How to Prepare for a Certification Exam?
With the required hours of experience creating presentations in PowerPoint, you’ve developed a solid foundation of practical skills—and by complementing that experience with the provided study materials, you can further refine your expertise and confidently prepare for the CPS™ or CPE™ certification exam.
Presentation Industry Standards
The Presentation Industry Standard lists 375 standards of knowledge and skills categorized into 9 areas of expertise: audio/video, branding, color, data visualization, functionality, images, layout, motion, and typography.
Study and Reference Guide
The Study and Reference Guides for CPS™ and CPE™ exams provide you with a brief description of each of the Presentation Industry Standards, what you should study and/or practice to pass the exam.
Self-Assessment Personal Study Guide
A self-assessment spreadsheet to help you keep track of what you already know and what you still need to study as you prepare for the certification exam.
Take a Practice Exam
Included in your purchase of a certification exam is a practice exam with a sample set of questions for you to better understand how both the online multiple-choice exam and the practice skills exam are structured.
Download Certification Preparation Materials
The Presentation Industry Standards
Use to prepare for both CPS™ and CPE™ exams.
CPS™ Study and Reference Guide
Use to prepare for CPS™ exams.
CPE™ Study and Reference Guide
Use to prepare for CPS™ exams.
Certification Self-Assessment Spreadsheet
Use to prepare for both CPS™ and CPE™ exams.
What is the Foundation of the Presentation Certification Exams?
The Presentation Industry Standards, carefully developed by leading industry experts from the Presentation Guild, through an industry-wide process, is the foundation of our certification program.
The 375 presentation industry standards of knowledge and skills are categorized into 9 areas of expertise: audio/video, branding, color, data visualization, functionality, images, layout, motion, and typography. The core professional standards require proficiency in PowerPoint as it is the most widely known and used tool. The standards are not about how to use PowerPoint, but rather how to craft presentations using PowerPoint.
If you're familiar with the defined areas of expertise outlined in the industry standards, you have a good foundation of what the certification exams are designed to assess. These standards serve as the foundation for the exam content, so studying and applying them gives you a clear roadmap to success. Knowing the standards means you're not guessing—you’re aligning your knowledge with the expectations of the profession and the certifications.
The Structure of the Certification Exams
The Presentation Guild Certification exams are open book exam done online. You will get access to the exam immediately following the purchase of your certification exam. The Presentation Guild Certification exams have two parts. You have to pass both parts to pass the certification exam.
How Long does a Certification Exam Take?
What happens after I have taken the exam?
When Will I Know if I Passed the Exam?
You will get your multiple-choice exam (Part 1) results immediately after finishing the exam in Classmarker.
Your practical exam (Part 2) files will take up to two weeks to process.
You will be notified via email when you have passed the practical exam.
How Do I Get My Badge?
Upon passing your multiple-choice exam and your practical exam, you’ll be notified via email of your Presentation Guild Certification and will receive a certificate and a digital badge.
The Presentation Guild uses Certifier for our digital badges.
The Certifications are valid for two years from the date of passing the exam.
Announcement of Certification
The Presentation Guild will announce your certification in our newsletter, on our website and in social media and add you to our list of Certified Professionals.
What can I do with an online badge?
Your achievement is available in an online format so that you can retrieve it anywhere, anytime, and use it in a variety of ways: add it to your LinkedIn profile, share it on social media, download it in PDF, post it on your website and include it in your email signature.
How do I Maintain a Certification?
A Presentation Guild certification is valid for two years, after which re-certification is required to demonstrate your ongoing commitment to professional excellence and to confirm that your skills and knowledge remain current. No re-examination is needed for re-certification. This process ensures that certified professionals stay up to date with evolving tools, standards, and best practices in the presentation industry, as platforms like PowerPoint and industry expectations continue to evolve over time.
How do I re-certify my exam?
You will get a reminder via email to the email you used to register for your certification exam that your certification is about to expire with information on how to re-certify to retain your certification.
How much is re-certification
Re-certification for CPS™ and CPE™: $99
A certification or re-certification is valid for every two years.
