how to make powerpoint presentation public

Unsupported browser

This site was designed for modern browsers and tested with Internet Explorer version 10 and later.

It may not look or work correctly on your browser.

• Presentations

30 PowerPoint Presentation Tips to Make Good PPT Slides in 2024 (+ 6 Expert Tips)

• Bahasa Indonesia

Here are 30 quick PowerPoint presentation tips to help you improve your presentations. 

Plus, get PowerPoint tips on changing your slide design to make your content shine. We've even called on six presentation experts for their best tips.

How to Make a Good PowerPoint Presentation (Watch & Learn)

This screencast is a speed round of my very favorite PowerPoint tricks. It's a great resource to learn how to make a presentable PowerPoint. I'll walk you through ten of my favorite PowerPoint tips and tricks to create a better presentation.

Keep reading for an illustrated version of these good PPT tips (and more) that you can use to improve your PowerPoint presentations. You'll see 30 of our favorite PowerPoint presentation tips and tricks, including techniques to update slide master PowerPoint 2024 designs.

Jump to content in this section:

• How Do You Give a Memorable PPT Presentation?
• Practice Makes Perfect
• Adapt Your Presentation to the Audience
• Use a Custom Font
• Use Contrast
• Avoid Too Many Animations
• Use the Rule of Three
• Use a Custom PPT Theme Design
• Make Use of Charts and Graphs
• Use the Built-in Slide Layouts
• Align Text Consistently
• Make Your Exports User-Friendly
• Try a Different Color Scheme
• Edit Slide Masters for Consistency
• Use the Alignment Feature
• Use Stock Assets
• Reduce Your Content
• Rethink Your Slide Order
• Use PowerPoint Animations
• Invite Collaborators
• Add Supporting Video Clips
• Use Infographic Templates
• Use Impactful Closing Techniques
• Include Data in the Appendix
• Alternate Between Solid Color and White Slides
• Present Information With Maps
• Keep the Design Best Practices in Mind
• Set a Time Limit
• Test Your Content Everywhere

30 Tips: How to Make Good PowerPoint Presentation Designs Fast in 2024

A few tried and true tips can help you speed up your PowerPoint presentation design. Check out 30 of my favorite PowerPoint tips to do just that. Each of these give you PowerPoint slideshow help to create good PowerPoint slides:

1. How Do You Give a Memorable PPT Presentation?

If you're learning the top PowerPoint presentation tips and tricks, you're probably asking yourself: how do I give a presentation that won't be forgotten?

We all want to be remembered. The best PowerPoint slideshow help to make a mark on the audience. There are tried-and-true ways to do just that, and expert Neil Tomlinson shares expertise on being remembered:

Get your main point into the presentation as early as possible (this avoids any risk of audience fatigue or attention span waning), then substantiate your point with facts, figures etc and then reiterate your point at the end in a ‘Summary’.

2. Practice Makes Perfect

Also, don’t forget to practice your presentation. Go through your slide deck a few times to make sure you know it like the back of your hand when the big day arrives. Doing so helps you feel more confident. It'll reduce any anxiety and nervousness you might feel as the presentation day approaches.

What's the best way to rehears for a good PowerPoint? Here's one of the top PowerPoint presentation tips from expert presenter Sandra Zimmer :

Once slides are ready, practice one slide at a time aloud until you feel like you know it and like the flow of speech. Be willing to change anything that does not feel in flow. At the end of learning all your slides, practice the whole talk.

If you want even more great PowerPoint presentation tips and tricks, check out the following post:

3. Adapt Your Presentation to the Audience

Let's say that you're a seasoned presenter with a pretty standard set of presentation topics. Maybe you're an expert in your field, and you're asked to give a PPT presentation frequently on similar topics.

That's the value of being an expert. You might have a standard spiel that you give your audiences, and your content won't totally change from one presentation to another. That's why it helps to make only slight tweaks to adapt your presentation to each audience.

Leading presentation expert Suzannah Baum offered up this advice:

Different audiences will have different needs and different challenges, which requires me to re-sequence the slides, or create new ones. I tend to do a lot of research on my audiences – via surveys, interviews, and conversations with the hiring manager – to help me better understand what information would be most relevant to them.

How do you adapt to your audience? Here are a few more tips:

• Learn about them. If you're asked to speak, talk to the curator of the presentation to learn more about the audience and their background.
• Ask about them! With contact details, send out a survey or a response link to ask for feedback and preparation info. Ask leading questions like "what do you want to learn?"
• Consider the environment.  If you're presenting via Zoom, your style will differ from presenting in person. The key is to acknowledge the difference and adapt to your environment.

Learn everything you can about your audience. Learning how to make a presentable PowerPoint is all about thinking of the recipient, not the presenter!

4. Use a Custom Font

A PowerPoint presentation tip that'll make your slideshow more interesting and more engaging is to use a custom font.

Fonts set the tone for your presentation. So, when you use a premium font, you’re opting for a high-quality font while also adding a personal or creative touch. 

When choosing a font, remember that you want everyone to read your text easily. 

5. Use Contrast

One PowerPoint trick is to use contrast to make some of your text stand out or make it easier to read.

If you’re putting text over an image on our PowerPoint slide, you may need to use a white box with black text in it to make your text easier to read. You can also use contrasting colors to highlight important text.

6. Avoid Too Many Animations

Another PowerPoint tip is to avoid having too many animations or transitions.

When you've got too many animations, it can be distracting to the audience. It’s not only distracting, but it's unprofessional.

It’s best to stick to one or two animations throughout your presentation. Also, if you've got any animations in your presentation, make sure to test them to see if they work before presenting.

7. Add Audio

Include audio on a slide on PowerPoint to increase audience engagement. Audio can be anything from fun sound effects to interview clips. You can even add an audio clip of your voice.

Audio gives you a break from speaking while also engaging the audience. Envato Elements has hundreds of premium audio clips if you want to add some.

8. Use the Rule of Three

One PowerPoint tip and trick is to follow the rules of PowerPoint.

One of those rules is the rule of three. It's where you start by dividing your presentation into thirds. Everything should come in thirds, so if you use bullet points, you should only have three. If you use icons, you should only have three.

When things come in threes, it's easier to remember them. For more information, read this informative article:

9. Use a Custom PPT Theme Design

Above all, consistently use custom PowerPoint themes. Microsoft has built-in themes that you can use for free, sure. But the premium themes that are on Envato Elements   are a major step-up from PowerPoint's built-in themes. 

When you subscribe to Envato Elements, you'll have access to unlimited downloads of all the PowerPoint themes. Right now, Envato Elements has almost 4,000 PowerPoint themes and that number is always growing. You'll learn tips for a good PowerPoint presentation by using the best templates.

10. Make Use of Charts and Graphs

Illustrate your data with the use of charts and graphs. Not only will you be able to make your presentation more visually appealing, but you'll also help your audience remember the information better.

Many PowerPoint templates already include chart and graph elements. Easily customize them to make your data and stats more interesting and easier to understand.

Want to learn more about how to use data? Turn to expert Adrienne J ohnston , a presentation professional:

When it comes to visualizing data in presentations, we have to remember that our audience does not need all the fine details of the data - they need the main takeaway and we need to make sure that's evident to them when looking at the slide.

11. Use the Built-in Slide Layouts

Inside of PowerPoint themes, you'll find layouts , which are custom slide designs.

Most themes include a selection of content layouts that you can use as a starting point for your own slide designs. You can leverage slide master PowerPoint 2024 designs with the help of layouts.

Layouts are like a starting point for your PowerPoint presentation slides. They contain combinations of placeholders for text boxes, images, and more.

Instead of clicking and drawing individual objects onto the slide, use one of these layouts to start your slide off. It's one of the top PowerPoint presentation tips and tricks to save time.

12. Align Text Consistently

When you're working with text on your slide, it helps to ensure that it aligns consistently. Keeping your text aligned in the same orientation really makes a slide look clean. 

