Do You Speak for Your Business? Then You Don’t Want to Miss This Time-Saving Trick

Do you deliver presentations for your business?

When you are preparing those presentations, do you recreate a PowerPoint every time?

The other day I realized that I have been using a time-saving trick for years and have never shared it here.

This technique has allowed me to prepare for an event very easily.  Since a 1/3 of my business is speaking (keynotes, workshops, etc.) it is important that I can be effective with my prep time!

Create a Master Speaking Presentation File

Rather than having separate presentation files for each talk that you deliver, consider creating a master file.

I have one master PowerPoint file that contains every slide I have ever created for various programs. (I also include the slides that I have used to create YouTube videos.)  I keep the formatting/branding consistent so that they all visually go together easily.

Then, when it is time for me to prep for an event, I

• go to my master file,
• click save as to a new file,
• delete all slides that don't relate to the particular talk I'm giving
• save.

This technique allows me to give custom presentations without the wasted time and effort of pulling stuff together every time. It is especially helpful for me when I'm giving a 60-minute talk and I want to pull from my 2-day workshops. I just strip out most of the detail and boom, I'm done.

Sequence Your Master Speaking File

I shared this technique the other day on my Facebook page. (You have liked my Facebook page right?!)  Shortly after Des Gray MindWorks said

“Hey Steph… great tip, I'm doing same wherever possible… have also divided “different messages” up into sequences, so can then just pull out ‘X number of sequences for X time’.“

Excellent addition to the theme here Des!  Grouping the slides together in a logical order is very helpful.

Note Each Slide Timing

If you want to get really slick with your master file, you could put a tiny number at the bottom left or right of your slide that indicates the time period it normally takes for you to cover the slide.  This is a real superpower productivity tip because then you know how long each series of slides will take you to deliver.

Do You Have Some Presentation Creation Tricks?

So, what do you think?  Are you going to create your master file?  Do you already use one?  What other presentation time-saving tricks or strategies do you know?  Please share!  We all want to learn.