Maps are ideal for sales and company presentations and for showing locations, sales territories, employee distributions and customer locations.

In this article, we present the 8 best ideas and tips for designing maps in presentations. We demonstrate these using concrete examples and introduce you to exclusively designed map templates from PresentationLoad.

Why should you use PowerPoint maps in your presentations?

World and country maps are impressive tools for incorporating data into your presentations. In times of ever-advancing globalization, such data is becoming increasingly important, which is why maps can enhance your presentations both in terms of content and visual appeal.

With professional map data, you can create a wide variety of diagrams, charts, and infographics that are also significantly more visually appealing than text-based material. Editable vector maps offer the additional advantage of allowing you to color individual countries, adapt them to your corporate design, and easily highlight or mark countries, regions, or continents.

8 ideas on how to effectively use maps in PowerPoint

Idea #1 : Display company locations on maps in PowerPoint

Use a PowerPoint map to display your locations, branches, and cities where your company operates. Geographic locations are best visualized on a detailed map.

For example, this map of Germany is ideally suited to present company headquarters at the national level:

By using different symbols and shapes, you can, for example, distinguish your company headquarters, regional branches, production facilities or sales partners , thus providing a quick overview of your organizational structure.

Do you have multiple locations? Then use the map to show that you are well-connected and always close to your customers. For example, you can visualize proximity to your customers using central circles or lines with distance markings, which is an important decision criterion when choosing a service provider.

If you would like to present company locations across Europe , we recommend using this map of Europe :

Idea #2 : Represent sales territories as a map

For displaying sales territories , we recommend using detailed PowerPoint maps that are structured by region, state, or postal code. This German postal code template, for example, is suitable for this purpose.

These detailed maps are particularly suitable for visualizing individual areas.

Our tip: These detailed maps appear very fragmented at the postal code level, which is why it can be worthwhile to present individual regions or areas separately on an additional slide. For this, you can, for example, use the zoom effect in PowerPoint to create transition effects.

For more information on how to skillfully use the zoom effect in your presentation, please see our blog article on 'PowerPoint Zoom'.

Idea #3 : Highlight regions and countries by color according to data

Not only individual locations, but also entire countries and regions can be highlighted on world maps using a color-coded legend . This allows you, for example, to clearly illustrate the international distribution of your sales or the number and countries of your customers.

For this purpose, you can download PowerPoint maps from the PresentationLoad shop and then color them yourself. For example, you'll find a world map set that is perfectly suited for this:

To color specific areas on the map , click on that area and then select the "Shape Format" function in the tab, where you can edit the fill color as desired under "Fill" .

Idea #4 : PowerPoint maps with pie charts

To display the distribution of sales or product sales in different regions, a combination of maps and pie charts is suitable. A practical example of this: A sales team wants to visualize product sales to better assess market potential and regional variations.

For this version of a map, you'll need any country or world map as a template, into which you can then insert the charts yourself. To do this, simply select the "Pie" option under "Insert/Chart" and add your data to the chart. Repeat this step until you have placed charts of the appropriate size on all the regions you want to analyze.

Alternatively: maps with bar charts

In principle, this idea is the same as that of pie charts. You can either create these column charts yourself in PowerPoint or insert linked charts and data from Excel .

Column charts sometimes show the geographical distribution of your values ​​and their ranking more clearly . You can use the same example as above under "Pie Charts" and see that the analysis or comparison of values ​​(in the form of columns) is clearer. The flat areas of the columns are much easier to interpret than the segments of a pie chart.

For example, when creating a regional analysis, you can also put the data into perspective by using structured 100% column charts. This allows you to compare proportions and distributions independently of parameters such as region size or population figures. This also represents a noteworthy alternative to traditional pie charts.

Idea #6 : PowerPoint maps with graduated symbols (circles / bubbles)

Create a map with tiered sizes to clearly illustrate different values. Size symbols represent larger values ​​(number of customers, sales volume, revenue, etc.) and show at a glance, as a data visualization, which regions are most important for your business.

