Creating a fantastic PowerPoint presentation is a ability that any skilled can profit from. The issue? It’s very easy to get it fallacious. From poor shade decisions to complicated slides, a foul PowerPoint slideshow can distract from the incredible content material you’re sharing with stakeholders in your group.
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Obtain NowThat’s why it’s so necessary to discover ways to create a PowerPoint presentation from the bottom up, beginning together with your slides. Even if you happen to’re conversant in PowerPoint, a refresher will provide help to make a extra engaging, skilled slideshow. Let’s get began.
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I like to consider Microsoft PowerPoint as a take a look at of fundamental skilled abilities. To create a passing presentation, I must show design abilities, technical literacy, and a way of non-public model.
If the presentation has an issue (like an unintended font, a damaged hyperlink, or unreadable textual content), then I’ve in all probability failed the take a look at. Even when my spoken presentation is properly rehearsed, a foul visible expertise can damage it for the viewers.
Experience means nothing with out a good PowerPoint presentation to again it up. For starters, seize your assortment of free PowerPoint templates under.
Regardless of your matter, profitable PowerPoints depend upon three fundamental components: your command of PowerPoint’s design instruments, your consideration to presentation processes, and your devotion to constant model. Listed here are some easy ideas that will help you begin mastering every of these components, and remember to take a look at the extra sources on the backside of this submit.
Learn how to Make a PowerPoint Presentation
A presentation is made up of a number of slides, let’s delve deeper into PowerPoint’s capabilities.
Getting Began
1. Open PowerPoint and click on ‘New.’
If a web page with templates doesn‘t mechanically open, go to the highest left pane of your display screen and click on New. For those who’ve already created a presentation, choose Open then double-click the icon to open the prevailing file.
2. Select a theme or create your personal.
Microsoft affords built-in themes and shade variations that will help you design your slides with a cohesive look. To select from these pre-built themes, select the File tab once more, choose New, select one of many choices, and click on Create. There may be additionally an possibility to pick a clean presentation if you happen to desire to not add one.
In any other case, you should use PowerPoint parts, your design sense, and your model’s shade palette to make your personal “theme.”
Creating PowerPoint Slides
3. Insert a slide.
Insert a brand new slide by clicking on the Dwelling tab after which the New Slide button. Contemplate what content material you wish to placed on the slide, together with heading, textual content, and imagery.
Contemplate what content material you wish to placed on the slide, together with heading, textual content, and imagery.
4. Create a wide range of slides for various functions.
You don‘t wish to current the identical actual slide, solely with completely different content material on it. This could bore your viewers. Make sure that you create a number of variations, accommodating a number of the frequent makes use of for slides. At minimal, you’ll want:
- A title slide
- An agenda or desk of contents slide
- A slide that introduces the speaker
- Varied content material slides (create completely different layouts contemplating what sort of multimedia you may use)
5. Use the Duplicate Slides function to avoid wasting you time.
There‘s no purpose to create these designs over and over. Now that you’ve a couple of to attract from, you possibly can merely duplicate them earlier than inputting your content material. Right here’s how to try this:
- On the left pane, right-click the thumbnail of the slide you wish to duplicate.
- Select Duplicate Slide from the pop-up menu.
This may mechanically add a replica of this slide to the presentation. From there, you possibly can customise it to your wants.
6. Add pictures to your slide
Add pictures by clicking Insert and clicking the Footage icon. Moreover, you possibly can add different parts through the use of options within the Dwelling and Insert tabs on the highest ribbon. Mess around with the structure by dragging parts round together with your mouse.
7. Add transitions to your slides (non-obligatory).
Carried out properly, transitions can add slightly little bit of motion and showmanship to your presentation. PowerPoint has a number of transitions inbuilt so that you can select from.
To entry them, choose the Transitions tab from the highest ribbon. From there, you possibly can choose a transition for it to preview in your display screen. To customise it additional, click on Impact Choices and play with the options to seek out one thing that fits your liking. To take away a transition, choose Transitions and click on None.
8. Add animations to your slides (non-obligatory).
Like transitions, animations can add motion, reveal data, and provide help to underscore the factors you wish to hit throughout your speech. To animate a component, observe these steps:
- Choose the ingredient you need animated by clicking on it.
