PowerPoint Tricks to Current Like a Professional [Expert Advice & Free Templates]

For those who’re right here since you’re questioning find out how to make an excellent PowerPoint, you’re in the proper place. Let’s simply hope it’s not the evening earlier than the massive day.

But it surely’s okay… I’ve been there too. As a author with extraordinarily common design abilities, creating nice displays can typically really feel like an insurmountable process. The storytelling is a key element, which we’ll get into later, however your design method and supply techniques are simply as vital, too.

On this article, we’ll go over all of those features of an amazing PowerPoint — from the design and creation course of to find out how to ship a presentation like a professional. I’ll additionally share some useful sources to get you began.

Desk of Contents

Find out how to Make a PowerPoint Presentation

Microsoft PowerPoint is sort of a check of primary skilled abilities, and every PowerPoint is mainly a presentation manufactured from a number of slides.

Profitable PowerPoints depend upon three principal elements: your command of PowerPoint’s design instruments, your consideration to presentation processes, and being constant together with your fashion.

Maintain these in thoughts as we bounce into PowerPoint’s capabilities.

Getting Began

1. Open PowerPoint and click on ‘New.’

A web page with templates will often open robotically, but when not, I’m going to the highest left pane of my display and click on New. If I’ve already created a presentation, I choose Open after which double-click the icon to open the prevailing file.

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2. Select a theme or create your individual.

Microsoft affords built-in themes and colour variations that will help you design your slides with a cohesive look. To select from these pre-built themes, I select the File tab once more, choose New, select one of many choices, and click on Create.

P.S. We have now some nice PowerPoint templates which you can check out — you possibly can browse them right here.

There’s additionally an choice to pick out a clean presentation when you want to begin from scratch. I like this selection as a result of I can use PowerPoint parts, my design sense, and my model’s colour palette to make my very own theme.

Creating PowerPoint Slides

3. Insert a slide.

I insert a brand new slide by clicking on the House tab after which the New Slide button. When selecting the slide structure, think about what content material you wish to placed on the slide, together with heading, textual content, and imagery.

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

You don’t wish to current the identical actual slide every time, simply with totally different content material on it. This may bore your viewers, so just remember to create a number of variations.

I recommend you think about what sort of multimedia you’ll be utilizing and select or create totally different layouts accordingly. At minimal, I often use:

A title slide
An agenda or desk of contents slide
A slide that introduces the speaker
Varied content material slides

5. Use the “Duplicate” characteristic to avoid wasting you time.

There’s no have to create these designs again and again. As soon as I’ve just a few to attract from, I merely duplicate them earlier than inputting my content material:

On the left pane, I right-click the thumbnail of the slide I wish to duplicate.
I select Duplicate Slide from the pop-up menu.

This may robotically add a duplicate of this slide to the presentation. From there, I can customise it for my wants.

6. Add photographs to your slide.

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I add photos by clicking Insert and clicking the Photos icon. I can add different parts by utilizing options within the House and Insert tabs on the highest ribbon. I like exploring my structure by dragging parts round.

Ending Up Your Presentation

7. Save your presentation.

I click on File and Save, ensuring to specify the place I would like my PowerPoint to be saved. For those who’re utilizing your slides for schooling or educating, it might be useful to transform your presentation to a web-based course.

8. Run your presentation.

I all the time do a trial run to make sure that my slides are arrange correctly and my animations hearth the way in which I anticipate them to.

To current my PowerPoint, I’m going to the Slide Present tab and click on Play from Begin. The slide covers my entire display in order that my viewers (or, on this case, me) is solely targeted on the visible parts of my presentation.

9. Advance the slides.

Everytime you’re in presentation mode and able to transfer on, click on your mouse to advance to the subsequent slide.

PowerPoint Fashion Ideas

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 it is best to use all of them. Belief me, you don’t need it trying like your tweenage Geocities web site and taking part in undesirable midi-files.

To maintain it skilled, listed below are some key issues I recommend you look out for:

Make it possible for any preset themes complement your wants earlier than you undertake them.
Keep away from Microsoft Workplace’s default fonts, Calibri and Cambria — they’ll make the presentation really feel underwhelming.
Professionals ought to by no means use PowerPoint’s motion sounds.
PowerPoint makes bulleting computerized. Bullets are sometimes acceptable, however not all the time.
All shapes begin blue with a small shadow. Take away this shadow if it’s not wanted, and don’t depart shapes default blue — it reads as a mistake to different PowerPoint customers.

I feel the simplest strategy to know you’re getting it proper is to obtain some templates. We provide 30 free templates that you simply’re welcome to check out. Even when you don’t find yourself utilizing them, you’ll get a way of greatest design practices.

