Create compelling and professional presentations with PowerPoint through expert tips and creative ideas.
Whether you are hosting a PowerPoint presentation in person face to face, or for an online audience using Teams or Zoom, nerves can get the better of you and cause you to forget important points or even to seem unprepared. In this article, you will learn how to improve PowerPoint presentations with Presenter View. In […]
Working days are usually very full and busy. Most of us do not always complete all the tasks we set for ourselves every day, so we end up with a backlog while feeling bad about it. Many people use PowerPoint to create presentations for business purposes, but wish they knew quicker ways. In fact, some […]
What’s New in PowerPoint 2016 If you are currently using Powerpoint 2013, you will know what a big improvement it is on earlier versions, with some great new features such as the ability to insert pictures and videos directly from websites such as Bing Images and YouTube, and the Merge Shapes tool which allows you […]
In the right hands, PowerPoint can be an extremely useful presentation tool. However, much like Excel, the low barrier to entry for PowerPoint means that anyone can get their hands on the software and that’s where the problems begin. Cue poor presentations and cringe moments. These three tips twinned with our other bite-sized tips will […]
One of the most common questions in PowerPoint training is “how can I see something different on my screen to the audience?” The answer is complicated and involves multiple graphics card outputs. The Presenter View was added in 2010 but has really come into it’s own in PowerPoint 2013. In Presenter View you can see […]
Some people spend a lot of time working with Microsoft Office, performing the same actions over and over again. Using the mouse is a friendly and easy way to navigate around your presentations, but keyboard shortcuts can really speed up your workflow. Just a couple sprinkled throughout your week can add up to significant time […]
You’ve found the perfect image that illustrates the point you’re trying to make in your presentation, so you drop it in. Unfortunately it has a big white rectangle around it that really spoils the look. Or you’ve inserted the logo for your company’s new product but the black background makes it jar against the slide. […]
Transitions are part of the animation tools available in Powerpoint. They are so impressive they get their own tab. Transitions refer to the ways you can change from one slide to another. You can have a simple transition but why not experiment to see if you can match the transition style to your audience. For […]
After all your hard work developing your slides, it’s definitely worth running through the whole presentation to see how long the whole presentation takes. This is the opportunity to edit down the slides if you find you are over-running or finetune your speaker’s notes to help you run to time. With your presentation open, select […]
This is another thing I didn’t realise that Powerpoint could do. Using my garden project presentation, I want to add a basic chart from scratch that compares the costs of sourcing plants from a nursery, from donations or cuttings, or a combination of the two. Luckily, Powerpoint led me through the process for adding basic […]
I was working on a Powerpoint presentation this weekend, just a for my own amusement, and I noticed that I stayed in the same presentation view throughout my work. I had adopted my own default view setting – the view I get when I open a new file. It seemed easier at the start of […]
Powerpoint can give you the professional presentation – you can wow your audience with a presentation with a strong impact. Powerpoint can help you to create a presentation quickly and easily with ready made templates – it can help get your message across with smooth transitions between slides, animations on bullet points, and embed […]
Powerpoint has so many opportunities available, that it seems a waste to limit it to a business presentation. Often we find it easier to practise a skill if we are using something we are familiar with, and something we can use at home, or in our “other life” outside work. Here are some fun uses […]
Animations can be used to apply to whole slides, or you can use customise animations that can be applied to bullet points. This is an intermediate/advanced technique in Powerpoint. As I am new to this and still at the experimental phase – this is about familiarisation (instead of ignoring an entire tab because I don’t […]
After my recent Microsoft Powerpoint course, I felt inspired to explore what I’d learned at home. Exploring with computers can be like going “off road” for me, and I need some extra back up to help me cope with the bumpy bits as I learn. So when I try something and the result isn’t as I […]
There have been times when I’ve seen a PowerPoint presentation, which was heavy on the text. It’s the PowerPoint equivalent to a voice with no oompf. With my upgrade to 2010 comes the necessary upgrade of my attitude to presentations and how they have moved on. Upgrading to PowerPoint 2010 includes upgrading expectations and skills. […]
If you are used to working in an older version of Powerpoint, you may not be aware of this function – and you are missing out on something rather impressive. Co-authoring is a fantastic enhancement in Powerpoint 2010 and means that more than one person can contribute to a Powerpoint presentation at the same time. […]
I didn’t know this was possible, until I saw a presentation the other day with a video in it. It added a really professional edge and made the message all the more powerful. I could almost here the intake of breath from the audience…as they said “oooooo.” If you have a video that gets your […]
I’ve been using the little icons above the ribbon without knowing that they had a name, and that I could add to them too…this is another way I can customise the ribbon to speed up my work. This is the Quick Access Toolbar and it looks like this…The little down arrow gives you easy access to […]
It’s easy to put a bit of colour into your new presentations by using the ready-made themes. You can then add extra formatting touches to give your presentation that “wow” factor. From the backstage view select New. Click on themes, and Powerpoint gives you a range of themes to choose from. Click on the one you […]
You can add an extra “huzzah” to your presentations using this Powerpoint advanced technique. Adding narration to a presentation can be used to add variety and interest to your presentation. If you can’t be there to give the presentation or if you suffer from nerves, you can record your narration. The bonus of using narration […]
There is an option to customise your Save settings in PowerPoint, so that it will automatically save your presentation. This is a great security net, saving you from the “oh no” moments when you close a document without saving. And, it’s easy to do. From the Backstage view, select the Options icon. Select the Options […]
I have created a blank presentation, using the File menu, and then selected New, and Blank presentation PowerPoint gives me one slide. Now I know I’m going to need at least three slides for my presentation, so I want to add two more slides. I use the ribbon, I’m already in the Home tab, so […]
You can easily set up options to suit your way of working and customise PowerPoint, so you get more out of it, and more out of your presentations. You can get PowerPoint to keep a look out for errors for you. It can be an extra set of eyes to help improve the […]
Learning shortcuts is always a fun part of PowerPoint training. I like having a range of ways of accessing commands, opening programmes and files, and changing the view of my work – without constantly reaching for the mouse. Shortcuts are also called Key Tips – but whichever name you prefer, they are nifty little things. […]
The last time I used a PowerPoint presentation, I was using 2003. Today is a fresh start with 2010. And from opening of the program, the screen looks sleeker and is designed to make it easier for me to access the commands. There are three things that stand out at this stage and this is […]