As a designer of powerpoint templates/backgrounds, its important to recognize that the majority of people do not have the expertise or knowledge to effectively design their own powerpoint template. While many people may be known as 'the expert in their field', it is impossible for anyone to be an expert at everything. While some people may do an adequate job laying out basic slides in the powerpoint program, few have the experience or skill to create an effective design that will appropriately represent their firm in an attractive manner.

For presenters that believe they have a great sense of style, its also important to realize that professional template designers are also technically skilled in choosing images that are of the right resolution and in creating the backgrounds/themes in a resolution that is going to display appropriately. Designing backgrounds in a color Palette that will enable the user to type/display text clearly is also extremely important.

In response to presenters, 'choosing the right template for their presentation', if the goal of the presentation is to market or sell a product or service, one must make the best use of every 'tool in their toolbox' to ensure that their sales pitch will be at it's most effective.

When choosing a template from the vast selection of quality products, it's important to select the RIGHT design and not to choose something because it looks 'cool' or because its your personal preference.

One must select a design that communicates the overall mood of the company and the products/services they sell. For example, a company doing a presentation on financial products, would achieve a much great level of success in their presentation if they were to choose a template that reflects the overall financial 'theme' of the company. To elaborate and provide a more detailed example; a bank doing a presentation on proven techniques to lower monthly expenses, should choose a design that has a 'financial' feeling in contrast to choosing a template that may be more geared towards the 'travel' industry or something like that.

It is of major importance that the presenter look credible. Choosing a background that does not reflect the mood of the company could easily compromise the audiences opinion of the presenter.

On another note, a presenter should always select a theme that is in the same color family as their companies existing collateral materials. If the overall color scheme of all existing marketing (logo, letterhead, brochures, etc) is navy blue and aqua, selecting a template that is in that color family would provide a much better overall impression. If a company is providing handouts of any kind, having a cohesive presentation that matches those handouts in some way will tie the whole thing together for the audience.