Presentation Tips

7 Simple Steps to Create a Presentation in One Hour or Less

How to create a presentation in one hour or less

Are you one among those who refuse to take up speaking gigs to escape the hassle of creating a presentation from scratch? Undoubtedly, by doing so, you save time. But on the other hand, you miss out on opportunities to establish thought leadership, share your expertise, make an impact, be more visible, and win new clients.

The good news is – you can create your presentation in one hour or less! Wondering how? Go through this article to learn quick presentation prep tips.

Steps to Create a Presentation in One Hour or Less

1. Know the Requirements and Audience (5 Minutes)

Before starting to create a presentation, you must gather information about the presentation’s date, location, and time. Also, figure out the presentation’s topic, length, and other crucial details.

The knowledge about the audience’s composition (customers, clients, business partners, executives, etc.), knowledge level, pain points, and expectations will help you create a gripping presentation in less time. 

You must also consider how you want your audience to feel, think, and proceed further with the presented information. It will assist you in choosing the relevant CTA (call-to-action).

2. Know the Presentation’s Purpose  (5 Minutes)

Why do you want to deliver the presentation? Is it for informing the audience about a new product, persuading them to change their behaviors or beliefs, teaching them new concepts, or inspiring them to take a specific action on a social issue? Determining the big picture of your presentation keeps you headed in the right direction.

Every presentation has two purposes- main general and specific. The main general purpose could be to convince, educate, entertain, motivate, etc. The specific purpose adds a benefit to the general main purpose, empowering you to woo the audience.

For example, the main general purpose could be to convince HR professionals to use new payroll software. Adding a benefit, like ‘it will improve productivity,’ you can make your purpose specific. So, your presentation’s purpose can be – “To convince HR professionals to use new payroll software to improve their productivity.”

3. Figure Out the Main Points  (5 Minutes)

Depending on the purpose of your presentation, jot down 7-8 main points. Brainstorm how these points are relevant to your audience and support your presentation goal. Then, narrow them down to 2-3 main points so the audience can easily retain and remember them.

For example, if your presentation purpose is – “To convince HR professionals to use new payroll software to improve their productivity,” you can include the following 3 main points:

Main Point 1: Payroll software is an efficient and productive tool

Main Point 2: The advantages of implementing payroll software

Main Point 3: Ways to boost employee adoption of new payroll software

By limiting the main points to 2 or 3, you can make your slideshow succinct without losing its essence.

4. Gather Supporting Points  (10 Minutes)

Invest time in finding out points to support your core message (main points). You can consider including statistics, research, logical facts, demonstration, and case studies. 

Depending on the duration of your presentation, you can categorize your main points into subpoints and back up them with supporting points.

Main Point 1: 

Subpoint 1: 

Supporting Point

Subpoint 2: 

Supporting Point

Main Point 2: 

Subpoint 1:

Supporting Point

Subpoint 2:

Supporting Point

5. A Strong Opening and Closing (10 Minutes)

The opening and closing of your presentation are equally important. A remarkable opening helps you make a positive first impression, while the closing lets you create a meaningful impact.

Some ways to open your presentation:

  • a thought-provoking question
  • a gripping story
  • a surprising or fun fact
  • a bold statement
  • a captivating phrase
  • an interactive activity or poll
  • a story or anecdote
  • a striking visual
  • a brief outline
  • relevant wit or humor

Some ways to wrap up your presentation:

  • a motivational story reinforcing your main points
  • a quote
  • a static
  • summary or important takeaways
  • a clear call to action

6. Decide the Structure (10 minutes)

Once you gather all the main and supporting points and decide on the opening and closing of your presentation, think about the right structure to present the information so that the audience can comprehend it without fuss.

Depending on the information you have, you can organize your presentation in any of the following formats-

  • in a chronological or sequential order (step 1, step 2, step 3)
  • in a binary format: advantages-disadvantages, cause-effect, problem-solution
  • in subtopics
  • in a comparative structure
  • in a modular structure
  • in a matrix structure

You can also use the 5/5/5 or 7×7 rule to organize your presentation.

Introduction

Include a strong and attention-grabbing opening in the introduction to intrigue the audience from the beginning. 

Body

Incorporate examples, case studies, arguments, demonstrations, and data in this section, paying heed to a smooth flow and logical transition. 

Conclusion

End your presentation impressively with a power-packed conclusion to leave an ever-lasting impression on the audience.

7. Practice (15 minutes)

A perfect presentation delivery is equally important to impeccable presentation creation. So, you must invest some time in practicing it in front of your peers, friends, family members, or mirror. It will help you uncover and improve your weaknesses before the big day.

The Wrap-Up

You can create an effective, concise, and appealing presentation in less than one hour by having a clear plan with all priority elements.Further, you can count on pre-designed sets of slides with 100% customizable features to reduce your efforts in creating each slide from scratch and save time so that you can focus more on presentation content and delivery. These templates are created with professionalism, creativity, and sophistication in mind to ensure your presentations look trendy, vibrant, and polished.

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