Tips and ideas for your final PowerPoint slide

2. March 202320. April 2023 Marion Sztuka Uncategorized

Last slide – full impact

Tips and ideas for your final PowerPoint slide

reading time 5 minutes

By the time you start creating the last slide of your PowerPoint presentation you can sometimes run out of ideas. At least, there’s no other real explanation for the many concluding slides on presentations which show a lack of ambition. However, that last slide of the deck should offer a lasting impression and really shake things up. It should support the main objectives of your presentation as well as possible. Read our tips for results-oriented, effective ways to use the final slide.

Final PowerPoint slide – the end or a new beginning?

Your goals in sight – including on the last slide

Dos and Dont’s for a concluding PowerPoint slide

Final PowerPoint slide – the end or a new beginning?

First impressions count, but it’s the last impression that really lasts – including for PowerPoint presentations. Those who believe they can get away with a mediocre introduction are just as wrong as those who fail to attach any importance to the very last slide of their presentation. Yet it’s so typical to round off a presentation with a slide simply stating, “Thank you for your attention!”, “Let’s begin the discussion” or just “Any questions?”. And what do these three examples have in common? They’re very unlikely to stick in the audience’s mind – and seem to announce that the presentation has come to an end. Listeners are practically invited to shut the door on the presented topic, put it out of their minds and move on with their day. This contradicts the very purpose of a presentation. The intention behind conducting a presentation is usually to make a fresh start and very rarely to conclude something. They’re used as a kick-off, to showcase information as a basis for decision-making, as a tool to win new clients. In all of these cases the end of the presentation in particular is a new beginning – for a process, a project, collaboration between partners, or a new contract or sales transaction.

Don’t miss the opportunity to use that final slide as a smooth transition to negotiations, actions, decisions and the changes you want to bring about. It’s therefore important to have a clear idea of the goal of your presentation.

Your goals in sight – including the last slide in PowerPoint

There’s a purpose for every presentation you create. And where there’s a purpose there’s also a goal that you want to achieve with your presentation. When working on a presentation it’s important to keep this goal in mind from the first and right through to the very last slide. This helps you in the structure of your slides, the prioritization of the most important information, the collaboration with others in presentation creation and, of course, in the design of that final slide.

The last slide of a presentation will ideally contribute to achieving your original goal. Below, using three examples, we show you how identifying the goal for a presentation and measures on how to meet that goal can really affect how you use the very last slide to contribute to this.

There are three typical objectives for creating presentations:

Goal of presentation: To inform

You want to share knowledge with others. You have achieved your objectives when your audience have understood all the information and have reached the level of knowledge you intended.

Example presentations would be:

Presentations for training purposes
Presentations on research results or findings
Presentations on project updates
Reports and quarterly updates

Ideas for concluding slide

Use the last slide of a presentation as a reminder. Provide a succinct recap of the most important information the audience needs to remember.
Turn the obligatory “Any questions?” on its head and instead ask your listeners if they feel well-informed, that they have taken in everything you presented to them.
Address those who seem particularly interested by sharing further sources of relevant information (literature, videos, upcoming events).

Goal of presentation: To convince

There are different standpoints on a topic. You would like to bring your arguments into the discussion. The objective has been achieved when you gain support for your viewpoints among the audience.
Example presentations would be:

Project proposals
The presentation of ideas within a context of innovation management
Keynote speeches and lectures

Ideas for concluding slide

Revisit a point or an image from the introductory section of your presentation to round it off and show you consistently stand by your argument.
Conclude with an attention-grabbingdeas for concluding slide image or a quote which symbolically supports your viewpoint to leave a strong, lasting impression.
Use your closing slide to outline the desired outcome or status. Your personal vision for a better (working) world.

Goal of presentation: To motivate

The most challenging objective for a presentation is to stir your audience into action. The goal has been reached when the intended action has been triggered.
Example presentations would be:

Sales presentations with the intention of closing a sale.
Decision-making presentations for a management board.
Presentations for the approval of a budget.

Ideas for concluding slide

Let that last slide encourage the audience to put money where their mouth is. List all the decisions which need to be made and add check marks for approval.
Take the next step: For instance, show a fixed date for signing a contract on the last slide.
Connect with prospects on the last slide with a summary of what’s interesting and relevant for them and how they specifically benefit from signing a deal (or other actions you would like them to take).

If you want to know how to set up your slides well from start to finish, please read our other blog article on creating a clear structure for successful presentations here.

Storyboarding helps you to keep sight of the common thread of your presentation. Learn how to use storyboards to build better presentations here.

Dos and Dont’s for the final PowerPoint slide

Here are a few more tips to keep in mind when creating the last PowerPoint slide of your presentation.

Dos:

Think ahead as to what would make an effective closing slide which corresponds to your presentation objectives. This way you can avoid resorting to a lame slide showing, “Thanks for your attention” due to lack of time and inspiration close to a deadline.
Of course, you can thank your audience, but do this verbally as part of your presentation delivery, thus making it more personal and sincere.
Avoid seeing the concluding slide as an endpoint to your presentation and instead see it as a transition point to the next steps, for example, by providing an outlook or setting a schedule for decision-making.

Don’ts:

Do not introduce a new topic on the final PowerPoint slide. This can irritate your listeners and even generate unnecessary discussions. Instead, summarize, repeat or confirm the key messages stated on previous slides.
Avoid the awkward situation that may arise by encouraging your audience to ask questions right at the end when their minds are already on making it to their next meeting. Instead, provide those with questions with an opportunity to raise them afterwards so those in a hurry have a chance to leave.
Don’t use the final slide to present any gags, memes, animations or gimmicks which only serve to gain attention. Instead, keep it relevant and use it a useful tool to meet your objectives.

Our blog articles provide you with many helpful tips on presentation creation.

Slide libraries for efficient PowerPoint use

2. February 202325. August 2023 Marion Sztuka Uncategorized

Slide libraries - the perfect solution for working efficiently with PowerPoint

reading time 5 minutes

Distributing, managing, and updating slides in one central location

This post is aimed at anyone who regularly creates PowerPoint presentations as part of their work. You know how arduous it often is to find the right and current slides, which is why many staff members use the most recent presentation as a basis and overwrite it with new content. But this has consequences, because outdated information and slides no longer complying with the company’s corporate design requirements keep being produced. The best solution is to use a PowerPoint slide library, an extension software for PowerPoint, also known as an add-in, which enables teams, departments, and companies to professionally manage PowerPoint slides and templates.

