HUBSPOT, INC. HubSpot : 17 PowerPoint Presentation Tips to Make More Creative Slideshows

CreatingagreatPowerPointpresentationisaskillthatanyprofessionalcanbenefitfrom.Theproblem?It'sreallyeasytogetitwrong.Frompoorcolorchoicestoconfusingslides,abadPowerPointslideshowcandistractfromthefantasticcontentyou'resharingwithstakeholdersonyourteam.

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That'swhyit'ssoimportanttolearnhowtocreateaPowerPointpresentationfromthegroundup,startingwithyourslides.Evenifyou'refamiliarwithPowerPoint,arefresherwillhelpyoumakeamoreattractive,professionalslideshow.Let'sgetstarted.

IliketothinkofMicrosoftPowerPointasatestofbasicprofessionalskills.Tocreateapassingpresentation,Ineedtodemonstratedesignskills,technicalliteracy,andasenseofpersonalstyle.

Ifthepresentationhasaproblem(likeanunintendedfont,abrokenlink,orunreadabletext),thenI'veprobablyfailedthetest.Evenifmyspokenpresentationiswellrehearsed,abadvisualexperiencecanruinitfortheaudience.

ExpertisemeansnothingwithoutagoodPowerPointpresentationtobackitup.Forstarters,grabyourcollectionoffreePowerPointtemplatesbelow.

Nomatteryourtopic,successfulPowerPointsdependonthreemainfactors:yourcommandofPowerPoint'sdesigntools,yourattentiontopresentationprocesses,andyourdevotiontoconsistentstyle.Herearesomesimpletipstohelpyoustartmasteringeachofthosefactors,anddon'tforgettocheckouttheadditionalresourcesatthebottomofthispost.

Apresentationismadeupofmultipleslides,andnowthatyouknowhowtomakeone,youcandelvedeeperintoPowerPoint'scapabilities.

Ifyou'vealreadycreatedapresentation,double-clicktheicontoopentheexistingfile.Otherwise,openMicrosoftPowerPoint,clickFileinthetopleftcorner,andclickNewPresentation.Fromthere,youcanfollowthepromptstosetupanewpresentation.

Microsoftoffersbuilt-inthemesandcolorvariationstohelpyoudesignyourslideswithacohesivelook.Tochoosefromthesepre-builtthemes,choosetheFiletabagain,selectNew,chooseoneoftheoptions,andclickCreate.

Otherwise,youcanusePowerPointelements,yourdesignsense,andyourbrand'scolorpalettetomakeyourown"theme."

Youdon'twanttopresentthesameexactslide,onlywithdifferentcontentonit.Thiswouldboreyouraudience.Ensurethatyoucreatemultiplevariations,accommodatingsomeofthecommonusesforslides.Atminimum,you'llneed:

There'snoreasontocreatethesedesignsoverandoveragain.Nowthatyouhaveafewtodrawfrom,youcansimplyduplicatethembeforeinputtingyourcontent.Here'showtodothat:

Thiswillautomaticallyaddacopyofthisslidetothepresentation.Fromthere,youcancustomizeitforyourneeds.

Donewell,transitionscanaddalittlebitofmovementandshowmanshiptoyourpresentation.PowerPointhasseveraltransitionsbuiltinforyoutochoosefrom.

Toaccessthem,selecttheTransitionstabfromthetopribbon.Fromthere,youcanselectatransitionforittopreviewonyourscreen.Tocustomizeitfurther,clickEffectOptionsandplaywiththefeaturestofindsomethingthatsuitsyourliking.Toremoveatransition,selectTransitionsandclickNone.

Liketransitions,animationscanaddmovement,revealinformation,andhelpyouunderscorethepointsyouwanttohitduringyourspeech.Toanimateanelement,followthesesteps:

Someofthewaystocustomizeanimationsinclude:

Thesedescribehowyouwanttheeffecttobehave,soplayaroundwiththemuntilyoufindaneffectthatsuitsyourliking.

You'llalsohavetheoptiontomoveanimationsaroundasyouedityourslidesbyclickingontheAnimationPanebutton,thenreorderingtheanimationsinthelistthatpopsup.

