(FORTUNE Magazine) – As partner in charge of national tax services for Coopers & Lybrand, Jerry Leener, 46, knows plenty about making presentations. He's on the road at least twice a month pitching the firm's tax-preparation and technology expertise to big clients like Scott Paper and Goldman Sachs, or briefing groups of colleagues. After 23 years relying on the firm's graphics department to help put together slides and paper handouts, Leener took his presentations into his own hands last year. He uses a notebook computer loaded with presentation- graphics software, Freelance Graphics for Windows by Lotus. Leener told FORTUNE how the setup makes him a more effective and efficient businessman.

Why did you change the way you create presentations? I need much less preparation time than when I had to go through the graphics department. I used to have to make a first draft on paper, send it in, wait for hard copy to come back, make changes, and send it in again. Depending on how complicated the presentation was and how many people were in line in front of me, the process could take a week. Now I do the whole thing myself in one to four hours, although I still use the graphics department if I want to include custom images or video. The computer also lets me work anywhere I want and make changes at the last minute. Once I put together an entire presentation while riding in a car from Washington to Philadelphia.

What happens when you stand up in front of an audience? I bring my AT&T Safari 3181 notebook with my presentation stored on its hard drive, and an LCD projection panel, the Ovation 820 by Proxima. My secretary calls ahead to make sure that there'll be an overhead projector; the panel sits on top of it. When the light shines through, it looks like I'm using slides, but I'm actually generating the images with my computer. Talking to the audience, I often use my mouse as an electronic pencil to highlight points on the screen. Everyone reacts the same way. They say, "He's just like John Madden!" It loosens up the group and helps everyone stay focused on the presentation. Sometimes you visit a client to talk about one subject and they ask about something else. Because I have a library of all the presentations I've ever done stored on my hard drive, I can easily shift gears. For instance, when I make a presentation about our consulting services, I often end up using a demo of our on-line Tax News Network as well. Being able to cover two subjects at once saves me a trip and impresses the client.

Can you describe how Freelance works? There are different ways to use the program, but I like to start with the Outliner function and write my entire presentation in outline form. Then I select how I want the presentation to look. There are 65 styles to choose from called SmartMasters, each with a distinctive background and typeface. The program automatically puts the text from my outline into the correct format. Next, I create charts and graphs or modify old ones stored on my hard drive. Sometimes I import data from other programs, such as Lotus 1-2-3 or the Lotus Ami Pro word processor. Or I borrow pieces of presentations by other Coopers & Lybrand partners. Only about 20% of my graphics are customized, such as our logo or a client's logo.

Are there other advantages to putting together a presentation yourself? Yes. It's important that clients realize I do it myself because then they'll know their business is important to me. Sometimes I even deliberately misspell a word so they'll see that the presentation wasn't worked over by a dozen people. That may sound strange in the age of spell-checking, but it's effective. Also, since I'm promoting my firm's technological expertise, I want clients to know that I'm computer literate. And being self-sufficient makes me a better presenter. I'm more familiar with the content of the presentation because I put it together from start to finish.

^ So what do the other partners think? When people at Coopers & Lybrand see what I can do, it gives them the confidence to try it themselves. I never set out to do this, but now I'm the person other partners call for advice on how to create an effective presentation.

BOX: WHAT HE USES

-- FREELANCE GRAPHICS FOR WINDOWS BY LOTUS This software helps you put together vivid business presentations without special training. Choose printouts, slides, or your computer's own display. Street price: around $350.

-- OVATION 820 BY PROXIMA A 5.3-pound transparent LCD panel that connects to your computer for on- the- spot presentations. Used with an overhead projector. Price: $5,695.