• Keep background graphics simple when designing your PowerPoint.simple globe image by David Ng from Fotolia.com
  
  In delivering a presentation, the presenter can prepare by knowing the key components of a PowerPoint document. Since the layout on the first slide will differ from what is offered on the second slide, and so forth, it is best to view a PowerPoint in terms of key segments. Although the individual presenter will decide on the ultimate layout of his presentation, dividing a PowerPoint by segments will enable him to clearly direct his audience through key points.
  
  

Headline

• This part of the PowerPoint is placed on the first slide of the series and serves as the point of introduction. Using a pre-designed template helps with your headline since a placeholder (empty text box that prompts users to "click to type the title").
  
  However creative your headline may be, it must give the audience some idea of what lies ahead and should be brief, professional and bold. For instance, good headlines for a presentation on Business Ethics/Morals would be "Integrity Counts," "Solutions for Common Workplace Dilemmas" or "How to Recognize Conflicts of Interest."
  
  

Body

• This section is devoted to content and delivery. This section must be straightforward, informative and have a clean, uncluttered appearance. Whether the number of slides is 3 or 30, the body must be formatted in a way that actively leads the audience from the most basic parts of an idea to the more complex aspects using either bullet points or short paragraphs centered on each slide.
  
  Starting the body off with an overview is important, so the audience knows precisely what they are getting out of the presentation. The presentation typically flows best if presenters ask the audience to refrain from questions at this point in the presentation.
  
  Furthermore, speaker notes are the sections of a PowerPoint that guide the presenter from start to finish, and should be written in a conversational tone. The overview can be added to the speaker notes just as it is written on the slide(s), or with a few words added for emphasis.
  
  In the case of the example topic, Business Ethics/Morals, the body should give supporting evidence to claims made in the headline (or answer questions posed therein) and should present audiences with new ways of seeing old concepts.
  
  

Closing

• Equally as important as a good start is a good finish. As a presentation comes to a close, it is important that a follow up of topics discussed is included. This is also the time to request feedback from the audience, and to cite any references used if the presentation will be sent out for individual review, rather than in a group setting.