Most org charts in presentations are hierarchies: one box at the top, lines down to the level below. PowerPoint’s SmartArt has layouts made for that, which keep boxes aligned and lines connected while you add and remove people. For special cases — matrix organisations, project teams, very large structures — shapes and connectors give more freedom.
Before you start, decide what the chart is for. A chart for a client shows faces and roles of the people they will meet; one for a board shows departments and their heads; one for onboarding shows who to ask for what. Each needs a different depth — and none needs every person in the company.
Create an org chart with SmartArt
Insert an organisation chartWindows
Open the Hierarchy layouts
On a Title Only slide choose Insert → SmartArt → Hierarchy.
Insert → SmartArt → Hierarchy Pick a layout
Choose Organization Chart for plain boxes, Name and Title Organization Chart for a name with a role beneath, or Picture Organization Chart for photos. Click OK.
Organization Chart layouts Type the names in the Text Pane
Click the arrow at the graphic’s left edge to open the Text Pane. The first line is the top box. Press Enter for a new box at the same level, Tab to move a line one level down, Shift+Tab to move it up.
The Text Pane of an org chart Add a role under each name
In Name and Title Organization Chart, click into the small box under a name to type the role. In other layouts, press Shift+Enter in a box for a line break and type the role on the second line.
Insert an organisation chartMac
Insert the graphic
Choose Insert → SmartArt → Hierarchy and pick Organization Chart or another hierarchy layout from the gallery.
PowerPoint for Mac: SmartArt → Hierarchy Fill it
Open the Text Pane with the arrow on the graphic’s edge and type the hierarchy as on Windows, using Tab and Shift+Tab for levels.
Add people, assistants and change the layout
Select a box and use the SmartArt Design tab:
- Add Shape → Add Shape Below for a report, Add Shape After or Before for a peer, Add Shape Above for a new manager, Add Assistant for an assistant box that hangs off the side.
- Promote and Demote move a box one level up or down; Move Up and Move Down change the order among peers.
- Layout (with a manager box selected): Standard spreads reports side by side; Both, Left Hanging and Right Hanging stack them vertically under the manager, which saves width when one person has many reports.
- Right to Left mirrors the whole chart.
Style it and add photos
Make the chart look finishedWindows and Mac
Choose colours and a style
On SmartArt Design choose Change Colors (theme colours stay consistent with the deck) and a flat style. Give the top box the strongest colour with Format → Shape Fill.
SmartArt Design → Change Colors Add photos
In Picture Organization Chart, click the picture icon in a box and insert a photo from This Device or Stock Images. Use photos of the same framing and background for every person.
Set a consistent text size
Select the whole graphic and set the font size on Home; otherwise SmartArt shrinks text box by box. Keep names at 14 pt or more and roles slightly smaller.
Convert for full control
For a custom look — round photos, icons, lines of different styles — choose SmartArt Design → Convert → Convert to Shapes. You lose automatic layout, so do this last.
Large organisations
An org chart is readable on a slide up to about 15 to 20 boxes. For more, split it:
- Overview plus departments: slide one shows the leadership team and departments; one slide per department shows its structure.
- Zoom between them: Insert → Zoom → Slide Zoom on each department box links to its detail slide, so you can jump there in the slide show.
- Teams instead of people: below a certain level, show team names and sizes (“Customer Support, 14”) rather than every person.
- From a list: for very large structures, Microsoft Visio can generate org charts from an Excel or CSV list of names and managers; paste the result into PowerPoint.
Non-hierarchical structures
Matrix organisations, project teams and partner networks do not fit a tree. Draw them with shapes and connectors: Insert → Shapes → Elbow Connector joins two boxes and stays attached when you move them. Use dotted lines (Shape Outline → Dashes) for dotted-line reporting, and colour to group people by team rather than position. Our guide to shapes and symbols covers connectors and arrows.
Org charts in Google Slides
Choose Insert → Diagram → Hierarchy, pick the number of levels and a colour in the panel, and click a layout. The result is a group of ordinary shapes and lines: type the names into the boxes, and copy a box with its line to add people. For larger charts, Google Sheets has an organisational chart type (Insert → Chart, then Organisational chart in the chart editor) that builds from a list of names and managers; copy it into the slide, and check whether it arrives as an editable chart or as a picture.
What to put in each box
An org chart is read in seconds, so every box should carry the same, minimal information. Decide the format once:
| Chart for … | In each box | Leave out |
|---|---|---|
| A client or partner | Photo, name, role, what they do for the client | Internal titles, grades |
| A board or investors | Department, its head, team size | Individual team members |
| New employees | Name, role, what to ask them about | Reporting detail below team level |
| A restructuring | Old and new reporting lines, highlighted changes | Unchanged parts in full detail |
Keep role titles short and consistent (“Head of Sales”, not “Senior Vice President, Global Sales and Business Development” in one box and “Marketing” in the next). If titles are long, shorten them on the chart and give the full titles in the notes.
Common org chart mistakes
- Out of date. An org chart with someone who left last month undermines the whole deck. Date the slide and check it before every use.
- Too small to read. Thirty boxes at 8 pt are a picture of complexity, not a chart. Split it.
- Mixed photos. Holiday snapshots next to studio portraits look careless; use the same style for everyone, or none.
- Unclear vacancies. Mark open positions clearly (“Open — hiring”) rather than leaving a blank box.
Designs for this kind of deck
Every design brings its own colours, fonts and layouts to the whole deck.
Organisation and team slides in ExpertSlides
The ExpertSlides library has a category of organisation slides — hierarchies of two and three levels, leadership teams with photos, department overviews, contact matrices — beside team slides that introduce people with photo, name and role in grids. Describe your organisation or attach a list of people and roles, and the AI places them in a fitting layout and writes every label to fit its box, so long titles do not overflow.
Each box is an editable shape with its text in the deck’s colours; photos go into picture frames you fill by upload or drop. In an open deck, “add an organisation slide for the sales department” or “add a new slide introducing our five team leads” does the same for one slide. The PowerPoint export (Pro and Business) keeps boxes, lines and texts editable for the steps above.
More diagrams: infographics in PowerPoint and SWOT analysis slides. See also business presentations and the Design Templates.
Questions, answered
How do I make an org chart in PowerPoint?
Choose Insert, SmartArt, Hierarchy and pick Organization Chart. Type names in the Text Pane, using Tab and Shift+Tab for levels, and add people with SmartArt Design, Add Shape.
How do I add an assistant to a PowerPoint org chart?
Select the manager’s box and choose SmartArt Design, Add Shape, Add Assistant. The assistant box hangs off the side of the line below the manager.
How do I make an org chart with photos?
Use the Picture Organization Chart layout under Insert, SmartArt, Hierarchy, then click the picture icon in each box to insert a photo.
How do I fit a large org chart on one slide?
Use hanging layouts with SmartArt Design, Layout, Both or Right Hanging, show teams instead of individuals below a level, or split the chart into an overview and one slide per department.
Can ExpertSlides make an org chart?
Yes. Its library has organisation and team slides; describe the structure or paste a list of people and roles, and the AI lays them out with labels that fit. The boxes stay editable and export to PowerPoint.