- Select Animations from the highest ribbon.
- You may have the choice to select from a number of results displayed within the ribbon.
- Clicking on one gives you a preview.
- To customise the animation, choose Impact Choices.
- To take away an animation, click on None within the ribbon.
A number of the methods to customise animations embody:
- On Click on
- With Earlier
- After Earlier
- Period
- Delay
These describe the way you need the impact to behave, so mess around with them till you discover an impact that fits your liking.
You may even have the choice to maneuver animations round as you edit your slides by clicking on the Animation Pane button, then reordering the animations within the listing that pops up.
Ending Up Your Presentation
9. Save your presentation.
Click on File and Save, ensuring to specify which folder or vacation spot you need your PowerPoint to be saved. For those who’re utilizing your slides for schooling or educating, it may very well be useful to convert your presentation to a web-based course.
10. Run your presentation.
It is at all times good to do a trial run to make sure that your slides are arrange correctly and your animations hearth the way in which you anticipate them to.
To current your PowerPoint, go to the Slide Present tab and click on Play from Begin. The slide will cowl your entire display screen, blocking out your desktop and PowerPoint software program. That is so your viewers (on this case, you for the trial run) is solely centered on the visible parts of your presentation.
11. Advance the slides.
Once you’re executed with one slide and wish to present the subsequent in your sequence, click on your mouse in presentation mode. This may advance the slide.
PowerPoint Presentation Suggestions
- Do not let PowerPoint determine how you employ PowerPoint.
- Create customized slide sizes.
- Edit your slide template design.
- Write textual content together with your viewers in thoughts.
- Ensure your entire objects are correctly aligned.
- Use ‘Format Object’ to raised management your objects’ designs.
- Reap the benefits of PowerPoint’s shapes.
- Create customized shapes.
- Crop pictures into customized shapes.
- Current web sites inside PowerPoint.
- Attempt Utilizing GIFs.
- Preserve it easy.
- Embed your font recordsdata.
- Save your slides as JPEGs.
- Embed multimedia.
- Carry your personal {hardware}.
- Use ‘Presenter View.’
PowerPoint Model
1. Don’t let PowerPoint determine how you employ PowerPoint.
Microsoft needed to supply PowerPoint customers with plenty of instruments. However this doesn’t imply it is best to use all of them. Listed here are some key issues to look out for:
- Guarantee that the preset PPT themes complement your wants earlier than you undertake them.
- Attempt to get away from utilizing Microsoft Workplace’s default fonts, Calibri and Cambria. Utilizing these two typefaces could make the presentation appear underwhelming.
- Professionals ought to by no means use PPT’s motion sounds. (Please contemplate your viewers above private desire).
- PowerPoint makes bulleting automated, however ask your self: Are bullets truly acceptable for what it’s good to do? Generally they’re, however not at all times.
- Latest PPT defaults embody a small shadow on all shapes. Take away this shadow if it is not truly wanted. Additionally, don’t depart shapes of their default blue.
2. Create customized slide sizes.
Whilst you normally can get away with the default slide dimension for many shows, you might want to regulate it for bigger shows on weirdly sized shows. If it’s good to try this, here is how.
- Within the top-left nook, select File.
- Choose Web page Setup.
- Sort the peak and width of the background you want, and click on OK.
- A dialogue field will seem. Click on Scale if you wish to additionally resize your content material, or Don’t Scale if you happen to don’t. We suggest clicking Don’t Scale, then manually adjusting minor structure points.
Tip: You’ll be able to keep away from a headache with the final step if you happen to resize your slides earlier than you add any objects to them. In any other case, the scale of your objects will turn out to be skewed.
3. Edit your slide template design.
Typically, it is a lot simpler to edit your PowerPoint template earlier than you begin — this fashion, you do not have to design every slide by hand. Here is the way you try this.
- Choose View within the prime navigation.
- Click on Grasp.
- Within the drop-down, click on Slide Grasp.
- Make any modifications you want, then click on Shut Grasp within the prime ribbon. All present and future slides in that presentation will use that template.