In the example below, I've basically got three text boxes:

• list of bulleted points

Notice that all this text is aligned left. 

Aligning text was the " aha " moment that I learned when I started studying slide design. It's one of those steps that makes a slide look much neater and professional, so keep it in mind when designing.

13. Make Your Exports User-Friendly

No matter how great your PowerPoint presentation slides look, you need to think about how your user will use the presentation file. 

Any of these are likely scenarios if you're regularly sending presentations to other users:

• The viewer may not have PowerPoint installed on their computer.
• The recipient may be using a version of PowerPoint that renders the presentation differently.
• Maybe you don't want the user to be able to make any edits or see your notes in the presentation file.

In this case, my favorite tip is to export the presentation as a PDF. To do that, go to File > Export > Create PDF , and then save your presentation as a PDF.

This is sure to help most of your users see the presentation just the way you intended.

14. Try a Different Color Scheme

Many PowerPoint themes have more than one color scheme that you can apply to your presentation. On the Design  tab, click on the drop-down next to Themes to try out a different color scheme.

Typically, these will restyle your entire presentation. Premium themes that you might get from Envato Elements, for example, may have many versions inside the original presentation zip file.

15. Edit Slide Masters for Consistency

The slide master controls the design for your PowerPoint slide. Instead of making the same change to each slide, apply a change to a slide master. It'll affect all the PowerPoint presentation slides that use the same master.

It's ideal to apply a logo to the slide master itself, for example. This keeps the logo the same size and in the same position on each slide.

To do that, go to View > Slide Master.  On the right side, you're likely to see a variety of slide masters that control designs for many slides. Drop the elements that you want to remain consistent onto one of the slide masters.

16. Use the Alignment Feature

PowerPoint presentation slides look better when the objects on them are in line with one another. There's a certain visual rhythm that occurs when objects line up in the center or along certain boundary lines.

When you start dragging objects on your slide, you'll see guiding lines that pop up. These are very intuitive, and you'll likely notice that they help you line up your objects. You might seem them pop up when you've got a box that's equidistant between two other objects on the slide, for example.

This is one of the best tricks for improving the look of your PowerPoint slide. Spend some time making sure that your key elements line up cohesively.

17. Use Stock Assets

Earlier, I mentioned using Envato Elements to grab PowerPoint themes. But there's more that comes with an Envato Elements subscription for presentations.

That includes a wide variety of stock photos, graphics,  and custom designed fonts  that you can use in your presentation. Instead of reusing the same stock photo or clip art, Envato Elements has everything you need to supplement a presentation. 

Again, Envato Elements is the perfect subscription if you build presentations. It's a one-stop-shop that you can use to fill content.

18. Reduce Your Content

There's nothing that makes an audience tune out faster than being overloaded with slide content. Sometimes we try to make so many points that the audience misses all of them due to information overload.

Less is truly more. When you cut the weaker points of your presentation, the audience's attention will follow your key points accordingly.

It seems like cheating, but one of the best steps that you can take for your slide is to simply reduce the number of items that are on it. Convert some of your typed points to things you'll speak verbally.

19. Rethink Your Slide Order

Sometimes, I find that my presentations are out of order. I might spend too much time explaining my decision before I get to the conclusion.

In these cases, I like to use Slide Sorter View  to re-sequence the slides in my presentation. To access this view, go to View > Slide Sorter  on PowerPoint's ribbon.

From Slide Sorter view, you've got a top-down view of all the slides in your presentation deck. It sometimes becomes obvious that the slides can be reordered into a better sequence from this view.

20. Use PowerPoint Animations 

One of my favorite PowerPoint presentation tips is to complement your major points with a bit of animation. Using animation can bring a key point onto your slide with style!

Check out ten of the best PowerPoint tips for how to use animation from expert Sven Lenaerts below:

21. Invite Collaborators

Building a presentation often benefits from a second set of eyes. That's why it helps so much to invite a collaborator to work with you side-by-side in Microsoft PowerPoint.

Pushing your presentation up to OneDrive and inviting collaborators is easy. Thanks to the cloud-based approach, more than one user can edit a slide deck in real time. Learn how to do that in the tutorial below:

22. Add Supporting Video Clips

Building impactful presentations is all about adding other perspectives and angles to the content. One of my favorite ways to do that is to add a video clip. Maybe that's a production that you built on your own or found on sites like YouTube.

Either way, learn how to add and auto play a video clip in the quick tip below:

23. Use Infographic Templates

More presentations than ever will feature visuals that tell stories with data. But it's easy for an audience become overwhelmed with data. 

That's where infographics come into play. Learn to use them in PowerPoint in the tutorial below:

24. Use Impactful Closing Techniques

I've sat through many presentations in my life. I can only remember a few that really stick out, thanks to techniques that highlighted key points. You need PowerPoint tips and tricks that help leave your audience with an impact.

To do just that, make sure you use some of the techniques highlighted in the article below:

To do that, just drag and drop the thumbnails into the order you want. When you return to Normal view, the PowerPoint presentation slides will be in the resequenced order you set here.

25. Include Data in the Appendix

Many PowerPoint presentations include data in the form of charts and graphs. That means that you'll condense specifics into a few easy-to-follow charts.

But what if your audience wants more of the backing details? Maybe they want to validate and review the detail for themselves. In that case, a   set of  appendix slides  with extra data is sure to help.

Appendix slides are included at the end of a presentation deck for backup purposes. You might not present them, but your audience is certain to appreciate that you included them. That helps your presentation continue to be useful even after you leave the room.

Here's a great tip from: pro presenter  Graeme Thomas of Johnny F Designs:

If (my clients) are sending the deck straight to clients however, I would then put all the information on the slides but will often use more slides so that they aren't too cluttered. In cases where there is a lot of content, like financial statements, I would use  appendix slides.

Including an appendix helps your audience understand data  without  overwhelming them with that data. Follow these tips so that you get the best of both worlds.

26. Alternate Between Solid Color and White Slides

Alternating between solid color and slides with a white background can produce an interesting visual effect and engage your audience. You can use the solid-colored slides to signify a new section in your presentation.

Not to mention, solid-colored slides are the perfect way to re-enforce your brand colors and build your brand recognition.

27. Present Information With Maps

If you’re trying to make a case for a global expansion or need to report on how other branches are performing, consider using a map to help your audience visualize the data.

There's no shortage of quality PowerPoint templates with maps built in so be sure to take advantage of them.

28. Keep the Design Best Practices in Mind

The design of your presentation matters just as much as the content of your presentation. That’s why you need to devote an equal amount of time to making sure the design of your presentation is on point as you do to the actual content.

Familiarize yourself with best design practices and keep them in mind as you go about customizing your template.

29. Set a Time Limit

How many slides is the right number for you? Well, it all depends on the time limit you set for your presentation.

Believe it or not, setting a time limit is helpful to create good PowerPoint slides. If you want to learn how to make a presentable PowerPoint, it's a must to lock in the time limit and ensure that your slides support that timeframe. 

Expert presenter Stephanie Ottavan offers one of our top tips for a good PowerPoint presentation based on time limits:

A presenter is usually limited to a specific time frame and you want to adhere to that as closely as you can. If you have animations and transitions in your deck, these take added time so make sure to rehearse in “show mode” of PowerPoint or Keynote and time yourself.

Believe it or not, setting a time frame is one of the most important part of creating a PPT presentation. It helps you influence how many good PowerPoint slides you should design.

30. Test Your Content Everywhere

PowerPoint in 2024 could take place anywhere. Maybe you present, online, in-person, or beam it to mobile devices. It's important to remember that the content will appear differently on each device.

PowerPoint Online is a different medium than many other apps. Make sure that your presentation design appears the same by testing it with the help of this tutorial. It shows you how your PPT presentation appears even in a browser:

Discover Great Premium PowerPoint Templates With Google Slides (For 2024)

Creating a great presentation starts with a great template. And a great PowerPoint slide design use the best presentation practices, for example:

• Use high-quality photos and graphics to help tell the story.
• Keep text to a minimum.
• Stick to one idea per slide.