The advantages of a PowerPoint slide library

Application examples

Tips for choosing

Thinking ahead: The expansion stage for large companies

The advantages of a PowerPoint slide library

A PowerPoint slide library enables you to manage slides, templates, and presentations centrally in one location. All staff members have access to the same slide database and can create new presentations out of existing slides and templates, meaning people don’t always have to keep starting from scratch. This prevents double-handling, and staff members receive assistance with structuring their presentations. Standards—in relation to the design, text component, use of images, etc.—are set through the slides and templates provided. And of course all slides and templates are always kept up-to-date, because they are updated centrally. All of this ensures greater quality and consistent branding for presentations.

Slide libraries for teams, departments, and the whole company

In general, the more users there are at a company using the same source for their presentation material, the better it is. Slide libraries play a particularly big role in ensuring a uniform appearance in PowerPoint when everyone across the entire company is using the same slide pool. The overall time saved from staff members having quick access to slides, and from not needing to format slides or get involved with laborious correction loops, is significant company-wide.

But slide libraries used by teams or departments also prove advantageous, because the individual users have a much better idea of the slides and templates available. They get inspired and are able to swiftly create good presentations, including on new topics.

Teams and departments can substantially customize their slide library use and easily adapt it to their needs, e.g. via the content structure that has the capacity to map team-specific processes.

Examples of slide library usage

The following three examples illustrate how teams and departments can use slide libraries for specific purposes.

The slide library as a sales kit

Sales and marketing teams create lots of presentations for sales pitches every day. While some parts of the content are identical, there is also a lot of client-specific information. A slide library can significantly simplify and structure the preparation process. It becomes a presentation or sales kit, catering specially to sales and marketing requirements. Slides and templates can be organized by product, client group, and sales phase, enabling sales staff to always find the exact documents they need for their next pitch. All information, such as product descriptions and prices, is constantly kept up-to-date thanks to the central updating function. Using a slide library saves sales & marketing departments valuable time that can instead be spent on client acquisition and therefore the success of the team.

The slide library for training material

PowerPoint is a commonly used format for imparting knowledge and training staff. HR teams and everyone involved with a company’s training processes know how important it is to be able to create and provide training documents fast. This also involves the urgent and constant need to ensure training material is up-to-date. Slide libraries are an ideal way to manage even large quantities of presentation material and keep this consistently updated. The content structure can be geared around topics, training formats, trainers, study groups, or learning stages. Slides and templates constantly generate new, accurate documents for specific training measures and levels of knowledge.

The slide library for uniform brand management

Marketing departments often struggle with the fact that presentations being put out by a company don’t always comply with the corporate design. And this is always bound to happen if each person is creating their own slides, because, while staff members may be experts in the content, they’re not necessarily experts in design. A slide library can be very helpful here, because all slides and templates provided have the correct corporate design and serve as important style guides. This means staff members will automatically be working with slides that reflect the company’s branding requirements. Your presentations will have a more uniform look, you’ll spend less time checking and reviewing, and you’ll enjoy greater engagement with your brand in PowerPoint.

What to bear in mind when choosing a PowerPoint slide library

If you decide to use a slide library, you need to be clear about your requirements. Below are examples of some important questions to ask yourself:

Do we need just a slide management tool or comprehensive asset management?
Do you want to organize just slides and templates or also all the other assets needed to create PowerPoint presentations, such as images, icons, and logos. In this case, slightly more complex asset management is the option to go for, potentially also with the possibility of incorporating media databases.
What’s helpful for large volumes of slides?
For companies wanting to manage lots of slides and templates, it is important to ensure they can structure their content well. This can be done using a clear folder structure, using access rights, or using search options, such as keywording or a full-text search.
Do we need rights management?
If you want to share slides across the entire company or across multiple departments, your main focus should be on rights management and the distribution of access privileges, because many users need their roles to be clearly defined, and there are bound to be slides and presentations that aren’t relevant to everyone.
How crucial is up-to-dateness at our company?
For companies where content changes very rapidly, e.g. because products are constantly being adapted, it’s worth particularly focusing on having a good update function. Ideally, the slide library will then also have a notification function to alert you if outdated slides are being used.
Which slide library supports our brand management?
When it comes to brand management, there are huge differences in terms of the slide libraries on offer. If this aspect is very important to you, you need to think about whether a slide library specializing in slide management is enough for you, or whether a more complex solution with extensive functions in the areas of presentation creation, brand management, and productivity is the better option.

The better, more efficient way of creating and editing presentations

For companies wanting to overhaul all their PowerPoint processes, there are software tools that offer much more than just a slide library. Solutions like QuickSlide offer comprehensive brand management, including a corporate design check, helpful functions for creating presentations, e.g. for data visualization, and the option of largely automating presentations.
If you have any questions about choosing a slide library, or want to learn more about QuickSlide, we’ll be glad to assist. Just contact us.

How you can distribute your corporate PowerPoint templates to all users / workplaces

30. January 202325. August 2023 Marion Sztuka Uncategorized

How you can distribute your corporate PowerPoint templates to all users / workplaces

Reading time 3 minutes

Generally speaking, there are several options for distributing a corporate PowerPoint template to all users:

Distribute PowerPoint templates in 5 steps:

Share the template via email or a file sharing platform: You can send the template to your users via email or through a file sharing platform such as Google Drive or Dropbox. This method is quick and easy, but it does require that your users have access to the email or file sharing platform.
Replace the standard PowerPoint template: If you only have one corporate PowerPoint template, you can also use a file distribution process to make this your default corporate PowerPoint template. Simply save your template as “blank.potx” and then distribute it to all computers. The storage location typically is C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Root\Document Themes 16.
Upload the template to a central repository: If you have a central repository for presentations and other assets, you can upload the template to this repository and allow users to access it from there. This can be a good option if you have a large number of users and want to ensure that everyone has access to the latest version of the template.
Distribute the template through your corporate intranet: If you have a corporate intranet, you can upload the template to the intranet and make it available to all users. This can be a convenient option if you have a large number of users and want to ensure that everyone has easy access to the template.
Use a template management tool: There are several third-party tools available that can help you manage and distribute templates to your users. These tools often allow you to upload templates and make them available to specific groups or individuals, and they may also have features for updating templates as needed.

Better user experience with template management tools

If you’re aiming for maximum user-friendliness and lean processes, professional template management tools are the only viable choice. Why is that? Peak into what happens in practice, and you can easily tell:

Users often ignore emails about corporate templates.
In many companies it’s not an easy feat for users to find the place where templates are provided (intranet, brand platform, etc.). And once they get there, they often need to register and get a password. Many people don’t have time for this.
Suppose a user actually downloads a template. They’ll keep using this template for a long time. Even if you’re already providing an updated version – why bother to constantly check…
And finally, most people don’t really know what a template is. They simply take the last presentation they created (or one from their boss, to be on the safe side), delete the slides and work with this. Don’t expect this to be the correct template.

