17 PowerPoint Presentation Tricks to Make Extra Inventive Slideshows [+ Templates]

Creating an incredible PowerPoint presentation is a ability that any skilled can profit from. The issue? It’s very easy to get it fallacious. From poor colour selections to complicated slides, a nasty PowerPoint slideshow can distract from the incredible content material you’re sharing with stakeholders in your staff.

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That’s why it’s so vital to discover ways to create a PowerPoint presentation from the bottom up, beginning along with your slides. Even in the event you’re acquainted with PowerPoint, a refresher will make it easier to make a extra engaging, skilled slideshow. Let’s get began.

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I like to consider Microsoft PowerPoint as a check of fundamental skilled abilities. To create a passing presentation, I must display design abilities, technical literacy, and a way of private type.

If the presentation has an issue (like an unintended font, a damaged hyperlink, or unreadable textual content), then I’ve most likely failed the check. Even when my spoken presentation is effectively rehearsed, a nasty visible expertise can break it for the viewers.

Experience means nothing with out a good PowerPoint presentation to again it up. For starters, seize your collection of free PowerPoint templates beneath.

Regardless of your subject, successful PowerPoints rely upon three most important components: your command of PowerPoint’s design instruments, your consideration to presentation processes, and your devotion to constant type. 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 publish.

Easy methods 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. Should you’ve already created a presentation, choose Open then double-click the icon to open the prevailing file.

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2. Select a theme or create your personal.

Microsoft gives built-in themes and colour 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 choice to pick a clean presentation in the event you favor to not add one.

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In any other case, you need to use PowerPoint parts, your design sense, and your model’s colour 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. Take into account what content material you wish to placed on the slide, together with heading, textual content, and imagery.

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Take into account what content material you wish to placed on the slide, together with heading, textual content, and imagery.

4. Create quite a lot of slides for various functions.

You don‘t wish to current the identical actual slide, solely with completely different content material on it. This is able to bore your viewers. Make sure that you create a number of variations, accommodating a few of the widespread 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
• Numerous content material slides (create completely different layouts contemplating what sort of multimedia you may use)

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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 may 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.

It will mechanically add a replica of this slide to the presentation. From there, you may customise it in your wants.

6. Add pictures to your slide

Add photographs by clicking Insert and clicking the Footage icon. Moreover, you may add different parts by utilizing options within the Dwelling and Insert tabs on the highest ribbon. Mess around with the format by dragging parts round along with your mouse.

7. Add transitions to your slides (optionally available).

Accomplished effectively, transitions can add a little bit little bit of motion and showmanship to your presentation. PowerPoint has a number of transitions in-built so that you can select from.

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To entry them, choose the Transitions tab from the highest ribbon. From there, you may 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 search out one thing that fits your liking. To take away a transition, choose Transitions and click on None.

8. Add animations to your slides (optionally available).

Like transitions, animations can add motion, reveal info, and make it easier to underscore the factors you wish to hit throughout your speech. To animate a component, observe these steps:

• Choose the factor 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 offers you a preview.
• To customise the animation, choose Impact Choices.
• To take away an animation, click on None within the ribbon.

A few of the methods to customise animations embrace:

• On Click on
• With Earlier
• After Earlier
• Length
• 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. Should you’re utilizing your slides for schooling or instructing, it might be useful to convert your presentation to an online course.

10. Run your presentation.

It is all the time good to do a trial run to make sure that your slides are arrange correctly and your animations fireplace 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.

While you’re achieved with one slide and wish to present the following in your sequence, click on your mouse in presentation mode. It will advance the slide. 

PowerPoint Type

1. Don’t let PowerPoint determine how you utilize PowerPoint.

Microsoft wished to supply PowerPoint customers with lots of instruments. However this doesn’t imply you must 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 think about your viewers above private desire).
• PowerPoint makes bulleting automated, however ask your self: Are bullets really applicable for what it’s worthwhile to do? Generally they’re, however not all the time.
• Current PPT defaults embrace a small shadow on all shapes. Take away this shadow if it isn’t really wanted. Additionally, don’t depart shapes of their default blue.

2. Create customized slide sizes.

Whilst you often can get away with the default slide dimension for many displays, you might want to regulate it for bigger displays on weirdly sized shows. If it’s worthwhile to do this, this is how.

• Within the top-left nook, select File.
• Choose Web page Setup.
• Kind the peak and width of the background you would like, 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 in the event you don’t. We suggest clicking Don’t Scale, then manually adjusting minor format points.

Tip: You’ll be able to keep away from a headache with the final step in the event you resize your slides earlier than you add any objects to them. In any other case, the scale of your objects will develop into skewed.

