In the modern workplace, people increasingly use presentations to meet the growing need for communication among individuals, departments, and constituencies. Presentations teach audiences critical new concepts, summarize important issues, and persuade people to take action — after they are armed with the facts. Although the preparation and delivery of a presentation is a core job task for some, just about everyone is eventually assigned with the task of creating, contributing to, or delivering a presentation to an audience. When it's your turn, you want to make sure that you are prepared.

Presentations should always have a clear purpose and a logical organization. For example, it is useful to consider the needs of your particular audience before you begin to outline your ideas. Presenters frequently deliver boilerplate slide shows that do not address the specific needs of an audience. Well-designed presentations generally fall into three categories: persuasive, productive, and informational.

Persuasive presentations, such as sales pitches, persuade audiences to consider a product or an argument. Productive presentations coordinate or motivate audience members. Informational presentations educate audiences about a certain topic or result. It is important to identify what is unique about your audience and to identify what results you would like to have so that you can organize your presentation accordingly.

Creating your message is just one side of the coin; using presentation software, such as Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003, to illustrate your message is the other side. If you have not used PowerPoint before or are just getting started, you're in the right place.

Use the following information and tools to learn how to design your first presentation so that you are ready on presentation day.

• Presenting with PowerPoint: 10 do's and don'ts (Article)
  Learn 10 ways to use PowerPoint to your advantage and to stay in tune with your audience.
• Create your first presentation (Training)
  Build your first basic presentation with this hands-on lesson.
• About creating presentations (Article)
  Review your options for starting a new presentation.
• Create compelling presentations (Webcast)
  See this webcast to learn how the small business user can get the most out of PowerPoint.
• Microsoft® Office PowerPoint® 2003 Step by Step (Reference)
  Master the tools for transforming your ideas into winning presentations.
• 12 Tips for Creating Better Presentations (Article)
  Create professional, unique presentations more easily than you think.