James Young wrote this short but influential book in 1965. He suggests five steps to develop creative, engaging ideas:

1. Gather material - as much as possible - about the topic.
2. Look for relationships between the pieces of information, especially unusual or unexpected ones.
3. Concentrate on something else for a while and let your subconscious sift through the information you gathered.
4. "When you are least expecting", an idea will come to you.
5. Shape and develop the idea into something practical, such as a presentation.

At no point did he mention choosing a Powerpoint template.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Technique-Producing-McGraw-Hill-Advertising-Classic/dp/0071410945/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1324564752&sr=8-3