Designing a great template doesn’t mean you've got to start from scratch, though. Take a look at some of the best PowerPoint templates we've got on Envato Elements.

1. Neo PowerPoint Template

The Neo PowerPoint template features a modern and bold design and includes five color variations to get you started. Along with this, you'll also get 10 master slides and 30 individual slides for all your presentation needs.

2. Vexana PowerPoint Template

The Vexana template is a great choice for brands that need a touch of elegance. This template works with PowerPoint and Google Slides and comes with a grand total of 150 slides. It also has five color variations and includes infographic elements and photo placeholders.

3. Sprint PowerPoint Template

The Sprint PowerPoint template features a professional and modern design. The template is easy to customize. You'll find 20 masters in the standard 4:3 size, allowing you to choose the best layout for your information.

4. Travelicious PowerPoint Template

For any presentation that deals with the topic of travel, check out the Travelicious template. This template is compatible with both PowerPoint and Google Slides. It includes three premade color variations as well as 30 unique slides.

 As you can see from the examples above, there's no shortage of beautiful and professional PowerPoint slide designs on Envato Elements . What’s more, Envato Elements allows you to download as many PowerPoint templates as you want. Plus, get thousands of other design assets such as fonts, photos, and icons—all for one low monthly price.

Want to see even more great PowerPoint template examples? Be sure to check out our related roundup:

Need Help? Grab Our Making Great Presentations eBook (Free)

We've got the perfect complement to this tutorial. You can find more information in our eBook on making great presentations . Download this PDF eBook now for FREE with your subscription to the Tuts+ Business Newsletter. 

It'll help you master the presentation process from initial creative ideas through to writing, design, and delivering with impact.

PowerPoint Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Now that you’ve read about PowerPoint tips and tricks, if you want to learn more about PowerPoint, here are some FAQs:

1. What Is a Placeholder?

Placeholders in your slide on PowerPoint help you easily add text or images to your slide without changing your design.

In a template, sometimes the placeholders have prompts such as “Click to insert a picture” or “Click to add text.” These prompts let you know what kind of placeholder it is. To learn more about placeholders, read this article: 

2. How Can I Automatically Play a Video?

A PowerPoint tip is to insert an automatically played video in your presentation. When you've got a video that'll play automatically, it saves you the trouble of starting your video manually.

Videos can illustrate topics or specific points. They're also a great way to keep your audience engaged. If you want to learn how to play a video automatically, read this tutorial:

3. How Can I Add a Map to my Slide?

Another PowerPoint trick is to add a map to your slide. If you're discussing a specific location, then a map can help your audience visualize the location you're presenting. To learn how to add a map to your PowerPoint slide, read this tutorial:

4. How Do I Add a GIF to My Presentation?

Adding a GIF to your slide on PowerPoint is one way you can grab your audience's attention. To add a GIF to your slide, you’ll need to download a GIF.

Once you download it, upload it into PowerPoint and use it on your slide. For more information about how to add a GIF to your slide on PowerPoint, read this article:

5. Can I Recover My Unsaved Presentation?

Another PowerPoint trick is to learn how to recover unsaved PowerPoint files so that you can be prepared in case of an emergency. If you want to learn more, read this tutorial:

Learn More About How to Make Presentable PowerPoints

These quick PowerPoint Presentation tips are some of my favorite ways to rapidly improve a presentation. Keeping them in mind while you build a presentation can help you build a deck that you'll be confident about presenting.

Check out these tutorials to keep learning more about PowerPoint. These tutorials will give you more ideas for fixing up your PowerPoint presentation slides efficiently:

Find More Templates

Didn't see a template you like? Here are some more:

Use These PPT Presentation Tips on Your Next Presentation

Now that you've studied some of our best PowerPoint tips, it's time to put them to use. Download one of our top-notch PowerPoint themes from Envato Elements to get started. These PowerPoint presentation tips and tricks give you confidence to make you a skilled presenter.

Editorial Note : This post was first published in February of 2019. Our staff updates this post regularly — adding new, exciting PowerPoint tips and templates (with special help from Brenda Barron , Andrew Childress and Sarah Joy ).

A step-by-step guide to captivating PowerPoint presentation design

november 20, 2023

by Corporate PowerPoint Girl

Do you often find yourself stuck with a lackluster PowerPoint presentation, desperately seeking ways to make it more engaging and visually appealing? If your boss has ever told you to "please fix" a presentation and you didn't know where to start, you're not alone. In this article, we'll walk you through a straightforward method to transform your PowerPoint slides into a visually captivating masterpiece. 

Let's dive right in! 

Clean up your slides 

The first step in this journey to presentation excellence is all about decluttering your slides and elevating their impact. Say goodbye to those uninspiring bullet points that often dominate presentations. Instead, focus on what truly matters – the key call-out numbers. By increasing the font size of these numbers, you ensure they take center stage, immediately drawing your audience's attention. 

To make those numbers pop, consider breaking the text after the numbers into the next line and adding a touch of color. The contrast created by pairing a dark color with a lighter shade, like dark teal and light teal or burnt orange with peach, can work wonders. This simple adjustment makes your data more engaging , enhancing the overall impact of your presentation. 

Add dimension with boxes 

Now, let's introduce an element of depth and organization to your slides. By adding boxes, you'll create a visually pleasing structure that guides your audience through the content. In the "Insert" menu, select "Table" and opt for a one-by-one table. Change the table color to a light gray shade, elongate it, and position it neatly to the left of your text. 

To improve readability and aesthetics, increase the spacing between text phrases. A small adjustment in the before spacing setting (setting it to 48) significantly enhances the visual appeal of your slides. 

Insert circles 

To further enhance the visual appeal and engagement of your slides, let's introduce circles. In the Insert menu, navigate to Shapes and choose the circle. Adjust the circle's height and width to 1.2, ensuring it complements your content seamlessly. Match the circle's shape fill color with the corresponding text color for a harmonious look. 

Avoid using colored outlines for the circles, as they may distract from the overall aesthetic. This simple addition of circles adds an element of visual interest to your presentation, making it more captivating. 

Choose icons 

Now, it's time for a touch of creativity. Selecting icons to complement your text can elevate the clarity and appeal of your slides. In the "Insert" menu, you can search for relevant keywords to find the perfect icon from PowerPoint's extensive library . 

For instance, if your text discusses investment portfolio yield, search for "growth" and choose an upward arrow growth icon. These icons add an extra layer of visual appeal and clarity to your content, making it more engaging and informative. 

Final touches 

To wrap up the transformation process, we come to the final touches that give your presentation a polished, professional finish. Align your icons with their corresponding circles and change the shape fill color to white. This simple adjustment creates a crisp, cohesive look that ties everything together seamlessly. 

In conclusion, by following these steps, you've embarked on a journey to enhance your PowerPoint presentation . These initial steps are just the beginning of your exploration into the world of design elements and styles that can cater to your specific presentation needs. The key to a stunning PowerPoint presentation lies in the details. By following these steps, you can turn a lackluster set of slides into a visually engaging and dynamic presentation that will captivate your audience. So, the next time your boss says, "Please fix," you'll know exactly where to start. Happy presenting! 

Related topics

• Presentations
• Most Recent
• Infographics
• Data Visualizations
• Forms and Surveys
• Video & Animation
• Case Studies
• Design for Business
• Digital Marketing
• Design Inspiration
• Visual Thinking
• Product Updates
• Visme Webinars
• Artificial Intelligence

10 Top PowerPoint Presentation Tips for Beginners (2022 List)

Written by: Heleana Tiburca

Creating a PowerPoint presentation can seem like a daunting task, but it doesn’t need to be.

In this list, you’ll find the best practices and tips for creating a powerful PowerPoint presentation for beginners.

You’ll learn how to:

• Create a professional-looking slideshow presentation
• Keep your Powerpoint presentation design cohesive
• Make your slides interactive
• Animate text and graphics

So without further ado, let’s jump right in.

