Your presentation's slide design can make or break its impact; just be careful not to overdo it with too many eye-catching features.

Focus on using text fonts that can easily be read across any computer system, while choosing one which matches the background color of your slides for a harmonious appearance.

Remember that PowerPoint should complement your speech rather than become its replacement, by offering visual cues for key points you are discussing in each point.

1. Keep it simple

Bring charts and graphs into your presentation to provide visual representations of data that is easy for audiences to comprehend. They are an effective way of breaking up large chunks of information into manageable chunks while serving as slide subtitles so your audience can easily follow along with the narrative of your speech.

Always follow the 10-20-30 rule when creating slideshow presentations - this helps ensure that they won't drag on too long, leading attendees to lose interest quickly. When using text to convey key points, leave out extraneous or irrelevant passages; visual designs should take over for this portion.

When using images in your slides, be sure to crop them into more interesting shapes than just square images that may look monotone. Also, ensure your presentation will be legible for all members of the audience by choosing legible fonts such as sans serif fonts that do not include extra decorative flourishes at the ends of strokes and look more professional when projected on screen.

2. Keep it relevant

Many presentations suffer from text overload, making it hard for audiences to comprehend and retain all the information. One effective strategy to combat this issue is the "Rule of One Slide, One Idea". Every element on each slide must contribute directly or indirectly towards communicating your overall message; keeping text levels minimal while increasing white space helps ensure an impactful presentation design.

Image selection is also crucial: low-resolution or pixelated photos will leave a negative first impression and set the stage for your presentation. Utilizing photos with captions may be useful when explaining complex data; just make sure that each caption relates directly to its respective image without detracting from its overall message.

Finally, it's essential to limit the use of animation and transition effects within a presentation. Too much animation may look cheesy and diminish credibility - an effective strategy would be limiting their use until about 10 minutes into your speech when audience interest starts waning.

3. Keep it clean

Text is an essential element of PowerPoint presentations, and how you write it has a huge impact on how effective they communicate. Use fonts that are clean and professional so all members of your audience can easily read your words, and avoid special effects like italics or all caps for an easier reading experience.

Back-to-back bullet points on slides can quickly turn into an incoherent mess that leaves little lasting impression. Instead, break up your text into sections and provide visual aids such as graphs to increase memorability and keep audiences attentive. This strategy will keep them awake!

Formatting is essential when giving any type of presentation, and PowerPoint offers numerous formatting tools to make this task easy. Start by setting an overall theme, limiting your color palette, aligning all your elements correctly, and using fade in/out transitions between slides to minimize distractions onscreen and help focus your audience's attention on you. A great fade-in animation can also add visual interest and draw audience interest!

4. Keep it consistent

Consistency is essential when creating presentations. Utilizing consistent color palettes and font sizes will ensure a cohesive presentation experience, as well as improving how effectively your slides work. For instance, using one font for body copy makes reading your presentation much simpler; while using various fonts for headlines can help make an eye-catching display that stands out.

Utilize visuals that reinforce your message to draw an audience's interest and keep their interest throughout your presentation. Abstract shapes, high-resolution photos and vibrant hues will do just the trick to keep their interest and keep them engaged throughout.

Limit the amount of text in your slides; too much text can overwhelm audiences and divert their attention away from your message. Furthermore, use white space (space free from text, images and other elements) effectively in your presentation to direct their focus towards you and direct their interest appropriately. Ensure your presentation finishes on time so as to retain audiences.

5. Keep it memorable

Implementing interactive elements into your presentation such as live polls, quizzes and discussions can increase audience participation while creating engagement among viewers who may wish to explore further information themselves - this can be especially useful when presenting remotely.

Keep in mind that slides should supplement, rather than become the centerpiece, of your speech. Presenters who rely too heavily on slides often lose audience attention; to prevent this, limit text on each slide so it's easily readable; use simple fonts without all-caps text; aim for five lines or less on every slide as a rule of thumb.

Create an engaging and effective PowerPoint presentation can be challenging, but with a few tricks it can become easier than you expect. To get started, try dynamic presentation software like Visme to create and share presentations that are both visually stunning and compelling; photos can even be included into your slides while slide notes provide invaluable guidance as you present.