How to do the first PPT of consulting practice? This article tells you

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What do consultants do?

If you look at what you do every day, many consultants jokingly call themselves a "film drawer", and the "film" here refers to PPT.

Consultants usually refer to PPT as Slides, films or Deck. Both Slides and films refer to a certain page or pages of PPT, while Deck refers to a complete set of PPT reports.

From a business model point of view, there is nothing wrong with that. Consultants need to give customers solutions, which are usually presented in PPT.

So for you who want to enter or have already entered the consulting industry, it is very important to learn how to make Deck correctly and quickly!

Maybe you will see that other people's drawings are clear and smooth, but you are always at a loss when you want to make a qualified consulting deck, and there are still many problems when you finally make it.

In fact, a good consulting PPT is not only a comfortable page, but also very particular about logic, page layout, and various details. Let’s take a look today!

Core elements that must be paid attention to

01

Every Slide tells a point

In the Deck produced by the consultant, each page of Slide seems to be full of information, but all the information can clearly highlight a core point of view. This arrangement allows the viewer to quickly grasp the core point of view, and at the same time it is very comfortable.

For example, in the above PPT, the focus and non-point of the content can be seen at a glance, and all information can point to and strongly support the core point of view. Here is also a little trick for everyone: The title of each PPT page should not only describe the content of the page, but highlight a point of view.

However, if there is too much information on a Slide and there is no obvious logical relationship, it will feel messy, making it impossible for people to quickly find the core point. For example, the following PPT is divided into 3 sections at a glance, but the relationship between these 3 sections and the relationship with the core point of view are not shown, and the focus is not prominent enough. The most critical problem is that this PPT page is a collection of content, but lacks a core point of view.

02

Multi-purpose image expression

There is also a basic principle for the layout of consulting PPT: Do not use words if you can use graphs and diagrams to demonstrate your views.

Many consultants would rather rack their brains for another way of expression than pile up a lot of words, because too much words will create visual pressure and take time to think about what you want to express.

For example, if you want to list the percentage of intra-regional merchandise trade in different regions, of course you can use a table to express it, but this is not intuitive and rigid.

But if it is presented in the form of a map, and the size of the dots is used to refer to the percentage, it will be intuitive and beautiful.

Use a view-driven layout

Knowing the overall idea, let’s take a look at the overall design layout of the consulting PPT. A typical consulting company style can be simply divided into these two parts:

• Title: One sentence explains what this page slide is about
• Main part: In addition to being presented in the form of a chart, you also need to pay attention to logic and layout, such as using numbers or arrows to illustrate ABC The relationship between (contrast, juxtaposition, etc.), suggesting different levels to the reader, very clear

01

title

The Deck made by the consultant is very consulting in its title. Usually summarize the core idea of ​​each slide, and then replace the traditional page title with this core idea.

Generally, the titles of PPTs are short phrases, such as background introduction, case analysis, and summary of conclusions, while the title column of consulting PPTs is the condensed view of the entire page (that is, the gist of this page of PPTs).

For example, "From 2012 to 2017, more than 50% of the economic profits of the global grocery industry were wiped out." Not only does it point out in the title that this is a background introduction, but the specific content of this background can be seen from the title.

02

Main part: pay attention to logic and layout

McKinsey’s Guide to Advanced Business Reporting states: “Design is turning thinking into seeing.”

For consulting companies, PPT is a business presentation method whose main task is to convey most of the information.

Therefore, when consultants design PPT, what they think about is not how to look better, but how to present ideas and concepts in a visual way, that is, expressing ideas is very important.

The advanced version can also choose different page layout forms according to different purposes. For example, when it is necessary to analyze the pros and cons or compare different brands, the left and right layout will become the first choice.

But if what we want to express is that the front and rear information are juxtaposed, and there is a certain relationship between the content, then the left and right layouts are not clear enough. At this time, the top and bottom layouts should be used to express.

Reflect Professionalism in details

01

neat page layout

The titles of pictures and texts are very regular, and the details of punctuation, capitalization, left and right alignment, horizontal distribution, etc. are very rigorous. In the specific operation, rulers, auxiliary lines, etc. will be used for fine grinding.

For example, for all tables, especially continuous table graphics, the size and vertices of each table must be the same. When you change multiple tables in a row, the position of the table picture needs not to move at all. On the same slide, you must also ensure that the pictures and tables are on the same horizontal line and the same vertical line.

02

Harmonious color matching

Different companies have different color schemes and fixed templates. You can tell which company is the masterpiece from the layout and typesetting. The PPT of consultants will have "company character", which is an invisible business card and an initial manifestation of professionalism.

The color scheme of different companies usually matches the logo. For example, Bain mainly uses red, McKinsey mainly uses blue, and Boston Consulting Group mainly uses green.

Red main, light gray collocation, black embellishment

Bain's PPT is mainly red, which just echoes the hue of the logo.

Blue main tone, sky blue auxiliary, water blue embellishment

McKinsey uses blue as the main color, and you can feel the breath of the sea from the homepage of the official website to the PPT template.

Dark green is the main color, supplemented by light gray, and light green is like an embellishment

Boston Consulting focuses on green, and the green grass color on the screen seems to smell the smell of soil.

Of course, without giving an example of color matching, it is recommended not to use contrasting and visually impactful colors, such as red or yellow.

03

font, font size

It is also very important to use the appropriate font size and font.

If the font size is too small, readers will easily miss key information; if the font size is too large, only a small amount of content can be placed, and it will become difficult to explain one thing clearly.

For specific operations, you can refer to the font size requirements of different companies. Generally, the main text should not be smaller than 12 font size, and the font size of the title should be larger accordingly.

Arial and Calibri are commonly used in English fonts, while italic or boldface can be selected for Chinese characters.

Most custom fonts are indeed more personalized and beautiful than the system's default fonts. However, don't use a lot of fonts at once, which will destroy the overall coordination of the page.

Finally, let us summarize the three main points of PPT production:

• Basic elements: one core point per page, graphical expression
• Layout: the title is the point of view, the content layout is reasonable
• Details: the page layout is regular, the color Uniform, font size

After reading today's article, I believe that if you go to a consulting company for an internship and encounter PPT-related work, you should not be in a hurry. In fact, in many financial companies, these techniques are also applicable. So, no matter what your job target industry is, learn these key points, and the next time the leader will publicly praise you may be you.

[Sovo internal referral]: Provide one-stop solutions for studying abroad application, job search, and background improvement. It has guided nearly a thousand students to successfully apply for a job, and helped hundreds of students enter investment banks, securities firms, consulting, four majors, and so on through internal referrals. Fast food and so on.

Focus on the official account: [Sovo internal push]. View the latest list of available internship positions in securities firms, investment banking departments (IBD), research institutes (business research), securities, funds, VC, PE, the Big Four, and MBB Consulting.