A professional template management solution therefore needs to make it really easy to find and use the right template (by providing it directly in PowerPoint), it needs to update automatically if your templates change, and ideally, it also alerts the user if they use the wrong template. Only specialized template management software typically offer such features. And small as they may be, they have a huge impact both on branding and on productivity.

One final thought: Professional template solutions are great. But what about the somehow similar problems associated with providing and managing presentations and brand assets? And your users’ problems in actually using all those assets? If you decide to introduce a new solution, you might as well go all the way and decide on a solution that provide maximum support for template management, branding and productivity.

We’ll be happy to help.

create PowerPoint presentations save time

The more efficient, stress-free way of creating PowerPoint presentations

22. January 202325. August 2023 Marion Sztuka Uncategorized

The more efficient, stress-free way of creating PowerPoint presentations

reading time 3 minutes

Ever had PowerPoint déjà-vu?

It’s the annual presentation. An opportunity that doesn’t come around too often. So now it’s time to perfectly prepare for it. Specialists from all different departments are involved. They’re all doing their best and preparing PowerPoint slides designed to inspire the client.

The presentation date starts drawing closer. The first rehearsal reveals gaps in the presentation’s arguments. It lacks the flow that will engage the client from the outset. Slide quality varies greatly, and the overall visual appearance leaves a lot to be desired too.

Time is running out, and the pressure is mounting. Overtime is the order of the day, and tension is so high, even the client can feel it.

How can businesses break the pre-presentation stress spiral?

Start earlier – much earlier

Good time management is also important when it comes to preparing presentations. But this generally doesn’t mean simply setting up the slides a few days earlier. “Earlier” means rethinking the presentation-creation process from the outset.

Appoint someone to be the “PowerPoint person”

While PowerPoint is used in many areas of a business, the purposes, usage intensity, user knowledge, and visual requirements vary greatly. So it’s no wonder the results are similarly varied when staff members from different departments all work on the same presentation.
PowerPoint needs an ambassador who is responsible for ensuring certain presentation standards are met, especially formal and visual standards, but also procedural standards, such as the updating of slide content.

Step 1: Good templates

Your staff members are specialists in their respective fields, but PowerPoint may not necessarily be one of their core skills. Bear this in mind when creating a PowerPoint master. A good PowerPoint master needs to be able to do lots of things. It translates your brand’s look to PowerPoint, it meets all information and communication requirements, is implemented perfectly at a technical level, and, above all, is user-friendly.

Increase your PowerPoint support by providing ready-made slides and templates. Basic information about the company or products is very easy to prepare and can be re-used. But even slides developed for highly specialized purposes can serve as inspiration or templates for new presentations.

Finding everything, searching for nothing: The slide library

When distributing your templates, use a slide library that enables everyone to access the exact slides and presentations they need. This will spare you any double-handling and ensure at least part of a presentation can be created from existing slides. These slides will already feature the relevant corporate design and will have up-to-date content. You can set up this slide library at a central storage location, such as on the Intranet itself, or, alternatively, there are software tools on the market that offer additional functions, e.g. granting access rights or automatically updating slides and content.

Using storyboards for different presentation occasions

Storyboards help you better plan the structure and content of a presentation. A storyboard is a kind of script that defines a presentation’s setup and establishes certain case-based requirements, such as scope, depth of information, etc. The storyboard for an internal management presentation will thus be considerably different from that of an initial sales meeting with a new client.

Using storyboards helps you better plan and control the time spent and the resources required for creating the presentation. You can better coordinate tasks and carry them out more efficiently, especially when there are lots of people working together on the same presentation.

Pro tip: PowerPoint add-ins for sustainable presentation management in corporate environments

PowerPoint add-ins are software extensions that expand on and add to PowerPoint’s functions. Some PowerPoint add-ins improve PowerPoint-related processes, facilitating central organization of all assets required for creating presentations, such as slides, presentations, templates, logos, icons, and images. They ensure company-wide corporate-design compliance and offer a variety of functions for creating presentations faster and more easily. The QuickSlide PowerPoint add-in, for example, provides an integrated agenda assistant, an automatic corporate design check, and an optional conversion tool that enables presentations to be transformed into a new corporate design largely automatically.

What PowerPoint add-ins are available on the market?

8. January 202325. August 2023 Marion Sztuka Uncategorized

An Overview of PowerPoint Add-ins

reading time 7 minutes

PowerPoint add-ins – types, categories, and tips for choosing

If you’re looking for a PowerPoint add-in, you’ll be spoilt for choice, because there’s a huge range of tools on offer. Whether you’re wanting to create charts, improve the design of your slides, or work with team members in real time, you can be pretty sure there’ll be add-ins that can help you complete precisely these tasks. But, with so many options, it’s often not that easy to keep track of everything and decide which add-in is the best solution for your requirements. We want to help you feel a little more confident when making your decision.

What are PowerPoint add-ins and how do they differ from PowerPoint add-ons and PowerPoint plug-ins?

What do PowerPoint add-ins do?

What are the main fields of application in which PowerPoint add-ins can be used?

What do you need to know about PowerPoint add-in technology?

What do you need to bear in mind if you want to use PowerPoint add-ins at your company?

What PowerPoint add-in functions are particularly important for businesses?

What are PowerPoint add-ins and how do they differ from PowerPoint add-ons and PowerPoint plug-ins?

First a few words about the terms. Because if you’re looking for a PowerPoint add-in, you’ll often also come across the terms PowerPoint add-on and PowerPoint plug-in.

A PowerPoint add-in is a software extension that adds functions to PowerPoint. Interfaces are provided in PowerPoint for this. QuickSlide for PowerPoint is an example of a PowerPoint add-in whose functions adapt PowerPoint use to the needs of large companies.

A PowerPoint add-on is additional software that sits on top of PowerPoint but is not closely interlinked with it.

A PowerPoint plug-in is a term usually referring to software extensions that can be loaded by a web browser or other application. In a PowerPoint context, a plug-in could be loaded to support certain video or audio formats, for example.

As the technical differences are highly specialized and sometimes fluid, the terms PowerPoint add-in, PowerPoint add-on, and PowerPoint plug-in are often used synonymously. The term “PowerPoint add-in” is commonly seen in the Microsoft Office world.

For more about PowerPoint terms, you can also visit our glossary.

What do PowerPoint add-ins do?

There are PowerPoint add-ins for pretty much any conceivable purpose. Want to create professional-looking infographics? There’s an add-in for that. Want to add video or audio material to your presentations? There’s an add-in that can help you with that too. There’s even an add-in that improves grammar and writing.