2. Create customized slide sizes.

Default slide sizes work for many displays, however it’s possible you’ll want to regulate them for bigger displays and/or weirdly-sized shows. Right here’s how:

Within the top-left nook, select File.
Choose Web page Setup.
Kind the peak and width of the background you’d 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 if not. I like to recommend clicking Don’t Scale, then manually adjusting minor structure points.

Professional tip: You may keep away from a headache when you resize your slides earlier than you add any objects to them. In any other case, the scale of your objects will change into skewed.

3. Edit your slide template design.

I discover it’s a lot simpler to edit your underlying PowerPoint template earlier than you begin — this manner, you don’t must design every slide by hand. Right here’s how I do it:

Choose View within the prime navigation.
Click on Grasp.
Within the dropdown, 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.

Do not forget that no matter else your PowerPoint presentation does, it must help the improbable content material you’re sharing with stakeholders.

A major a part of a PowerPoint’s content material is textual content, and nice copy could make or break your presentation.

I recommend you consider your written work from just a few totally different angles so your whole viewers can see and perceive it.

Maintain the quantity of textual content underneath 6-8 traces (or 30 phrases max). Use a minimal font measurement 24 pt. How your textual content is obtained differentiates good presenters from one of the best.

Typography

Choosing the proper font is vital — the notion of your font sort might affect your viewers’s impression of you. I consider the proper typeface is a chance to convey constant model character and professionalism.

Some fonts are seen as clear {and professional}, however this doesn’t imply they’re boring. A standard mistake is pondering your font isn’t thrilling sufficient, which could lead on you to decide on a font that distracts out of your message.

I like to recommend sticking to easy serif and sans-serif fonts. Keep away from script fonts due to potential readability points.

That mentioned, you possibly can nonetheless use enjoyable and eccentric fonts carefully. Offsetting a enjoyable font or massive letters with one thing extra skilled can create an interesting presentation.

Above all, ensure you’re constant so your presentation seems cohesive all through every slide. Take a look at 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.

This can be a enormous pet peeve of mine. Having correctly aligned objects in your slide is the important thing to creating it look polished {and professional}. You may manually attempt to line up your photos, however everyone knows how that sometimes works out.

Eliminate the guessing recreation and let PowerPoint work its magic to align a number of objects:

Choose all objects by holding down Shift and clicking on all of them.
Choose Prepare within the prime choices bar, then select Align or Distribute.
Select the kind of alignment you need.

Right here’s how I align objects to the slide:

Choose all objects by holding down Shift and clicking on all of them.
Choose Prepare within the prime choices bar, then select Align or Distribute.
Choose Align to Slide.
Choose Prepare within the prime choices bar once more, then select Align or Distribute.
Select the kind of alignment you’d like.

PowerPoint Design Instruments

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

I like format menus as a result of they permit me to make high-quality changes that in any other case appear not possible.

To do that, right-click on an object and choose the Format Object choice. (The identify of the item within the drop-down menu will change relying on whether or not you’re formatting an image or form.) Right here, you possibly can fine-tune shadows, alter form measurements, create reflections, and far more. The menu seems like this:

Though the principle choices may be discovered on PowerPoint’s format toolbars, search for full management within the format window menu. Different choices embrace:

Adjusting textual content inside a form.
Making a pure perspective shadow behind an object.
Recoloring photographs manually and with computerized choices.

7. Benefit from PowerPoint’s shapes.

PowerPoint’s form instruments have come a good distance. At the moment’s shapes embrace a extremely practical Good Shapes operate, which lets you create diagrams and stream charts very quickly.

I discover these instruments are particularly invaluable as a result of paragraphing and bullet lists are boring to take a look at — I like utilizing shapes to assist categorical my message extra clearly.

8. Create customized shapes.

If you create a form, right-click and press Edit Factors to create customized shapes that suit your particular wants. As an example, you possibly can reshape arrows to suit the scale you want:

Another choice is to mix two shapes collectively. Choose the 2 shapes you’d prefer to work with, then click on Form Format within the prime ribbon. Faucet Merge Shapes. There are a number of choices to create customized shapes:

Mix creates a customized form that has overlapping parts of the 2 earlier shapes lower 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 totally different elements relying on the place they overlap.

9. Crop photos into customized shapes.

You may as well use PowerPoint to crop current photos into new shapes:

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.

10. Current web sites inside PowerPoint.

Imagine it or not, presenting web sites inside PowerPoint is one thing we’re nonetheless having to search out workarounds for.

