We sat down last week with a Managing Director of a local business. A successful businessman, he openly admitted that he’d always been ‘poor’ at putting PowerPoint presentations together and therefore shied away from using it.
Over the next few days, we spoke to quite a few other local business owners and asked them how they got on with good old Microsoft PowerPoint. Interestingly, we received many similar responses.
“It’s alright… but I avoid it if I can.”
“I never know where to start.”
“It always ends up looking a bit amateur.”
It’s ok for people working in larger organisations there is someone in marketing available to put together slide decks and presentations. Not so in our humble smaller firms… that is, until now.
Recently I’ve been using my new Microsoft Copilot licence that is embedded into PowerPoint (and the rest of Microsoft 365), and it’s finally helped me get to grips with something I’m happy to admit I’ve never really mastered.
The process is quite simple, once you figure it out.
First, you tell Microsoft Copilot the messaging and content that you’re trying to articulate to the audience. With a bit of careful prompting, a list of slides with content for each can be produced.
From Blank Slides to a Structured Story (in Minutes)
From there, something quite interesting happens.
Instead of staring at a blank slide wondering “what on earth do I put here?”, Copilot gives you a structured starting point:
- A logical flow of slides
- Suggested headings
- Clear bullet points
- A narrative that actually makes sense
It’s not about perfection at this stage, it’s about momentum. For someone who has always struggled with where to begin, that alone is a game changer.
Refining the Message Without a Marketing Team
Once the initial draft is there, this is where Copilot really comes into its own.
Rather than painstakingly rewriting slides yourself, you simply work with it. You can ask things like:
- “Make this more engaging for a room of business owners”
- “Simplify the language, remove the jargon”
- “Add a Sussex-focused example”
- “Turn this into a stronger opening”
- “Give me speaker notes so I can present this confidently”
And within seconds, the slides evolve. You’re no longer battling with formatting or wording you’re shaping a message. And that’s a very different experience.
A Real Shift for Small Businesses Across Sussex
This is where it starts to become genuinely exciting for smaller firms.
For years, there has been a clear divide:
- Larger organisations:
- Marketing teams
- Designers
- Content specialists
- Smaller businesses:
- “I’ll just have a go myself”
That gap has meant that great ideas often haven’t been communicated as clearly, professionally, or confidently as they deserve. But Microsoft 365 Copilot is changing that.
Now, a business owner in Haywards Heath, Horsham, or Crawley can:
- Put together a professional presentation in a fraction of the time
- Communicate their ideas clearly and confidently
- Refine their messaging without needing outside help
- Deliver something that genuinely reflects the quality of their business
It’s Not About Learning PowerPoint, It’s About Using It Properly
One of the biggest surprises for me is this:
You don’t need to master PowerPoint in the traditional sense.
You don’t need to:
- Memorise menus
- Learn design principles from scratch
- Spend hours aligning text boxes
Instead, you focus on:
- What you want to say
- Who you’re speaking to
- The outcome you want from the presentation
Copilot handles:
- Structure
- Layout suggestions
- Content drafting
- Speaker notes
It removes the friction that has always stopped people from using PowerPoint properly in the first place.
A Quick Story to Bring It to Life
Going back to that Managing Director…
By the end of our session together, he had:
- A full slide deck ready to go
- Clear, simple messaging
- Speaker notes he could actually follow
But more importantly, his mindset had shifted.
He went from:
“I avoid presentations wherever possible”
…to:
“I could actually use this when talking to customers”
That’s a big change and one that will have a real impact on how he communicates his business moving forward.
Why the “AI Advantage” Belongs to Smaller Businesses
There’s a lot of talk now about AI transforming large enterprises. And it will.
But in practical, day-to-day terms, it’s smaller businesses that may benefit the most. Why?
Because tools like Microsoft 365 Copilot:
- Remove dependency on specialist roles
- Reduce time spent on tasks that previously took hours
- Unlock capabilities that simply weren’t accessible before
In short, they level the playing field.
Finally, A Level Playing Field
For the first time, smaller businesses across Sussex can present themselves with the same clarity and professionalism as much larger organisations.
Not by working harder.
But by working smarter.
PowerPoint is no longer a “mystery” tool that sits unused on your laptop.
With Copilot, it becomes:
- A way to communicate your value
- A tool to win new business
- A platform to confidently share your ideas
Ready to Give It a Go?
If you’ve always avoided PowerPoint or felt like you weren’t getting the most from Microsoft 365, now is the perfect time to have another look.
Because with Copilot, you’re no longer doing it on your own, and for smaller businesses here in Sussex that could make all the difference.