10 Tips for Effective PowerPoint Presentations

Tip #1: choose an interesting topic, tip #2: do some deep research, tip #3: use an amazing presentation tool, tip #4: pick out a presentation template, tip #5: keep your audience in mind, tip #6: add eye-catching headings and text, tip #7: keep it engaging with animations, tip #8: make your powerpoint interactive, tip #9: add visuals to your presentation, tip #10: practice presenting your slideshow.

So, you need to create a PowerPoint presentation but don’t know where to start. The very first and most important thing you’ll need to do is to decide on your topic.

You’ll want to make sure that the topic you choose is interesting and engaging for those who will be listening to you present your slideshow.

If you’re not in control of your topic and you’ve been assigned a task to present, don’t worry. There are lots of different ways that you can capture your audience’s attention, and transform a boring topic into an incredibly interactive and engaging presentation.

You can do this by using an effective PowerPoint presentation template that will capture your audience’s attention, no matter how bland the subject.

Learn more about PowerPoint templates and how you can use them to your advantage in tip #4!

Once you’ve chosen your PowerPoint presentation topic, you need to make sure that you get all of your facts straight.

Do a deep dive into your research and come up with useful and interesting information that you can use at your next presentation.

Once you’ve gathered up some information, it’s time to make a bullet point list of topics you want to cover, to make sure you don’t leave anything important out in your presentation.

After you’ve created a bullet point list full of your main points and all the important points that you want to convey, you can then make an outline of your speech.

This can be a rough draft, or you can write out in great detail your entire “script”, so to say. If you’re a spontaneous writer, then you may want to write directly in the slideshow editor of your choice.

If not, you can write it all out on a document, so that you’re ready to copy and paste right onto your slideshow presentation.

The best way to create an amazing slideshow is by using an equally amazing slideshow tool.

A tool like Visme will help you create a professional-looking and exciting PowerPoint presentation efficiently and quickly, even as a beginner.

Visme is a slideshow presentation maker that lets you easily create your entire presentation from start to finish. You can even import existing PowerPoint presentations into Visme and edit them there. When you’ve finished editing, you can export editable PowerPoints to present offline.

Visme is a diverse tool that does so much more than just create PowerPoint presentations. You can create anything design-related there, including videos, social media posts, ebooks, manuals, infographics and more.

Other than hundreds of slide templates and fully designed presentations, you also get access to advanced editing tools to make your presentation unique and creative.

Add and replace backgrounds, tap into free libraries of photos, videos, icons and illustrations, add pre-animated assets or manually animate objects and text, and switch up the color scheme with a single click.

With Visme, creating presentations that stand out is as easy as 1-2-3.

Now, let’s jump into the specifics of how to make an effective presentation.

Ready to create your own presentation in minutes?

• Add your own text, images and more
• Customize colors, fonts and everything else
• Choose from hundreds of slide designs and templates
• Add interactive buttons and animations

Next on our list of PowerPoint tips for beginners is picking out the perfect template.

Visme is an amazing presentation software that has an abundance of slideshow presentation templates that you can choose from and customize.

We have modern PowerPoint templates, data-driven presentation templates, colorful templates and everything in between. Just scroll through all the templates and we’re confident you’ll find the perfect one for you.

If you want, you can even design templates of your own and save them for future slideshows that you want to create in a similar fashion.

You can also browse through our presentation themes, which include hundreds of pre-made slides you can mix and match to create your own presentation deck.

Once you pick out your template, you can edit every single design aspect, from the overlays to images, to the color scheme, clipart and stickers, slide transitions and more.

We recommend finding a template that resembles the presentation that you need so that the design process goes as smoothly and easily for you as possible. Creating a presentation should be enjoyable, and Visme makes that process possible.

If you are feeling confident and you don’t want to use one of our professionally designed slideshow templates, you can start from scratch and create your own. Add and remove as many pages are you want and benefit from our stock images and videos, stickers, text templates and more.

Once you’ve chosen your template, you need to think of your audience. Not every presentation design is going to be appropriate for every audience.

In order to make an effective PowerPoint, you need to get in your audience’s head. Ask yourself, “What do they want to see?” or “What value can I bring to them?”.

The design approach you take will greatly impact the results of your audience’s retention. You want to make sure that you please your audience as much as possible and keep them engaged with what you’re trying to convey to them.

If you need to create a report-based, data-driven presentation, then you need to add lots of charts. But not just any type of boring chart. You can use one of Visme’s beautiful charts and edit the values, axis, legend, colors, appearance and more.

If you already have your data in an Excel sheet or Google sheet, you can import them into Visme’s editor and they will automatically be turned into visual data.

You can also add charts and graphs, diagrams, tables, maps and data widgets. Whatever you need, Visme has it.

You want to make sure that your PowerPoint slideshow’s readability is on point. You can do this by choosing the clear and engaging fonts that go with your presentation topic and theme.

In Visme, you can customize the font, style, size and color of your text. Adjust spacing, borders and even animate the text to make your slides more engaging.

We have tons of typefaces for you to choose from, from Helvetica to Calibri and Arial, to sans-serif and serif fonts, we know you’ll find the perfect one to create a great presentation.

Remember, less is more when it comes to a seamless design. Instead of lines upon lines of text, you should be strategic about your text design.

Make sure not to use more than 3 different typefaces per slide. This will keep your design looking sleek and not overloaded.

You can do also use premade text templates created by our professional designers. Simply scroll through all the different text templates, find one you like, and drag and drop it onto your slide. From there, you can customize it as much as you please.

It’s important to keep all the design elements and text on your slideshow aligned, so take advantage of our grid and keep everything visually pleasing and aligned.

You can drive your main points home with a large heading, and align other, smaller text boxes beneath to make sure you stay on track and don’t deter from your main points.

One way you can make your text stand out is to incorporate shapes. If you want to make your text pop out and come to life, add a shape behind them.

Make sure the shape color you choose is a good contrast to the text color so that you can easily see what is written out without having to squint your eyes and decipher what’s written.

You can also take advantage of negative space in your design. If you feel like there’s an empty spot in your slide that looks a little awkward, it’s the perfect place to add some text.

Using negative space for showcasing text is always visually appealing, so use those blank spaces to your advantage!

Another great way you can keep your audience engaged with your presentation is by animating objects. Instead of just showing them a boring, static slide, why not animate the text and objects to bring everything to life?

In Visme’s editor, you can animate any object with just the click of a button.

Make any element slide in and out, bounce, fade in or fade out, spin, appear from thin air and more. There are so many ways you can animate objects and fit your design style to make your presentation stand out from the rest.

You can even go through our library of professionally designed animated graphics and drop them onto your slide. Choose from animated characters, illustrations, icons, special effects and avatars.

Once you add an animated graphic to your design, you can customize them in many different ways, such as editing the pose, speed, repetitions and colors.

Instead of just having your next slide show up as a static image, use a transition between the two slides in order to make the transition seamless.

Visme has lots of elegant and modern transitions to choose from. Scroll through our transition presets and try them out to see which one suits your style best. You might like the zoom-in transition, slide-in or fade.

There are so many transitions for you to choose from, but we recommend you find the one you like most and use it for all slide transitions for the entire slideshow presentation. This will keep your design cohesive and easy on the eyes.

Don’t forget, you can also use sound effects in your presentation when necessary and you want to grab your audience’s attention!

Throughout the entire presentation, you’ll want to make sure that you keep things interactive and entertaining for your audience.

Even though PowerPoint is widely used for creating slideshows, there are many different presentation softwares you can use.

If you use Visme’s presentation maker, you can make your slideshow interactive. One way you can do that is by adding external links to any graphic in the presentation. This way, you can quickly access different pages and documents without ever needing to leave the slideshow.

Another amazing interactive feature of Visme’s is the interactive maps and data visualizations. You can have your viewers simply scroll and hover over an object and more information will pop up.

For example, if you want to create a map with statistics regarding each state, you could add the information to each state in the chart, and then when someone hovers over the state, the statistic will pop up.

