Presentation Systems

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Presentations are Everywhere

While presentations are at the top of the com-munication pyramid in terms of visibility and vol-ume, they’re often at the bottom when it comes to budget and time commitment. The small percent of presentations that do get sufficient in-vestment tend to be high-stakes keynotes, given by a few senior executives a few times per year.

But what about the hundreds of other presenta-tions— quarterly updates, new product launches, sales pitches— that are given every day by the rest of your company? A lot of these presenta-tions are put together quickly and without

much attention to detail - which means that many great ideas don’t get the attention they deserve.

Not every presentation can get the same treat-ment as a keynote, but there is a way to raise the standard and help presenters easily whip up an outstanding presentation. Whether for a single team or an entire company, presentation sys-tems are an extremely efficient way to standard-ize and improve the way the people present.

Presentations have become one of the world’s most ubiquitous communication tools, second only to email. With about 1.25 million presentations given every hour, we’ve truly become a presentation culture.

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What is a Presentation System?Presentation systems can encompass a wide range of elements, but at their core they include a set of elegant and easy-to-use master slides. These master slides bring to life the company’s brand and visual distinction with unique layouts. They also contain a set of guidelines to help present-ers customize the slides.

Why Do You Need a Presentation System? Working with a professionally created presentation system means more visually dynamic presentations that break through the noise. It also means fewer rogue pre-senters.

In most companies, people craft their presentations like they would fill their plate at a potluck. They gather a few slides from here and there, tweak them, and combine them. That doesn’t always work so well. Not only do visual styles overlap, but slides that were part of an original narrative lose their context and need more explanation.

A presentation system arms users with a vi-sually consistent toolkit of brand-approved elements to help them generate a more complete and compelling combination of story and visuals.

A well-designed presentation system can also save your company countless hours of time. While you may have a few presenta-tion aces, most people in your company are not presentation software experts, nor should they be. Their time is better used on the skills they were hired to perform—not on design and not on wrestling presenta-tion software. Presentation systems put an end to this waste and make presentation creation accessible to everyone.

By providing the people in your company a way to easily create visually compelling pre-sentations, you can improve communication consistency across internal and external audiences.

PresentationSystems

Common Slide Types

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Set of master slides with guidelinesAsset library, including photos, images, and iconsUpdated, brand-compliant look and feelVideo demonstrating how to use the presentation systemSample slide librariesUser guidebooksLive training

Elements that can be included with a presentation system:

Developing aPresentation System

In order to identify the types of slides that would be most beneficial to your company, Duarte spends a significant amount of time analyzing your company’s existing presentations. We ask questions like:

What are the common types of data or messages people communicate? In what context do people use presentations? And what slide types are used most often?

From questions like these, we can identify the common challenges that need to be solved.

From there, we develop a range of visual styles to choose from—ones that map more closely to what you already have and others that push the visual boundaries of the brand. Then we use that style to create a system that includes a range of slides tailored to your company’s unique needs. We can work within existing brand guidelines or create new ones from scratch.

One of the most often overlooked aspects of a presentation system is the guidelines on how to use it. A robust set of guidelines show people how to use the system correctly so the template can function as a standalone resource. Many companies also find value in an instructional video that explains how to use the template. These resources save people time and enhance the general quality of presentations throughout the company.

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Launching a NewPresentation System

You’ve put so much energy into creating this valuable resource that you want to make sure people adopt it and use it effectively. One way to encourage adoption is by in-troducing it with a broader communication initiative, such as a new product launch or

Rolling out a presentation system can be just as important as creating it.

Key InsightsImprove consistency across audiences A toolkit of brand-approved elements makes it easy to improve visual consistency.

Include a strong launchplanYou’ve created a valuable tool. Make it invaluable by properly rolling it out and teaching people how to use it.

Save time by using a template Most people aren’t presentation software experts, so pre-defined slide templates save time and increase productivity.

a general sales presentation revamp. Com-bining the new presentation system with new content is what will get people to start using the system - and the ease of use will convince them to keep using it.

Want presentations that break through the noise? Learn more and start standing out. Call us. +1 650.625.8200

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