If you feel you’re not ‘creative’ or a ‘trained designer,’ you can still have beautiful and impactful slides if you follow this rule and keep your slides simple: a single supporting image, and your slide’s main point or takeaway in large font.
Many TED Talks, keynotes, and product launches use exactly this format because it is simple and effective.
It's called: The Rule of Thirds.
Here's how to use it for PowerPoint slides:
1. Create a 3x3 grid in your PowerPoint
Add 2 vertical and 2 horizontal guides to your slides, equally spaced apart.
Here is what your empty slide should look like when you're done:
2. Place elements of importance in the intersection points of the 3x3 grid
This Rule-of-Thirds approach creates a more interesting and dynamic layout, as opposed to always placing important elements in the center.
Placing your highlights in the center is an overused, and therefore more boring/less engaging layout.
Here are a couple of layout examples, utilizing the Rule of Thirds (note the intersection points labeled in the screenshot above):
3. Experiment
This rule is simple, but it should give you plenty of variety and tons of ideas to organize your slide visuals and text.
The best part is that it has been trusted (and shown) to produce layouts that are balanced, pleasing, and impactful in every area of design from photography to print design.