This is very convenient for conveying lots of information in an organized way.

You can’t have a good presentation without adding high-quality images, videos, stickers and clipart to your presentation. Without engaging visuals, you’ll quickly lose your viewer’s attention, and risk having a boring PowerPoint presentation.

Visme makes it incredibly simple to add your own multimedia. If you want to upload your own photos, video or audio, you can do so by clicking on “photos” or “media” and clicking “upload.”

Once you click on the “upload” button, you can upload your multimedia from your computer, then find it in your Visme library.

If by chance you aren’t happy with the media you have, or you don’t have any images to upload at all, there’s no need to worry.

Visme is loaded full of high-quality videos and images that are free for you to use in your presentation designs.

If you want to browse through millions of stock videos and stock images, just click on “photos” in the left menu toolbar. This will take you to all of our stock images. To search for a specific image, type a keyword in the search bar to find exactly what you’re looking for.

Once you find the perfect image or video, you can drag and drop it onto your presentation. You can then add shapes and frames to your image for a modern, geometric look.

If you’d like to edit and enhance your chosen image, you can do so in the Visme editor. You can change the brightness, contrast, colors, shadows and more. You can add and customize filters to your images for a cohesive color scheme.

For a highly effective and great presentation, you need to feel confident when presenting.

Firstly, You can rest assured that after creating a PowerPoint presentation in Visme, your design will be professional and engaging for your crowd, but now it’s up to you.

You need to be as engaging and exciting as your presentation is, so don’t wait until the last minute to practice your public speaking. Rehearsing your slideshow presentation will simplify the public speaking process and things will go much better if you practice.

Having a bulleted list next to you so you stay on track and making eye contact with your audience will help them pay attention, and will make a good presentation an excellent one.

The more you practice, the more comfortable you’ll be with your presentation. So make sure to run through it a few times and you’ll be good to go.

Ready to Level Up Your Presentations?

The best way you can create a powerful Microsoft PowerPoint presentation is by using a tool that isn’t necessarily PowerPoint.

Visme is an all-in-one design tool that will aid you in not only creating slideshows but any other type of visual content that you need, such as infographics, social media posts and documents.

Give Visme a go and create a free account today . You might become addicted to its awesomeness, so use it at your own risk!

We know that after reading all these tips, your presentation skills have gone through the roof. You’re practically a master slide-maker by now.

If want even more information and tips that can help you create modern PowerPoint designs, you can check out some of our tutorials on our YouTube channel .

We hope this article was helpful to you and we wish you the best of luck on your upcoming presentation. We know you’re going to smash it!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

We have received lots of questions regarding PowerPoint presentations and we want to make sure you get the answers you're looking for.

So let’s dive into your questions.

Q1. What is the 10-20-30 Rule of PowerPoint?

The 10 20 30 Rule of PowerPoint suggests that each presentation should have 10 slides, shouldn’t last any more than 20 minutes in total and all fonts should be at least 30 points or larger.

This is a great rule of thumb to keep in mind when creating a PowerPoint presentation.

Q2. What is the 5 by 5 rule in PowerPoint?

The 5 by 5 rule was put in place to help keep your audience from feeling overwhelmed by text.

The text on each slide should be short and to the point and have no more than five words per line and no more than five lines of text per slide.

Q3. How do you make a good PowerPoint presentation?

A good PowerPoint presentation is created in a great design tool like Visme.

Choose an engaging template, know your main points, use engaging images and animations, and drive home your main points by practicing presenting your presentation before going public with it.

Q4. What makes an effective PowerPoint presentation?

You can create an effective PowerPoint presentation by using no more than 10 slides, not overwhelming your audience with big chunks of text, having all your design elements aligned, using a great template, knowing your main points and driving them points home with a great closing argument.

Q5. What are the advantages of PowerPoint templates?

Some of the advantages to using PowerPoint templates are that you get professionally designed slideshows without having to know how to design and you can quickly copy and paste your text into the text boxes already set up for you.

But you don’t have to use PowerPoint to create PowerPoint presentations. You can use a design tool like Visme to create amazing PowerPoint Presentations.

Q6. How to make a PowerPoint presentation attractive?

One powerful way you can make your PowerPoint presentation attractive is by using high-quality visuals. This includes having high-quality images, videos, stickers, transitions, animations and more.

One easy way you can do this is by using a Visme PowerPoint presentation PowerPoint and customizing it to suit your needs.

Q7. What should a PowerPoint presentation include?

A good PowerPoint presentation should include about 10 slides full of useful information, engaging visuals, interactive elements and high-quality images among other important things.

You text should be clear and easy to read, the images shouldn’t be blurry, your main points need to be easy to spot as soon as you open the slide and you should include seamless transitions.

Q8. What’s the best alternative to PowerPoint?

The best alternative to PowerPoint in our opinion is Visme.

Visme is a presentation maker, but it's also much more than that. You can create animated slideshows, documents, infographics, social media posts, videos, and more quickly and easily.

Unlike other tools, Visme gives you the most value for your money. You can also tap into features like data visualization, brand management, team collaboration, customizable animated assets like illustrations, icons and characters, and much more.

Ready to get started? Sign up for a free Visme account today and take it for a test drive for as long as you like.

Create beautiful presentations faster with Visme.

Trusted by leading brands

Recommended content for you:

Create Stunning Content!

Design visual brand experiences for your business whether you are a seasoned designer or a total novice.

About the Author

I’m Heleana and I’m a content creator here at Visme. My passion is to help people find the information they’re looking for in the most fun and enjoyable way possible. Let’s make information beautiful.

Home Blog Presentation Ideas How to Become Great in Public Speaking: Presenting Best Practices

How to Become Great in Public Speaking: Presenting Best Practices

As the popular lore tells: you can talk your way into success. Indeed, great public speakers often hold top corporate positions, lead the nations, and rally others to take joint action. But what if talking isn’t your forte, especially when it comes to doing so in front of large audiences? In that case, you’ll benefit a lot from the public speaking tips and tricks we showcase in this post! 

What is Public Speaking? 

In the simplest terms, public speaking is the art of effective oral communication with one person or many. We talk to the public anytime we engage in a discussion with someone else.  

Everyone knows how to communicate with others and do so in front of bigger groups e.g. at work. Far fewer, feel confident with delivering persuasive speeches or doing public presentations at conferences, virtual events, or even in the boardroom full of important stakeholders. 

But we also know how great public speakers look and act. They are confident and inspiring, can “plant” ideas into other’s heads, and inspire action. 

The Benefits of Public Speaking 

Being a great public speaker gives you several major advantages in personal and professional areas: 

• Higher level of verbal and nonverbal communication skills
• Better critical thinking and analysis abilities
• Leeway into leadership positions 
• Personal brand development
• More productive networking 

Ultimately, being good at public speaking helps you get more comfortable in group settings and draw the spotlight towards yourself. Talented public speakers can connect better with new people through charismatic presentations and persuasive talks. This, in turn, opens up an array of new opportunities — be it making more friends or raising funds for your project.

Different Types of Public Speaking 

As mentioned already, public speaking refers both to our day-day two-way exchanges with others and public presentations to an audience. 

In the case of the latter, public speeches can be classified as: 

Extemporaneous speeches

Pre-written speeches and practiced ahead of time. Usually, a speaker will rely on aids such as notes, presentation slides, or an outline when delivering the speech. Example : Conference talks. 

Impromptu speeches

Spur of the moment speeches, delivered without any preparation, agenda, or notes. Since you are caught off guard, delivering such a speech can be pretty challenging unless you are already good at speaking in public. Example : being asked to speak up during a customer meeting.

Manuscript speeches

Word-by-word delivery of a pre-written script, usually displayed on a screen/teleprompter. In essence, you are reading your speech rather than presenting it. Example : Officials addressing the nation. 

Memorized speeches

You deliver a prepared speech from memory without any aids. Such speaking can feel gut-wrenching if you are afraid to forget your lines and don’t feel confident improvising. Careful preparation is needed. Example : Ted talks or live product presentations. 

