Default Powerpoint backgrounds really don't impress anyone. How many presentations have you sat through that serve up the standard blue background slide after slide? And what sort of impression did those presentations make on you?
Using Powerpoint's standard array of slide backgrounds shows not only a lack of creativity, but also a lack of concern for your audience. Using default settings creates the instant impression that you rushed the presentation together with little thought or effort, even if that isn't the case.
But confronted with the glut of poorly designed, unappealing templates online, or the time and resource hungry task of working with graphics and layout applications, what are the alternatives?
One alternative is to take great looking images from the internet - images not necessarily intended as presentation backgrounds - and import them directly into Powerpoint. In the space of a couple of minutes, you can transform the tired look of your presentation into one that is going to achieve maximum visual impact. With many thousands of arresting images to choose from online, why settle for anything less?
