The writing process for a presentation begins when you greet that first blank slide on the screen or on the page. This is your time to bring your message to life to impress your audience with its flow, concision, and clarity. Whether you are creating a first draft or editing your tenth, here are five ways to strengthen your writing throughout a presentation.
1. Be Active
The passive voice is a sin. It adds verbiage and fluff to an otherwise straight-forward piece of action writing. At all costs, avoid it. It turns the recipient of an action into the subject of a sentence, rather than just saying the action itself. For instance, here is an example of a passive sentence: “The apple pie had been baked by Sally.” Here is that same sentence in the active voice: “Sally baked the apple pie.” The formula for a passive sentence is therefore: “B was (verb) by A” rather than “A (verb) B.” Your writing will be strengthened if you can keep the straightforward, bold tone of the active voice throughout. Trust us.
2. Be an Editor
Presentations come through our door loaded with content, like travellers that have simply packed too much for their suitcases to hold. Let go of that part of your ego 
that says “my audience won’t understand if I don’t say this and this,” or “I need this content in here!” The truth is, most of your content can be cut. Probably at least half of it, if you tried. Each slide should be as short as possible. Not sure how short? Try out the “Twitter Test,” for instance. If the text on a slide exceeds more than 140 characters, it’s probably too long for what you want to say. If that worries you, don’t be afraid to add speaker’s notes for yourself. Look to inspiration from authors like Hemingway for a presentation, not Charles Dickens; a slide can only fit so much text before it starts looking heinous.
3. Try Three
Just like our namesake, we love the number three. Consider breaking up your main ideas into three categories, which may help you mentally organize your “big” ideas. Three main header slides can serve as placeholders in your content, ensuring that the right subpoints go into the right section.
4. Kill Cliches
“Few and far between,” “in any way, shape, or form,” and “the fact of the matter” are all speech cliches. You might accidentally let a few slip during your spoken presentation, but your content needs to be cliche-free in order to maintain integrity and not appear dated. Not sure what counts as a cliche? Google it. You can also check out some of the many resources online that might “jog your memory.” Don’t make your presentation sound like a high school graduation speech; kill all of the cliches that you find.
5. Break A Rule (Just Not These Ones)
Many of our clients are scared of our more creative presentation proposals, and then delighted when they see the finished product. When we recommend trying something new, such as adding a creative narrative or trying a Wild West theme, they feel as if the tone won’t match the stuffy seriousness of their corporate environment. However, the truth is that the people who attend presentations are still people, no matter how fancy their suit may be. People love stories, they love creativity, and they enjoy seeing something new. Take a risk with your writing, even if it’s a small one.
The bulk of your best writing will be completed in the editing process, so don’t hesitate to try and try again. Really, all that stands between you and a great presentation is a cup of coffee and little less procrastination.
Question: How can you strengthen your presentation writing today?
