Presentations

This lesson is still being tested: it improves with learners' feedback. If something is unclear, it is the lesson that needs fixing, not you.

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to

set up a template once and for all: fonts, colors, logo;
write readable slides: a title that states the message, little text, large enough;
make a presentation accessible: unique titles, contrast, alt text;
check the presentation, then export it as a PDF to send it.

Why it matters to you

In module 3, you prepared the outline and content of a presentation with your assistant. What remains is to turn it into material that is easy to read, at the back of a room or on a phone. The rules fit on one page, and most of them are set just once, in the template.

Before you start


You need	Your presentation software (PowerPoint, Google Slides, Keynote or LibreOffice Impress), your assistant (free account), and the outline of a presentation (module 3, lesson 4)
Cost	€0 with LibreOffice Impress; Google Slides with a Google account (some features require a Google Workspace plan); PowerPoint or Keynote if you already have them
Duration	55 minutes
Reminder	The images and figures in your presentation: nothing from the “never” list

Understand it in 3 minutes

The template first. According to PowerPoint’s help (24/10/2026), when you want the same fonts and images (a logo) on all the slides, you set them in one place, the Slide Master (View tab, Slide Master), and the change applies to all the slides that follow. The help recommends setting it before creating the slides. The other programs also have themes or templates: for Google Slides, Keynote and LibreOffice Impress, the screens are not described here (see the software’s help).

A readable slide:

Rule	Why
The title states the message: “Sign-ups have doubled” rather than “Sign-ups”	You understand the slide just by reading its title
A unique title per slide	According to PowerPoint’s help, people who use a screen reader rely on titles to find their way around
Little text, large enough: at least 18 pt, a sans serif font, some white space	This is the advice in Microsoft’s help for an accessible presentation
Enough contrast between the text and the background	Same source; lesson 4 teaches you to measure it
Alt text for each useful image, in one or two short sentences	It describes the image for anyone who can’t see it
No important information only in an image	The help recommends repeating the image’s text on the slide

Two files, as for a document (lesson 2): the presentation file (.pptx or other) to present from, with your notes; and a PDF to send.

And AI? According to Claude’s help, Claude creates PowerPoint presentations, on all plans. Give it your style guide (lesson 4) in the request, and then check every slide: a presentation created by an AI is read like a document.

Do it together

1Step 1: Set up the template

Open your presentation software, and a blank presentation. In PowerPoint: View tab, Slide Master. Set the font for the titles and the text, the colors, and place your logo or your name. Close the master.

2Step 2: The slides, from the outline

Take the outline and content of your module 3 presentation (or, to practice, a presentation for the book club, from the exercise notes of lesson 1). For each slide, turn the title into a message:

Here are the titles of my presentation: [paste them].
For each one, propose a message title: a short sentence that says what the slide shows.
Keep the exact meaning of my notes; add no figures. Do not propose a new slide.

Choose yourself, then fill in the slides: three or four short points at most, and your explanations in the speaker notes.

3Step 3: Accessibility

For each slide:

a unique title;
text of at least 18 pt;
alt text for each useful image;
no important text only in an image.

In PowerPoint, the Accessibility Checker finds, according to the help, missing alt text and slides with reading-order problems.

4Step 4: Check, then export

Start the slide show, and go through the whole presentation. Step back a few paces: can you read everything?
Check every figure against your source (module 3, lesson 4).
Export a PDF. In PowerPoint for Windows, according to the help: File tab, Export, file type PDF. In Google Slides, according to Google’s help: File, Download, then the PDF file type. In LibreOffice Impress, according to LibreOffice’s help: File, Export As, Export as PDF. For PowerPoint on Mac and for Keynote, the path is not described here: search for “PDF” in the software’s help.
Open the PDF, and check all the pages.

Your turn

Prepare a presentation of 5 to 8 slides for a real need, with your template.
Write one message title per slide, and put your explanations in the notes.
Go through the accessibility list from step 3.
Export the PDF, and store it with the presentation, under two dated names.

Check your work

It worked if:

the fonts, colors and logo come from the template, not from each slide;
each slide has a unique title that states its message;
the text is at least 18 pt, and each useful image has alt text;
you checked the presentation in slide show mode, and the PDF page by page.

Common mistakes:

setting the font slide by slide, then forgetting one;
one-word titles, which say nothing;
writing everything on the slide instead of in the notes;
sending the presentation file instead of the PDF, or the other way around, without thinking about it.

Keep it and pick it up later

Keep your template: your next presentation will start from it.
Store the presentation and its PDF together, with the date.

Going further

optional

PowerPoint’s help offers accessible templates, already designed for colors, contrast and fonts.

New words

5 words explained

Word	What it means
Slide master	The place where you set, once, the fonts, colors and logo of all the slides
Message title	A title that says what the slide shows
Speaker notes	The text you see while presenting, and that the audience doesn’t see
Alt text	The description of an image, for anyone who can’t see it
Sans serif font	A font whose letters have no small strokes at the ends, like Arial

To be checked: the screens of Google Slides, Keynote and LibreOffice Impress are not described in detail (for them, only the PDF export of Google Slides and LibreOffice Impress was read in official help); a presentation created by an AI was not opened in each piece of software.

Date, version, sources Written on 24/10/2026. Checks of 24/10/2026:

slide master (View tab, changes applied to all the slides, to be set beforehand): support.microsoft.com, “Qu’est-ce qu’une diapositive master dans PowerPoint ?” (page in French; English version “What is a slide master in PowerPoint?”);
unique title, 18 pt minimum, sans serif font, contrast, alt text, text in images, Accessibility Checker, accessible templates: support.microsoft.com, “Pour rendre vos présentations PowerPoint accessibles aux personnes atteintes d’un handicap” (page in French; English version “Make your PowerPoint presentations accessible to people with disabilities”);
PDF export from PowerPoint: support.microsoft.com, “Enregistrer ou convertir au format PDF ou XPS dans les applications de bureau Office” (page in French; English version “Save or convert to PDF or XPS in Office Desktop apps”);
PDF export from Google Slides (File, Download): support.google.com, “Créer, afficher ou télécharger un fichier” (page in French; English version “Create, view, or download a file”);
PDF export from LibreOffice Impress (File, Export As, Export as PDF): help.libreoffice.org;
presentation creation by Claude: support.claude.com, “Create and edit files with Claude”.