4. Write textual content together with your viewers in thoughts.
A big a part of a PowerPoint’s content material is textual content. Nice copy could make or break your presentation, so evaluating your written work from a couple of completely different angles may make you appear extra persuasive. Preserve the quantity of textual content below 6-8 traces (or 30 phrases) at a minimal of dimension 24 pt. Occupied with how your textual content is obtained differentiates good presenters from the very best.
Typography:
Many individuals underestimate the affect of typeface, however choosing the proper font is necessary — the notion of your font kind may affect your viewers’s impression of you. The suitable font is a chance to convey constant model persona and professionalism.
Some fonts are seen as clear {and professional}, however this does not imply they’re boring. A typical mistake is pondering your font is not “thrilling” sufficient, which may lead you to decide on a font that distracts out of your total message. We suggest sticking to easy serif and sans-serif fonts. Keep away from script fonts due to potential readability points.
That stated, you possibly can nonetheless use enjoyable and eccentric fonts — carefully. Offsetting a enjoyable font or massive letters with one thing extra skilled can create a fascinating presentation.
Above all, make sure you are constant so your presentation seems the identical all through every slide. That manner, your viewers does not turn out to be distracted by too many disparate fonts. Try this instance from HubSpot’s firm profile templates:
on this presentation template? Obtain it without cost right here.
5. Ensure your entire objects are correctly aligned.
Having correctly aligned objects in your slide is the important thing to creating it look polished {and professional}. You’ll be able to manually attempt to line up your pictures … however everyone knows how that sometimes works out. You are making an attempt to verify your entire objects hang around in the midst of your slide, however if you drag them there, it nonetheless does not look fairly proper. Eliminate your guessing sport and let PowerPoint work its magic with this trick.
Right here’s tips on how to align a number of objects:
- Choose all objects by holding down Shift and clicking on all of them.
- Choose Organize within the prime choices bar, then select Align or Distribute.
- Select the kind of alignment you want.
Right here’s tips on how to align objects to the slide:
- Choose all objects by holding down Shift and clicking on all of them.
- Choose Organize within the prime choices bar, then select Align or Distribute.
- Choose Align to Slide.
- Choose Organize within the prime choices bar once more, then select Align or Distribute.
- Select the kind of alignment you want.
PowerPoint Design
6. Use “Format Object” to raised management your objects’ designs.
Format menus assist you to do nice changes that in any other case appear inconceivable. To do that, right-click on an object and choose the Format Object possibility. Right here, you possibly can fine-tune shadows, alter form measurements, create reflections, and far more. The menu that may pop up seems like this:
Though the principle choices will be discovered on PowerPoint’s format toolbars, search for full management within the format window menu. Different examples of choices out there embody:
- Adjusting textual content inside a form.
- Making a pure perspective shadow behind an object.
- Recoloring pictures manually and with automated choices.
7. Reap the benefits of PowerPoint’s shapes.
Many customers don’t understand how versatile PowerPoint’s form instruments have turn out to be. Together with the expanded format choices launched by Microsoft, the potential for good design with shapes is available. PowerPoint offers the consumer with a bunch of nice form choices past the normal rectangle, oval, and rounded rectangle patterns.
At the moment’s shapes embody a extremely purposeful Good Shapes perform, which allows you to create diagrams and circulate charts very quickly. These instruments are particularly useful when you think about that PowerPoint is a visible medium. Paragraphing and bullet lists are boring — you should use shapes to assist specific your message extra clearly.
8. Create customized shapes.
Once you create a form, proper click on and press Edit Factors. By modifying factors, you possibly can create customized shapes that suit your particular want. For example, you possibly can reshape arrows to suit the scale you want.
An alternative choice is to mix two shapes collectively. To take action, choose the 2 shapes you’d prefer to work with, then click on Form Format within the prime ribbon. Faucet Merge Shapes.
You’ll see a wide range of choices.
- Mix creates a customized form that has overlapping parts of the 2 earlier shapes minimize out.
- Union makes one fully merged form.
- Intersect builds a form of solely the overlapping sections of the 2 earlier shapes.
