Presentation Design Trends: Insights from Our 2025 Survey
- Kyle Kartz
- Jan 6
- 2 min read
Updated: Jan 14
Presentations are part of almost every team’s work, but how they’re built, used, and assessed varies widely.
To get a clearer picture of today’s presentation design trends, we ran our first-ever Presentation Survey. We asked real PowerPoint users a short set of questions about how slides support their work, where time gets spent, and what success really looks like. The responses reveal a few consistent patterns that explain why presentations still take so much effort, and why they continue to matter.
Presentations are still critical
Despite changes in tools, formats, and and workflows, presentations remain essential to how most teams operate.
72% of respondents said presentations are critical to their role, business, or industry.
Another 22% described them as important.
Only 6% considered presentations a nice-to-have.
The takeaway is clear: presentations aren’t optional or secondary work. For most teams, they are a core part of how ideas move forward and decisions get made.
Most teams still start from scratch
Even with templates and previous presentations available, many teams are still building new presentations each time.
When asked how they create new presentations:
55% start fresh
23% use a template
22% reuse old slides
This suggests that starting from scratch remains the most common way presentations get built, and that there’s room for teams to get more value from the templates they already have.
Presentation prep is a major time investment
For most teams, presentations represent a significant time commitment.
55% spend 5–10 hours preparing a single presentation
23% spend less than 5
16% spend 10–20 hours
16% spend 20+
This goes to show that even a small presentation can add up to a lot of time. For teams seeking efficiency, finding ways to get presentations done faster and better is a huge opportunity.
Storytelling is the biggest challenge
When asked about the biggest challenge they face with presentations, one issue stood out clearly.
47% Storytelling
18% Infographics
12% Design
9% Engagement
9% Consistency
5% Time
The most common challenge is figuring out what the presentation should say, how it should flow, and how it should support a specific outcome. Design and visuals matter, but they aren’t the primary obstacle.
Success is measured by outcomes, not slides
When presentations are evaluated, teams care far more about results than aesthetics.
36% measure success by business outcomes
24% rely on audience feedback
16% use personal impression
16% report no formal measurement
While some do track results and feedback, more teams could benefit from capturing the results they need to assess and optimize their presentations.
What these presentation design trends reveal
The survey shows that while presentations continue to evolve, the core challenges haven’t changed: clear communication, strong stories, and meaningful outcomes.
Teams are spending significant time building new presentations, and even more time trying to shape a clear narrative.
Together, this points to opportunities to save time through better use of templates and to strengthen presentations by focusing on story and flow.
