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PPT Experts: Your Complete Guide to Hiring PowerPoint Specialists

How To Find, Select, Negotiate & Onboard A PPT Specialist 

This deep blog is your go-to guide to see if you need a PowerPoint expert or PPT designer. You will learn the following  

  1. Who are PPT Experts? 
  2. How PPT experts are different from PPT designers?  
  3. What should be the qualities of a PPT Expert? 
  4. How to decide if you need a PowerPoint Expert of just a PowerPoint designer is good? 
  5. How to find the right PPT expert for your project? 
  6. Limitations of a PPT expert 
  7. Best practice of hiring a PPT specialist 
  8. Cost of hiring a PPT expert 
  9. How to become PPT Expert if you are a newbie  
  10. FAQ related to PPT Experts

Who are
PPT experts?

I encounter this question quite often & people confuse this term with PPT designers, so here is what I tell them:  

PPT experts are a team of people who not only know how to design and beautify slides in PowerPoint but also how to make the presentation land well in the mind of the target audience and design it for maximum impact.  

In the era of AI where everything comes with an AI twist (even AI PPT Designers), however irrespective of how advanced AI is at this stage (2024), it is yet not possible to design a PPT that can surpass human creativity. I’ll tell you the reason in a moment.  

PPT experts are still valuable and companies (especially with high stakes in presentation) look for PowerPoint experts. 

Are you a Consultancy or Training organization, looking for PPT makeovers or new presentations?

Let's Talk

What Sets PPT Experts Apart from Regular Designers? 

Feature PPT Experts PPT Designers 
Focus Strategic outcomes Visual design 
Scope End-to-end presentation strategy Design execution 
Skills Advanced PowerPoint + Business understanding Basic PowerPoint + Design skills 
Cost 40-60% higher Standard rates 

PPT Experts Vs PPT Designers

Although comparing PPT specialists with AI is clearly not a match, it is still a matter of discussion to find how a PPT expert is different than PPT designers (For most this is more or less the same thing).  

PPT designers are people who design the PPT just like any graphic designer would do.   

That means even if you have a graphic designer who understands design, they should be able to do a reasonably good job on PPT designing but there are a couple of things that you cannot expect from a PPT designer.  

Differences between PPT Designers Vs PPT Experts

PPT Designers Projects  

  1. They concentrate only on the design part
  2. Their sole purpose is to beautify the presentation
  3. They make any PPT a professional one ready to design
  4. They know basic functionality of PPT and do a reasonably good job
  5. Focus on visual aesthetics and design principles
  6. May not consider the presentation’s content and messaging
  7. Typically work with pre-existing content and templates
  8. Limited understanding of presentation goals and objectives
  9. Primarily concerned with making the presentation look good
  10. May not be familiar with advanced PPT features and functionalities

 PPT Experts Projects  

  1. They think of outcome by considering carefully:
    • Who the target audience is
    • What the topic is
    • What the expected outcome from the presentation is
  2. Their sole purpose is to make a presentation suitable for the occasion/purpose
  3. They design to fulfill the purpose
  4. They know in-depth functionality of PPT platform
  5. Consider the presentation’s purpose, audience, and desired outcomes
  6. Develop a deep understanding of the content and messaging
  7. Create customized content and design elements
  8. Collaborate with clients to understand their goals and objectives
  9. Focus on creating engaging and effective presentations
  10. Possess advanced knowledge of PPT features and functionalities
  11. Can create complex animations, interactions, and simulations
  12. Understand how to use PPT to support storytelling and narrative techniques
  13. Can integrate multimedia elements, such as video and audio
  14. Know how to optimize PPT performance and troubleshoot issues
  15. Stay up-to-date with the latest PPT trends, features, and best practices

“So if you go in depth, you will find a PPT Expert can work as a PPT designer but a PPT designer does not necessarily do the job of a PPT expert.” 

We work with many consultancy firms, govt departments, and MNCs which require delivering presentations to their clients, and they prefer someone who not only understands what Brand guidelines and designing are but also understands what the purpose of the presentation is and how this is going to be used in real business.  

It takes a lot of effort to understand this and requires a PPT specialist to learn the requirements and then design slides which can achieve the purpose and not just look beautiful. 

So who are PPT experts (again)?  

