PowerPoint help
- 2. To create a presentation from scratch, go to “file” on the top of the screen and click “New presentation”. This will give you a blank presentation to customize with colour, font and layout. A “theme” created by you.
- 3. PowerPoint has theme templates for you to choose from as well. Go to “file” and click “New from template”. This option allows you to focus just on the content (what you want to say in your presentation), rather than the imagery and presentation as well. I always use a template to get started and I make customizations as I move along in my presentation.
- 4. Your presentation will be divided into frames on the left side of your screen called “slides”.
- 5. Have a lot to say in your presentation? You can organize your slides in different “sections” by going to “insert” at the top of your page and clicking on “section”. This lets you name and customize multiple slides at a time without affecting the entire presentation.
- 6. To add more slides, click the “new slide” button on the top left-hand side of your page. When you hove your cursor over the button, an arrow pointing down appears. Click on that arrow to choose the layout of your next slide.
- 7. SELECTING AND CUSTOMIZING YOUR SLIDE LAYOUTS
- 8. You may want to add different types of imagery or media (video or audio) to your presentation. To find the best layout, use that arrow button on the “new slide” button to select the best option. • For example, if you want to present a video in a new slide, hover over “new slide”, click on the arrow and select “media with caption”. • This option highlights your video and lets you describe it in a section below. These options organize your slides so that they don’t look messy and are easy to follow along.
- 9. Next to your “new slide” button, you have a “home” toolbar of options to play with. Options for your text (font, font color, font size, line spacing, etc), inserting a text box (a section of your slide reserved for your writing), inserting photos, shapes and media are all here. • This is also where you’ll find the button to play your presentation from the beginning to the end.
- 10. • Sometimes when you have a lot of content on one slide, things can overlap and get cut off. To put the most important content at the front (a bit of writing should be on top of an image, not behind it), use the “arrange” button that is also found on this toolbar.
- 11. The “theme” toolbar gives you options for your presentation’s theme. It is best for you to select one theme at the start of your presentation, and ignore this toolbar as much as possible.
- 12. • The next toolbar is “charts”. When you learn more about the program excel and use it for calculations, you can import charts and data into your presentation in a format that’s visually appealing.
- 13. • The “smartart” toolbar lets you organize information with graphics that pop out. If you want to highlight the relationship between different bits of information, use one of the options in this toolbar.
- 14. • One of the important toolbars to use when creating a visually interesting presentation is the “transitions” toolbar. This allows you to give each slide a movement that introduces it to your audience. • When you have a lot of slides in your presentation, they mostly look alike a may bore whoever is watching. A transition lets them know that there’s new information on the screen.
- 15. • Finally, the most fun part of creating your presentation can be found in the “animations” toolbar. Just like a “transition” and animation lets you make sure your audiences notices the most important information in each slide. • You can click on any picture, media or text box, and select an animation setting that will make it stand out. Don’t use this feature for everything! You don’t want your audience distracted by too much animation.