Creating Presentations with Clear Intent

Until now, you've learned what AI presentations can do and why. Now it's time for active experimentation — creating presentations with clear intent. You're not an observer anymore. You're a director.

From Prompts to Intent

The difference between a mediocre and great AI presentation isn't the tool. It's the intent.

Intent means: you know exactly what this presentation should achieve. Not "generate a presentation," but "take my audience from doubt to conviction" or "make a complex concept understandable in three steps" or "make my startup look so compelling that investors want to listen."

When you have this intent, you write a different prompt. A better prompt. A prompt that guides the AI.

Three Practical Scenarios

Let me show you three real scenarios where intent changes everything.

Scenario 1: The Project Pitch

You want to present a new project to your team — maybe an internal initiative, a product idea, a reorganization. Your audience is your team. They're skeptical (time is precious). They're practical ("how does this help me?"). They're internal (you can be informal).

A weak prompt version: "Make a presentation about our new project. It saves time and costs less."

A strong prompt version with intent: "Create an internal presentation (8-10 slides) for our team about a new project. Intent: the team should transform doubt into curiosity. Audience: pragmatic engineers and managers (30-50, tech-savvy). Tone: not too formal, honest, humorous if possible. Start: show the pain point ('this annoys me every time'), then our solution, then concrete next steps. Colors: modern gray/green (trust + innovation). Layout: simple graphics instead of text walls."

See the difference? The second version tells the AI not just "what," but "why" and "how it should feel."

Scenario 2: The Training Material

You're teaching something complex (maybe AI concepts, maybe a new tool, maybe security practices). Your audience is beginners. They're exhausted (too much input). They want understanding, not to be impressed.

A weak prompt version: "Create training slides about this concept."

A strong prompt version with intent: "Create training slides (12-15) about a technical concept for beginners without background. Intent: understanding, not impressing. Audience: adults (25-55), training context. Tone: friendly, encouraging, with real-life examples. Structure: start with analogy (not theory), then the concept step-by-step, one idea per slide. Colors: warm and accessible (blue + orange), lots of whitespace, large, readable fonts. No complicated diagrams — just sketches and icon explanations."

This intent produces a completely different presentation.

Scenario 3: The Creative Pitch

You're pitching a creative campaign, a design project, or an unconventional idea. Your audience are creative people (artists, designers, innovative leaders). They're critical ("show me something new"). They like surprise.

A weak prompt version: "Make a presentation about my creative idea."

A strong prompt version with intent: "Create a pitch presentation (10-12 slides) for a creative campaign. Intent: audience should feel inspired and enthusiastic. Audience: creatives, design-savvy, ages 28-50. Tone: experimental, bold, not conservative. Structure: don't start with intro — start with the visual idea ('what would the audience see?'). Then explain the why. Colors: unexpected combinations (not the usual professional blues), movement energy. Use contrasts, asymmetric layouts, bold typography. It should feel like an art installation, not a standard pitch."

With this intent, your presentation looks completely different.

Weak vs. Strong Prompts: Concrete Pairs

Let me show you concrete examples of weak and strong prompts so you see how intent changes the prompt:

Example 1: Data Privacy Presentation

Weak: "Create slides about data privacy policies."

Strong: "Create a data privacy training presentation for employees (all ages, no tech knowledge required). Intent: transform fear into understanding + practical knowledge. The audience thinks 'data privacy is boring.' Make it relevant. Tone: friendly, understandable. Structure: start with a scenario ('your data was hacked — what now?'), then 'how do you prevent that,' then concrete step-by-step guide. Colors: calm and secure (green, blue), but also energetic, not tense (no red). Icons show security, not danger."

Example 2: Finance Presentation for Investors

Weak: "Make a presentation about our financial forecasts."

Strong: "Create a pitch presentation for Series-A investors about our financial models (10 slides). Intent: build investor confidence ('this team knows what it's doing' + 'there's a clear path to profitability'). Audience: venture-savvy investors (40-65, angel investors or VCs). Tone: confident, data-driven, transparent about risks. Structure: market opportunity, why us (traction), business model, numbers & forecasts, roadmap. Colors: investor standard (dark blue, gray, gold for highlights). Layout: minimalist, data-focused, no colorful graphics."

Example 3: Product Launch for Customers

Weak: "Create presentation slides for our new product launch."

Strong: "Create a product launch webinar presentation for customers (15-20 slides). Intent: customers should want the product and understand why it makes their lives better. Audience: mixed (small business owners to managers at larger companies, tech-savvy and non-tech-savvy). Tone: enthusiastic but grounded, real examples. Structure: the old problem, how we solved it, demo/visuals of product (most important slide!), real case studies, pricing models, call to action (join). Colors: modern and trustworthy (green for 'success,' dark blue for 'stability'). Visuals: show the product itself a lot — less text, more screenshots."

The Intent Checklist: Questions Before Your Prompt

Before you write a prompt, ask yourself these seven questions:

1. What is my primary goal? (Inform? Persuade? Inspire? Move to action?)
2. Who is my audience? (Age, expertise, context, mindset?)
3. What emotion should they feel at the end? (Trust? Excitement? Urgency? Calm?)
4. What is the pain or question my audience starts with? (The presentation should start there or get there quickly.)
5. What is my one key message — the one thing they should take away? (All other slides support that.)
6. What weighting does it need? (30% problem, 50% solution, 20% next steps? Or different?)
7. How should it feel? (Formal or casual? Minimal or rich? Surprising or reassuring?)

When you can answer these seven questions, write a prompt that expresses these intents. The AI will understand.

A Great Prompt Template

Here's a template that works for most scenarios:

"Create a presentation with [X slides] about [topic]. Intent: [What should the audience think/feel/do after?]. Audience: [Age, background, context]. Tone: [Adjectives: formal/casual, energetic/calm, humorous/serious, etc.]. Structure: [Start with X, then Y, then Z. Point A should take 40% of time, B 35%, C 25%]. Visual direction: [Which colors? What feeling? Minimal or rich?]. Most important slide: [The slide that should make the most impact — describe it in detail]."

With this template, you'll get much better results.

A Thought to Take Away

The best AI presentation isn't the one that looks the most beautiful. It's the one that fulfills its intent.

A plain presentation that persuades is better than a colorful presentation that confuses. A quiet training presentation that creates understanding is better than an energetic training presentation that distracts.

When you know what you want to achieve — and you tell the AI — you'll get exactly that.

That's not magic. That's communication.