ClickFileandSave,makingsuretospecifywhichfolderordestinationyouwantyourPowerPointtobestored.

It'salwaysgoodtodoatrialruntoensurethatyourslidesaresetupproperlyandyouranimationsfirethewayyouexpectthemto.

TopresentyourPowerPoint,gototheSlideShowtabandclickPlayfromStart.Theslidewillcoveryourwholescreen,blockingoutyourdesktopandPowerPointsoftware.Thisissoyouraudience(inthiscase,youforthetrialrun)issolelyfocusedonthevisualelementsofyourpresentation.

Whenyou'redonewithoneslideandwanttoshowthenextinyoursequence,clickyourmouseinpresentationmode.Thiswilladvancetheslide.

MicrosoftwantedtoprovidePowerPointuserswithalotoftools.Butthisdoesnotmeanyoushouldusethemall.Herearesomekeythingstolookoutfor:

Whileyouusuallycangetawaywiththedefaultslidesizeformostpresentations,youmayneedtoadjustitforlargerpresentationsonweirdlysizeddisplays.Ifyouneedtodothat,here'show.

Tip:Youcanavoidaheadachewiththelaststepifyouresizeyourslidesbeforeyouaddanyobjectstothem.Otherwise,thedimensionsofyourobjectswillbecomeskewed.

Often,it'smucheasiertoedityourPowerPointtemplatebeforeyoustart-thisway,youdon'thavetodesigneachslidebyhand.Here'showyoudothat.

AsignificantpartofaPowerPoint'scontentistext.Greatcopycanmakeorbreakyourpresentation,soevaluatingyourwrittenworkfromafewdifferentanglescouldmakeyouseemmorepersuasive.Thinkingabouthowyourtextisreceiveddifferentiatesgoodpresentersfromthebest.

Manypeopleunderestimatetheinfluenceoftypeface,butchoosingtherightfontisimportant-theperceptionofyourfonttypecouldinfluenceyouraudience'simpressionofyou.Therightfontisanopportunitytoconveyconsistentbrandpersonalityandprofessionalism.

Somefontsareseenascleanandprofessional,butthisdoesn'tmeanthey'reboring.Acommonmistakeisthinkingyourfontisn't"exciting"enough,whichcouldleadyoutochooseafontthatdistractsfromyouroverallmessage.Werecommendstickingtosimpleserifandsans-seriffonts.Avoidscriptfontsbecauseofpotentialreadabilityissues.

Thatsaid,youcanstillusefunandeccentricfonts-inmoderation.Offsettingafunfontorlargeletterswithsomethingmoreprofessionalcancreateanengagingpresentation.

Aboveall,besureyou'reconsistentsoyourpresentationlooksthesamethroughouteachslide.Thatway,youraudiencedoesn'tbecomedistractedbytoomanydisparatefonts.CheckoutthisexamplefromHubSpot'scompanyprofiletemplates:

Interestedinthispresentationtemplate?Downloaditforfreehere.

Havingproperlyalignedobjectsonyourslideisthekeytomakingitlookpolishedandprofessional.Youcanmanuallytrytolineupyourimages...butweallknowhowthattypicallyworksout.You'retryingtomakesureallofyourobjectshangoutinthemiddleofyourslide,butwhenyoudragthemthere,itstilldoesn'tlookquiteright.GetridofyourguessinggameandletPowerPointworkitsmagicwiththistrick.

Formatmenusallowyoutodofineadjustmentsthatotherwiseseemimpossible.Todothis,right-clickonanobjectandselecttheFormatObjectoption.Here,youcanfine-tuneshadows,adjustshapemeasurements,createreflections,andmuchmore.Themenuthatwillpopuplookslikethis:

AlthoughthemainoptionscanbefoundonPowerPoint'sformattoolbars,lookforcompletecontrolintheformatwindowmenu.Otherexamplesofoptionsavailableinclude:

Manyusersdon'trealizehowflexiblePowerPoint'sshapetoolshavebecome.IncombinationwiththeexpandedformatoptionsreleasedbyMicrosoft,thepotentialforgooddesignwithshapesisreadilyavailable.PowerPointprovidestheuserwithabunchofgreatshapeoptionsbeyondthetraditionalrectangle,oval,androundedrectanglepatterns.