3. Edit your slide template design.

Usually, it is a lot simpler to edit your PowerPoint template earlier than you begin — this manner, you do not have to design every slide by hand. Here is the way you do this.

• Choose View within the prime navigation.
• Click on Grasp.
• Within the drop-down, click on Slide Grasp.
• Make any adjustments 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 along 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. Hold the quantity of textual content beneath 6-8 strains (or 30 phrases) at a minimal of dimension 24 pt. Fascinated by how your textual content is obtained differentiates good presenters from the most effective.

Typography:

Many individuals underestimate the affect of typeface, however selecting the best font is vital — the notion of your font kind may affect your viewers’s impression of you. The correct font is a chance to convey constant model character and professionalism.

Some fonts are seen as clear {and professional}, however this does not imply they’re boring. A standard mistake is considering your font is not “thrilling” sufficient, which may lead you to decide on a font that distracts out of your general message. We suggest sticking to simple serif and sans-serif fonts. Keep away from script fonts due to potential readability points.

That stated, you may nonetheless use enjoyable and eccentric fonts — moderately. Offsetting a enjoyable font or giant letters with one thing extra skilled can create an enticing presentation.

Above all, be certain you are constant so your presentation appears to be like the identical all through every slide. That means, your viewers would not develop into distracted by too many disparate fonts. Take a look at this instance from HubSpot’s firm profile templates:

Interested in this presentation template? Download it for free here.

5. Be sure that 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 photographs … however everyone knows how that usually works out. You are making an attempt to verify your entire objects hang around in the course of your slide, however while you drag them there, it nonetheless would not look fairly proper. Do away with your guessing recreation and let PowerPoint work its magic with this trick.

Right here’s methods 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 would like.

Right here’s methods 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 would like.

PowerPoint Design

6. Use “Format Object” to raised management your objects’ designs.

Format menus assist you to do positive changes that in any other case appear unattainable. To do that, right-click on an object and choose the Format Object choice. Right here, you may fine-tune shadows, alter form measurements, create reflections, and rather more. The menu that may pop up appears to be like like this:

Though the primary choices might be discovered on PowerPoint’s format toolbars, search for full management within the format window menu. Different examples of choices out there embrace:

• Adjusting textual content inside a form.
• Making a pure perspective shadow behind an object.
• Recoloring pictures manually and with automated choices.

7. Make the most of PowerPoint’s shapes.

Many customers don’t notice how versatile PowerPoint’s form instruments have develop into. Together with the expanded format choices launched by Microsoft, the potential for good design with shapes is available. PowerPoint offers the person with a bunch of nice form choices past the standard rectangle, oval, and rounded rectangle patterns.

Immediately’s shapes embrace a extremely practical Good Shapes perform, which lets you create diagrams and movement charts very quickly. These instruments are particularly priceless when you think about that PowerPoint is a visible medium. Paragraphing and bullet lists are boring — you need to use shapes to assist categorical your message extra clearly.

8. Create customized shapes.

While you create a form, proper click on and press Edit Factors. By enhancing factors, you may create customized shapes that suit your particular want. As an example, you may reshape arrows to suit the scale you want.

Another 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 quite a lot of choices.

• Mix creates a customized form that has overlapping parts of the 2 earlier shapes minimize out.
• Union makes one utterly 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 components relying on the place they overlap.

By utilizing these instruments moderately than making an attempt to edit factors exactly, you may create precisely measured customized shapes.

9. Crop photographs into customized shapes.

Apart from creating customized shapes in your presentation, you can even use PowerPoint to crop present photographs into new shapes. Here is the way you do 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, you must simply create a hyperlink to the web page and immediate a browser to open. For PC customers, there’s a greater choice.

Third social gathering software program that integrates totally into PowerPoint’s developer tab can be utilized to embed an internet site instantly into your PowerPoint utilizing a traditional HTML iframe. Among the finest instruments is LiveWeb, a third-party software program which you could set up in your PowerPoint program.

By utilizing LiveWeb, you don’t need to 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 is usually a high-quality third social gathering enchancment. To put in the add-on, easy head to the LiveWeb website and observe the directions.

Sadly, Mac customers don’t have an analogous choice. A great second selection is to take screenshots of the web site, hyperlink in by a browser, or embed media (akin to a YouTube video) by downloading it on to your pc.

11. Strive Utilizing GIFs.

GIFs are looped animated photographs used to speak a temper, thought, info, and rather more. Customers add GIFs to PowerPoints to be humorous or shortly demo a course of. It is simple 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 is going to play mechanically the second you insert it.

