How to Make a Corporate Presentation [The Ultimate Guide]
- Ink Narrates | The Presentation Design Agency
- Jul 4
- 6 min read
While working on a recent corporate presentation for one of our clients, Vanessa, she asked us something that caught our team’s attention.
She said,
“How do we make sure our slides don’t look like everyone else’s but still make the right impression?”
Our Creative Director answered without blinking,
“By thinking first, designing second.”
As a presentation design agency, we work on dozens of corporate presentations every year. And in the process, we’ve noticed one persistent challenge: people obsess over slides and design, but they have no idea what they’re actually trying to communicate.
In this blog, we’re going to show you how to make a corporate presentation that actually says something, not just looks like it might.
In case you didn't know, we specialize in only one thing: making presentations. We can help you by designing your slides and writing your content too.
What is a Corporate Presentation
A corporate presentation is a structured visual document used by companies to communicate key information to a specific audience: clients, partners, investors, or internal teams.
It’s not just about slides. It’s about telling a business story with purpose. Whether you're pitching a product, explaining strategy, or aligning your team, the goal stays the same: make your message clear and actionable.
What goes wrong? Most people focus on dumping data, not delivering meaning. A solid corporate presentation filters the noise, sharpens the message, and shows the audience exactly what matters — and why.
Example of a Corporate Presentation
For example, take a look at our case study with Jeddah Airports, where we developed multiple corporate decks over an ongoing engagement, covering concepts like revenue strategy, passenger experience, sustainability, and accessibility.
What Should You Include in a Corporate Deck
Most people go looking for a template. A slide-by-slide formula. A list of “must-haves.”
But, as experts, we have a different opinion.
A corporate presentation isn’t a checklist. It’s a thinking exercise. Every deck should be built around a specific goal and that goal should shape the content, not the other way around.
What works for a fundraising pitch won’t work for a leadership offsite. A partner proposal shouldn’t look like an onboarding deck. Trying to fit every use case into the same mold is how you end up with presentations that feel generic and forgettable.
We don’t start with slides. We start with questions. What are you trying to say? Who are you talking to? What do you want them to walk away with?
That’s the only way to make a deck that feels like it actually belongs to your business, not one that could have come from anyone, anywhere. Hence, now we'll cover how to make your corporate presentation from scratch.
How to Make a Corporate Presentation from Scratch
Start with this: the slides are the last thing you should touch.
Most people rush into design mode. They open PowerPoint, pick a trendy template, and start plugging in bullet points. The result? A deck that looks decent but says nothing. No story, no clarity, no impact.
That’s not how you build a corporate presentation. Not if you want it to land.
As a team that builds these decks every week, we’ve learned this: a great presentation doesn’t start with software. It starts with intent. So here’s how we build corporate presentations from scratch — step by step, with zero fluff.
1. Define the Objective
Before anything else, figure out the point of the presentation. This sounds obvious, but it’s where most teams fail.
Ask yourself: What’s the one thing we want our audience to remember or do after this presentation?
Not three things. Not five things. One.
If you’re pitching a new partnership, maybe it’s: "We want them to see us as a strategic growth partner." If it’s a leadership update, it might be: "We need to align everyone on this quarter’s priorities."
Your objective becomes your filter. Every slide, every visual, every word should pass through it. If something doesn’t support that goal, it doesn’t belong in the deck.
2. Understand Your Audience
Next, get specific about who you’re talking to. Most presentations fail because they speak to everyone — which means they speak to no one.
Ask:
What does this audience already know?
What do they care about?
What do they need to feel confident, informed, or persuaded?
For example, executives don’t want details. They want outcomes and risks. Mid-level teams want to see the how. Clients want to know what’s in it for them.
If you don’t know who your presentation is really for, you’re building in the dark.
3. Build a Clear Structure
Think of your presentation like a story. There has to be a beginning, a middle, and an end. And each part has a job.
Here’s one of the most effective structures we use:
Opening (Set the stage): Why are we here? What’s the context?