The great thing about PowerPoint add-ins is that they can be customized to the specific requirements of different industries and professions. For instance, there are add-ins that have been specially developed for marketing experts, teachers, and even medical physicians. No matter what you do, there’s probably an add-in that can help you create more effective and appealing presentations.

What are the main fields of application in which PowerPoint add-ins can be used?

PowerPoint add-ins can be roughly split into several categories:

Productivity add-ins:
These add-ins help you create and edit presentations more effectively by enabling you to work with others or by providing automated functions.
Trello is one example of an add-in that enables its users to create and edit Trello cards directly in PowerPoint, so as to facilitate collaboration with others.
Design add-ins:
These add-ins offer functions for graphically appealing and/or branded presentations. They provide templates, graphics, and many other design tools.
One example is Prexels, an add-in that provides free stock photos.

Data-preparation add-ins:
These add-ins help you prepare and integrate data into presentations by providing charts, tables, or other data-visualization tools.
Mekko Graphics, for example, enables user-defined charts and graphs to be created directly in PowerPoint.

Translation add-ins:
These add-ins can help you translate your presentations into other languages by providing automated translation services or other language tools.
Presentation Translator, for example, enables automatic translations in real time during a PowerPoint presentation.
Social-media add-ins:
These add-ins can help you share and post your presentations on social media by providing functions for integrating social media or posting presentations on platforms like LinkedIn.
The Twitter add-in for PowerPoint enables tweets to be created and posted directly from PowerPoint.
Analysis add-ins:
These add-ins can help you analyze your presentations and obtain feedback from viewers by providing analysis tools or survey functions.
One example is Mentimeter. The add-in integrates surveys and quiz questions directly into presentations to involve the audience and collect feedback.
Add-ins with overarching functions for specific user groups:
Unlike add-ins for highly specialized applications, broad add-ins pool functions from different areas for specific user groups. The advantage of this is that you can utilize many advantages with just one single solution. Our QuickSlide PowerPoint add-in, for example, has been specially developed for PowerPoint use in corporate environments. It provides an ideal platform for distributing, organizing, and managing PowerPoint assets within companies, makes it easier to create and edit presentations, and ensures a uniform look and branding in PowerPoint presentations.

What do you need to know about PowerPoint add-in technology?

There are a few important factors to bear in mind when choosing the right technology for your PowerPoint add-ins. Firstly, you need to think about the platform you use. Most add-ins are either designed for the Windows or Mac version of PowerPoint, so you need to make sure you choose an add-in that’s compatible with your platform.

Different technologies are generally used to create PowerPoint add-ins, each with their own pros and cons. JavaScript, for example, is a popular choice because it is flexible and widely used. But, in some cases, it can be slower than other technologies, which is a disadvantage for add-ins requiring a lot of processing power. In the past, the options for JavaScript add-ins were limited. But this has changed, as Microsoft has improved its JavaScript-API for PowerPoint.

.NET is another technology often used to create PowerPoint add-ins. It is generally considered to be more efficient and powerful than JavaScript, but can sometimes require more specialized knowledge. Add-ins created using this technology (VSTO add-ins, COM add-ins) need to be installed and updated on the users’ computers.

The last few years have seen a trend towards cloud-based solutions for PowerPoint add-ins. These add-ins are hosted in the cloud, and are often only accessed via a web browser. This offers a series of advantages, including the option of accessing the add-ins from anywhere, as well as reduced administrative work for IT departments. But users need to have a reliable internet connection in order to work effectively, and many cases are handled much better with an installed version of PowerPoint rather than in the browser.

VBA, or Visual Basic for Applications, is a programming language that Microsoft originally developed for use in its Office suite, including PowerPoint. VBA was used a lot in the past to create user-defined add-ins for PowerPoint, but its popularity has waned in recent years, with people increasingly favoring newer technologies like .NET and JavaScript. One of the main reasons for this shift is the fact that VBA is an older technology and does not offer the same degree of functionality and performance that newer technologies do. VBA add-ins, for example, are generally slower and less stable than add-ins created using .NET or JavaScript.

What do you need to bear in mind if you want to use PowerPoint add-ins at your company?

There are a few general requirements purchasers need to bear in mind when using PowerPoint add-ins in a corporate environment.

Firstly, it is important to ensure the add-ins are easy to implement and manage. This is particularly crucial if the add-ins are being used by a large team or organization. Look for add-ins that are easy to install and offer central administration options.

Another important requirement is the degree to which the technology is future-proof. You should go for an add-in built on technology that is well supported and is likely to be around for the long term. That way, you can ensure your add-ins will continue to operate as expected, even if you switch to a newer version of PowerPoint or use another platform.

User-friendliness is also important, especially if you have team members who aren’t particularly good with technology. Look for add-ins that have an intuitive user interface and are easy to get used to.

Professional support is always important when it comes to using technology in a corporate environment. Go for add-ins that offer reliable support options, such as email or telephone support, and access to a knowledge database or help videos.

What PowerPoint add-in functions are particularly important for businesses?

In addition to the general requirements, there are also a few specific functional requirements that people often like to have in a corporate environment. Many companies, for example, want add-ins that facilitate administration and access to branding components and presentations. This could include functions such as templates, logos, and other branding elements that can be easily accessed and used in presentations.

Adherence to branding guidelines is often also a priority for corporate clients. This means choosing add-ins that ensure presentations comply with company guidelines and standards for design and content.

Finally, many corporate users look for add-ins that can improve the productivity both of the individual users and of entire departments, such as Marketing or IT. The latter often involves simplifying administrative processes, distributing roles in a smarter way, and supporting governance. It can be very helpful to consult the add-in provider’s advisory service and learn about tried-and-tested processes.

Bearing these typical requirements in mind, you’ll be able to choose the right PowerPoint add-in for your business.
For more tips on how to choose, see our blog posts on
Slide Management in PowerPoint – What’s really important? and
How Many Microsoft Office Add-ins Does a Business Need?

Or contact us directly.

How organizations can increase PowerPoint productivity

21. December 202225. August 2023 Marion Sztuka Uncategorized

How organizations can increase PowerPoint productivity

Reading time 3 minutes

PowerPoint is an essential tool for businesses, but it can also be a major drag on efficiency if not used properly. In this blog post, we’ll discuss how organizations can increase PowerPoint productivity by leveraging the program’s capabilities and improving their PowerPoint-related processes.