- Subtract cuts out the overlapping portion of 1 form from the opposite.
- Fragment will cut up your form into completely different elements relying on the place they overlap.
By utilizing these instruments moderately than making an attempt to edit factors exactly, you possibly can create precisely measured customized shapes.
9. Crop pictures into customized shapes.
Apart from creating customized shapes in your presentation, you may also use PowerPoint to crop present pictures into new shapes. Here is the way you try this:
- Click on on the picture and choose Image Format within the choices bar.
- Select Crop, then Crop to Form, after which select your required form. Ta-da! Customized-shaped pictures.
10. Current web sites inside PowerPoint.
Custom says that if you wish to present an internet site in a PowerPoint, it is best to simply create a hyperlink to the web page and immediate a browser to open. For PC customers, there’s a greater possibility.
Third get together software program that integrates totally into PowerPoint’s developer tab can be utilized to embed an internet site instantly into your PowerPoint utilizing a standard HTML iframe. Among the best instruments is LiveWeb, a third-party software program that you would be able to set up in your PowerPoint program.
By utilizing LiveWeb, you don’t must interrupt your PowerPoint, and your presentation will stay fluid and pure. Whether or not you embed a complete webpage or only a YouTube video, this generally is a high-quality third get together enchancment. To put in the add-on, easy head to the LiveWeb web site and observe the directions.
Sadly, Mac customers don’t have an identical possibility. second alternative is to take screenshots of the web site, hyperlink in via a browser, or embed media (resembling a YouTube video) by downloading it on to your laptop.
11. Attempt Utilizing GIFs.
GIFs are looped animated pictures used to speak a temper, thought, data, and far more. Customers add GIFs to PowerPoints to be humorous or rapidly demo a course of. It is easy so as to add GIFs to your slides. To take action, merely observe these steps:
- Obtain and save the GIF you need.
- Go to the slide you need the GIF on.
- Go to the Dwelling tab, and click on both Insert or Image.
- From the Image drop-down menu, select Image from File.
- Navigate to the place you saved your GIF and choose it. Then, select Insert.
- It’s going to play mechanically the second you insert it.
PowerPoint Course of
12. Preserve it easy.
PowerPoint is a wonderful software to assist your presentation with visible data, graphics, and supplemental factors. Which means your PowerPoint shouldn’t be your complete presentation. Your slides — irrespective of how artistic and delightful — should not be the star of the present. Preserve your textual content and pictures clear and concise, utilizing them solely to complement your message and authority.
In case your slides have dense and cluttered data, it is going to each distract your viewers and make it more likely that you’ll lose their consideration. Nothing in your slides needs to be superfluous! Preserve your presentation persuasive by conserving it clear. There are a couple of methods to do that:
- Restrict bullet factors and textual content.
- Keep away from paragraphs and lengthy quotes.
- Keep “white house” or “damaging house”.
- Preserve percentages, graphs, and information tremendous fundamental.
13. Embed your font recordsdata.
One fixed downside presenters have with PowerPoint is that fonts appear to alter when presenters transfer from one laptop to a different. In actuality, the fonts aren’t altering — the presentation laptop simply doesn’t have the identical font recordsdata put in. For those who’re utilizing a PC and presenting on a PC, then there’s a clean workaround for this concern.
Right here’s the trick: Once you save your PowerPoint file (solely on a PC), it is best to click on File, then Choices, then open up the Save tab. Then, choose the Embed fonts within the file test field below Protect constancy when sharing this presentation. Now, your presentation will preserve the font file and your fonts won’t change if you transfer computer systems.
The macOS PowerPoint model has an identical perform. To embed your fonts on a Mac, do the next:
- Open up your presentation.
- On the highest bar, click on PowerPoint, then click on Preferences.
- Below Output and Sharing, click on Save.
- Below Font Embedding, click on Embed fonts within the file.
14. Save your slides as a PDF file for backup functions.
For those who’re nonetheless petrified of your presentation exhibiting up in another way when it’s time to current, it is best to create a PDF model simply in case. It is a good possibility if you happen to’ll be presenting on a distinct laptop. For those who additionally run into a problem the place the presenting laptop doesn’t have PowerPoint put in, you may also use the system viewer to open up the PDF. No laptop computer will ever provide you with bother with this file kind.
