Look, I get it. PowerPoint has been around forever, and somewhere along the way, we collectively decided that slides should be boring, overloaded, and borderline unreadable. But here’s the thing: a great presentation can change everything—how your boss sees you, how your ideas get approved, and yes, maybe even how fast you climb the career ladder.
So, let’s fix your slides and make you look like the office genius you secretly are.
The Harsh Truth: No One Reads Your Slides Anyway
You know that PowerPoint deck you spent hours on? Yeah, your boss is skimming it at best. So, if your slides are drowning in walls of text, endless bullet points, and microscopic font, you’ve already lost them.
The fix? Make every slide stupidly easy to digest. One big idea per slide. Bold visuals. Minimal text. Keep it punchy.
Your Design Choices Are Sending a Message (and It Might Not Be a Good One)
Newsflash: If your slides look amateur, your ideas seem amateur. Sloppy formatting, inconsistent fonts, and low-res images? They scream, I threw this together last minute.
Use a clean, modern font (think Poppins, Roboto, or Lato). Stick to a simple color scheme (two or three colors max). And for the love of all things professional, align your text properly—misaligned slides are the fastest way to look unpolished.
💡 Want to level up instantly? Custom PowerPoint templates at StinsonDesign can make your slides look sleek, on-brand, and next-level polished—without you having to stress over design.
If Your Slides Look Like an Instruction Manual, Your Boss Has Already Zoned Out
Ever sat through a presentation where someone reads every single word on the screen? Yeah. That’s presentation hell.
Your slides should complement what you’re saying, not replace it. Ditch the paragraphs. Use bold statements, stats, or visuals. And if you must include text-heavy slides (hello, finance reports), break them up with spacing, color, and hierarchy.
The Subtle Power of Killer Visuals
Stock photos of people in suits shaking hands? Delete. Immediately.
Instead, go for:
✔ High-quality, minimalist graphics (check out Unsplash or Canva)
✔ Simple, easy-to-read data visualizations (no one likes a cluttered pie chart)
✔ Cohesive icons and branding (because visual consistency = credibility)
Animations Are Not Your Personality—Use Them Sparingly
You might think that zooming text and spinning transitions make your presentation pop. They don’t. They make it look like you’re stuck in 2003.
Use animations only when they serve a purpose—like emphasizing a key stat or revealing information step-by-step, says LinkedIn. Otherwise? Keep it clean.
Want to Look Like a Genius? Master the 10-20-30 Rule
Guy Kawasaki (yes, the marketing legend) swears by this:
✅ No more than 10 slides
✅ No more than 20 minutes of talking
✅ No smaller than 30-point font
This forces you to be clear, be concise, and not bore your audience into a coma.
Your Closing Slide Is Where the Magic Happens
The last slide is prime real estate. But what do most people do? They slap a generic “Thank You” slide up there and call it a day.
Don’t. Instead:
💡 Reinforce your key message in one bold sentence
💡 Ask a thought-provoking question
💡 Drop a clear next step (so your boss knows what to do next)
PowerPoint: Your Secret Weapon for Career Growth
Here’s the real talk: Great slides make you look competent, prepared, and straight-up impressive. They can help you win over clients, close deals, and convince your boss you’re leadership material.
So upgrade your PowerPoint game, and watch your career (and your boss’s appreciation for you) take off.
