Let’s be honest: nobody enjoys spending hours pixel-pushing in PowerPoint. Here is how I use AI to bridge the gap between a good idea and a polished presentation.
We are living in an era where code and technical foundations are the new language of business. Yet, there is still a frustrating amount of manual work involved in turning those technical ideas into professional, boardroom-ready assets. In the consulting world, we often fall into the "Slide Time Sink," where high-value thinking gets derailed by tedious formatting.
I wanted to see if I could apply the same iterative logic we use in software development to create high-quality slides. By using a conversational approach with an LLM and Nano Banana for the visuals, you can move from rough notes to a compelling deck in a fraction of the time.
Kick things off by describing your project to the AI. Ask it to help you build a prompt template that matches your specific branding and visual needs.
Before you worry about how it looks, make sure what you’re saying is right. Refine your message and organize your points into a clear hierarchy.
Merge your prompt template with your actual headlines and bullet points. Tell the AI exactly what kind of visual energy you want for each slide.
Have the LLM format that content specifically for visual generation, making sure things like corporate colors and style guides are baked in.
Drop the final output into Nano Banana. Once it’s generated, you can move that polished asset straight into your presentation software.
You can’t just expect a "one-shot" miracle when it comes to high-quality work. The real power of GenAI is the back-and-forth conversation. Just like you wouldn’t build an entire software system in one go, you shouldn't try to build a complex slide that way either. Break it into chunks: get the template right, then the words, then the image.
[Asset Type] Stylized Map Illustration of [Subject] a local region, [Action/Context] showing connection lines between a wind farm icon and a house icon, [Art Style] Friendly vector illustration, [Color Palette] Light background, Grey (#32373C) paths, Teal (#64C1C6) energy sources, [Composition/Lighting] Top-down view, clean and simple, [Aspect Ratio] 16:9.
When I was at KPMG, I saw firsthand how formatting could swallow a person’s entire week. In high-pressure environments, we often get stuck obsessing over the "polish" long after the real value has been delivered. It is an exhausting cycle that leads to burnout.
"This workflow lets us do what we always hoped AI would do: it lets us focus on the strategy and the big ideas while leaving the tedious pixel-pushing to the machines."
I recently put this exact method to the test for a renewable energy project here in South Africa. Even though it still takes a few steps to copy things between windows, the time I saved by just putting my thoughts into a notepad and letting the AI handle the visual heavy lifting was incredible.
Right now, the workflow is a little bit manual, but it won’t stay that way for long. Smart organizations are already starting to bake these efficiencies into their everyday tools. To stay relevant, we have to stop thinking of ourselves as "slide builders" and start acting like the strategic orchestrators we were hired to be.