From my expertise, these are some techniques which have labored previously which may be useful relying on which model of PowerPoint you’ve gotten:

Historically, to point out a web site in a PowerPoint slide, you’d simply create a hyperlink to the web page and immediate a separate browser to open.
Attempt including the third-party program LiveWeb that you simply set up in your PowerPoint program. Head to the LiveWeb web site and comply with the directions. Sadly, Mac customers don’t have an identical choice.
Take screenshots of a web site, insert the picture in your slide, and hyperlink in by means of a browser. You may embed media (resembling a YouTube video) by downloading it on to your laptop.
Some variations allowed a Net Viewer Add-on till Microsoft determined that was a safety danger. Insert > Get Add-ons, seek for Net Viewer, then click on on the Add button.

Set up ClassPoint, which primarily places an web window on prime of your slide to be used till you’re performed with it. Then, you possibly can simply transfer to the subsequent slide. You may even bookmark the online web page you need forward of time to leap straight to it. Utilizing this does introduce a brand new navigation bar on the backside of your presentation. Right here’s a video, Introduction to ClassPoint:

Lastly, PowerPoint Reside is a brand new software that lets you do extra seamless displays throughout video calls and possibly a greater total match for doing displays remotely. Take a look at this video:

11. Attempt Utilizing GIFs.

GIFs are looped animated photos used to speak a temper, concept, info, and far more.

I take pleasure in including GIFs to PowerPoints to be humorous or shortly demo a course of. They’re highly regarded with and simply acknowledged by Millenials and Gen Z, and it’s straightforward so as to add GIFs to your slides:

Obtain and save the GIF you need.
Go to the slide you need the GIF on.
Go to the House 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 robotically the second you insert it.

PowerPoint Course of

12. Maintain it easy.

PowerPoint is a wonderful software to help your presentation with visible info, graphics, and supplemental factors.

Your PowerPoint shouldn’t be your whole presentation, and the weather you do introduce have to operate correctly.

If the presentation merely repeats your phrases, has damaged hyperlinks, or reveals unreadable textual content, the hiccups can change into the takeaway of your speak, regardless of how well-spoken the presentation.

I discover slam-dunking the fundamentals by protecting it easy is the way in which to go. In case your slides have dense and cluttered info, it should distract your viewers, and you can lose their consideration.

Briefly? Maintain your presentation persuasive by protecting it clear:

Restrict bullet factors and textual content.
Keep away from paragraphs and lengthy quotes.
Preserve “white area” or “unfavorable area.”
Maintain percentages, graphs, and information tremendous primary.

13. Embed your font recordsdata.

One fixed downside presenters have with PowerPoint is that fonts appear to vary when presenters transfer from one laptop to a different.

The fonts should not really altering — the presentation laptop simply doesn’t have the identical font recordsdata put in.

To embed your fonts on a PC:

Click on File, then Choices.
Open up the Save tab.
Choose the Embed fonts within the file verify field underneath Protect constancy when sharing this presentation.

Now, your presentation will hold the font file, and your fonts is not going to change whenever you transfer computer systems.

To embed your fonts on a Mac:

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.

For those who’re nonetheless afraid of your presentation exhibiting up in another way when it’s time to current, you possibly can create a PDF model simply in case.

I feel this can be a good choice when you’ll be presenting on a unique laptop as a result of if it doesn’t have PowerPoint put in, you possibly can nonetheless use the system viewer to open a PDF.

The one caveat is that your GIFs, animations, and transitions gained’t switch over.

To avoid wasting your presentation as a PDF file:

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 means that you can both hyperlink to video/audio recordsdata externally or to embed the media immediately in your presentation. For PCs, I feel two nice causes for embedding are:

Embedding means that you can play media immediately in your presentation. It is going to look far more skilled than switching between home windows.
Embedding additionally implies that the file stays inside the PowerPoint presentation, so it ought to play usually with out further work (besides on a Mac).

For those who use PowerPoint for Mac, it will get a bit difficult, however it may be performed:

At all times deliver the video and/or audio file with you in the identical folder because the PowerPoint presentation.
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.
If the presentation will probably be performed on a Home windows laptop, then Mac customers want to ensure their multimedia recordsdata are in WMV format.
Think about using the identical working system for designing and presenting, it doesn’t matter what.

16. Deliver your individual {hardware}.

Between working methods, PowerPoint remains to be a bit jumpy. Even between differing PPT variations, issues can change. The simplest repair? Simply deliver alongside your individual laptop computer whenever you’re presenting.

The following best repair is to add your PowerPoint presentation into Google Slides as a backup choice — simply ensure that there’s a good web connection and a browser out there the place you intend to current.

Google Slides is a cloud-based presentation software program that can present up the identical manner on all working methods.

To import your PowerPoint presentation into Google Slides:

Navigate to slides.google.com. Ensure you’re signed in to a Google account (ideally your individual).
Underneath 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.
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.

