I agree. But I think the reason is only partly due to lack of knowledge of what Powerpoint can do (and how to do it efficiently) or on how to create the present

I agree. But I think the reason is only partly due to lack of knowledge of what Powerpoint can do (and how to do it efficiently) or on how to create the presentation. I think the main reason for poor presentations (with Powerpoint or any other tool) is the approach of leaving the "preparing the presentation" as the last bullet point in the TO DO list. As if the way content is delivered does not matter. I see tons of corporate presentation that have been clearly put together one or two days before that very important meeting. People often wonder why presentations by consultants (think Mckinsey, BCG, Bain and similar) look so smooth and effective (there are always exceptions, of course), but that is because the PP presentation is for them often THE document they deliver, not the 20MB excel model behind that, not the weeks of research, etc.). They start thinking about the storyline from day one, they set up the analysis based on what they think should be on the slides and what is the best way to pass a certain message, and they spend an absurd amount of time reviewing the slides to make sure that those are the best they can be, within the time constraints they have. All this has nothing to do with fancy transitions like infinite zoom etc.