Tricks of the Trade: Creating the Perfect (REVISED) PowerPoint Presentation

We're excited to feature today's guest blog from author and trainer Philip Wiest, PMP®  PMI-ACP® PMI-PBA® Microsoft Office Master®, who guides us through overcoming the common trap of having to whip up a PowerPoint presentation and then having to revise some of the slides. Phil gives you great tips on pulling it off without pulling your hair out. It's a great read and full of terrific tips from a top Excel and PowerPoint trainer. NOTE: I wrote a "helpful" MS Office blog for today, but then Phil saw it and made me swear to never do it again. I dunno ... I really think Office 95 is primed to make a comeback. 

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Are you a PowerPoint delegator, designer, or disaster?

If you’ve been “volun-told” by your boss to create a “wonderful“ presentation (but without specific guidance), read on.

Equipped with only vague, ambiguous objectives how can you make it “wonderful”?

Admit it, the presentation will need to go through revisions.

The Coliseum wasn’t built in a day and neither are effective PowerPoint presentations.

Transformative PowerPoint presentations are built via collaboration and through multiple revisions.

So, how do you handle this tricky iterative process and deliver a presentation that (no pressure) your boss needs to be “perfect”?

Here are four things to keep in mind about revising PowerPoint Presentations ... because you can’t do this alone.

1. Manage Expectations

Everybody’s on the same page, yes? What does your PowerPoint project’s Scope Statement/ Statement of Work / Office Policy say about revisions?

Or (more likely), is there just the general “understanding”: don’t miss the deadline, make it great, and don’t have any typos.

When it comes to an editing project, clarity is critical… and so is your sanity.

Always make sure there is a clear understanding of the “process.”

Take control by asking good questions up front.

• Who are the stakeholders who will have input in the presentation?
• What is a revision?
• Is an update the same thing as a revision? (“Oh, that’s not a revision, it’s just an update.”)
• Is there a limit to the number of revisions?
• How Many Revisions are scheduled?

Speaking of schedules, wherever there’s a presentation,  there’s a deadline.

But, between here and the deadline, you need to make the best use of your time and collect your revisions efficiently.

2. Have a Roadmap

The only way to hit a deadline is with a plan… a roadmap of how you get from here to there… from concept to conclusion.

In a PowerPoint project, you can have two objectives:

1. Build and deliver an approved Template, and
2. Build and deliver an approved finished presentation that uses the template.

On a PowerPoint project, each task would include two rounds of revisions – First and Final. By having this framework, everyone will understand your route to the finished product.

 

No matter what revision cycle works best for you and your team, agree to it up front, and stick with it.

That’s what leads to Rule 3.

3. Have Revision Process

You need to avoid revision chaos. Here are some strategies:

• Revision requests need to be managed through one point of contact
• Revision requests need to be in writing – not random, intermittent emails and text messages.

Ask your point of contact(s) to consolidate the feedback, even if it means holding revisions for an hour or a day, so you get a more comprehensive list and can count all the change requests as a single revision round. 

 

 

Finally, once you’ve established your revision process, the final tip is to make sure everybody is reviewing the same file!

4. Control the PowerPoint Version Being Reviewed

If you email people their own copies of your current presentation, you are throwing caution to the wind. Good luck with that!

• If you can, share your file in SharePoint or OneDrive for Business so that everyone is working on the same file (rather than their own copy.) Concurrent editing is built into SharePoint and OneDrive for business.
• If you must have a team of people doing revisions separately, develop a naming system so everyone knows the name (and works on) only the current version. (“Oh no! That’s last week’s version!”)

If you keep these suggestions in mind, implement them (and revise them) as needed, you’ll maintain your sanity and ensure a successful collaborative outcome with wonderful PowerPoint results.