The Fear of Public Speaking 

Despite the fact that most of us love chatting, far fewer feel comfortable talking in front of larger audiences. In fact, 75% of Americans have some level of public speaking anxiety. Many also feel frantic about going on the stage. 

The fear of public speaking is called glossophobia. It’s a recognized psychological condition with symptoms such as: 

• Accelerated heart rate
• Dizziness and lightheadedness 

So what makes us terrified of public speaking? 

Physiologists say that the above reactions are our body’s natural response to threatening situations. Our nervous system enters a hyperarousal state, activating the sense of fear. This sabotages our performance on stage. 

But what prompts us to treat public speaking as a threatening situation? Researchers found that humans perceive prolonged eye watching as an existential threat. Back in the old days, observations from a hostile tribe were a strong sign of upcoming trouble. So did a watchful eye of a predatory animal. 

This “memory” still remains imprinted subconsciously in our brain today. Thus, when we go on stage to deliver a public speech, our brain first registers the gazing audience as a threat. The brain goes into the “fight or flee” mode, prompting a reaction similar to the one we experience when facing actual danger. Most public speaking tips are aimed at helping us cope with this reaction and develop a more relaxed response to being observed. 

Also, some of us tend to get extra jittery before public speaking due to anxiety sensitivity — the fear of fear. Apart from being scared of public speaking as an act, some of us also feel stressed about how their anxiety will interfere with performing well. This leads to a cascading effect of paralysis. 

But as Dalel Carnegie wrote in the “ Art of Public Speaking, 13th Edition ” : “ If you believe you will fail, there is no hope for you. You will.”

A strong mindset is the key to taming your fear of public speaking. If regular calming exercises don’t help, try attending public speaking classes or taking individual coaching sessions. An experienced mentor can help you learn to cope with anxiety, hone your public speaking skills, and develop better confidence in front of groups. 

How to Be a Better Public Speaker: 6 Tips 

Confidence is also crucial. Whenever we are uncertain of our abilities to do good, we feel uncomfortable. So practice public talks, and practice a lot. In the words of Dale Carnegie, 

“Practice in speaking before an audience will tend to remove all fear of audiences, just as practice in swimming will lead to confidence and facility in the water. You must learn to speak by speaking.”

So, how to be a great presenter and improve your public speaking skills? Below are six research-backed public speaking techniques you should employ the next time you are preparing to deliver a speech! 

1. Nail Your Opening

The presenter’s anxiety is at highest during the first 30-60 seconds of the speaking. Once you get past that, you’ll hail more confidently through the rest of your speech. 

Hence, make sure to get a positive response from your audience from the get-go. Here are some ideas for starting a public speech: 

• Begin with the ending: use BLUF technique — bottom line upfront 
• Share a personal story to build empathy 
• Ask a rhetorical question to make the audience think 
• Provide a quote that sets the tone for your narrative 
• Project into the future to get the audience focused on outcomes 
• Use some humor to squeeze out some laughs and relax yourself 

Read more about how to start a presentation and which slides to use. 

2. Maintain Eye Contact with the Audience 

Simon Sinek, the most-viewed presenter on TED, offers this piece of advice : 

“Look at specific audience members throughout your speech. If you can, give each person that you intently look at an entire sentence or thought, without breaking your gaze. When you finish a sentence, move on to another person and keep connecting with individual people until you’re done speaking.”

By maintaining such gradual eye contact, you can build a better rapport with all audience members. Then again, it prevents your thoughts from getting scattered if you leave your gaze scanning over everyone. Also, by focusing on one person at a time, you deliberately ignore the stares from others. This helps minimize the anxiety-inducing “fight or flee” reflex. 

3. Try the “Inward, Outward, Forward” Formula For Your Speech 

The Inward, Outward, Forward format of structuring your speech is a good way to make a strong point within a short time span. It helps the listeners retain your core message and align with your way of thinking. Here’s how it works:

• Explain why you are bringing up the topic. 
• Provide evidence on what others think about it. 
• End with a solution to the stated problem.

For example, if you are doing an after-action review meeting with your team, you can first summarize the main challenge you’ve faced. Then present examples of how individuals or other teams are handling similar issues. Lastly, sum up your proposal on the follow-up steps and solutions you’d recommend trying. 

4. Use the “Commander’s Intent” Technique to Make Your Ideas Stick 

Commander’s Intent (CI) is a technique the military personnel uses to communicate the main directive. 

A CI is a brief statement, placed on top of every order, summarizing the plan’s goal and desired end results. You can apply the same tactic to highlight the main points from each section of your speech. Or to prepare accompanying slides for the presentation.

Add a CI statement to the most important slides. Then expand on the idea within your speech. Doing so will help the audience focus on the key discussion point and retain the information better. 

5. Choose the Right Pitch and Tone of Voice 

Researchers from Yale University found that a speaker’s tone of voice and pitch influences the listeners’ perception of the speaker in terms of trust and likability. Why so?

Because voice is the most effective means for conveying emotions. It’s more channeling to disguise your attitude when you talk. So if you sound unconfident, anxious, doubting, or bored, the audience will likely sense that and act accordingly. 

For that reason, many amazing public speakers undergo voice coaching. They train to project the right emotions via their voice and naturally adjust pitch and vocal tone to convey different ideas. Most strive to achieve the maximum resonance point — a resonance that infers power to your voice.

For example, if your range is 2 octaves and 4 notes respectively, this is your max resonance point. Talking at this level most of the time is optimal. 

When you need to show passion, go a note higher. Go a note or two lower if you want to project certainty or authority. 

Final Tip: Work on Your Body Language

When presenting in person, your body language will also be telling of your confidence and authority. Plus, it will shape the audience’s perception of you, just like your voice.  Hence, be sure to practice your posture and gestures too! In particular:

Don’t self-block (aka trying to shrink your body).

This means crossing arms, slouching, keeping hands in the pocket, etc. Such movements act as a barricade between you and the audience. They make you appear less trustworthy. To avoid them, hold on to the microphone or a presentation clicker. 

Practice breathing and hand gestures.

Uneven, raspy breathing will affect your pitch and tone of voice. So practice taking slow, measured breaths to pace your speech better. Take longer pauses when you want to emphasize a point.  Also, use mild hand gestures, head nods, and arm movements to engage with the audience. But don’t gesticulate too much as this will appear distractive. 

Ultimately, there are no shortcuts. Practice, practice, and then practice some more! Great public speakers aren’t born — they are self-made! 

1. Presentation Content Slides Infographic for PowerPoint

The Presentation Content Slides Infographic, is a template that provides very useful tools to create any sort of professional presentation. Customize this PowerPoint Template according to your needs.

Use This Template

Like this article? Please share

Convincing Speech, Persuasive Speech, Presentation Tips, Public Speaking, Speech Filed under Presentation Ideas

Related Articles

Filed under Presentation Ideas • August 29th, 2024

How to Make a Presentation Longer: 7 Strategies to Master

Extend your talk in style. Join us to discover how to make a presentation longer while providing a high-end experience to your audience.

Filed under Google Slides Tutorials • August 29th, 2024

How to Insert an Equation in Google Slides

Make your math-related slides stand out by learning the different methods for how to insert an equation in Google Slides.

Filed under Presentation Ideas • August 22nd, 2024

How to Write a Presentation Script

The script of a speech is a vital aspect for a presentation’s success. Join us here to learn the process of writing a presentation script.

Leave a Reply

Your current User-Agent string appears to be from an automated process, if this is incorrect, please click this link:

How-To Geek

8 tips to make the best powerpoint presentations.

Your changes have been saved

Email is sent

Email has already been sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

Microsoft Office vs. Google Docs, Sheets, Slides: Which Is Best?

Why google keep is my favorite note-taking app, your internet provider might have got hacked, quick links, table of contents, start with a goal, less is more, consider your typeface, make bullet points count, limit the use of transitions, skip text where possible, think in color, take a look from the top down, bonus: start with templates.