Here you see a map with graduated symbols (such as circles). The size of the circles represents the corresponding dimension (value) . While circles are certainly the most suitable option here, you can, of course, use other shapes and graphics. The important thing is that the different size relationships are clearly recognizable. Additionally, you can use colors to distinguish important values ​​from others.

Idea #7 : Maps to depict (inter)national connections

So-called relationship maps establish the connections between one or more locations . Supply chains, for example, can be visualized in one or both directions. The purpose of this type of map is always to illustrate how different positions relate to one another.

Our tip: Represent connections with different line thicknesses or colors to indicate the importance or extent of the relationship.

Idea #8 : Creative design variations for PowerPoint maps

Besides classic maps that depict exact borders and geographical features , there is also the option to be creative in map design. For example, you can also create abstract world maps.

An example of this is a world map composed of individual points . Despite the abstract nature of the representation, you can visualize specific areas , such as continents or locations, through these points without going into too much detail. This is a trend increasingly seen in corporate presentations, where a broad overview is given without delving into excessive detail.

If you are interested in creatively presenting your world map in a dot-matrix design, please take a look at our country dot-matrix PowerPoint templates in the shop:

Editable maps in PowerPoint

Just because you've downloaded PowerPoint maps from our shop doesn't mean you can't personalize them. One of the most important editing options for our maps, for example, is coloring individual countries to highlight specific areas.

All the maps we've created have the advantage of being made up of individual shapes, allowing you to edit them directly in PowerPoint. Here's how:

• Select a country or shape, then select any color via "Fill Effect" to color the shape accordingly.
• You can also adjust the line color or thickness of the shape to your liking using "Shape contour" .

Extra design tip: the magnifying glass effect

Another way to visually direct your audience's focus and concentrate on specific regions is the so-called magnifying glass effect . This magnifying glass effect simply means that a magnified section of an area is overlaid on the PowerPoint map .

Especially if, for example, you have a metropolitan area in a particular region and there are several locations there that would otherwise be difficult to distinguish on a world map.

In our shop you will find various magnifying glass PowerPoint templates that allow you to visually highlight sections of maps.

Extra Tip #2: Interactive maps with hyperlinks

For example, if you want to present content about different countries or regions, you can do this with an interactive PowerPoint map.

Thanks to hyperlinks, you can start your presentation with a complete world map as an overview and then add links to individual countries, leading to further slides . On these linked slides, you can then present details about the countries and locations . The hyperlink function in PowerPoint works in every version of PPT and is easy to implement.

Interactive maps: Here's how!

1. First, ensure that the map you are working with consists of individual shapes. If necessary, ungroup the shapes so that you can select the countries individually.
2. Now select a suitable country on the map and press Ctrl + K to open the "Insert Hyperlink" dialog box.
3. Now select the desired slide under "this document" and link the hyperlink by confirming with "OK".
4. You can now repeat this step as often as you like.

Insert button to go to the overview page:

Once your interactive map is complete, all you need is a button to return to the overview page. To do this, simply insert a graphic or shape that you can use to create a hyperlink with the "action" function.

1. Then select the graphic or shape that you want to use as a button.
2. Then click on "Insert/Action" in the toolbar.
3. Now select the action “Hyperlink to” and then “last viewed slide” and confirm your selection with “OK”.

However, if your map consists of only one image or graphic and you cannot edit the regions individually, there is a trick you can use to create hyperlinks to selected areas.

Use the "Freehand Shape" function to trace the desired region. Then, assign a hyperlink to this shape and set the fill and line colors to transparent. This will make your shape invisible. However, the hyperlink will still work when you click on the corresponding area with your mouse.

Conclusion: Visually appealing slides with PowerPoint maps!

Whether with or without hyperlinks, for local or international presentations of various aspects, maps are not only useful, but also visually enhance your presentation. Use maps in your next presentation!

Do you have questions about maps in presentations or about PowerPoint in general? Feel free to contact us at info@presentationload.de and we'll be happy to help!

Are you looking for visually appealing and professionally designed slide templates ? Feel free to browse our shop. We have numerous slides on a wide variety of (business) topics available for download. Visit us today! ► To the shop

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