A team of people who not only know how to design and beautify slides in PowerPoint but also how to make the presentation land well in the mind of the target audience and design it for maximum impact.

Qualities of
PPT Experts

  1. They should understand design, platform (in this case PowerPoint), target audience, intent, data, content and experience
  2. They can be in the shoes of the client and think what style, language and design will work best as per occasion
  3. A PPT expert asks sufficient questions mainly around requirements, audience, topic and content
  4. They possess excellent communication skills to understand client needs and preferences
  5. They have a keen eye for detail and design elements to create visually appealing slides
  6. They are proficient in PowerPoint and its features to create interactive and engaging presentations
  7. They can distill complex information into clear and concise content
  8. They consider the audience’s perspective and tailor the presentation accordingly
  9. They stay up-to-date with design trends and best practices to deliver high-quality presentations

Additionally, a PowerPoint Specialist should: 

  1. Be able to work collaboratively with clients and team members
  2. Have project management skills to meet deadlines and deliver presentations on time
  3. Be flexible and adaptable to revisions and changes
  4. Have a strong understanding of storytelling principles to craft compelling narratives
  5. Be able to create presentations that are accessible and inclusive for diverse audiences 

We recently got an order worth Rs 29 lakh for designing more than 100 presentation decks from a consultancy just because they understand the difference between PPT designers & PPT experts and found us suitable even though we were slightly costlier than our competitors. 

Are you a Consultancy or Training organization, looking for PPT makeovers or new presentations?

Let's Talk

How to decide to hire PowerPoint experts or PPT designers  

Well, I’ll be honest here. For most requirements, a PPT designer is sufficient or you can even use free PPT template. This includes projects like

  1. PowerPoint Company Profile Designing
  2. PPT Sales Deck Designing
  3. Product Presentation in PPT
  4. Service Presentation in PPT
  5. HR Presentation

But specialized presentations require PPT experts 

  1. Pitch Deck Designing
  2. Acquisition/Merger Proposals in PPT
  3. Client Proposal or client reporting in PPT
  4. Consultancy Reports in form of PPT or PDF
  5. White papers for online or offline uses
  6. Case Studies Presentation
  7. Data-rich presentations
  8. Dashboards for clients
  9. Training Deck Design

In terms of companies, most small-medium companies may use PPT designers while firms like McKinsey, PwC, E&Y, NITI Aayog, Ministry Department, consultancies and MNC boardroom presentations need PPT experts. 

“So in a nutshell, whenever you are in need of understanding the concept, language and content where visualizing the important points to the target audience is the highest priority, then you should talk to PPT experts.“ 

These presentation specialists have past experience working in such high-pressure environments, talking to multiple stakeholders, and designing to win the presentation rather than just beautifying and handing it over. 

For example, consider the following information in the raw slide:

For a PPT designer, it’s some data and they will show this in the following format: 

While for Presentation experts, this is valuable information, they’ll go through this information in more depth and visualize this in the following way: 

Can you see the difference? This is when you hire a PPT expert who works from your side and sees things in a way that you see it.  

Why do companies hire PPT specialists?  

While many organizations have in-house resources (not necessarily experts), firms look outside when they need either:  

  1. Quick turnaround for designing slides
  2. High degree of specialization needed 
  3. Large sum of slides 

…and this is the right reason also.   

The best combination is when you make your existing designer as POC and let your internal team discuss it with in-house resources and that in-house resource speaks to vendor’s POC, i.e., PPT expert or team leader. 

How to find the best PPT experts (& test them)?  

The best way is to check online and find companies which have previous experience working on high-stakes presentations. For this, following are a few ways to find a right presentation specialist:  

  1. Check their understanding of designer vs experts and ask questions around it
  2. Ask for previous work samples
  3. Check their process of delivery (it should be clearly laid out if they have experience)
  4. Demand case study: This will work very well as if case study for presentation is well built you will see quite inside as how they handle problems, their work under pressure, TAT & reporting etc.
  5. Find out how they protect data, their NDAs, and data handling within the team
  6. Finally get a sample or 3-4 slides done and see for yourself about their understanding:
  7. Give them one flat slide
  8. Give one slide with full of text
  9. Give one slide with numbers
  10. Give one slide with graphs

And see how they handle each case. 

