Slide Design Rules Card and Makeover Examples

The rules for slides that support you on one page, plus five real before-and-after makeovers you can copy.

Who it is for

• Small-business owners who pitch to clients or run staff meetings

• Managers and shift leads who present updates and briefings

• Trainers who build their own slides

• Sales staff and coordinators who present on video calls

• Anyone who has ever been told their slides were "too busy"

The problem it solves

Most slides try to do the presenter's job. They are full of sentences, so the audience reads instead of listening, and the presenter ends up reading too. This kit shows you how to fix that with SLIM, a KA Company method of four steps for every slide: State one point, Limit the words, Illustrate it, Make it readable. You get the rules on one page and five worked makeovers that show exactly what changes, and why.

What is inside

• Short guide to SLIM (4 pages): why slides compete with the speaker, the four steps in depth with examples and common mistakes, topic titles rewritten as point headlines, swaps that replace bullet lists, where to find the settings in PowerPoint, Google Slides and Canva, and what to say when someone wants everything on the slides

• One-page rules card (1 page): the seven slide rules grouped under the four SLIM steps, quick fixes and a final check before you present. Also supplied as its own one-page PDF to print

• Five before-and-after makeovers (5 pages): an auto repair staff meeting, a physical therapy orientation, a bakery sales pitch, a landscaping safety briefing and a call center huddle, each with what changed at each step, the lesson and the speaker notes

• Makeover worksheet (2 pages): blank and filled in

• Editable PowerPoint (15 slides): the rules, all five makeovers with before and after side by side, the five after slides at full size so you can reuse the layouts, and a blank makeover slide

How to use it

1. Read the four-page guide once.

2. Print the rules card and keep it beside your screen.

3. Before your next presentation, run each slide through the card in SLIM order. Use the makeover that looks most like your slide as a model.

4. Open the PowerPoint file, duplicate an after slide, and replace the words and photo boxes with your own.

Formats and file types

• PDF, 13 pages, US Letter

• PDF, one-page rules card

• PowerPoint (.pptx), 15 editable slides with speaker notes; also opens in Google Slides and Keynote

• Licensed for use within your organization

Frequently asked questions