How to create professional presentations

In the world of consulting, effective presentations, or slide decks, are more than just slides. They are carefully constructed narratives that drive decision-making. Whether presenting to clients or internal teams, a well-structured deck ensures clarity, engagement, and impact. This guide breaks down the essential components of a presentation, from the front page to the appendix, providing best practices to create forceful, data-driven slides. By following a structured approach, you can enhance your storytelling, make your insights more digestible, and ultimately deliver presentations that lead to action.

Section 1: Presentation - Front page

The front page consists of a few essential elements: a title, a sub-headline, the name of the company, date, and time. The title is usually concise, ideally under eight words, while a sub-headline is optional and serves to elaborate on the title.

In addition to these elements, the front page will importantly display the company’s name, design elements, and color scheme, creating a professional and cohesive look that aligns with the brand identity. This includes using the logo, font style, and color palette, ensuring the presentation reflects the visual standards and overall brand presence. The design will be tailored to make a strong first impression, emphasizing the company’s expertise and professionalism in the project.

Section 2: Presentation - Executive summary

The executive summary, also known as 'At A Glance,' is the most critical slide of the presentation. It is typically the first slide and often takes the most time to refine.

This summary condenses the key arguments, storyline, and supporting evidence of the body slides. Its primary function is to provide a quick yet comprehensive overview of the presentation, ensuring that the audience catches the most crucial insights and recommendations immediately, i.e. “at a glance”.

Section 3: Presentation - Body of slides

The body of slides is the central section of the presentation, often containing multiple slides filled with both quantitative and qualitative content. To avoid overwhelming the audience, it is essential to structure both the storyline and individual slides clearly and engagingly.

The anatomy of a slide

Each slide should include three main components:

Action title: A sentence summarizing the key insight or implication.
Subheadings: A brief description of the data used to support the insight.
Slide body: The actual data (text, numbers, visuals) supporting the insight.

2-One of the Key Content Slides of the Presentation: This slide effectively communicates NETO Innovation’s strategic approach to impactful and sustainable projects through a clear and structured layout.
At the top, the Action Title, "Building Future-Ready Solutions with NETO Innovation," highlights the company’s commitment to structured innovation. Below it, the Subheading, "Leveraging structured innovation frameworks to drive impactful and sustainable projects," provides context on the methodology applied.
The slide body is divided into four key pillars, each with an icon and concise description:
1. Strategic Innovation – Merging digital transformation, circular economy, and research for high-impact projects.
2. Project Management – Ensuring risk mitigation, stakeholder coordination, and smooth execution.
3. Funding & Partnerships – Securing EU grants like Horizon Europe to scale innovation.
4. Tech & Sustainability – Integrating AI, smart infrastructure, and green tech for industry and urban solutions.
At the bottom, the Source Section cites credible references, including NETO Innovation research and EU funding programs, reinforcing the expertise behind these insights.
This structured design ensures clarity, engagement, and a strong visual impact, making it easy for audiences to grasp NETO Innovation’s strategic vision.

Action titles

Action titles are a crucial component of a presentation. They articulate the key takeaway, ensuring that even a busy executive can catch the slide’s message without diving into the details. By using an action title, the key message is immediately clear to the reader.

Subheadings

Subheadings provide additional clarity, summarizing the data used to support the action title. They function as a bridge between the action title and the detailed content, enabling the audience to quickly understand the nature and scope of the data that supports your key insight. Good subheadings are concise yet descriptive, highlighting critical information like data sources, timeframes, methodologies, or specific analyses conducted.

Slide body

The slide body should present all relevant information in the simplest way possible, ensuring that it directly supports the action title. Avoid clutter and remove unnecessary facts or figures that do not contribute to the main insight.

Structuring the storyline

A well-structured storyline follows the SCR (Situation-Complication-Resolution) framework:

Situation: provides background and context.
Complication: describes the challenge or problem.
Resolution: proposes a clear, actionable solution.

Your action titles should flow logically throughout the presentation, forming a coherent story that can be understood even without reading the slide body.

Beyond SCR, structured frameworks like the 7-step consulting process can significantly enhance your presentation's clarity and effectiveness. This process includes clearly defining the problem, structuring the analysis, prioritizing key issues, developing insightful analyses, and synthesizing findings into actionable recommendations (Visual Sculptors).

Section 4: Presentation - Conclusion and recommendations

The conclusion and recommendation section outline the necessary actions to address the problems identified earlier. These slides typically include an implementation plan and next steps.

To amplify your recommendations’ effectiveness, engage your audience by incorporating interactive elements and encouraging participation. This approach maintains audience interest, facilitates dialogue, and enhances the overall impact of your presentation (Constant Contact).

3-Recommendation and Key Actions Slide: The image presents a structured framework for accelerating innovation through a strategic implementation plan.
At the top, the title "Accelerating innovation with a strategic implementation plan" is displayed in bold, emphasizing the importance of a structured approach to innovation. Below the title, a Subheading states: "Key actions to drive sustainable, technology-driven innovation and maximize impact," providing context for the recommendations.
The main content is organized into a table with two columns. The left column, labeled "Recommendation," lists four key strategic areas:
1. Strengthen innovation strategy – Focused on integrating AI and Industry 4.0 into digital transformation and expanding research collaborations.
2. Optimize project management – Aiming to enhance risk mitigation, stakeholder engagement, and adopting agile methodologies for adaptability.
3. Maximize EU funding & partnerships – Encouraging participation in Horizon Europe and grants while fostering strategic co-innovation partnerships.
4. Advance sustainable technology – Supporting the implementation of smart infrastructure and green technology while reducing environmental impact through circular economy principles.
The right column, titled "Key Actions," provides specific steps to implement each recommendation, ensuring a practical and results-driven approach.
The image maintains a professional and structured layout, using clear headings and a well-organized table to present key insights effectively.

Best practices for recommendations

Grouping: Organize recommendations into categories for clarity.
Labeling: Number groups or individual recommendations for easy reference.
Active voice: Use strong action verbs like "Grow...", "Minimize...", "Improve...", "Increase...", etc.

Section 5: Presentation - Appendix

The appendix, or backup pages, often contains more slides than the main deck. While the main deck tells the story, the appendix holds additional details and supporting evidence.

To maintain a concise and engaging storyline, move all supplementary information to the appendix, ensuring it is available when needed but does not clutter the main presentation.

For inspiration, review real-world examples from leaders in the domain such as McKinsey, BCG, Bain, and more.

Creating impactful presentations requires expertise and attention to detail. At NETO Innovation, our experienced team specializes in turning complex ideas into clear, persuasive, and professional presentations tailored specifically to your audience.

Whether you're preparing for a critical client meeting, internal decision-making, or pitching innovative projects, we're here to help you communicate your message with maximum impact.

Contact NETO Innovation today and discover how we can help you craft presentations that drive results.