I suck at slides
Hey all,
Im 2 months into a 3 month intership at a Big 4 (please don't laugh at me) in Germany. Im part of a deals team doing mostly Carve-Outs and IPO Readiness projects. Today I had my first feedback call with my projects manager - which went ok. On the one hand he highlited my excel skills and my communication, on the other he criticised my power point skills. Apparently my slides are below average unpolished dogeshit (though he worded it way nicer).
Here is the thing - I agree with the critizism. I struggle with building slides, not with the technical side but more on the mind. I don't know how to build slides from the ground up, I feel directionless and can't get an understanding on how i should architect the slide. I miss details while polishing existing slides (think overall deck cohesion and small details). He called my slides ,,lieblos" meaning made without love, which fits pretty good. I already felt like having to force myself to care about slides as I just miss the direction, I miss the clearly defined output (compared to excel where there is a clear goal defined which i have to complet).
Did anyone else here suck at slides? How did you improve? Any advice which i can implement as fast as possible (next monday) would be appreciated. I know slide building is a a core essential in consulting so I know I need to improve asap
buy some powerpoint courses and train yourself
also try to be more perfectionist, are they symmetrical / it is pleasant or looks like a 2000s presentation / does it look sophisticated/sharp? etc. just develop some eye for perfectionism or look up some consulting slides to get some inspiration
Consultants may hate this, but the general banker template for a slide starts in a 4 boxer....top left is usually text that introduces the background, and what the problem you are trying to address is. top right is usually a visual of any analysis you have done. bottom half is dependent upon what you are working on. my preference is usually bottom left is the key assumptions you've made in your analysis and then bottom right is a visual that shows either the recommendation and alternatives or keying in on the most important KPI.
This isn't gospel nor should it be. But if you start with this, over time as you learn the subject matter of what you're presenting more, you'll be able to better craft slides that articulate what YOU want to get across. The goal should be that if you weren't in the room to discuss your slide, someone could walk through the slide cold and be able to repeat your message. However you can articulate that (with the caveat you don't want to write paragraphs to explain yourself) that is a "good slide"
Don't be ashamed to go and find example slides from public forums. Lots of pitch books / consulting slides available online for free. Use those as inspiration and go from there.
Best way is to go through previous decks at your firm, re-use/remake slides that have a similar layout and be creative/take inspiration. Also make sure to stay super consistent with branding regarding colours/fonts.
Most managers typically have a Rolodex of slides they pull from that are just templates of pretty slides. Asked my manager for that during my internship and that was game changing for me.
Great idea. Totally going to ask my manager if they have a collection like this. Thanks!
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