PowerPoint - the knowledge worker's friend and foe

PowerPoint is a standard application that is used by individuals as well as companies. It offers a wide range of functions, but it can also be a source of frustration due to its lack of solutions for specific business needs, such as professional slide management. Additionally, user skills and knowledge are often heterogeneous, leading to different approaches to using PowerPoint and a lack of uniform standards. This, combined with a high degree of personal responsibility and little support, can make for challenging day-to-day business.

Why is PowerPoint such a drag on efficiency?

There are several reasons why PowerPoint can be a drag on efficiency. One issue is the time-consuming process of finding the latest slides or formatting content. Additionally, presentations often don’t adhere to established corporate design standards, leading to a disjointed look and feel as well as plenty of rework whenever people collaborate on presentations. Finally, presentations are often created under time pressure, leading to a lack of clarity, attention to detail and proper formatting.

The leverage of using PowerPoint smartly

Despite these challenges, PowerPoint can be a powerful tool for improving efficiency and productivity if used smartly. By applying the following tips, companies can leverage PowerPoint to create professional, cohesive presentations that effectively communicate their message, while at the same time greatly reducing the direct and supporting workloads.

How to improve your PowerPoint-related processes

Establish clear guidelines for creating and using presentations: Creating clear guidelines for creating and using presentations can help ensure that all presentations are consistent in terms of design, formatting, and content. These guidelines might include things like how to use the font and color palette, the layout of slides, how to draft clear messages.
Use professional and user-friendly templates as well as sample visuals: Using professional templates can help save time and ensure consistency in branding and design across all presentations. By looking at typical use cases these templates can be created to support users in their core PowerPoint tasks. It can also be helpful to provide sample visuals for typical applications, which can be easily customized to fit the needs of individual presentations.
Create a central repository for presentations and other assets: A central repository for presentations and other assets, such as images and media, can help ensure that everyone has access to the latest versions of these materials. It can also help reduce the time and effort required to search for and find these assets. It’s important to provide good structure and searchability, and establish processes for populating and updating this repository. Otherwise it will have a short active life span.
Consider using third-party tools, such as slide management software: Third-party tools, like slide management software, can help streamline the provision and management of templates and other assets. These tools can also help improve the organization and efficiency of PowerPoint-related processes.
Review your PowerPoint-related processes to identify areas for improvement: Regularly reviewing your PowerPoint-related processes can help identify areas where efficiency can be improved and interfaces reduced. This involves collaboration between the Brand and IT teams for the provision of basic assets as well as e.g. within Sales for streamlining the management of Sales presentations.
Provide training and support: Providing training and support to ensure that all users have the skills and knowledge they need to use PowerPoint effectively can help improve the efficiency and effectiveness of presentations. This might include providing training on specific features of the program, as well as best practices for creating and delivering presentations.

It may be helpful to work with a specialized consultant, as optimizing PowerPoint processes stretches across topics from design to technical implementation, and multiple departments from Marketing to Sales to IT. With a holistic perspective and experience, solutions can be relatively easy to implement. The reward will be strongly increased productivity, and more effective presentations.

Using Visual Metaphors to Enhance Your Storytelling in Presentations

21. December 202222. December 2022 Marion Sztuka Uncategorized

Using Visual Metaphors to Enhance Your Storytelling in Presentations

Reading time 4 minutes

Visual metaphors can be a powerful tool to help convey complex ideas or concepts in a more relatable and memorable way. When used effectively, visual metaphors can help engage your audience and make your presentation more impactful. In this article, we will explore how to combine visual metaphors with verbal storytelling in presentations to create a more engaging and effective experience for your audience.

What is a visual metaphor?

A visual metaphor is a type of figurative language that uses an image or visual representation to describe something else. Visual metaphors can take many forms, such as diagrams or even photographs. The goal of a visual metaphor is to help your audience understand a concept or idea by using a relatable image or representation.

Why use visual metaphors in presentations?

There are several benefits to using visual metaphors in presentations. First, visual metaphors can help make complex ideas or concepts more relatable and understandable to your audience. By using an image or representation that your audience can easily understand, you can help them better grasp the concept you are trying to convey.

Second, visual metaphors can help make your presentation more memorable. People tend to remember visual information more easily than verbal information, so using visual metaphors can help your audience remember your message more effectively.

Third, visual metaphors can help engage your audience and make your presentation more interactive. By encouraging your audience to interact with the visual metaphor, you can make your presentation more interactive and engaging.

How to combine visual metaphors with verbal storytelling in presentations

Here are some tips for combining visual metaphors with verbal storytelling in your presentations:

The first step in using visual metaphors in your presentation is to choose a relevant and meaningful image or representation. Your visual metaphor should be related to the story you are telling and should help your audience understand the concept you are trying to convey.
Incorporate the visual metaphor into your presentation in a way that helps illustrate and reinforce your message. You can use the visual metaphor to introduce your story, emphasize key points, or create a sense of continuity throughout your presentation.
Another effective way to use visual metaphors in your presentation is to create a visual representation of your story, such as a timeline or a flowchart. This can help your audience better understand the progression of events in your story.
Use your visual metaphor to engage your audience and make your presentation more interactive. You can do this by asking questions or having your audience participate in activities related to the metaphor.
Make sure you understand how to effectively use the visual metaphor in your presentation, how exactly it will work, and have a clear plan for how you will incorporate it into your storytelling.

Some examples of visual metaphors that support storytelling

Imagine you are giving a presentation on the process of creating a successful marketing campaign. You could use a visual metaphor of a gardening process to represent the stages of creating a successful marketing campaign. You could use the various steps of gardening, such as preparing the soil, planting seeds, watering and fertilizing, and harvesting the crops, to represent the different stages of a marketing campaign, such as researching and planning, creating and implementing the campaign, and measuring and analyzing the results. By using this visual metaphor, you can help your audience understand the process of creating a successful marketing campaign in a more relatable and visual way.

Or how about this one: Imagine you are giving a presentation on the importance of effective communication in the workplace. You could use a visual metaphor of a bridge to represent the concept of effective communication. You could use the various parts of the bridge, such as the foundation, pillars, and roadway, to represent the different components of effective communication, such as establishing trust, setting clear expectations, and actively listening. By using this visual metaphor, you can help your audience understand the importance of effective communication and how it can help facilitate productive and successful relationships in the workplace.

Conclusion

Visual metaphors can be a powerful tool to help convey complex ideas or concepts in a more relatable and memorable way. By combining visual metaphors with verbal storytelling in your presentations, you can create a more engaging and effective experience for your audience. Use brainstorming techniques to find relevant visual metaphors that work well for your subject, choose one that seems to resonate, use it throughout your presentation, and encourage audience interaction to get the most out of this powerful tool.