Slideshows are an intuitive way to share complex ideas with an audience, although they're dull and frustrating when poorly executed. Here are some tips to make your Microsoft PowerPoint presentations sing while avoiding common pitfalls.

It all starts with identifying what we're trying to achieve with the presentation. Is it informative, a showcase of data in an easy-to-understand medium? Or is it more of a pitch, something meant to persuade and convince an audience and lead them to a particular outcome?

It's here where the majority of these presentations go wrong with the inability to identify the talking points that best support our goal. Always start with a goal in mind: to entertain, to inform, or to share data in a way that's easy to understand. Use facts, figures, and images to support your conclusion while keeping structure in mind (Where are we now and where are we going?).

I've found that it's helpful to start with the ending. Once I know how to end a presentation, I know how best to get to that point. I start by identifying the takeaway---that one nugget that I want to implant before thanking everyone for their time---and I work in reverse to figure out how best to get there.

Your mileage, of course, may vary. But it's always going to be a good idea to put in the time in the beginning stages so that you aren't reworking large portions of the presentation later. And that starts with a defined goal.

A slideshow isn't supposed to include everything. It's an introduction to a topic, one that we can elaborate on with speech. Anything unnecessary is a distraction. It makes the presentation less visually appealing and less interesting, and it makes you look bad as a presenter.

This goes for text as well as images. There's nothing worse, in fact, than a series of slides where the presenter just reads them as they appear. Your audience is capable of reading, and chances are they'll be done with the slide, and browsing Reddit, long before you finish. Avoid putting the literal text on the screen, and your audience will thank you.

Related: How to Burn Your PowerPoint to DVD

Right off the bat, we're just going to come out and say that Papyrus and Comic Sans should be banned from all PowerPoint presentations, permanently. Beyond that, it's worth considering the typeface you're using and what it's saying about you, the presenter, and the presentation itself.

Consider choosing readability over aesthetics, and avoid fancy fonts that could prove to be more of a distraction than anything else. A good presentation needs two fonts: a serif and sans-serif. Use one for the headlines and one for body text, lists, and the like. Keep it simple. Veranda, Helvetica, Arial, and even Times New Roman are safe choices. Stick with the classics and it's hard to botch this one too badly.

There reaches a point where bullet points become less of a visual aid and more of a visual examination.

Bullet points should support the speaker, not overwhelm his audience. The best slides have little or no text at all, in fact. As a presenter, it's our job to talk through complex issues, but that doesn't mean that we need to highlight every talking point.

Instead, think about how you can break up large lists into three or four bullet points. Carefully consider whether you need to use more bullet points, or if you can combine multiple topics into a single point instead. And if you can't, remember that there's no one limiting the number of slides you can have in a presentation. It's always possible to break a list of 12 points down into three pages of four points each.

Animation, when used correctly, is a good idea. It breaks up slow-moving parts of a presentation and adds action to elements that require it. But it should be used judiciously.

Adding a transition that wipes left to right between every slide or that animates each bullet point in a list, for example, starts to grow taxing on those forced to endure the presentation. Viewers get bored quickly, and animations that are meant to highlight specific elements quickly become taxing.

That's not to say that you can't use animations and transitions, just that you need to pick your spots. Aim for no more than a handful of these transitions for each presentation. And use them in spots where they'll add to the demonstration, not detract from it.

Sometimes images tell a better story than text can. And as a presenter, your goal is to describe points in detail without making users do a lot of reading. In these cases, a well-designed visual, like a chart, might better convey the information you're trying to share.

The right image adds visual appeal and serves to break up longer, text-heavy sections of the presentation---but only if you're using the right images. A single high-quality image can make all the difference between a success and a dud when you're driving a specific point home.

When considering text, don't think solely in terms of bullet points and paragraphs. Tables, for example, are often unnecessary. Ask yourself whether you could present the same data in a bar or line chart instead.

Color is interesting. It evokes certain feelings and adds visual appeal to your presentation as a whole. Studies show that color also improves interest, comprehension, and retention. It should be a careful consideration, not an afterthought.

You don't have to be a graphic designer to use color well in a presentation. What I do is look for palettes I like, and then find ways to use them in the presentation. There are a number of tools for this, like Adobe Color , Coolors , and ColorHunt , just to name a few. After finding a palette you enjoy, consider how it works with the presentation you're about to give. Pastels, for example, evoke feelings of freedom and light, so they probably aren't the best choice when you're presenting quarterly earnings that missed the mark.

It's also worth mentioning that you don't need to use every color in the palette. Often, you can get by with just two or three, though you should really think through how they all work together and how readable they'll be when layered. A simple rule of thumb here is that contrast is your friend. Dark colors work well on light backgrounds, and light colors work best on dark backgrounds.

Spend some time in the Slide Sorter before you finish your presentation. By clicking the four squares at the bottom left of the presentation, you can take a look at multiple slides at once and consider how each works together. Alternatively, you can click "View" on the ribbon and select "Slide Sorter."

Are you presenting too much text at once? Move an image in. Could a series of slides benefit from a chart or summary before you move on to another point?

It's here that we have the opportunity to view the presentation from beyond the single-slide viewpoint and think in terms of how each slide fits, or if it fits at all. From this view, you can rearrange slides, add additional ones, or delete them entirely if you find that they don't advance the presentation.

The difference between a good presentation and a bad one is really all about preparation and execution. Those that respect the process and plan carefully---not only the presentation as a whole, but each slide within it---are the ones who will succeed.

This brings me to my last (half) point: When in doubt, just buy a template and use it. You can find these all over the web, though Creative Market and GraphicRiver are probably the two most popular marketplaces for this kind of thing. Not all of us are blessed with the skills needed to design and deliver an effective presentation. And while a pre-made PowerPoint template isn't going to make you a better presenter, it will ease the anxiety of creating a visually appealing slide deck.

• Microsoft Office

How to make a great presentation

Stressed about an upcoming presentation? These talks are full of helpful tips on how to get up in front of an audience and make a lasting impression.

The secret structure of great talks

The beauty of data visualization

TED's secret to great public speaking

How to speak so that people want to listen

How great leaders inspire action

• PRO Courses Guides New Tech Help Pro Expert Videos About wikiHow Pro Upgrade Sign In
• EDIT Edit this Article
• EXPLORE Tech Help Pro About Us Random Article Quizzes Request a New Article Community Dashboard This Or That Game Happiness Hub Popular Categories Arts and Entertainment Artwork Books Movies Computers and Electronics Computers Phone Skills Technology Hacks Health Men's Health Mental Health Women's Health Relationships Dating Love Relationship Issues Hobbies and Crafts Crafts Drawing Games Education & Communication Communication Skills Personal Development Studying Personal Care and Style Fashion Hair Care Personal Hygiene Youth Personal Care School Stuff Dating All Categories Arts and Entertainment Finance and Business Home and Garden Relationship Quizzes Cars & Other Vehicles Food and Entertaining Personal Care and Style Sports and Fitness Computers and Electronics Health Pets and Animals Travel Education & Communication Hobbies and Crafts Philosophy and Religion Work World Family Life Holidays and Traditions Relationships Youth
• Browse Articles
• Learn Something New
• Quizzes Hot
• Happiness Hub
• This Or That Game
• Train Your Brain
• Explore More
• Support wikiHow
• About wikiHow
• Log in / Sign up
• Computers and Electronics
• Presentation Software
• PowerPoint Presentations

Simple Steps to Make a PowerPoint Presentation

Last Updated: July 23, 2024 Fact Checked

Creating a New PowerPoint

Creating the title slide, adding a new slide, adding content to slides, adding transitions, testing and saving your presentation.

This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Darlene Antonelli, MA . Darlene Antonelli is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. Darlene has experience teaching college courses, writing technology-related articles, and working hands-on in the technology field. She earned an MA in Writing from Rowan University in 2012 and wrote her thesis on online communities and the personalities curated in such communities. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 4,341,588 times. Learn more...

