How to Build Presentations
Like a Consultant

Learning how to craft, build and deliver effective business presentations is a skill you need to learn, and continually improve upon, to be successful in the business world.

So once you've problem-solved like a consultant and developed your solution, your next challenge is to focus on crafting your data into a persuasive and visual presentation. This is precisely where many professional presentations go wrong.

No one understands this better than consultants, for whom the crafting and delivery of presentations is a lifeblood and an absolute art form.

As experienced management consultants often note, slide decks are "the currency of our work. If you cannot put together a well-structured, persuasive, and visual presentation... well, you won't be a management consultant for long."

Here are five actionable consulting tips you can use the next time you need to take hard data and craft it into a highly effective business presentation:

1. Structure Your Presentation: Start with Your Point First

A clear and logical structure is critical to the effectiveness of your presentation. Not only do you need to walk someone from point A to point B but, along the way, you need to convince them with a data-backed argument.

Although there are countless theories for how to best craft an argument, consultants typically find the most effective approach is to start with the main point first and then back it up, step-by-step, with hard data and evidence. They call it the Pyramid Principle.

The reason the Pyramid Principle is so effective is that, by first establishing your point, you immediately give context to everything else within your presentation. This allows your audience to evaluate your reasoning and logic along the way, instead of having to wait until the very end to figure out what your point was.

Let's take an example everyone can relate to. If someone was going to break up with you, they could use one of two methods:

Method #1: Start by listing all of their reasons for breaking up with you, which will seem vague and confusing to you until they finally announce that the relationship is over—at which point you will want to revisit all of their complaints.

Method #2: Announce that the relationship is over upfront and then list all of their reasons, which immediately gives you the context to understand all of their subsequent points.

Neither method is pleasant for the end receiver but, at least with the second one, you know exactly where the conversation is going.

2. Storyboard Before You Open the Software

One of the biggest mistakes novice presenters make is immediately opening PowerPoint, Keynote, Google Slides, or Canva and typing directly onto a blank slide. Top-tier consultants rarely do this.

Before any software is opened, a consultant will map out the "story" of the presentation using a physical whiteboard, post-it notes, or a blank piece of paper. This allows them to focus purely on the narrative flow, the strength of the argument, and the Pyramid Principle without getting distracted by formatting, fonts, or animations.

By treating each post-it note as a single slide with a single core message, you can easily rearrange the order of your argument until it flows perfectly. Only when the logic is airtight should you start building the slides digitally.

3. Focus on Highlighting Your Data Visually

Once you've structured your argument, you will need to back it up with evidence. As discussed in our previous post, Problem Solving like a Consultant, using hard data as evidence is critical for bridging the credibility gap with your audience and for effectively selling your idea or solution.

That said, you cannot simply dump your raw data onto a slide and expect it to sell itself. Instead, you need to take your data and craft it into effective visuals that immediately back up your point.

In this YouTube tutorial called Highlighting Your Point Visually, you'll see that any dataset can be highlighted in a number of different ways depending on what your specific point is. Because data is neutral in and of itself, it's entirely up to you to choose what parts of the data you want to highlight in order to present a clear point that supports your overarching argument.

4. K.I.S.S. Your Fancy Graphics Goodbye

When developing your visuals, remember that your ultimate goal is to create clear and effective displays that convince and persuade; not fancy, over-engineered graphics and transition animations that try to entertain.

Consultants often use the KISS concept, an acronym for "keep it simple, stupid," to avoid making their graphics overly elaborate. The logic is that the simpler something is, the easier it will be for your audience to understand and for you to deliver.

Ethan M. Rasiel states in his book, The McKinsey Way, that when building charts McKinsey consultants:

• Print their charts in black and white – Avoid any and all distracting colours.
• Never use three-dimensional graphics unless absolutely necessary – Avoid deceptive perspectives that misrepresent data.
• Follow the cardinal rule of one message per chart – Avoid mixing your messages.

The last rule may seem hard to follow but, as a consultant, you need to be ruthless about it. If there are multiple points to be made from a single chart, simply include the chart twice within your presentation and visually highlight one single point per slide.

5. Pass the 30-Second Elevator Test

Know your presentation so well that you can deliver it in the time it takes to ride an elevator—approximately 30 seconds.

Famously known as the "elevator test" and used across a wide variety of industries, consultants use this exercise not only to force themselves to hone in on their key message but also as a means to prepare themselves for any eventuality.

So regardless of whether you're presenting to a busy CEO, pitching to a remote client, or holding a 'once in a lifetime' pitch, use the Elevator Test to train yourself to distil and sell your idea like a pro.

Conclusion

Crafting, building and delivering a persuasive business presentation is no small task, and it is something you will get better at the more often you do it.

By applying these five proven tips from the consulting industry, you will start thinking much more strategically about how to best take your hard data and craft it into a truly persuasive, impactful presentation.