Key factors for implementing your corporate design in MS Office

25. August 202225. August 2023 Marion Sztuka Uncategorized

Key factors for implementing your corporate design in MS Office

Reading time 5 minutes

We’ve written about corporate identity on many occasions already, especially the visual aspects, the corporate design.

The corporate design gives a brand its power – including in PowerPoint

In this post, however, we’ll cover what’s specifically important when you roll out your corporate design across Microsoft Office applications.

A new corporate design is typically set up by professionals who specialize in this for the main use cases. One lead agency creates the design itself, then other agencies in turn implement it for specific applications and scenarios, such as business stationery, the company website, print products, and so on. Specifications are usually provided, for instance, on how a newsletter should be set up in the new design and the department or agency responsible for this would implement the newsletter’s new look and feel in alignment with these specifications. Professionals provide guidance for other professionals working at a more detailed level, so the risk of not adhering correctly to the new design guidelines is quite low.

What about Microsoft Office?

PPT, Word, etc. are pretty much used by all employees in companies, from assistants to financial controllers, and across all departments. However, some have never seen their company’s corporate design guidelines and don’t know the name of their in-house font. Most employees have no design background or experience yet are expected to create content assets in Microsoft Office which conform to their brand. How’s that supposed to work, you might ask!

Templates are helpful – with a clear structure

User-friendly templates for PowerPoint and Word which are made centrally available to all employees are a great help. The scope of these templates can really vary from organization to organization as it depends on how many templates are needed, but also on the level of freedom and flexibility of the corporate design.

Some companies communicate very precisely on what is or isn’t permitted within the parameters of the corporate design. Brand books can span hundreds of pages on specific topics, such as photo styles to use with detailed guidelines on use of colors, effects, perspectives, lighting, and so on, or design layout grids including precise measurements and font size ratios to use for each media type or channel. In contrast, there are companies which only introduce the basics: the logo, corporate colors and fonts, and core design elements.

The more specifications and parameters introduced, the more likely the results will have a consistent look and feel. However, the stricter the design rules, the greater the need is to provide templates which represent all permitted options and scenario variants.

We recommend that companies shouldn’t lose sight of the practicality for users when creating templates. A template repository should be structured methodically by topic, purpose or other relevant categories. This helps users find the right templates easily and avoid always using the same ones which ensures some variety, so presentations are consistent but not always the same. A PowerPoint add-in like QuickSlide is designed to bring clarity and structure to templates and provide users with exactly the templates they need.

One-to-one transfer of specifications – not always the best way

Microsoft Office has its own requirements due to the technical framework and specific usage in business communication. The design rules for business stationary, the website, posters and pamphlets are usually not directly transferrable from one media to the next, for instance, with rules for use of fonts. That’s why it’s important to seek solutions which don’t simply aim to adhere to rules but rather create a consistent effect for the brand. Brand elements which play a major role in print assets, for instance, can be adapted for PowerPoint. The same applies to the visual language and elements, such as icons and charts.

We’ve had a good experience with using a PowerPoint style guide as a supplement to the PowerPoint master. It provides users with some general guidelines and offers examples for practical implementation as inspiration and decision-making guidance when creating presentation slides.

For more on this topic, read our post What makes a good PowerPoint master?

Bring specialists on board who think holistically

When implementing a new corporate design, lead agencies tend to focus on the key marketing channels, both print and digital. Only a few consider Microsoft Office applications. This is where it’s helpful to involve specialists who can bridge the gap between brand identity and practical implementation in Office. Specialists understand both the design requirements and the technical characteristics of MS Office. Ideally, they are familiar with the specific requirements of diverse user groups and bring along a great deal of experience and best practice to the process for creating presentation masters and slide templates.

Make the corporate design an automatically fixed element

Companies opting for supporting software tend to go one step further. Add-in tools such as QuickSlide by Strategy Compass firmly anchor the corporate design within Microsoft Office. Employees who use QuickSlide use the right templates and adhere to all the specifications – because the corporate design is already preset. This means anyone can create brand-compliant slides and presentations quickly and easily, including those with no design experience.

One function within QuickSlide is the Corporate Design Check which checks for compliance with the corporate design specifications on slides and within presentations. It detects any deviations which can then be rectified with just one click. The configuration of this check function determines how strictly users must comply with the specifications and how much freedom they have.

There are also solutions for document creation in Word, like the add-in QuickDoc by Strategy Compass. This tool offers intelligent management of dynamic templates. Documents are created click by click using a variety of defined modular elements. This helps users cut through the template jungle in Word, and of course the corporate design is preset in each of these modular elements, too.

Do you want to raise the value of your brand within Microsoft Office?

We can show you how and can advise you on master and template creation and corporate design specifications for Office.

Just get in touch for a chat with us! Contact

Branding projects – a holistic approach

22. August 202225. August 2023 Marion Sztuka Insights

Branding projects – a holistic approach

Notes on the introduction of PowerPoint add-ins

Reading time 13 minutes

Despite the large amount of internal and external communications conveyed via PowerPoint presentations, many brand managers do not focus on PowerPoint when establishing or relaunching a brand. Often, they think it’s enough to just get their agency to create PowerPoint templates and then ask their IT department to install them on all employees’ computers.
If you’ve decided to strengthen your branding using a software solution for PowerPoint, then you’re already a big step ahead – but how will such a project deliver your desired outcome?
In this whitepaper, we’ll reveal the biggest pitfalls to watch out for when implementing a PowerPoint add-in and provide you with the best practice tips on how to avoid them. Our extensive experience of working with large organizations in diverse industries has confirmed that it’s usually not enough to implement a software-only solution. It takes much more to achieve the required changes for the long term.

What do most companies want to achieve by introducing a PPT add-in?

What can be achieved with a software solution?

What are the typical pitfalls? How can you avoid them?

Pitfall 1
Lack of competence in master development

Pitfall 2
Lack of stakeholder involvement

Pitfall 3
Too little employee enablement

Pitfall 4
Too many interfaces for the operation of a solution

Pitfall 5
Little or no focus on actual objectives

What impact do these insights have on the selection process for a PowerPoint add-in?

What do we do differently and why?

What do companies want to achieve by introducing a PowerPoint add-in?

Organizations considering the use of a PowerPoint add-in are typically faced with, for instance, a brand relaunch because their name and entire branding will change or because their corporate design is being refreshed. The look and feel in PowerPoint, therefore, is either revised as part of this or sometime later. However, sometimes it is the appearance of PowerPoint presentations themselves that need to change as they are outdated or no longer meet the requirements for modern presentation design. Whatever the situation or setup, some or all of the following objectives usually play an important role.