Today'sshapesincludeahighlyfunctionalSmartShapesfunction,whichenablesyoutocreatediagramsandflowchartsinnotime.ThesetoolsareespeciallyvaluablewhenyouconsiderthatPowerPointisavisualmedium.Paragraphingandbulletlistsareboring-youcanuseshapestohelpexpressyourmessagemoreclearly.

Whenyoucreateashape,rightclickandpressEditPoints.Byeditingpoints,youcancreatecustomshapesthatfityourspecificneed.Forinstance,youcanreshapearrowstofitthedimensionsyoulike.

Anotheroptionistocombinetwoshapestogether.Todoso,selectthetwoshapesyou'dliketoworkwith,thenclickShapeFormatinthetopribbon.TapMergeShapes.

You'llseeavarietyofoptions.

Byusingthesetoolsratherthantryingtoeditpointsprecisely,youcancreateaccuratelymeasuredcustomshapes.

Besidescreatingcustomshapesinyourpresentation,youcanalsousePowerPointtocropexistingimagesintonewshapes.Here'showyoudothat:

TraditionsaysthatifyouwanttoshowawebsiteinaPowerPoint,youshouldjustcreatealinktothepageandpromptabrowsertoopen.ForPCusers,there'sabetteroption.

ThirdpartysoftwarethatintegratesfullyintoPowerPoint'sdevelopertabcanbeusedtoembedawebsitedirectlyintoyourPowerPointusinganormalHTMLiframe.OneofthebesttoolsisLiveWeb,athird-partysoftwarethatyoucaninstallonyourPowerPointprogram.

ByusingLiveWeb,youdon'thavetointerruptyourPowerPoint,andyourpresentationwillremainfluidandnatural.WhetheryouembedawholewebpageorjustaYouTubevideo,thiscanbeahigh-qualitythirdpartyimprovement.Toinstalltheadd-on,simpleheadtotheLiveWebwebsiteandfollowtheinstructions.

Unfortunately,Macusersdon'thaveasimilaroption.Agoodsecondchoiceistotakescreenshotsofthewebsite,linkinthroughabrowser,orembedmedia(suchasaYouTubevideo)bydownloadingitdirectlytoyourcomputer.

GIFsareloopedanimatedimagesusedtocommunicateamood,idea,information,andmuchmore.UsersaddGIFstoPowerPointstobefunnyorquicklydemoaprocess.It'seasytoaddGIFstoyourslides.Todoso,simplyfollowthesesteps:

PowerPointisanexcellenttooltosupportyourpresentationwithvisualinformation,graphics,andsupplementalpoints.ThismeansthatyourPowerPointshouldnotbeyourentirepresentation.Yourslides-nomatterhowcreativeandbeautiful-shouldn'tbethestaroftheshow.Keepyourtextandimagesclearandconcise,usingthemonlytosupplementyourmessageandauthority.

Ifyourslideshavedenseandclutteredinformation,itwillbothdistractyouraudienceandmakeitmuchmorelikelythatyouwilllosetheirattention.Nothinginyourslidesshouldbesuperfluous!Keepyourpresentationpersuasivebykeepingitclean.Thereareafewwaystodothis:

OneconstantproblempresentershavewithPowerPointisthatfontsseemtochangewhenpresentersmovefromonecomputertoanother.Inreality,thefontsarenotchanging-thepresentationcomputerjustdoesn'thavethesamefontfilesinstalled.Ifyou'reusingaPCandpresentingonaPC,thenthereisasmoothworkaroundforthisissue.

Here'sthetrick:WhenyousaveyourPowerPointfile(onlyonaPC),youshouldclickFile,thenOptions,thenopenuptheSavetab.Then,selecttheEmbedfontsinthefilecheckboxunderPreservefidelitywhensharingthispresentation.Now,yourpresentationwillkeepthefontfileandyourfontswillnotchangewhenyoumovecomputers.

