An agenda slide is a promise: here is what you will get, in this order. Kept, it makes a long presentation feel short; skipped or broken, it makes the audience wonder where you are. For anything longer than about ten minutes, or any deck that will be read without you, an agenda or table of contents earns its place.
This guide covers the frame of a deck: the cover, the agenda (simple, repeated or clickable), section dividers and the appendix, in PowerPoint for Windows and Mac and in Google Slides.
| Deck | Agenda | Section dividers | Appendix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Talk under 10 minutes | No — say it in one sentence | No | Only if questions are likely |
| Meeting presentation, 15–45 minutes | Yes, 3–6 items | Yes, or a repeated agenda | Yes, for backup data |
| Workshop or training | Yes, with times | Yes | Exercises and material |
| Report read without you | A clickable table of contents | Yes | Methods, sources, detail |
A simple agenda slide
Build an agenda slideWindows and Mac
Add it after the cover
Select the cover slide and choose Home → New Slide → Title and Content. Title it “Agenda” — or with a claim: “Three decisions for today”.
Home → New Slide → Title and Content Write three to six items
One line each, in the words of your section titles, so the audience recognises them later. For a workshop add the time: “10:30 Results”.
Number them
Use Home → Numbering instead of bullets, or large numbers in a separate column. Numbers help people say “back to point two” in the Q&A.
Give it room
An agenda with lots of white space reads as calm and confident. Increase the line spacing with Home → Line Spacing → 1.5 rather than adding items.
The repeated agenda: “you are here”
Instead of separate section slides, repeat the agenda before each part and highlight the coming item. The audience always knows where they are, and the transitions feel planned.
A repeating agenda with a highlightWindows and Mac
Duplicate the agenda
Select the agenda slide and press Ctrl+D (Mac: Cmd+D) once per section. Drag each copy in front of its section.
Agenda copies placed before each section Highlight the current item
On each copy, keep the current item in full colour and set the others to a light grey (Home → Font Color). A small marker shape beside the current item helps too.
Add Morph
Select the copies and choose Transitions → Morph (Microsoft 365 and PowerPoint 2019 or later). The highlight then glides to the next item instead of jumping.
A clickable table of contents with Summary Zoom
PowerPoint cannot generate a table of contents the way Word does. The closest thing is Summary Zoom (Microsoft 365 and PowerPoint 2019 or later, Windows and Mac): a slide with a thumbnail for each part of the deck. In the slide show a click on a thumbnail zooms into that part and returns to the summary at its end.
Create a Summary ZoomWindows and Mac
Open Summary Zoom
Choose Insert → Zoom → Summary Zoom.
Insert → Zoom → Summary Zoom Pick the first slide of each part
Tick the slide that opens each part (if the deck has sections, they are pre-selected) and click Insert. PowerPoint creates the summary slide and sections for the parts.
Choosing the slides for the Summary Zoom Update it later
Added a part? Select the summary and choose Zoom → Edit Summary to add or remove thumbnails.
| Zoom | What it inserts | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Summary Zoom | A new slide with a thumbnail per part, and sections for the parts | A clickable agenda for the whole deck |
| Section Zoom | A thumbnail of an existing section, on the current slide | A jump into one part that returns afterwards |
| Slide Zoom | A thumbnail of a single slide, on the current slide | Detours to backup slides; non-linear talks |
For a text-only contents slide, list the titles and link each one: select the text, choose Insert → Link (Ctrl+K / Cmd+K), then Place in This Document (Mac: This Document) and pick the slide. To collect all slide titles quickly, open View → Outline View, collapse it (right-click → Collapse → Collapse All), copy the titles and paste them as text.
The cover slide
- Title as a claim. “Q3: growth back above 10%” tells more than “Q3 Business Review”.
- Subtitle with the occasion. Audience, date and place: “Board meeting, 14 November”.
- Presenter. Name and role, or the team.
- One logo, one picture at most. The cover sets the tone; a busy cover sets the wrong one.
Use the Title Slide layout so the cover follows the template; if the template’s cover is weak, adjust it once in View → Slide Master instead of on every deck.
Section divider slides
If you do not repeat the agenda, mark each part with a section divider: a slide with only the part’s number and title, often on a coloured or dark ground so it stands out in the slide sorter. Use PowerPoint’s Section Header layout (Home → New Slide → Section Header) so all dividers look the same, and add a PowerPoint section with the same name (Home → Section → Add Section) — the deck is then structured both for the audience and for you in the slide list. One sentence under the title (“What drove the numbers”) helps the audience switch topics.
