in PP2003 or earlier – spend a few minutes setting up a slide master to give a consistent style to your presentation, but avoid using the standard template graphics;

in PP2007 – make use of the slide designer and preset colour palettes;

* in any design/presentation never use more than two typefaces (not including bold or italics);

* you can simply rename a .PPT file to .PPS to have it auto-open in slideshow mode, or rename .PPS to .PPT to open by default in edit mode;

* if you have a lot of text in your presentation, paste or type it into the OUTLINE window — it automatically formats it in the slide, enter creates a new slide, shift+enter creates a new paragraph.

last but not least, if you think you might have to present it on another person’s computer;
* make sure you tick EMBED FONTS in OPTIONS
* use publish > package for CD, to save your PPS with a latest version of the PPS viewer