Convey a uniform brand identity across all presentations
Establish a higher quality standard for all presentations across the whole organization
Simplify the presentation creation process
Raise employee awareness of the need for brand-compliant presentations
Simplify the provision and updates of presentation masters and other PowerPoint assets, such as slide templates, logos, images, icons, etc.
Regulate the responsibility for PowerPoint between IT and Marketing/Communications teams more clearly and simply
Reduce management and monitoring efforts for presentations and relieve this burden for teams, such as Marketing or Communications

In some cases, various departments place additional demands on others. For instance, bespoke tools for PowerPoint, developed in-house, are to be replaced with an out-of-the-box solution with low IT costs, or important user groups in the organization such as Sales colleagues require more intensive support.

What can be achieved with a software solution

With regular PowerPoint tools and Microsoft infrastructure it is almost impossible to achieve a consistent look and feel for your brand across the whole organization in PowerPoint. PowerPoint extensions are a useful addition and provide an array of advantages:

The software ensures all employees have access to templates assets and that they are always up to date – and as a result, these templates are used more frequently.
Branded assets, such as sample slides, images and icons are all made available within PowerPoint. Digital asset management systems can be connected and used within PowerPoint.
Corporate, sales or training presentations are provided directly in PowerPoint, and are maintained and updated in one central location.
Slide formatting is simplified, corporate design standards are preset within assets. Check functions monitor for the correct use of colors, fonts and other parameters such as the type area.
Presentation assets can be updated by central teams such as Marketing or Communications with no intervention needed by IT colleagues.

The potential offered by a software solution is therefore high. However, the reality is usually that this potential is only tapped into to a limited extent. Again and again, large and even medium-sized companies approach us who have integrated and use software but still don’t manage to meet their defined objectives. An honest inventory typically reveals that presentations created in the different areas of the organization still vary greatly in quality and that processes around presentations still run in a similar way as before.
Over the years, we have dealt with such issues intensively. As a result, we can identify some typical indicators for projects which are likely to fail. On the next pages, we outline some of the common pitfalls in more detail and offer insights into the corresponding best practice examples to address them.

Pitfall 1

Lack of competence in master development

Let’s begin right at the start – with the PowerPoint Master. A typical process for this would be: The lead agency creates new design specifications, including those for PowerPoint. Sometimes, they also develop a new PowerPoint master, otherwise this task is assigned to a specialized presentation agency. The design implementation in the PowerPoint master, for instance, logo positioning or color distribution, is coordinated in detail with the brand managers. What’s often not taken into account, however, is the practicality for users. The master rarely meets the requirements for daily usage, and the design specifications clash with user needs for creating presentations.

Time and again, we find that PowerPoint masters that are created without the right mix of design understanding, experience with a wide range of application scenarios and technical expertise, do not do their job. Complaints are thus inevitable, users then create their own workarounds and, just like that, the exact scenario that was supposed to be avoided rears its ugly head again. Everyone creates their own slides and presentations which conflict with the master, everything looks completely different and even the software solution comes under criticism. Even if the root of the problem is discovered early on in the project, this makes for additional feedback loops, creating annoying delays when you actually wanted to be finished already.

Best practice 1

Master creation by specialists

PowerPoint masters and templates are the basis for project success. Place this task in the hands of specialists.

They have the expertise to interpret your corporate design and what you want to convey with your brand presence into the “language” and possibilities with PowerPoint.
They gain an in-depth understanding of the various application scenarios within your organization, from the general company presentation to the sales talk, board meeting presentations, project proposals, reports and documentation. This is the only way to make sure employees are provided with the templates they really need and can actually use.
They have the technical competence to implement design and usability ideas to their best effect. Specialist personnel with these skills can guide you step by step through the template creation process. Ideally, there would be a survey of PowerPoint “power users” within the company to find out which types of slides they usually create, and where any issues or sensitivities currently lie. Before presentation or slide templates are released for general use, they should first be tested by selected users. This helps to eliminate any stumbling blocks early on.

A partner who understands this process holistically can also take care of the internal coordination and involvement of relevant stakeholders for you.

Pitfall 2

Lack of stakeholder involvement

There are a lot of stakeholders within a company, hence there are also many different stakeholders for the introduction of a PowerPoint add-in:

the IT department (possibly supplemented by other departments as part of your standard processes)
power users who have a strong opinion about PowerPoint, their most important work tool
all users who should work with the new PowerPoint extension
management, both as decision-makers and PowerPoint users
the human resources department, who are responsible for provision of training programs in some companies, and for which they might also be users
the works council
the Marketing or Communications team who often initiate such a project and engage with the stakeholders
the software supplier (and, if applicable, implementation partner)
the design agency (and, if applicable, the agency for implementing the design in PowerPoint)

If the introduction of a PowerPoint add-in is handled as just an introduction of new software or the implementation of new templates and restricted to just IT and either Marketing or Communications departments, then sooner or later the demands of stakeholders from other areas will undoubtedly catch up with you. Besides this, you’d be missing out on a great opportunity: To further develop and enhance the work of the entire company as a whole. The sheer number of stakeholders might make it look complex on first glance. However, it’s not the amount of people that creates the challenge, but rather how the project is set up.

Best practice 2

Proactive management of all stakeholders

Don’t reduce your project to just being a software introduction. Keep your real objectives in mind and involve your stakeholders with a view to achieving these objectives. Typically, there are two aspects to this:

managing communication with all the different stakeholders
content-related provision, guidance and support for the stakeholders

An internal person would need to be responsible for the overall management. However, working with an external partner can certainly provide relief and support. Make sure your service provider holds all the necessary experience in working with companies of your size and in a similar area of business. This partner is there to actively manage and ensure progress with the project in all its diverse facets. They would communicate on the same level as your stakeholders and act as a “caretaker” on your behalf. You benefit from best practice methods and avoidance of error right from the start.

Pitfall 3

Too little employee enablement

Software projects are typically divided into these phases: setup/customizing – pilot testing phase – rollout – training. Post-rollout, employees are usually given an overview of the new software with an introductory webinar. The drawback here, though, is that this initial software training won’t bring about any major changes.

First of all, many employees will not even attend this basic training session for a whole host of different reasons.
If webinar participants don’t actually use the new software and try out all the functions soon enough after the training, then by the time they do use it they will have forgotten what they learned.
Training needs differ between employees, so not every function and feature is relevant for everyone. Many employees are primarily interested in the intelligent handling of templates and other presentation assets, and what all the design specifications mean for their own work.
Successful usage of a PowerPoint add-in doesn’t just depend on user knowledge about the software functions but rather how the system is handled as a whole, including processes and allocated responsibilities. For example, the Sales department should not simply upload all their existing sales presentations which currently sit within SharePoint to the new software and expect their efficiency to increase as a result. Instead, it makes more sense to upload modular sales content for presentations, for which there are clear guidelines as to who should maintain and upload this content.
Training is usually provided by the software vendor or their partners with a core focus on the functionality of the software. However, knowledge about further content development, processes and responsible personnel in relation to the system is at least equally essential.

