A practical PowerPoint checklist before you present

A presentation can look polished and still be difficult to follow. Before adding another animation, check whether each slide helps the audience understand your message. This guide works for a workplace update, an interview presentation or a study assignment. Apply it to a copy of your deck so you can compare the changes.

If you are considering a PowerPoint course in Birmingham, bring a short presentation you are allowed to share and explain who it is for. Improving one real deck makes the lessons more concrete than practising isolated menu commands.

Check the message before the design

Write the purpose in one sentence: “After this presentation, the audience should understand or decide…” If you cannot finish that sentence, clarify the task before polishing slides.

Read only the slide titles in order. Do they form a sensible explanation? Titles such as “Introduction”, “Data” and “Conclusion” can hide the argument. A more informative title might be “Most enquiries arrive after working hours”, provided the evidence actually supports it.

Remove competition for attention

Choose the main point of each slide and remove details that do not support it. Put supporting calculations or background information in an appendix if the audience may need them later. This does not mean every slide must have exactly three bullets or a fixed word count.

Compare two versions of a crowded slide. In the first, make every font smaller. In the second, remove repeated wording and move a secondary table to another slide. The second approach usually gives you a clearer story to explain and avoids asking the audience to read tiny text while listening.

Make numbers understandable

Every chart needs a clear subject, units and time period. Check whether a number is a count, percentage, currency amount or average. Do not compare this month's total with last month's daily average as if they measured the same thing.

For a fictional example, suppose a team handles 40, 55 and 50 enquiries over three weeks. A column chart can show the comparison clearly. An elaborate three-dimensional chart adds decoration without explaining anything new. State that the figures are illustrative if they are not actual business records.

Check accessibility, not just appearance

• Give slides meaningful titles so their purpose is clear.
• Use readable text, spacing and contrast.
• Do not make colour the only signal for a category or warning.
• Add useful alternative text to informative images.
• Check the reading order of slide objects.
• Provide captions or a suitable alternative for relevant video content.

Run PowerPoint's accessibility checks and review the results rather than assuming an attractive theme is accessible. Microsoft's presentation accessibility guidance explains the available features. An automated checker helps find issues but does not replace checking whether the message is understandable.

Practise with the version you will deliver

Speak the presentation aloud and include the opening, transitions and final sentence. Check that you can explain the slide without reading it word for word. If you are over time, decide what is essential; speaking faster rarely solves an overfull presentation.

Microsoft's timing guidance can help you identify slides taking longer than expected. Test links, media and any animations in the same delivery mode you will use. Online presenting may also require checking what the audience sees when you share your screen.

Finish with a file-readiness check

Give the file a sensible name, remove private comments and check any notes included in the version you share. Keep an editable copy and, where appropriate, a PDF backup. Reopen the exported file to check that text, charts and symbols still display correctly.

Ask one person to tell you the main message after viewing the deck. If they remember the background design but cannot explain the point, revise the content first. For interview preparation, the five-slide interview plan offers a structure you can adapt to the employer's brief.