Appendix slides
The appendix holds what you might need but should not present: detailed tables, methods, sources, regional breakdowns. Put it after your closing slide, behind a section divider called “Appendix”, and number the slides A1, A2, A3 in their titles so you can say “in the appendix, A3”. Link to them from the main slides where the question will come up — a small “Details: A3” link in a corner — and hide them if the deck will be clicked through (Slide Show → Hide Slide, see how to flag and hide slides).
Agenda examples you can adapt
The same deck can be announced in a way that sounds like a list of chores or like a plan. The difference is mostly in the verbs and in naming the outcome. Three examples:
| Deck | Weak agenda | Strong agenda |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly review | Results · Marketing · Sales · Outlook | 1 Where we stand · 2 What drove it · 3 What we change in Q4 |
| Project kick-off | Introduction · Scope · Timeline · Team · Next steps | 1 Why this project · 2 What is in and out · 3 Who does what by when |
| Training session | Part 1 · Part 2 · Part 3 · Exercises | 09:00 The basics · 10:30 Hands-on · 12:00 Your own case |
For a meeting with decisions, mark which agenda items need one — a small “Decision” tag beside the item tells the room where to pay attention. For a workshop, the times on the agenda are a promise to keep: when an item overruns, say so at the next agenda slide and adjust openly.
In Google Slides
Google Slides has no Zoom and no sections. Build the agenda as a normal slide and use section-divider slides for structure. Repeated agendas work the same way as in PowerPoint; instead of Morph, the Slide → Transition panel offers fades and slides.
A clickable agenda in Google SlidesGoogle Slides
Select an agenda item
Select the words of the first item on the agenda slide.
Link it to its slide
Choose Insert → Link (Ctrl+K, Mac: Cmd+K), open Slides in this presentation and pick the first slide of that part. Repeat for every item.
Google Slides: Insert → Link → Slides in this presentation Add a way back
On each section’s last slide link a small “Agenda” text or icon back to the agenda slide. In presentation mode a click follows the link; in the editor it only shows it.
Agenda mistakes
- An agenda that does not match the deck. Items and section titles must use the same words.
- Too many items. Seven or more items read as “this will be long”. Group them into three to five parts.
- Agenda items as topics only. “Budget” says less than “Budget: approve the €2m”.
- Skipping the promised item. If time runs out, say so and move it — do not silently drop it.
- Appendix in the middle. Backup slides between main slides break the flow. Keep them at the end.
Designs for this kind of deck
Every design brings its own colours, fonts and layouts to the whole deck.
Agenda, cover and appendix in ExpertSlides
The ExpertSlides library has dozens of agenda layouts — numbered rows, cards, a timed agenda, a “you are here” agenda that marks the current part, an agenda that ticks off items as you go, and an interactive agenda whose items open in the presentation (interactive slides are part of Pro and Business) — besides many title slides and section dividers. A deck from the prompt gets its cover and frame from the deck’s plan.
To add an agenda to an existing deck, type “Add a new slide about the agenda of this presentation after slide 1”: the AI plans it as an agenda and writes it from what the deck says. “Add a section divider slide” or “Add a title slide” put that layout in, ready to type into. For an appendix, ask for the backup slides at the end, then hide them with Hide this slide: they stay in the deck and in the PowerPoint export, but are skipped when you present.
Related: questions slides for the end of the deck, planning formats for the content in between, and presentation templates for the look. Every design is in Design Templates.
Questions, answered
Does PowerPoint have an automatic table of contents?
No. Summary Zoom (Insert, Zoom, Summary Zoom) creates a clickable overview of the deck’s parts in Microsoft 365 and PowerPoint 2019 or later; for a text list, link each title with Insert, Link, Place in This Document.
How many items should an agenda have?
Three to six. With seven or more, group items into larger parts.
How do I show where I am in the agenda?
Repeat the agenda slide before each section and highlight the coming item, with the other items in grey. A Morph transition between the copies moves the highlight smoothly.
Where do appendix slides go?
After the closing slide, behind a section divider called Appendix, numbered A1, A2 and so on. Hide them if the deck will be clicked through.
Can I make a clickable agenda in Google Slides?
Yes. Select an agenda item, choose Insert, Link and pick the slide from Slides in this presentation.
Can ExpertSlides add an agenda to my deck?
Yes. Ask in the prompt for a new slide about the agenda of the presentation after slide 1; the AI writes it from the deck in an agenda layout of the deck’s design.
