Hey guys, something in the works right now, but for those of you in IB, what are the top things that determine whether someone is "good in PPT" or not for IB? Obviously attention to detail matter, but I mean more specifically within PPT...what skills are crucial? alignment/quickkeys/consistency, etc?
Thanks!
Have more a consulting background but.....
It's lot like when a girl says she's really good at organizing the house, and somehow manages to fit a couple hundred bucks worth of grocers into a fridge and a single drawer in the shelves.
The true test of someone who is amazing at powerpoint is the ability to compress a lot of information into a single slide without any noticeable loss of aesthetics.
Think PP can be broken down into three categories:
-speed: shortcuts etc. which anyone can get reasonably good at given enough time
-intuition for layout / aesthetics: something that comes easier for some and harder for others, probably longer to learn
-synthesis / big picture message: knowing which slides to include and why, and how they flow into the broader message of the presentation. this will probably develop last, after reasonable comfort and proficiency has been achieved with the above two. This is what the MD is thinking about when he briefs you on your staffing, and it's what he / she is hoping you can start thinking about independently as you develop as a banker
My 2 cents
Also ex-consultant turned banker, I look for three things: 1) Message - is the message coherent within the slide and across slides; Minto pyramid principle style logic 2) Parsimony - no extra information (slides, words, graphics or colors) that detract from the message; MECE meets Edward Tufte 3) Efficiency - Ability to storyboard before jumping into trying to make slides left and right; not overloading the graphics team with requests for 50 slides when only needing 10 in the final deck
A "good" person in PowerPoint is at the core a strategic thinker, even in IBD.
All the above tips were very helpful for how to convey a message and build a strong presentation but I think you're asking more about the technical skills of PPT. Disclaimer I don't work in IB, just deal with a lot of financial presentations To me, some technical things I look for in good presentations: 1) make all charts and blocks of text align so that you can move from slide to slide without them jumping around (drawing lines are good for this) 2) if you use charts with 2 axes, make sure they use the same grid lines (this is just simple math but people overlook it frequently) 3) not sure how helpful this is in IB but citing sources at the bottom of slides, doesn't have to be APA or anything but having a source people recognize will instantly make them trust your deck that much more 4) appropriate usage of animations/making content appear - use them to tell the story as you talk, don't just throw 5-10 mins worth of information out there at once cause it will distract the audience to read ahead 5) utilization of space/knowing your presentation setting - if you have a large conference room with a large screen, don't go with size 40 font for your main text (same goes for using too small of a font) 6) this one is just a pet peeve but use sans serif fonts for presenting and serif fonts for handing out copies
You'll be working on PPT much of the time, but there will be lots of training for you before you're expected to produce polished decks. You're given a bit of leeway when you first start, but like everything in consulting you're expected to get up to speed very quickly.
I would advise against investing any time learning deck building before you start. If you can't become a PPT master through school, basic training and learning on the job, then you're not cut out to be in consulting. Sorry. You're in IB, I think you'll be just fine.
Why don't you get into a target b-school first, enjoy life and do interesting things you're passionate about so that you have something to talk about to recruiters and interviewers instead of how you took a course on PowerPoint over the summer instead of visiting Machu Picchu.
A piece of advice:
In consulting, IB as I'm sure you know, and many other jobs, there will always be a thousand things for you to worry about 1 day-1 week-1 month away. Successful people focus on the now and get those things done and solved, instead of getting caught up in details that they have no control over in the present.
Your number one focus should be getting into a top b-school. Then shift your focus to framing your story as to why consulting is the absolute best fit for you through the school's networking events. Then preparing for interviews. Then killing those interviews. Get hired. Go travel before you start (though you'll travel as a consultant, backpacking through SE Asia is different then ordering room service in a hotel because you've been working for 15 hours).
After all of this, start thinking about how you use PPT.
Notice how far away that is? That's the right set of priorities, IMO.