Once I examined this out, Google Slides imported all the things completely, together with a form whose factors I had manipulated. This can be a good backup choice to have when you’ll be presenting throughout totally different working methods.

17. Use “Presenter View.”

In most presentation conditions, there will probably be each a presenter’s display and the principle projected show on your presentation.

PowerPoint has an amazing software referred to as Presenter View, which may 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, I’ve seen this software assist unify their spoken presentation and their visible aids. You by no means wish to make the PowerPoint appear 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: Initially of the presentation, you must also hit CTRL + H to make the cursor disappear. Hitting the “A” key will deliver it again when you want it.

Widespread PowerPoint Presentation Errors to Keep away from

Now that we’ve lined the fundamentals on find out how to create a PowerPoint presentation, let’s go over the fundamentals of what makes a presentation memorable — beginning with what to not do.

1. Studying immediately from the slides.

As somebody who has sat by means of a whole lot of displays and webinars, few issues frustrate me greater than watching somebody learn their slides word-for-word. It makes the presenter appear unprepared and disengaged, and it shortly loses the viewers’s consideration.

Additionally, it makes the viewers really feel dumb — they’re simply as able to studying the slide as you might be, so when you don’t deliver further worth, why trouble with the presentation?

Do this as an alternative: Attempt to have 2-3 details per slide that you simply wish to get throughout. Don’t really feel the necessity to write all of it on the slides. As a substitute, write out what’s most vital to know and use bullet factors, visuals, or key phrases to information your dialogue.

2. Making a presentation with out a objective.

Each presentation ought to have a objective — a transparent level that each viewers member will stroll away with. For those who can’t state the aim of your presentation in a single sentence, your viewers will really feel misplaced and confused about what your message is.

Do this as an alternative: Earlier than you craft your presentation, ask your self, “Why am I making this presentation?” and “What do I would like my viewers to remove from it?” After you reply these two questions, verify your slides and speaking factors in opposition to your solutions to ensure each aligns together with your final targets.

3. Utilizing too many “buzzy options” that distract from the message.

PowerPoint affords a ton of cool options — animations, transitions, sound results — however simply because you need to use them doesn’t imply it is best to.

Too many results could make your presentation really feel cluttered and amateurish, and as an alternative of focusing in your message, your viewers is left questioning, Why did that textual content simply spin onto the display?

Do this as an alternative: Let your message be what stands out probably the most. Attempt to simplify every slide as a lot as doable and eradicate till you’ve gotten simply what’s completely mandatory to inform your story.

4. Not training timing beforehand.

For those who’re new to delivering displays, you is likely to be stunned at how for much longer it takes you to present your presentation IRL than whenever you go over your slides in your head.

Do this as an alternative: Do just a few rounds of training out loud at dwelling (or, higher but, to a good friend or companion) to see how lengthy it takes you to get by means of your slides and the place you would possibly want to hurry issues up or elaborate extra.

5. Talking too quick or slowly.

Once I was in journalism faculty, pacing was one of many hardest issues to grasp. It’s straightforward to talk too quick whenever you’re nervous or excited. On the flip aspect, talking too slowly could make you appear not sure or disengaged.

Do this as an alternative: If you’re training, intention for a easy, measured tempo. Generally, it may be useful to document your self whereas chatting with see how your presentation would possibly come throughout to your viewers.

6. Utilizing too many filler phrases like “like” or “um.”

All of us use filler phrases when talking, however too many could make you sound unprepared or not sure of your materials.

Do this as an alternative:

Follow pausing as an alternative of filling area. A brief silence feels far more pure than a string of “um’s.”
Concentrate on your habits. For those who steadily use filler phrases, consciously practice your self to interchange them with pauses.
Attempt talking extra slowly. Filler phrases usually come from speeding by means of a presentation with out sufficient time to suppose.

7. Ending with out a robust conclusion.

A weak ending — like “Nicely, that’s it” or “Any questions?” — could make your presentation really feel unfinished.

You wish to use your closing moments to depart a message together with your viewers, whether or not it’s potential enterprise traders or a job alternative.

Do this as an alternative: Earlier than presenting, ask your self what’s one factor you need everybody to stroll away understanding after your presentation. Use your conclusion to recap your details and get this message throughout.

Your Subsequent Nice PowerPoint Presentation Begins Right here

Now that you’ve got these fashion, design, and presentation suggestions underneath your belt, it is best to really feel assured to create your PowerPoint presentation.

However when you can, I like to recommend exploring our different sources to ensure your content material hits the mark. In any case, you want a robust presentation to land your level and make an impression. And it’ll take each observe and time; don’t stress!

With a number of templates to select from — each in PowerPoint and out there without cost obtain — you possibly can swiftly be in your strategy to creating displays that wow your audiences.

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