ThemacOSPowerPointversionhasasimilarfunction.ToembedyourfontsonaMac,dothefollowing:

Ifyou'restillscaredofyourpresentationshowingupdifferentlywhenit'stimetopresent,youshouldcreateaPDFversionjustincase.Thisisagoodoptionifyou'llbepresentingonadifferentcomputer.Ifyoualsorunintoanissuewherethepresentingcomputerdoesn'thavePowerPointinstalled,youcanalsousethesystemviewertoopenupthePDF.Nolaptopwillevergiveyoutroublewiththisfiletype.

TheonlycaveatisthatyourGIFs,animations,andtransitionswon'ttransferover.ButsincethePDFwillonlyworkasabackup,notasyourprimarycopy,thisshouldbeokay.

TosaveyourpresentationasaPDFfile,takethefollowingsteps:

YoucanalsogotoFile,thenExport,thenselectPDFfromthefileformatmenu.

PowerPointallowsyoutoeitherlinktovideo/audiofilesexternallyortoembedthemediadirectlyinyourpresentation.Youshouldembedthesefilesifyoucan,butifyouuseaMac,youcannotactuallyembedthevideo(seenotebelow).ForPCs,twogreatreasonsforembeddingare:

Note:macOSusersofPowerPointshouldbeextracarefulaboutusingmultimediafiles.

IfyouusePowerPointforMac,thenyouwillalwaysneedtobringthevideoand/oraudiofilewithyouinthesamefolderasthePowerPointpresentation.It'sbesttoonlyinsertvideooraudiofilesoncethepresentationandthecontainingfolderhavebeensavedonaportabledriveintheirpermanentfolder.Also,ifthepresentationwillbeplayedonaWindowscomputer,thenMacusersneedtomakesuretheirmultimediafilesareinWMVformat.Thistipgetsabitcomplicated,soifyouwanttousePowerPointeffectively,considerusingthesameoperatingsystemfordesigningandpresenting,nomatterwhat.

Betweenoperatingsystems,PowerPointisstillabitjumpy.EvenbetweendifferingPPTversions,thingscanchange.Onewaytofixtheseproblemsistomakesurethatyouhavetherighthardware-sojustbringalongyourownlaptopwhenyou'representing.

Ifyou'resuperconcernedaboutthedifferentsystemsyoumighthavetouse,thenuploadyourPowerPointpresentationintoGoogleSlidesasabackupoption.GoogleSlidesisacloud-basedpresentationsoftwarethatwillshowupthesamewayonalloperatingsystems.Theonlythingyouneedisaninternetconnectionandabrowser.

ToimportyourPowerPointpresentationintoGoogleSlides,takethefollowingsteps:

WhenItestedthisout,GoogleSlidesimportedeverythingperfectly,includingashapewhosepointsIhadmanipulated.Thisisagoodbackupoptiontohaveifyou'llbepresentingacrossdifferentoperatingsystems.

Inmostpresentationsituations,therewillbebothapresenter'sscreenandthemainprojecteddisplayforyourpresentation.PowerPointhasagreattoolcalledPresenterView,whichcanbefoundintheSlideShowtabofPowerPoint.IncludedinthePresenterViewisanareafornotes,atimer/clock,andapresentationdisplay.

Formanypresenters,thistoolcanhelpunifytheirspokenpresentationandtheirvisualaid.YouneverwanttomakethePowerPointseemlikeastackofnotesthatyou'rereadingoffof.UsethePresenterViewoptiontohelpcreateamorenaturalpresentation.

ProTip:Atthestartofthepresentation,youshouldalsohitCTRL+Htomakethecursordisappear.Hittingthe"A"keywillbringitbackifyouneedit!

Withstyle,design,andpresentationprocessesunderyourbelt,youcandoalotmorewithPowerPointthanjustpresentationsforyourclients.PowerPointandsimilarslideapplicationsareflexibletoolsthatshouldnotbeforgotten.Withagreattemplate,youcanbeonyourwaytocreatingpresentationsthatwowyouraudience.

Editor'snote:ThispostwasoriginallypublishedinSeptember2013andhasbeenupdatedforcomprehensiveness.

OriginallypublishedMar18,20227:00:00AM,updatedMarch182022

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