Short answer: Good consulting presentation design rests on a few disciplined standards: a storyline written before any slide is built, one message per slide stated as a full sentence action title, the right chart for each data point, consistent formatting through a properly built template, and a clear source line on every exhibit. Design is there to make the argument faster to understand, so every visual choice should serve the message.
Why slide standards matter for consulting and research firms
For strategy consultancies, advisory teams and research firms, the deck is often the main deliverable a client pays for. It gets read by senior leadership, forwarded across the client organisation, and sometimes shared with boards and investors. A clear, consistent deck signals rigour; a messy one makes even strong analysis look weak.
Standards also matter internally. Several consultants usually build one deck under deadline pressure, and without shared rules the result looks stitched together. Common problems include:
- Headlines that describe the topic (“Market overview”) rather than the finding.
- Slides that try to make three points at once.
- Charts with inconsistent colours, fonts and number formats across sections.
- Missing or inconsistent source notes.
- Templates that break when someone pastes in content from an older deck.
Start with the storyline, not the slides
Strong consulting decks are planned top down. Before opening PowerPoint, write the storyline as a list of headlines.
- State the governing message: the single answer to the client’s question.
- Group supporting arguments: three to five key points that together support it, ideally mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive (MECE).
- List the evidence: the analysis, data or examples behind each point.
- Draft the action titles: one full sentence per slide.
- Read the titles alone: if the titles in sequence tell the story, the structure is sound. This is often called the horizontal logic of a deck.
Only then should anyone sketch slide layouts, often as quick ghost decks on paper or blank slides.
The anatomy of a consulting slide
- Action title: one or two lines stating the conclusion, for example “Online channels now drive most new customer acquisition in the category”.
- Optional subtitle or chart title: describes what the exhibit shows, including units and time period.
- Body: one chart, table, framework or set of points that proves the title. This is the vertical logic of the slide.
- Callouts: a small number of highlights that draw attention to the key data.
- Source and notes line: data sources, definitions and footnotes in a consistent position.
- Tracker or section marker: shows where the reader is in the storyline.
Choosing the right chart
Chart choice should follow the comparison you want the reader to make.
- Change over time: line charts or column charts.
- Ranking or comparison between items: horizontal bar charts, sorted.
- Composition of a whole: stacked bars or a 100 percent bar; use pie charts sparingly.
- Bridge from one value to another: waterfall charts.
- Two variables at once: scatter or bubble charts.
- Market structure by segment and share: Marimekko (variable width) charts.
Keep formatting quiet: remove heavy gridlines and borders, label data directly where possible, use one highlight colour for the key series and keep number formats and units consistent across the deck.
Templates and slide masters
A well built template does a lot of the standardising automatically. A good one includes:
- A slide master with layouts for title, agenda, section divider, chart, table, two column, text and appendix slides.
- Theme colours that include a tested chart palette, so new charts pick up the right colours by default.
- Theme fonts and text styles, so pasted content can be reset quickly.
- Defined positions for action titles, trackers, sources and page numbers.
- A short guide or sample deck that shows how each layout should be used.
Many of the same principles apply to corporate decks in other sectors; our guide to corporate presentation design for manufacturing companies covers the buyer facing side.
Beyond the deck: reports, white papers and social content
Consulting and research firms increasingly publish their thinking as sector reports, white papers and outlook pieces. The same discipline carries over: a clear storyline, action oriented headings, consistent charts and a structured layout. Our guide on white paper design covers structure and layout in more detail. Key charts and findings from a report can then be adapted into LinkedIn carousels, which helps the research reach decision makers who will not download a long PDF.
When to bring in a presentation design team
Consultants are hired for their thinking, and time spent nudging boxes into alignment is time away from the analysis. Firms typically bring in specialist design support for:
- Building or refreshing the PowerPoint template and chart library.
- Formatting and cleaning up client decks before steering committees and final readouts.
- Designing flagship reports, white papers and sector outlooks.
- Converting reports into LinkedIn carousels and other social formats.
- Overflow capacity during peak periods, including quick turnarounds.
To make outsourced design work well, share the template and style guide, mark which content is final, agree turnaround times and file naming in advance, and put confidentiality terms in place before any client material is shared.
Frequently asked questions
What is an action title in a consulting slide?
An action title is a full sentence headline that states the main conclusion of the slide, so a reader understands the point without reading the body. Read in sequence, the action titles should tell the whole story of the deck.
How many messages should one consulting slide carry?
One. Each slide should make a single point, stated in the action title and proven by the chart, table or framework below it. If a slide needs two headlines, split it.
Can consulting firms outsource PowerPoint design?
Yes. Many firms use external design teams for template builds, formatting and clean-up of client decks, report layouts and overflow support during busy periods. Clear templates, style guides and confidentiality arrangements make this work smoothly.
What should a consulting PowerPoint template include?
A properly built slide master with layouts for title, section, chart, table, two column and text slides, brand colours and chart colours set in the theme, font settings, a tracker and source line style, and a guide for the team on how to use it.
ProfitPenny designs presentations, reports, white papers and LinkedIn carousels for consulting, research and advisory firms, including report, white paper and carousel work for Redseer Strategy Consultants. See examples on our portfolio page, or contact us to discuss templates, deck support or report design.