Start your PowerPoint project with a good template!
October 17th, 2008
What is a good template?
Many people believe a “good” template is a pretty background. If you do a search for PowerPoint templates on Google, you will find a zillion out there. Many are free, many are cheap, and most are worthless, besides providing you a ‘pretty background”.
Most PowerPoint users don’t know the difference between a pretty background design and a good functioning template. They find this out when creating a new chart, and they have to correct the colors with every new chart or even re-size the text with every new bullet slide. If the template is setup correctly it should be easy to start a new slide. A good template will give you a good starting point – correct colors, text sizes, spacing etc.
If you are working with a number of slide contributors it becomes even more important when you combine decks from different people. If you have a good template – combining slides is an easy and painless process. If you have a “pretty background design” template, combining slides from different decks can become a nightmare, or keep you up all night fixing slides.
Once you have worked with a good looking and well functioning PowerPoint template you will never want to start a project again without one.