Doing presentation is one of the most important things for students to do. PowerPoint templates help students cut the technical aspects of creating the slides so they can focus on the content. However, choosing the right templates and using them the right way are still important in making the presentation “A-worthy”.

Make sure you know how to properly choose and use templates to optimize your presentation. Follow this guide and template recommendation to create a compelling presentation.

Important PowerPoint Template Elements

If you never make a slide set with PowerPoint templates, here are important elements that you must apply and optimize to create the best presentation.

• Slide Layout

Slide layout determines the look of your slide in the eyes of audience. It refers to the placement of title, texts, images or other media, and graphic elements on each slide. You need to plant the best layout that is comfortable to read 

• Theme

Theme refers to the colors, effects, and backgrounds that create the visual adornment of the slides. Choosing the right color combination can determine the success of your presentation, especially when you are discussing specific theme. For example, green palette is great for presentation about environment.

• Typeface

Typeface includes the font you use and how it matches the topic, theme, and nature of the presentation. PowerPoint templates usually come with pre-made fonts that match the design and theme.

• Media

A good presentation should include additional media to emphasize your points. They include photos, illustrations, video clips, or audio that are relevant to the topic.

How to Draw Attention in PowerPoint Presentation

Making your PowerPoint templates attractive is one way to command attention from your audience. The key is combining the practical and visual flair in a balanced way. Here are several ways to create attractive presentation materials using pre-made templates.

• Plan the Layout Carefully

Layout determines whether your audience can read your presentation slides well or not. A good layout should put the most important part on the top. The texts and images should read from left to right and top to bottom for a more natural viewing. Stick to the main points and key phrases of your presentation on each slide to prevent cluttered view.

• Make Every Design Element Matters

Excessive design elements can make your slides look crowded. An empty space for background with a few lines, an image or other media, and a little graphic embellishment are enough. Ask yourself: “Will this addition contribute to my presentation?” If no, avoid adding it.

• Use Consistent Theme for the Slides

Many PowerPoint templates come with specific themes and graphic elements. You can choose a theme that is suitable for the nature of your presentation. Keep this theme consistent for all the slides so your audience does not get distracted.

• Use Legible Fonts

Choosing the right fonts is important to make the slides easy to read. Limit yourself to two to three fonts in the slides, such as for the main titles, subtitles, and body texts. Keep your font options professional by choosing standard typeface, such as Verdana, Cambria, or Helvetica. For the size, pick 18 to 24 points so the texts are easy to read.

• Find Alternatives to Bullet Points

Bullet points are great for breaking the information into pieces and avoiding cluttered slides. However, bullet point alternatives can achieve the same effect without making your slides look “common” or boring. Icons or handcrafted infographics can be more attractive options than bullet points. Infographics also make your presentation look more professional.

Things to Avoid in PowerPoint Presentation

If you use PowerPoint templates to make school presentation, you are probably limited to specific class regulations. However, if you have more freedom in creating slides, make sure to avoid creating slides that are hard to read.

For example, limit the use of fancy display fonts. Despite looking cool, these fonts are hard to read, especially as body texts. They also don’t look professional or class appropriate. You probably can use a display font with subdued design for main title, but not for the rest of the text.

Another important thing to avoid is low contrast between the texts and the background. Keeping your slides simple with a lot of empty spaces is a safer option than creating fancy background. The latter can distract the audience and make it hard for them to read the texts.

Finally, a good presentation should have a good flow to keep the audience engaged. Too few slides make your presentation feel inadequate, while too many slides can bore your audience. An ideal presentation should have the pace of five to six slides for every 10 minutes of presentation. Remember, the slides work as guidance, not the whole content.

Examples of PowerPoint Templates for Students

After learning about the basics, it is time to choose the right PowerPoint templates. Many pre-made templates are ideal for students. They have simple but attractive themes, proper fonts and backgrounds, image placeholders, and other elements you can adjust and edit without software.

Here are some examples of templates you can use for a class presentation.

• Vlog

Vlog is a fresh and stylish template for creative class presentation. The combination of brushstroke fonts for the main titles and creative layouts makes them cool enough for class project, without straying from professional look. The template comes with five bold color palettes and five styles to make your presentation more interesting.

Use the 150+ total slides to create a comprehensive presentation material. The creative image placeholders are great for inserting HD photos, illustrations, or videos. You can just use the drag-and-drop function to insert your media into the placeholders. All the infographics are creative but easy to decipher.

• Agusta

Agusta isa fresh. text-heavy PowerPoint template with perfect look for a class presentation. The layout allows you to create a perfect balance between texts and HD images or other media. It combines round and square graphics with bold colors and a lot of empty space for an attractive layout. You can choose between five bold color palettes to create a thematic presentation.

Agusta comes with 15+ total slides, including section breaks. The image placeholders come in creative shapes to make your layout more interesting. Every function is easy to adjust and edit, from the placeholder image replacements to layout editing. You can also use many handcrafted infographics to present your data in clear and attractive way.