Best practice 3

Stay continually in touch

To familiarize users with new software, general training is primarily needed. This should introduce the main features and outline the benefits for users. Introducing presentation content (slides and templates), can bring all the brand elements to life and users can heighten their awareness of the brand identity.
Subsequently, in-depth training courses for special user groups are recommended, for instance, power users or content managers in specialist departments. One great incentive is to offer workshops for specialist departments that have to manage large quantities of slides. Such workshops create an understanding of the capabilities of the software, help define processes needed, authorization concepts and role profiles, and convey best practices.
It is important to continually communicate with all users, as well as with specialized user groups such as heavy users, on a regular, ongoing basis. We’ve had a very good experience with the use of internal comms channels, such as Teams or Yammer, or an intranet or newsletter. This provides a platform to share information on content updates, application scenarios, tips and hacks, and promote the exchange of information and experience among users. Ideally, your partner will provide you with a communication package to use as a basis, so you can reap the benefits of frequent communication without investing much effort.

Pitfall 4

Too many interfaces for the operation of a solution

All being well, once the software has been rolled out, the sense of calm should be restored. However, if there are any issues or if something changes, swift action must be taken to address this. Unclear roles and responsibilities can soon turn a small problem into a major project. Two common examples have been shared with us by our customers who turned for us for help:

A user report to the helpdesk that a particular function within the software does not work as it should. The typical workflow is kick-started: Support ticket > first-level support > second level support > contact with the manufacturer who checks out the reported fault. There can be various reasons for the problem, such as an issue with the PowerPoint add-in software, some shortcomings within PowerPoint, a user error, weak points within the template, or some incompatibility between the template and how it is applied by the user. In the latter, not so rare case, the agency who created the template would be contacted. They adjust it accordingly and then the software manufacturer integrates the new version of the template into the software. However, it’s possible that the agency has not taken into account that this change will create another issue: The whole process will be restarted, and then users will become irritated that their tickets to the helpdesk are still open.

Another common example: A high-level colleague makes a request to change the agenda-creation feature of the software in such a way that even highly specialized professional presentations can be structured adequately. In this case, the software manufacturer would need the agency to create a design for a table of contents comprising more detail. Once created, the software manufacturer would then need to check if it can be implemented successfully. When everything fits and functions as it should, the changes would be sent to the IT team to be incorporated. There are therefore many different touchpoints and different parties involved. It just takes one of these parties to experience resource bottlenecks or to misunderstand something for the entire process to be dragged out. In practice, this can mean the requested changes are not carried out at all, resulting in much frustration for users.

Best practice 4

Holistic support for fast, effective business solutions

The ideal solution is to work with a partner that integrates fully and covers the full range of competencies. Any issues which arise can then be dealt with promptly and specific requirements of the organization can be handled adequately. Through a lively exchange with your contact persons on the software provider side, who will address all these demands for you, nothing will stand in the way of further development of system usage. Your partner should be capable of taking on design, application and technical issues. They should propose working solutions and discuss them with the relevant stakeholders – and then implement them straight after they are approved. Besides this, they should act as a “PowerPoint back office,” for instance, noting requests for additional graphic elements and developing them soon after. As a Marketing or Communications department, you can then offer comprehensive services to your organization without too much investment of time and effort.

Pitfall 5

Little or no focus on actual objectives

Your goal is not to just introduce new software but to enhance the quality of presentations company wide. If the service provider who implements the project with you possesses a core competence only in the delivery and technical integration of the software and then only some user training besides this, then you’re pretty much left alone with achieving the main objective yourself. In practice, this is often the case so you might experience a well-implemented software project and a new tool but nothing more.

Best practice 5

Holistic approach and KPIs

Formulate clear, substantive project goals then break these down into solid, measurable key results which the project team commit to achieving. Ideally, you should establish a long-term process from the outset – tracking key results, half-yearly of annual reviews, deriving measures for further progress, and the presentation of the results and next steps to management. Your service provider should be in the position to manage the project in line with these goals and drive all related aspects of the project forward. They should not consider their job done once the rollout is complete but rather provide support for continuous development of the project across the organization in partnership with you.

What impact do these insights have on the selection process for a PowerPoint add-in?

Particularly in larger organizations with widely distributed responsibilities, tasks are often divided up between different departments. For instance, Marketing or Communications would typically select the design agency, whereas IT chooses the right software, and Human Resources might coordinate training. Each department may do a good job in their dedicated area, but unfortunately loses sight of the holistic objectives and shared common goal. What can you do to counteract this issue right from the start?

Don’t relinquish control of your selection

If you are in the Marketing or Communications department, you would of course involve IT and Purchasing when comparing solutions or service providers available. Also, the budget for software licenses would typically be handled by IT. However, handing the entire project to IT would reduce the selection to just software options. There are usually only subtle differences between the functions of leading software solutions and as a rule they tend to offer much more than your users actually need. Therefore, focus on the user-friendliness of the features, especially for basic functions. However, the deciding factor for achieving your objectives is what the service provider offers beyond the software. Make sure enough emphasis is placed on such factors throughout the evaluation and that a decision isn’t made based solely on a functions checklist.

Choose a provider that can reduce the complexity of the project for you

One might be tempted to select a provider who offers a quick and easy project turnaround, or even better, a “plug and play” solution. The reality is ultimately quite different, however, and you have holistic goals you want to achieve. Therefore, make sure your service provider is able to offer consulting and guidance throughout all stages of the entire project.

What do we do different and why?

Since 2009, Strategy Compass has been working with organizations to improve the quality of their presentations company wide, strengthen their brand appearance in PowerPoint and make their overall use of PowerPoint more efficient and productive. Our solutions are used by numerous large and medium-sized businesses internationally, with great success. Many of our customers found their way to us and our holistic approach having had negative experiences with limited, quick-and-dirty approaches in the past. In collaboration with us, they benefit from competent advice and project coordination, the combination of brand design competence and technical expertise, a comprehensive training and communications package – and of course our software, the PowerPoint add-in QuickSlide.

For us, the task doesn’t end with the software rollout. We are, and will remain, a partner for our customers regarding all queries around PowerPoint because we want to achieve a lasting impact for them. This is what sets us apart from our competitors.

Are you interested in our holistic approach and want to sustainably improve your branding in PowerPoint?

Then get in touch with us.