Are you a Consultancy or Training organization, looking for PPT makeovers or new presentations?

Let's Talk

Limitations of PPT Experts

While searching for PPT experts for your project, it is important to know what the limitations of PPT Experts are and see where you have to come into the picture.  

In our experience of designing presentations for consultancies, we noticed that companies usually dump the data (let’s say 100 slides) and expect the PPT expert to come up with let’s say 10 or 20 slides. Now being outsider and not being part of your project since the beginning, it is obvious that they might miss some crucial information or highlight least important pointers.  

Another limitation which typically depends on resources as PPT experts, is content writing. I have seen PPT experts are pretty good in understanding, designing and making some changes in content yet I have never been able to use them as a content writer. My first choice is that a client should provide their own content or they hire a content writer. 

Here are some suggestions when hiring PPT experts  

  1. Don’t dump all of your data hoping PPT experts will figure out themselves
  2. Always provide content for slides or hire a content writer
  3. Provide detailed context about your audience, topic and what you expect from this presentation
  4. Provide sufficient time to work on project. Ask them to submit first draft, second draft and final draft
  5. Stop making real-time changes in every draft. Only start when your content and sequence are frozen
  6. Always keep one POC from your side rather than briefing PPT expert from different people
  7. Set clear expectations for time & delivery
  8. Provide your Brand guidelines along with past few presentations
Hiring cost of PPT Experts

Hiring cost of PPT Experts

In my study, hiring of PPT experts is almost 40-60% more costly than PPT designers. [Read PPT designers cost ]  

Different PowerPoint agencies have different rates but majorly charge a premium for providing PowerPoint specialists.  

However, the cost becomes reasonable (more or less the same as PPT designers, if negotiated well) when the slides number increases (for a range of 100 to 1000 slides).  

The reason is simple: PPT experts are in general more experienced and senior, therefore their cost is much higher for PPT designing companies.  

You can check (& justify cost thoroughly by going through the hiring tips that I shared above). 

How to Become a PPT Expert?  

If you’re aspiring to become a PPT Expert, I would suggest starting as a PPT designer first. A few things which you need to build on the way are design, content creation, and technical proficiency.  

Here are some steps to help you get started:  

  1. Become Pro in Basics of PowerPoint: Though it seems simple, as you go deep in PowerPoint you will see a lot of features that are simple in hindsight for most designers. Your initial goal should be to learn everything from PPT as a platform and then practice on the latest versions
  2. Develop Your Design Skills: This advice is basic yet I see many designers ignoring design principles, color theory, and typography to create visually appealing slides
  3. Content Creation Skills: I wouldn’t say become a content writer (though it’ll be an added advantage) but trust me you need to understand content well as on the way you may need to change a lot of one-liners, content to suit your designing needs
  4. Staying updated: Follow design and presentation blogs, attend webinars, and participate in online forums to stay current with best practices
  5. Practice and Build Your Portfolio: Create sample presentations and showcase your work to demonstrate your expertise. Try giving away some of your templates for free
  6. Industry Certification: Look into certifications like the Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) or Certified Presentation Designer (CPD) to build your skills
  7. Network and Collaborate: Join online communities, attend events, and work with others to learn from their experiences and share your own knowledge
  8. Continuously Learn and Improve: PPT Experts are lifelong learners, staying updated on new features, technologies, and design approaches to remain ahead of the curve

FAQ

What is the difference between a PPT expert and a PPT designer?
PPT experts focus on strategic outcomes and comprehensive presentation strategies, while PPT designers primarily concentrate on the visual design aspects of presentations.

When should I hire a PPT expert instead of a PPT designer?
You should hire a PPT expert for high-stakes presentations that require strategic insight, such as pitch decks or executive reports, while a PPT designer is suitable for simpler design tasks.

How much does hiring a PPT expert cost?
The cost of hiring a PPT expert can vary widely, typically ranging from 40-60% higher than standard PPT design rates, depending on the complexity and scope of the project.

What skills should I look for in a PPT expert?
Look for skills such as advanced PowerPoint proficiency, strategic thinking, business acumen, and a strong portfolio showcasing previous work.


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I hope you find 10+ Tips For Hiring PPT Experts Online, useful. If you are looking for PPT experts, you can click here and fill out this form or call directly at +919540344454 / +919999500375