A Consultant's Guide to PowerPoint

**Don't forget to also check out our companion course, A Consultant's Guide to Presentations!

COURSE OVERVIEW

It's no secret that consultants are masters of PowerPoint. At firms like McKinsey, Bain, and BCG, consultants are constantly under pressure to deliver high-quality slides for their clients on very tight deadlines, often spending long hours on 100+ page decks.

After thousands of hours in this kind of environment, consultants become PowerPoint wizards, with the incredible and rare ability to build professional, well-structured slides in a matter of minutes. They know all the important keyboard shortcuts, and they understand how to use PowerPoint's hidden features to avoid hours of unnecessary work.

If you're a new consultant, or if you're just looking to build slides like a consultant, getting to this skill level can be extremely challenging. Typically it requires thousands of hours building slides in a consulting environment, with managers who are ready and willing to provide you with feedback and guidance. 

Fortunately, there's a much faster way.

A Consultant's Guide to PowerPoint is a premium course designed to take intermediate-level PowerPoint users and turn them into consultant-level experts. With concise lectures, hands-on exercises, and downloadable resources, this course will teach you to use PowerPoint like a McKinsey, Bain, or BCG consultant.

Whether you're currently a consultant, planning to become a consultant, or just interested in how management consultants use PowerPoint, this course will give you the tools, training, and resources you need to use PowerPoint like a Pro.

COURSE RESOURCES

• Top 50 PowerPoint Shortcuts for Consultants (PDF) - Download the full list of shortcuts and watch the accompanying video to understand how to apply each shortcut. Now with a version for Mac!

• Consulting Slide Checklist (PDF) - This checklist provides a comprehensive list of slide-making best practices, designed specifically for the consulting industry. Use it on the job or as a reference as you complete the course.

• Course Summary (PDF) - Use the comprehensive course summary as a guide as you take the course, or as a reference to use throughout your career as you build slides.

• Choosing the Right Chart (PDF) - Use this guide to help you understand which chart you should be using to best communicate your message.

• Shortcut Quizzes - After each section you'll find a shortcut quiz that covers each of the shortcuts that were mentioned in that section.

• Hands-On Exercises - Real world slide building examples to help you understand, memorize, and internalize new concepts.

COURSE SECTIONS

• Speed and Productivity - See how to customize your setup to maximize your speed within PowerPoint, and learn pro tips for tripling your productivity that go beyond simple keyboard shortcuts.

• Advanced Slide Construction - Learn how to correctly build a slide by mastering PowerPoint shapes, the foundational elements of all consulting slides. Then take your skills to the next level by learning how to align, group, distribute, and layer objects on a slide.

• Time-Saving Tools - Understand the tools PowerPoint has in place to help you design your slide. Learn tips for using icons, colors, pictures, tables, and charts to help visualize your message.

• Managing the Deck - This section is packed with useful tips for building, checking, finalizing, and sharing your presentation. Plus learn tricks for projecting your presentation that will blow your audience away.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Is this course just for new consultants?

This course is designed with intermediate-level PowerPoint users in mind, whether they are new to consulting, long-time consultants, or just business professionals looking to learn how to use PowerPoint more efficiently.

Why can't I just learn PowerPoint on the job?

In consulting, everyone will eventually become really good at PowerPoint. The problem is, it takes most people 3-5 years of trial and error to reach that level. This course is specifically designed to help business professionals jump this learning curve and become highly-skilled PowerPoint users.

What makes this course different from the many other PowerPoint courses?

This course was designed specifically to teach intermediate-level PowerPoint users how to build slides like an experienced consultant. The principles, tools, and hacks covered in this course were selected by former consultants from top-tier consulting firms, and cover exactly what you need to know. No learning about useless PowerPoint features such as transitions, animations, or clip-art.

I am already good at PowerPoint. Why do I need this course?

We assume you have already used PowerPoint extensively. This course is specifically designed to take you from intermediate user to consulting-level expert by focusing on the principles, tips, and tricks used by experienced consultants at the world's best firms.