Home > PowerPoint 2007 & 2010 Tutorials > Smart Art > SmartArt Timeline
Take your presentations to the next level with these creative timeline ideas. Learn to express more with SmartArt tools.
The Basic SmartArt Timeline:
When it comes to business presentations, most presenters don’t go beyond the default timeline layout listed under Process -> Basic Timeline:
While the layout looks good, there are a couple of drawbacks:
- The diagram is so overused that it doesn’t capture the imagination of the audience any more
- The layout only allows you to jot down events like a journal. It doesn’t help you to explore the relationship between the events at a deeper level
The one thing that differentiates remarkable business presentations from average presentations is – Great presentations don’t just show the events over time, but also show the significance of those events.
You can take your Timeline to the next level by choosing more appropriate layouts and using them to tell a powerful story. Here are some creative selection of layouts and an explanation of how they communicate your message better:
1. Growth over time:
Instead of just listing events, this layout helps you tell the story about your revenue growth. Notice the shape of the arrow. Instead of a flat arrow, an upward arrow signifies progression. The curved shape subtly captures the trend in growth.
Related: Curved Arrow Tutorial in PowerPoint
2. Addition over time
Take a look at this timeline slide:
The layout helps you tell the story about how your company added new service offerings each year. Different colors signify different types of services. Every new piece added seems to fit nicely with the existing shape. This signifies harmony in the growth process.
Related: Using SmartArt Graphics With Purpose
3. Branching out over time
See this timeline layout:
The diverging radial layout helps you express how you added new branches each year in all directions. Notice that the color scheme is consistent for all the circles, to signify replication of systems. The layout helps you say that you haven’t sacrificed consistency in your operations to achieve growth in numbers.
Related: 3D Radial Diagram in SmartArt
4. Diversification over time
This onion diagram layout helps you express the concept of concentric diversification. Using this layout helps you convey the story about how your company expanded in areas around your core strength. Notice that the color scheme used is just variations of one color. This reemphasizes the idea of related expansion.
If you want to indicate lateral expansion, you may consider using the following layout:
Inference about SmartArt timeline:
Thus, by going a little further than just listing down events, you can add a whole new dimension to the way you present information. The layouts you use on your slides make your message clear and memorable.
More options for business presenters:
By now, you would have realized that it always helps to have more options available to express your ideas. The number of options offered by SmartArt Timeline is not enough to help you express all your business ideas accurately.
That is why we came up with our ‘750+ PowerPoint Charts and Diagrams Templates Pack for CEOs’. The pack has more than 750 fully editable diagram templates which you can copy to your slides. You can alter them to suit your specific needs. In fact, you can create your own set of diagram templates by picking elements from different templates.
Making business presentations has never been easier than this. Take a look at some of our templates to get a feel for the kind of variety we offer in our pack:
Creative PowerPoint Post It Timeline
 |  |
See More Ready to Use Timeline Templates here >>
 |  |
See More Roadmap Ideas from CEO Pack here >>
If you are a business presenter and have not seen our diagram templates pack yet, you are truly missing something. Please browse through our collections and see how our diagrams can change the way you create your presentations forever.
Related: More creative PowerPoint Timeline ideas
Related: Create Slide Design with Glossy Ball (Tutorial)
Return to Top of SmartArt Timeline Page