• Chalked

Want something more creative and fun without losing the professionalism? Chalked can be your option. This PowerPoint template has attractive chalk effects for its graphics. They make your slides more attractive, but in subtler way so there is no visual distraction. The chalk theme also makes it perfect for a school presentation.

Chalked is great for a presentation that does not rely too much on images. However, the 150+ slides still come with image placeholders to drag and drop your media. The infographic designs are creative and easy to decipher, adding more academic value to an otherwise creative and fun template.

• Circles

Circles is a stylish PowerPoint template that adds fun element to your presentation slides. It comes with round-shaped graphics and five bold color palettes to spice up any academic presentation. The round image placeholders make every slide less boring, without distracting the audience with excessive graphics.

Circles template gives you 150+ total slides, with five different styles to create diverse slides. The placeholders are available for various media, such as photos, illustrations, vector arts, video clips, and audio clips. Drag and drop them easily to create a presentation material in no time.

• Educa

Educa is a great PowerPoint template for a slightly more conventional class presentation, such as for university. It has a clean, fresh, and minimalistic style. However, the multiple colors in each palette option add unique elements to the slides without distracting the audience. The layouts are creative but still look formal enough for any types of serious presentation.

Educa is easy to modify, adjust, edit, and resize. You can modify each graphic element without using specific software. The image placeholders use drag-and-drop function to place photos, illustrations, and other media you need to support your presentation. It also comes with several creative and professional infographics to better describe your data.

• Yooga

Yooga offers a soft, calming theme in a professional PowerPoint template. The header and main titles use casual but simple handwriting font to make your presentation more fun. The layouts perfectly combine substantial body texts with multiple placeholders, perfect if you only get limited time for your presentation.

Yooga has 150+ total slides with five styles and five color palettes to match with your topic. All the image placeholders can be replaced with HD photos, vector arts, audios, and videos. The infographics are easy to decipher but still creative. The gentle theme helps making your presentation topic and materials stand out.

• Numia

If your presentation is heavy on images, Numia can be your PowerPoint template. It offers large and uniquely shaped image placeholders that immediately attract the audience’s eyes. Combined with creative layouts and stylish text placements, Numia makes your presentation more interesting regardless of the topic.

Numia offers five unique color palettes, each with multiple colors that highlight important parts in your material. The color combination also exists in its several handcrafted infographics, highlighting several data elements that will make your report more compelling. You can use its 150+ slides to create a thorough presentation, complete with HD photos or illustrations.

• Aquarium

This uniquely themed PowerPoint template is based on the distinctive shape of aquarium bowls, combining bold colors in its five color palette options. The unique image placeholders make your presentation material more compelling. The handcrafted infographics are available to present your data, a great alternative to regular bullet points.

Aquarium is perfect for a class presentation with a touch of unique visual in the material. The layouts are creative, helping the audience to get your points more easily. With 150+ total slides and five slide styles, you can create a thorough presentation regardless of the duration you get. You can also drag and drop any media you like into the placeholders, including vector arts, photos, illustrations, and animations.

• Koching

Nothing makes a presentation more fun than a cat-themed PowerPoint template. Koching comes with emphasis on image elements and HD cat images, perfect for pet or animal-themed presentation. The stylish layout comes with square-based image placeholder shapes to keep your presentation material professional.

Koching comes with five color palette options, each combining little streaks of bold colors to make your presentation display more attractive. The infographics are attractive but easy to decipher. The template has 150+ slides, including section breaks for a slightly longer presentation.

• Xafora

Contrasting light and dark themes can be a good way to make your presentation more interesting. Xafora is a PowerPoint template that offers combination between dark and light themes among its 150+ slides (including section breaks). You can use these different themes to highlight different sections in the presentation material and keep your session interesting.

Xafora had a lot of creative layouts that perfectly combine heavy texts with unique placeholders. It comes with drag-and-drop function to add your media files into the slides, such as HD photos, vector arts, illustrations, and audio or video clips. The handcrafted infographics are easy enough to decipher by your classroom audience, but still look professional enough for extra points from your teacher.

• Bananen

Simple, fresh, and modern, Bananen is a perfect PowerPoint template for minimalistic but bold style. It has simple style with square-based graphics and fresh yellow palette, perfect for keeping your audience’s attention. The stylish layouts create a good balance between texts and images, with placeholders that have creative shapes.

Bananen comes with 150+ total slides, including animated section breaks and handcrafted infographics. You can replace the images in the placeholders with your own media files, using easy drag-and-drop function. You can also edit and resize all graphic elements without using special software.

Template is not the only important element in a perfect PowerPoint presentation, but it can affect its quality. Download one of these PowerPoint templates and use the design tips to create a presentation your teacher, lecturer, and classmate will never forget.