.
8. Notes. Write the main point for each slide in the speaker notes.
9. Rehearsal. Run through the presentation out loud twice with a clock. If it goes over 5 minutes, cut it down.
10. Backup. Save a PDF copy and check that it opens on another device.

Final checklist

• The goal of the presentation is written in one sentence.
• The audience and its interests are defined.
• Structure: problem, solution, result, call to action.
• One idea per slide, with titles written as conclusions.
• Little text, large font, strong contrast.
• The same fonts, colours and layouts throughout.
• Charts have a conclusion as the title and a source.
• All numbers have been checked.
• Speaker notes are written and the presentation has been rehearsed with a clock.
• Answers to expected questions and extra slides are ready.
• Projector and connector checked; backup PDF and USB stick at hand.

A good presentation is not a talent but a skill you can learn, and each one gets easier and more confident. If you want to go deeper into presenting project ideas and leading a team, take a look at our Project management programme. You can also explore the association’s other free learning programmes. When you are ready, submit an application and our specialists will get in touch with you.