The Real Questions Your Presentation Designer Should Be Asking
There are plenty of PowerPoint presentation designers out there – so how do you know if you’re working with a good one? The answer, ironically, really lies in questions. The questions your presentation designer asks before and during the design of your presentation deck are key.
There are some basic questions we’ll need to ask in order to give you a realistic quote, but pricing is not the only reason we’ll need more information than we usually get initially.
Most projects begin with a relatively vague enquiry. Sometimes this is because clients are not entirely sure what they need, or how to frame it. You don’t always know if you need a credentials deck or capabilities deck, for example. If you need a template, how many slides should your template cover? With some key questions we can establish what you need and why.
Questions that help your designer create better presentations for you
1. What exactly is your PowerPoint presentation for, and what should it achieve?
You might not know exactly what you need and why as far as how many slides are concerned, or how they should be presented. But you should always know what your deck is for and the purpose it should serve. We’re here to advise as well as design. We can help you work out what the best course of action is, as long as we understand the purpose of your pitch deck, investor deck, or template.
2. What have you forgotten to mention because it’s ‘just admin’ or you think it’s irrelevant?
I’ll often ask my clients ‘why now?’. If they need something new, or have an old deck that needs a refresh, what’s the reason? It could be new branding, new leadership wanting to shake things up, a pivotal deal. In other words, what’s the real driver behind your PowerPoint deck?
For example, if your presentation is for a client, it helps to know if it’s for an existing client or a new one. Also, the intended audience, where and how your deck will be used, if you anticipate any follow up will be necessary, how long the meeting will last, and so on. The answers to all these questions will have an impact on the outcome.
3. Who is the decision maker?
Sometimes I speak to the person who is commissioning the deck and responsible for all aspects of the process. Sometimes information will be relayed to a third party or disseminated to various teams. This might require a different approach and my questions will reflect that.
4. Who is the audience for the presentation?
When I’m designing pitch and investor decks, the I need to understand who will be in the room and what they care about. Do we need to focus on data and numbers or will it be more about story and vision? Also, is the meeting face to face or virtual?
5. What’s the strategy and direction we’re focusing the content on?
This is a question for you and for me. I have to take a read on the story, hierarchy, what’s essential, what’s less relevant, and what’s potentially missing. I’ll look for gaps and future problems, including inadequate content, unrealistic deadlines, and missing answers. Presentation design is as much about pulling out the story and strategy as it is about the design itself.
6. What is the pitch worth – either in monetary terms or future potential?
An account might be worth £X, but you might also feel your company shares values or key ideas with your potential client and value it more highly. You might see it as a collaboration, partnership, or an opportunity to nurture and grow a relationship. Alternatively, you might be pitching to a more transactional company looking for the best price: and you know they might leave the next time a pitch review is up. Some accounts will be bound by regulations requiring them to put their business up for review every so often. All this information matters.
7. What stage are you bringing the designer in at?
It's important for a designer to know what stage they are being brought in at. Is it early stages, request for information (RFI) or proposal (RFP)? A chemistry/tissue meeting? Or is it only at the pitch stage later on – at which point we’d want to know why you’re only bringing in a designer now. Some clients use their in-house team for some stages, a freelancer for others.
8. Is a pre-submission required?
For pitch decks, for example, some end clients will want the pitch document a week before a meeting. Some will want a shorter long-form document, like a teaser of what would be presented in the actual meeting.
9. Will you need any printed collateral?
Not all clients will have considered this during the initial stages of hiring a presentation designer. I can often offer pitch theatre, and that will also depend on design and print lead times.
10. How have you worked with a presentation designer in the past?
You may have an established way of working with presentation designers. I have a traffic light system, which I consider an ‘organised presence’ and is particularly helpful for live documents that already exist and are being redesigned. I and my clients use this system to put the notes on slides so we know the status of each one:
Red: do not design/content is not ready.
Orange - ready for design.
Green - designed (added by me).
Grey - I use this where team members have generated slides by AI: they won’t be redesigned as they don’t use the correct template. AI can be useful as a base, but it is not there yet for slide design.
Keeping your PowerPoint presentation on track
Sample slides before the full design
I like to establish the visual direction with sample slides for anything over more than about 10 slides. These need to be signed off before I complete the deck, saving you from surprises later on. Some clients have very strong opinions, others hand over the brief and breathe a sigh of relief that it’s in someone else’s hands. Either way, sample slides ensure we’re all on the same page.
For less than 10 slides I include an extra round of revisions to achieve the same end.
Challenging where necessary
I’m not afraid to ask the hard questions so, if necessary, I will push back on content that doesn’t really work. For example, I might suggest splitting an overloaded slide, or trimming a long title to a top-line read. There are also times when dense content could be legitimate, though – for example, for a nervous presenter who’ll need to rely on detail.
Working with a good presentation designer
You could give me a basic brief and I’d produce a great design – but that might not be enough. So, if your designer’s not asking the right questions, you’re probably missing opportunities. It’s only once I’ve truly understood your processes, needs, and ways that I can produce a design giving you the best chances of achieving your goals.
Do you have a project that needs a professional PowerPoint designer who really knows what they’re doing? Why not get in touch? I’m based in London but also work remotely.