Problem (Create tension): What’s the issue or opportunity we’re addressing?
Solution (Your perspective): What are we proposing, and why is it right?
Proof (Credibility): What backs this up? Results, data, testimonials, etc.
Action (Next steps): What do we want the audience to do now?
This is not rigid. You can rearrange depending on your situation. But skipping this structure entirely is how you end up with decks that ramble, confuse, or bore.
4. Draft the Content (Not the Slides)
Now you’re ready to write. But not directly onto slides.
Use a doc or notepad. Write out the key message for each section. Think headlines, not essays. What should each slide say — in one sentence or less?
This step forces you to think clearly. If you can’t express your idea in one line, you don’t understand it well enough yet.
Also: don’t be afraid of simple language. Complex jargon doesn’t make you sound smart. It makes you sound unclear. Your audience isn’t here to decipher a puzzle. They want answers.
5. Design With Purpose
Only now do we open PowerPoint. And we do it with a clear message mapped out.
Here’s where most people get distracted. They obsess over transitions, fonts, and colors — but ignore what the slide is actually saying. Design isn’t decoration. It’s a tool to make your message easier to understand.
Some practical rules we follow:
One idea per slide. No clutter.
Use visual hierarchy — make it obvious what matters most.
Stick to brand colors, but don’t overload with them.
Icons, charts, and visuals should clarify, not complicate.
Leave white space. Don’t fill every inch.
Also, no walls of text. If your audience has to read full paragraphs while you talk, you’ve lost them. Keep it sharp, scannable, and clean.
6. Edit Ruthlessly
This is the part most people skip. They finish designing and call it done.
But the real magic happens in the edit.
Go slide by slide.
Ask:
Does this support the objective?
Is this clear at first glance?
Can I say this in fewer words?
Can I delete this slide without losing meaning?
We cut slides often. Sometimes we combine two. Sometimes we realize a section doesn’t even need to be there.
And we read the deck out loud — start to finish. This exposes clunky transitions, missing logic, and places where the story doesn’t flow.
Editing is about respect. Respect for your audience’s time, their attention, and their trust.
7. Rehearse, Then Adjust
Presentations aren’t static. They live through delivery.
Once the deck is done, run through it. See how it feels. Does the timing work? Are there slides that feel flat or confusing when spoken?
Many times, what looks great on a slide doesn’t translate when spoken out loud. That’s normal. Tweak it.
Presentation is performance. The better you know the material, the more confident you’ll be. And the more confident you are, the more trust you’ll earn.
A corporate presentation isn’t a slide project. It’s a thinking process. It’s a test of whether your message is clear, valuable, and convincing. Start with strategy. End with design. And build every part around what your audience needs to hear — not what you feel like saying.
How to deliver your corporate presentation
Delivering isn't about reading off slides, it’s about presence. Your deck is the visual support, not the main act. If you know your material, you won’t need to glance at every slide. You’ll guide the room with clarity and confidence.
That doesn’t mean memorizing a script. It means knowing your story well enough to speak it naturally, adjusting your tone, pace, and emphasis depending on how the room responds. Because your delivery doesn’t just inform — it signals credibility.
The best presenters make their audience feel something. That happens through eye contact, body language, and intentional pauses, not by rushing through charts or overloading with information. Keep your energy focused on the listener. Anticipate questions. Leave room for discussion if the setting allows. And here’s a simple rule we swear by: if something’s important, say it — don’t just leave it on a slide. Great delivery is equal parts preparation and empathy. If you respect your audience’s time and attention, they’ll return the favor.
Why Hire Us to Build your Presentation?
If you're reading this, you're probably working on a presentation right now. You could do it all yourself. But the reality is - that’s not going to give you the high-impact presentation you need. It’s a lot of guesswork, a lot of trial and error. And at the end of the day, you’ll be left with a presentation that’s “good enough,” not one that gets results. On the other hand, we’ve spent years crafting thousands of presentations, mastering both storytelling and design. Let us handle this for you, so you can focus on what you do best.