PowerPoint Course of

12. Hold it easy.

PowerPoint is a superb instrument to assist your presentation with visible info, graphics, and supplemental factors. Because of this your PowerPoint shouldn’t be your complete presentation. Your slides — irrespective of how artistic and delightful — should not be the star of the present. Hold 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 info, it is going to each distract your viewers and make it more likely that you’ll lose their consideration. Nothing in your slides ought to be superfluous! Hold your presentation persuasive by holding it clear. There are a couple of methods to do that:

• Restrict bullet factors and textual content.
• Keep away from paragraphs and lengthy quotes.
• Preserve “white area” or “unfavourable area”.
• Hold percentages, graphs, and information tremendous fundamental.

13. Embed your font information.

One fixed downside presenters have with PowerPoint is that fonts appear to alter when presenters transfer from one pc to a different. In actuality, the fonts will not be altering — the presentation pc simply doesn’t have the same font files installed. Should you’re utilizing a PC and presenting on a PC, then there’s a easy workaround for this difficulty.

Right here’s the trick: While you save your PowerPoint file (solely on a PC), you must click on File, then Choices, then open up the Save tab. Then, choose the Embed fonts within the file verify field beneath Protect constancy when sharing this presentation. Now, your presentation will preserve the font file and your fonts is not going to change while you transfer computer systems.

The macOS PowerPoint model has an analogous 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.
• Underneath Output and Sharing, click on Save.
• Underneath Font Embedding, click on Embed fonts within the file.

14. Save your slides as a PDF file for backup functions.

Should you’re nonetheless petrified of your presentation exhibiting up otherwise when it’s time to current, you must create a PDF model simply in case. It is a good choice in the event you’ll be presenting on a special pc. Should you additionally run into a difficulty the place the presenting pc doesn’t have PowerPoint put in, you can even use the system viewer to open up the PDF. No laptop computer will ever offer you bother with this file kind.

The one caveat is that your GIFs, animations, and transitions received’t switch over. However for the reason that PDF will solely work as a backup, not as your main copy, this ought 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 can even go to File, then Export, then choose PDF from the file format menu.

15. Embed multimedia.

PowerPoint lets you both hyperlink to video/audio information externally or to embed the media instantly in your presentation. You need to embed these information in the event you can, however in the event you use a Mac, you can not really embed the video (see be aware beneath). For PCs, two nice causes for embedding are:

• Embedding lets you play media instantly in your presentation. It is going to look rather 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).

Observe: macOS customers of PowerPoint ought to be additional cautious about utilizing multimedia information.

Should you use PowerPoint for Mac, then you’ll all the time must convey the video and/or audio file with you in the identical folder because the PowerPoint presentation. It’s finest to solely insert video or audio information 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 probably be performed on a Home windows pc, then Mac customers want to verify their multimedia information are in WMV format. This tip will get a bit difficult, 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 methods, PowerPoint continues to be a bit jumpy. Even between differing PPT variations, issues can change. One approach to repair these issues is to just be sure you have the appropriate {hardware} — so simply convey alongside your personal laptop computer while you’re presenting.

Should you’re tremendous involved concerning the completely different methods you might need to make use of, then add your PowerPoint presentation into Google Slides as a backup choice. Google Slides is a cloud-based presentation software program that may present up the identical means on all working methods. 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.
• Underneath Begin a brand new presentation, click on the empty field with a plus signal. It will 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 system.
• 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 pieces completely, together with a form whose factors I had manipulated. It is a good backup choice to have in the event you’ll be presenting throughout completely different working methods.

17. Use Presenter View.

In most presentation conditions, there will probably be each a presenter’s display screen and the primary projected show in your presentation. PowerPoint has an incredible instrument known as Presenter View, which might 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 instrument might help unify their spoken presentation and their visible help. You by no means wish to make the PowerPoint seem to be a stack of notes that you simply’re studying off of. Use the Presenter View choice to assist create a extra pure presentation.

Professional Tip: In the beginning of the presentation, you must also hit CTRL + H to make the cursor disappear. Hitting the “A” key will convey it again in the event you want it!

Your Subsequent Nice PowerPoint Presentation Begins Right here

With type, design, and presentation processes beneath your belt, you are able to do much more with PowerPoint than simply displays in your purchasers. PowerPoint and related slide functions are versatile instruments that shouldn’t be forgotten. With an incredible template, you might be in your approach to creating displays that wow your viewers.

Editor’s be aware: This publish was initially printed in September 2013 and has been up to date for comprehensiveness.