The one caveat is that your GIFs, animations, and transitions gained’t switch over. However for the reason that PDF will solely work as a backup, not as your main copy, this needs to be okay.
To avoid wasting your presentation as a PDF file, take the next steps:
- Go to File, then click on Save as …
- Within the pop-up window, click on File Format.
- A drop-down menu will seem. Choose PDF.
- Click on Export.
You may as well go to File, then Export, then choose PDF from the file format menu.
15. Embed multimedia.
PowerPoint permits you to both hyperlink to video/audio recordsdata externally or to embed the media instantly in your presentation. It’s best to embed these recordsdata if you happen to can, however if you happen to use a Mac, you can not truly embed the video (see observe under). For PCs, two nice causes for embedding are:
- Embedding permits you to play media instantly in your presentation. It’s going to look far more skilled than switching between home windows.
- Embedding additionally implies that the file stays throughout the PowerPoint presentation, so it ought to play usually with out additional work (besides on a Mac).
Word: macOS customers of PowerPoint needs to be additional cautious about utilizing multimedia recordsdata.
For those who use PowerPoint for Mac, then you’ll at all times must carry the video and/or audio file with you in the identical folder because the PowerPoint presentation. It’s greatest to solely insert video or audio recordsdata as soon as the presentation and the containing folder have been saved on a conveyable drive of their everlasting folder. Additionally, if the presentation will likely be performed on a Home windows laptop, then Mac customers want to verify their multimedia recordsdata are in WMV format. This tip will get a bit sophisticated, so if you wish to use PowerPoint successfully, think about using the identical working system for designing and presenting, it doesn’t matter what.
16. Carry your personal {hardware}.
Between working programs, PowerPoint remains to be a bit jumpy. Even between differing PPT variations, issues can change. One technique to repair these issues is to just be sure you have the precise {hardware} — so simply carry alongside your personal laptop computer if you’re presenting.
For those who’re tremendous involved concerning the completely different programs you might need to make use of, then add your PowerPoint presentation into Google Slides as a backup possibility. Google Slides is a cloud-based presentation software program that may present up the identical manner on all working programs. The one factor you want is an web connection and a browser.
To import your PowerPoint presentation into Google Slides, take the next steps:
- Navigate to slides.google.com. Be sure to’re signed in to a Google account, ideally your personal.
- Below Begin a brand new presentation, click on the empty field with a plus signal. This may open up a clean presentation.
- Go to File, then Import slides.
- A dialog field will come up. Faucet Add, then click on Choose a file out of your gadget.
- Choose your presentation and click on Open.
- Choose the slides you’d prefer to import. If you wish to import all of them, click on All within the higher right-hand nook of the dialog field.
- Click on Import slides.
After I examined this out, Google Slides imported all the things completely, together with a form whose factors I had manipulated. It is a good backup choice to have if you happen to’ll be presenting throughout completely different working programs.
17. Use Presenter View.
In most presentation conditions, there will likely be each a presenter’s display screen and the principle projected show to your presentation. PowerPoint has a fantastic software known as Presenter View, which will be discovered within the Slide Present tab of PowerPoint. Included within the Presenter View is an space for notes, a timer/clock, and a presentation show.
For a lot of presenters, this software will help unify their spoken presentation and their visible help. You by no means wish to make the PowerPoint look like a stack of notes that you just’re studying off of. Use the Presenter View possibility to assist create a extra pure presentation.
Professional Tip: Initially of the presentation, you must also hit CTRL + H to make the cursor disappear. Hitting the “A” key will carry it again if you happen to want it!
Your Subsequent Nice PowerPoint Presentation Begins Right here
With model, design, and presentation processes below your belt, you are able to do much more with PowerPoint than simply shows to your purchasers. PowerPoint and related slide purposes are versatile instruments that shouldn’t be forgotten. With a fantastic template, you will be in your technique to creating shows that wow your viewers.
Editor’s observe: This submit was initially printed in September 2013 and has been up to date for comprehensiveness.
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