PowerPoint presentations can be professional, attractive, and really help your audience remember your message.
If you don’t have much experience, that’s okay — I’m going to arm you with PowerPoint design tips from pro presenters, the steps you need to build an engaging deck, and templates to help you nail great slide design.
![→ Free Download: 10 PowerPoint Presentation Templates [Access Now]](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/53/2d0b5298-2daa-4812-b2d4-fa65cd354a8e.png)
All fields are required.
Click this link to access this resource at any time.
Insert a new slide by clicking on the Home tab and then the New Slide button. Consider what content you want to put on the slide, including heading, text, and imagery.
You don’t want to present the same exact slide each time, just with different content on it. This would bore your audience, so make sure that you create multiple variations.
Consider what kind of multimedia you’ll be using, and choose or create different layouts accordingly. At minimum, you’ll need:
There’s no need to create these designs over and over. Now that you have a few to draw from, simply duplicate them before inputting your content:
This will automatically add a copy of this slide to the presentation. From there, you can customize it for your needs.
Add images by clicking Insert and clicking the Pictures icon. You can add other elements by using features in the Home and Insert tabs on the top ribbon. Explore your layout by dragging elements around.
When done well, transitions can add a little bit of movement and showmanship to your presentation. PowerPoint has several transitions built in for you to choose from.
Select the Transitions tab from the top ribbon. Select a transition for it to preview on your screen. To customize it further, click Effect Options and play with the features to find something that suits your liking. To remove a transition, select Transitions and click None.
Like transitions, animations can add movement, reveal information, and help you underscore the points you want to hit during your speech. To animate an element, follow these steps:
You'll also have the option to move animations around as you edit your slides by clicking on the Animation Pane button, then reordering the animations in the pop-up list.
Click File and Save, making sure to specify where you want your PowerPoint to be stored. If you're using your slides for education or teaching, it could be beneficial to convert your presentation to an online course.
Always do a trial run to ensure that your slides are set up properly and your animations fire the way you expect them to.
To present your PowerPoint, go to the Slide Show tab and click Play from Start. The slide will cover your whole screen so that your audience (in this case, you) is solely focused on the visual elements of your presentation.
Whenever you’re in presentation mode and you’re done with one slide, click your mouse to advance to the next slide.
Download ten free PowerPoint templates for a better presentation.
