With reference to the above question, some might state attractive colors and graphics, whereas some might say animations, transitions and content. Compressed to its essence, a presentation comprises of 4 basic elements: you, your audience, your message and your tools. Planning is the spine of any successful presentation. It synchronizes the content and sends the apt message to the readers.

The purpose of the presentation should be very clear. Whether that purpose is to sell, educate or for pure entertainment, keep that purpose in mind at the beginning of the development process itself.

You may have different purposes in mind; it could be a product for the client, business representation for latest sales figure or a new concept.

Which audience are you catering to? Your content would depend on the kind of audience you are addressing. It could be a convention for people in the same line of work, your employees or even a perspective client.

Keep your presentation simple and lucid with emphasis on four to five points at the maximum. The main aim of any presentation is communication. One should state facts in a concise and interesting manner to communicate with poise.  Also, come well prepared on the topic for any queries.

The slides should focus on the main points with one central idea on each slide. Do not list more than four points in the slide. Always keep a rough plan on the order of your slides though this can be changed later. When creating the slides, be consistent in your choice of background colors, fonts, transitions, and animations.

It is proven that the people learn more readily and retain more information when learning is reinforced by visualization. You can entertain, inform, excite and even shock an audience by the proper integration of visual images into virtually any exchange of information.

Most people are easily bored and one generally accepted rule of thumb states that if an image remains on the screen longer than 7 to 10 seconds, the viewer begins to lose their attention span. A single idea or set of facts per image, in synergy with the speaker’s pace will add punch and stress on the important ideas, ensuring maximum retention.

It is proved that people learn more effectively and retain more information when learning is stimulated by visualization. You can use a variety of visualizations to invoke the targeted emotional responses from audience. After all, it’s all about connecting to the emotions of the audience.

The normal presentations which lack luster can suddenly come to life with the help of visualizations. Just follow the principle of ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ but do not go overboard with complex images or images that do not convey the right message or confuse the audience. Just as the content, even the image should be simple and clear backed by strong content and graphics. However, visuals are not a substitute for weak content.

A robust concept and an appealing script are the essential segments of any presentation. As the concept starts to develop, the visuals should be developed around it.  You should ideally begin mentally planning your visuals at the beginning of the design process. Defining the design of the visuals in a rush can debar a presentation.  Complex concepts that are too elaborate to understand can be communicated easily through the intelligent use of visuals.

Many presentations have a loud colored logo at the corner of every image. While a common element can add consistency to a presentation, glaring logos can detract the audience from the message. Using distracting, aggravating symbols from the clip art library does not make your presentation professional.

A single font is suitable for the entire presentations, however bold, italic, underline, quotations and/or color changes to emphasize or subdue key points or words.

Keep a uniform colour theme by preferably using colours from the same colour family for the background. A same background colour adds continuity to a presentation.

You should not merge metaphors with your graphics without specific purpose. For example: Avoid using warm colors in an image whose subject is a snow clad mountain.

You can utilize audio, such as recorded narration (you can add this to slides when sending your presentation to others to view), can also help keep your slides clean and convenient. You can also customize your embedded videos with easy-to-use tools, such as video trim, fades, and effects.

You can refer to reports or articles, specifically for the purpose of preparing a presenting script. This may lead to new ideas and lateral thinking.

Conclusion:
You can also use free open-source office suite instead of PowerPoint and similar charting and presentation software that can cross your budget. When you use graphics on a slide, select the images that signify the message (such as a chart or diagram that displays a direct benefit of your idea). The audience should be relaxed and positive after your presentation and the message should be carried forward. An internal sales presentation can also be made as interesting as the one for introducing a new product.