9 Tips For Better Templates in PowerPoint

Introduction: Rethinking PowerPoint Templates Beyond Basic Slides to Powerful Preset Automation

In today's corporate landscape, PowerPoint templates are often misunderstood and underutilised tools that could be transforming how organisations create presentations. In his revealing Present to Succeed 2021 session, Troy Chollar—Co-Founder of TLC Creative Services—exposes a fundamental truth: most people don't know how to use PowerPoint templates properly, and even fewer understand the powerful features that have been hiding in plain sight for over 20 years. Drawing from real client work with major brands like Barbie and Kaiser Permanente, Troy demonstrates nine essential tips that transform PowerPoint from a tedious manual design tool into an efficient, preset-driven powerhouse. His message is clear: a real PowerPoint template isn't just a pretty slide deck—it's a sophisticated system with 99+ presets designed to make presenters work faster, maintain brand standards effortlessly, and create professional slides in a fraction of the time.

Why "99+ Presets" Matters (and How Troy Chollar Raises the Bar)

Troy's approach is rooted in a powerful realisation: the difference between a simple PowerPoint file and a true PowerPoint template lies in the invisible infrastructure—the theme colors, master layouts, picture placeholders, preset animations, and embedded backgrounds that work behind the scenes to automate formatting decisions. Why do so many professionals struggle with PowerPoint and spend hours on basic formatting tasks? Troy believes it's because they're either working with poorly designed templates that lack proper presets, or they don't know how to leverage the powerful features that already exist in well-built templates—and that's exactly what this session addresses.

The Core Framework Troy Teaches (and How to Apply It)

Troy's session centers on nine practical tips that unlock the hidden power of PowerPoint templates. Here's how he breaks them down:

Tip #1: Using Theme Colors for Brand Accuracy

Troy uses Barbie as a perfect example: Barbie Pink is PMS 219, and if you're working on anything Barbie-related, you must use the exact color—even slightly off will be noticed.

The Wrong Approaches:

1. Eyedropper Tool: Can grab the wrong shade and doesn't assign theme colors

2. Preset Color Palette: Risks using the wrong shade

3. Custom RGB Entry: Works but requires tedious repetition

4. The Template Solution: A properly configured template has Barbie Pink preset as Accent 1. Applying it takes just two to three clicks: select the shape, open the paint bucket, choose Accent 1. Theme colors guarantee brand accuracy instantly across the entire presentation.

Tip #2: Leveraging Master Layout Placeholders

Troy demonstrates a Kaiser Permanente healthcare template with 12 pre-configured layouts. By using preset placeholders, you can change a title slide to a section divider with one click—text automatically repositions, resizes, and recolors. The philosophy: use the layouts and their placeholders. Don't fight them.

Tip #3: Using Pre-Configured Layouts for Fast Content Changes

A financial industry template with 55+ preset layouts includes both dark blue and white background versions. Need to switch from dark to white for printing? Three clicks: select the slide, open layouts menu, choose the white background version. Everything updates instantly.

Tip #4: The Slide Reset Feature

Troy introduces PowerPoint's Reset button—powerful but misunderstood. It only works on content inside preset placeholders. When a colleague deviates from corporate standards with red text and wrong alignment, clicking Reset instantly fixes colors, font size, and alignment. The rule: the template must have proper placeholders, and your content must use them.

Tips #5-7: Mastering Picture Placeholders

Troy dedicates three tips to picture placeholders:

• Tip #5: The Basic Three-Click Insert Click the insert icon, choose an image, click Insert. Any preset formatting (borders, shadows, effects) automatically applies.

  
  

• Tip #6: The Delete-to-Reset Secret To replace an image: select the placeholder and delete it—this resets it to empty—then insert your new image. Most people don't realise this.

  
  

• Tip #7: The Paste Shortcut Delete the placeholder to reset it, copy your image from anywhere, paste directly (Ctrl+V). No need to use the insert icon every time—dramatically speeds up workflows.

Tip #8: Understanding Ghost Animations

Troy demystifies "ghost animations"—animations applied at the master level that don't appear in the slide-level animation pane. They're not bad; they're just invisible. Open the animation pane, look for the strange indicator, and click "Copy animations to slide level" to make them visible and editable.

Tip #9: The Magical Slide Background Fill Feature

Troy saves the most impressive tip for last—a feature that's been in PowerPoint for over 20 years but few people know about. Create a shape and set its fill to "Slide Background Fill." The shape becomes invisible—it displays whatever background is directly behind it.

Real-World Applications:

1. Covering Unwanted Elements: Hide elements on textured backgrounds where no solid color would work

2. Creating Line Breaks in Charts: Hide dotted lines to create visual breaks that adapt to any background

3. Animating Table Reveals: Create your table, add rectangles with Slide Background Fill covering each row, add exit animations—the table appears to animate row by row

   
   

This technique works for org charts, axis breaks, masking photo elements, and countless creative solutions.

Applying Troy's Framework: From Manual Formatting to Preset-Driven Efficiency

Troy's framework isn't just for presentation designers—it's for anyone who works with PowerPoint templates regularly. Whether you're creating quarterly reports, building client decks, maintaining brand standards, or struggling with slide design, applying these principles means embracing the presets your template provides, understanding the hidden features that save time, and focusing your energy on content rather than manual formatting. Troy shows how this approach transforms PowerPoint work from frustrating trial-and-error into efficient, confident productivity.

The "Behind the Scenes" Philosophy: Why Presets Matter

Troy emphasises that the best templates are invisible infrastructure—users shouldn't think about the 99+ presets working behind the scenes; they should simply experience faster workflows, consistent branding, and professional results. It's not about showing off technical complexity—it's about engineering systems that make everyone's job easier, regardless of their design skills or PowerPoint expertise.

Final Thoughts: Unlocking the Template You Already Have

Troy's closing advice is clear: stop fighting your PowerPoint template and start leveraging its presets. By using theme colors for instant brand accuracy, working with master layout placeholders, mastering picture placeholder workflows, understanding ghost animations, and discovering magical features like Slide Background Fill, you can fundamentally transform how efficiently you create presentations. PowerPoint has more power than most people realise; you just need to know where to look.

Join the Conversation 

What's your biggest challenge with PowerPoint templates? Are you using theme colors and master layouts effectively, or are you manually formatting every slide? Have you discovered the Slide Background Fill feature? Share your experiences and questions in the comments below.