Trevinbury is thriving; once dominated by mining and metalwork, but today expanding outwards with vigour on the back of new technologies. Many of the town's shops are centred on the nineteenth-century high street, but a combination of limited space and tight planning restrictions have prevented many high-profile chains from establishing a retail presence. This is a regrettable and backward-looking situation - at least in the opinion of Designer Developments, who are hoping to add Trevinbury to the lengthy list of towns across Europe in which they've already built modern shopping centres.

Unsurprisingly, not everyone in Trevinbury is convinced of the need for the new development, and Della has been sent in to convince both the townsfolk and the local council. She'll need to make two presentations, with different content in some areas (reflecting the different expectations and demands of the general public and of a council planning committee) and the same persuasive arguments in others. However, some things need to remain consistent throughout both - each presentation, and any that she makes on other plans in other parts of the country, will need to be unfailingly stylish, professional, and dynamic. Della needs the company's plans to be fully appreciated by the audience, and hopes that the company's optimism about the future for Trevinbury will be shared by the local people.

The team at Designer Developments have produced a range of statistics, forecasts and scenarios to support their intentions, and Della now has at her fingertips a range of hopefully persuasive information. She has a breakdown of local employment forecasts - from builders to store staff to administrators to cleaners and many more; a list of popular brands expected to open outlets at the centre; reams of relentlessly upbeat reports of the company's previous successes; a study of the improvements to the area that will stem from replacing a decrepit industrial area on the edge of town with attractive, modern, retail establishments; and, a welter of evidence to show that the impact on lives of the construction process will be as slight as possible. With all this behind her, she's certain that she can make a convincing argument in the proposal's favour - but she needs the tools to convert the raw data into an engaging and convincing presentation.

The only place she looks - or needs to look - for these tools is Microsoft PowerPoint. For her presentation to have the most positive impact, her words need to be accompanied by a presentation that is as visually engaging as it is clear and informative; SmartArt graphics in PowerPoint provide the answer. With just a couple of clicks, Della can apply a consistent appearance throughout her show, incorporating any information in any format, and even the most plain and simple list of promised benefits can be fitted into the attractive, dynamic and professional visual scheme. She can also give forecasts of increasing local employment and reports of previous successes a stylish and engaging appearance, by simply inserting any charts from Microsoft Excel directly into the presentation.

By using PowerPoint, Della also saves herself time. This isn't a one-off job, neither for Della nor for Designer Developments. And though many of her specific arguments will have to be tailored to local considerations, most of her wider points - including the company's previously successful record - can be reused at such planning meetings up and down the country. Rather than having to build each presentation from scratch, Della can make use of PowerPoint Slide Libraries, which allow her to store existing slides and reuse them in future presentations - either taking them as they are, or tweaking them with more up-to-date or relevant data. Also, if others within the organisation are employed in a similar role to Della, Slide Libraries allow slides to be shared amongst the team.

With PowerPoint, Della can be sure of the best opportunity to convince the people and politicians of Trevinbury that the benefits offered to community by a new shopping centre far outweigh the detriments. She can feel confident that the research that the team have produced to back up their arguments is presented in a manner both appealing and comprehensible, as well as relevant to the two disparate audiences' needs. To guarantee the best possible presentation comes from this preparation, a short training course will help Della to be comfortable with all of the tools that PowerPoint offers - and help her employers to transform Trevinbury into their kind of town.