How to Prepare for a Certification Exam
The Presentation Guild Certifications recognize the skills and expertise of presentation professionals.
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 Professional Standards
The Presentation Industry Professional Standards are 298 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 Professional Standards and what you should study and/or practice to pass the exam.
Self-Assessment
The self-assessment spreadsheet helps you keep track of what you already know and what you still need to study as you prepare for the certification exam.
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 parts of the exam are structured - the multiple-choice exam and the practical skills exam.
Download Certification Preparation Materials
The Presentation Industry Professional Standards
Use to prepare for both Certified Presentation Specialist™ and Expert™ exam.
Certified Presentation Specialist™ | Level 1
Study and Reference Guide
Use to prepare for Level 1 Certified Presentation Specialist™ exam.
Certified Presentation Expert™ | Level 1
Study and Reference Guide
Use to prepare for Level 2 Certified Presentation Expert™ exam.
Certification Self-Assessment Spreadsheet
Use to prepare for both Certified Presentation Specialist™ and Expert™ exam.
Prepare for Certification by Attending a Certification Bootcamp
Our preparatory certification exam bootcamps are optional but highly recommended. They are fast-paced, instructor-led workshops designed to help you review the Presentation Industry Professional Standards, go through practice exam questions, and prepare for the CPS™ or CPE™ exam.
The bootcamps are held multiple times per year. They are run virtually over the course of a week, with a total of 8–10 hours of instruction.
With our certification bootcamps, you get high-quality professional instruction and training for under $300, as the cost of the exam, $199, is included with the bootcamp.
Certification Bootcamps Pricing
$499, including the cost of the certification exam ($375 for Presentation Guild members)
What is the foundation of the Presentation Guild certification exams?
The Presentation Industry Professional Standards, carefully developed by leading industry experts from the Presentation Guild, through an industry-wide process, is the foundation of our certification program.
The 298 Presentation Industry Professional 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 professional 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 certification.
The Structure of the Certification Exams
The Presentation Guild certification exams are open book, unproctored, and administered via a web-based assessment platform. You will get access to the exam immediately following the purchase of your certification exam. The exams have two parts: multiple choice and practical skills. You must pass both parts to pass the certification exam.
PART 1:
The Multiple-Choice Exam
The multiple-choice exam questions are randomized, and there is a mix of question types:
- True/false: Single choice questions with only one answer.
- Multiple choice: Two or more options; there will always be one wrong answer. Correct answers count for one point, and incorrect answers deduct one point from that question.
- Matching: Require matching a set of terms to the descriptions. Correct answers count for one point, and incorrect answers deduct one point from that question.
- Fill in the blank: Type in the answer. The answer must be spelled correctly, but capitalization doesn’t matter. Some questions have more than one answer. Correct answers count for one point, and incorrect answers deduct one point from that question.
The Certified Presentation Specialist™ (CPS) multiple-choice exam has 130 questions, and the Certified Presentation Expert™ (CPE) multiple-choice exam has 100 questions.
You must have 80% or higher to pass the multiple-choice exam.
You will receive your results immediately after finishing the exam.
PART 2:
The Practical Skills Exam
You must pass the multiple-choice exam before you may download your files for part 2, the practical skills exam. The practical skills exam files will be sent to you automatically after passing part 1.
The practical skills exam for both the Certified Presentation Specialist™ (CPS) and the Certified Presentation Expert™ (CPE) exam consists of nine PowerPoint files, one for each of the nine categories in the Presentation Industry Professional Standards. You will be asked to perform specific tasks in each file.
You must have access to PowerPoint® to be able to complete part 2, the practical skills exam.
The files must be downloaded, completed, and uploaded within 48 hours of starting the exam.
The practical skills exam files will be reviewed and graded by the Presentation Guild certification program team.
You must complete 80% of the tasks correctly to pass the practical skills exam.
How Long Does a Certification Exam Take?
LEVEL 1
CERTIFIED PRESENTATION
Specialist™ Exam
Part 1, multiple-choice exam: You have 3.5 hours to finish the questions 130 questions from when you start the exam. You cannot pause the exam once it has started.
Part 2, practical skills exam: You have 48 hours to complete and upload your practical skills exam files after you have finished and passed the multiple-choice exam.
LEVEL 2
CERTIFIED PRESENTATION
Expert™ Exam
Part 1, multiple-choice exam: You have 3 hours to finish the questions 100 questions from when you start the exam. You cannot pause the exam once it has started.
Part 2, practical skills exam: You have 48 hours to complete and upload your practical skills exam files after you have finished and passed the multiple-choice exam.
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 skills exam (Part 2) files will take up to two weeks to process.
You will be notified via email when you have passed the practical skills exam.
How Do I Get My Badge?
Upon passing your multiple-choice exam and your practical skills exam, you’ll be notified via email of your Presentation Guild certification and will receive a digital certificate and 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 and social media channels, and you will be added to our certification registry.
What can I do with an online badge?
Your achievement is available via a digital credentials platform 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 renewal is required to demonstrate your ongoing commitment to professional excellence and to confirm that your skills and knowledge remain current. No exam is needed for renewal. 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 renew my certification?
You will get a reminder via email that your certification is about to expire, with information on how to renew your certification.
How much do renewals cost?
Certification Renewals Pricing: $99
Renewals are valid for two years.