Do you want to have your data in a slide show? If you have Microsoft 365, you can use PowerPoint! PowerPoint is a program that's part of the Microsoft Office suite (which you have to pay for) and is available for both Windows and Mac computers. This wikiHow teaches you how to create your own Microsoft PowerPoint presentation on a computer.

How to Make a PowerPoint Presentation

• Open the PowerPoint app, select a template and theme, then like “Create.”
• Click the text box to add your title and subtitle to create your title slide.
• Click the “Insert” tab, then “New Slide” to add another slide.
• Choose the type of slide you want to add, then add text and pictures.
• Rearrange slides by dragging them up or down in the preview box.

Things You Should Know

• Templates make it easy to create vibrant presentations no matter your skill level.
• When adding photos, you can adjust their sizes by clicking and dragging in or out from their corners.
• You can add animated transitions between slides or to individual elements like bullet points and blocks of text.

• If you don't have a Microsoft Office 365 subscription, you can use the website instead of the desktop app. Go to https://powerpoint.office.com/ to use the website version.
• You can also use the mobile app to make presentations, though it's easier to do this on a computer, which has a larger screen, a mouse, and a keyboard.

• If you don't want to use a template, just click the Blank option in the upper-left side of the page and skip to the next part.

• Skip this step if your selected template has no themes available.

• If you're creating a PowerPoint presentation for which an elaborate title slide has been requested, ignore this step.

• You can change the font and size of text used from the Home tab that's in the orange ribbon at the top of the window.

• You can also just leave this box blank if you like.

• You can also click and drag in or out one of a text box's corners to shrink or enlarge the text box.

• On a Mac, you'll click the Home tab instead. [1] X Research source

• Clicking the white slide-shaped box above this option will result in a new text slide being inserted.

• Title Slide
• Title and Content
• Section Header
• Two Content
• Content with Caption
• Picture with Caption

• Naturally, the title slide should be the first slide in your presentation, meaning that it should be the top slide in the left-hand column.

• Skip this step and the next two steps if your selected slide uses a template that doesn't have text boxes in it.

• Text boxes in PowerPoint will automatically format the bulk of your text for you (e.g., adding bullet points) based on the context of the content itself.
• You can add notes that the Presentation will not include (but you'll still be able to see them on your screen) by clicking Notes at the bottom of the slide.

• You can change the font of the selected text by clicking the current font's name and then clicking your preferred font.
• If you want to change the size of the text, click the numbered drop-down box and then click a larger or smaller number based on whether you want to enlarge or shrink the text.
• You can also change the color, bolding, italicization, underlining, and so on from here.

• Photos in particular can be enlarged or shrunk by clicking and dragging out or in one of their corners.

• Remember to keep slides uncluttered and relatively free of distractions. It's best to keep the amount of text per slide to around 33 words or less. [2] X Research source

• Slide content will animate in the order in which you assign transitions. For example, if you animate a photo on the slide and then animate the title, the photo will appear before the title.
• Make your slideshow progress automatically by setting the speed of every transition to align with your speech as well as setting each slide to Advance . [3] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source

• If you need to exit the presentation, press Esc .

• Windows - Click File , click Save , double-click This PC , select a save location, enter a name for your presentation, and click Save .
• Mac - Click File , click Save As... , enter the presentation's name in the "Save As" field, select a save location by clicking the "Where" box and clicking a folder, and click Save .

Community Q&A

• If you save your PowerPoint presentation in .pps format instead of the default .ppt format, double-clicking your PowerPoint presentation file will prompt the presentation to open directly into the slideshow view. Thanks Helpful 6 Not Helpful 0
• If you don't have Microsoft Office, you can still use Apple's Keynote program or Google Slides to create a PowerPoint presentation. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

• Your PowerPoint presentation (or some features in it) may not open in significantly older versions of PowerPoint. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 2
• Great PowerPoint presentations avoid placing too much text on one slide. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://onedrive.live.com/view.aspx?resid=DBDCE00C929AA5D8!252&ithint=file%2cpptx&app=PowerPoint&authkey=!AH4O9NxcbehqzIg
• ↑ https://www.virtualsalt.com/powerpoint.htm
• ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/set-the-timing-and-speed-of-a-transition-c3c3c66f-4cca-4821-b8b9-7de0f3f6ead1#:~:text=To%20make%20the%20slide%20advance,effect%20on%20the%20slide%20finishes .

About This Article

• Send fan mail to authors

Reader Success Stories

Artis Holland

Sep 22, 2016

Is this article up to date?

Oct 18, 2016

Jul 23, 2016

Margery Niyi

Sep 25, 2017

Jul 21, 2016

Featured Articles

Trending Articles

Watch Articles

• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• Do Not Sell or Share My Info
• Not Selling Info

wikiHow Tech Help:

Tech troubles got you down? We've got the tips you need

• SUGGESTED TOPICS
• The Magazine
• Newsletters
• Managing Yourself
• Managing Teams
• Work-life Balance
• The Big Idea
• Data & Visuals
• Reading Lists
• Case Selections
• HBR Learning
• Topic Feeds
• Account Settings
• Email Preferences

How to Make a “Good” Presentation “Great”

• Guy Kawasaki

Remember: Less is more.

A strong presentation is so much more than information pasted onto a series of slides with fancy backgrounds. Whether you’re pitching an idea, reporting market research, or sharing something else, a great presentation can give you a competitive advantage, and be a powerful tool when aiming to persuade, educate, or inspire others. Here are some unique elements that make a presentation stand out.

• Fonts: Sans Serif fonts such as Helvetica or Arial are preferred for their clean lines, which make them easy to digest at various sizes and distances. Limit the number of font styles to two: one for headings and another for body text, to avoid visual confusion or distractions.
• Colors: Colors can evoke emotions and highlight critical points, but their overuse can lead to a cluttered and confusing presentation. A limited palette of two to three main colors, complemented by a simple background, can help you draw attention to key elements without overwhelming the audience.
• Pictures: Pictures can communicate complex ideas quickly and memorably but choosing the right images is key. Images or pictures should be big (perhaps 20-25% of the page), bold, and have a clear purpose that complements the slide’s text.
• Layout: Don’t overcrowd your slides with too much information. When in doubt, adhere to the principle of simplicity, and aim for a clean and uncluttered layout with plenty of white space around text and images. Think phrases and bullets, not sentences.

As an intern or early career professional, chances are that you’ll be tasked with making or giving a presentation in the near future. Whether you’re pitching an idea, reporting market research, or sharing something else, a great presentation can give you a competitive advantage, and be a powerful tool when aiming to persuade, educate, or inspire others.

• Guy Kawasaki is the chief evangelist at Canva and was the former chief evangelist at Apple. Guy is the author of 16 books including Think Remarkable : 9 Paths to Transform Your Life and Make a Difference.

Partner Center

HUGH CULVER

Author, speaker, coach, 10 easy ways to make any powerpoint presentation awesome.

Updated to Speaking on May 3, 2023.

This post was updated in 2023.

It was 20 minutes before lunch, my client was frantically looking at the clock, and the audience was squirming. We had suffered through endless forgettable PowerPoint slides and were all hoping for a merciful end. That’s when the presenter announced, “I see I’m running out of time, so I’ll just hurry through my last 30 slides.”

We’ve all suffered through slide shows with long lists of unreadable bullets, unnecessary YouTube clips, and overuse of graphics. Instead of holding our attention and making their point even stronger, each slide distracts the audience with more content they don’t need. Bad slides are agnostic. You can use PowerPoint, Keynote, Prezi, Google Slides, or hold up a piece of paper – it’s all a distraction if you don’t do it well.

Done well, a thoughtfully prepared slide deck can be the perfect slide dish for your full meal presentation. Done poorly and your audience will feel like they made one too many trips to the buffet table. This post will help you do it well.

For the first years of my speaking career, I presented with 35mm slides. You know, the photographs framed by cardboard that got jammed in the projector? That was me – hauling out the projector, clicking in the carousel, and praying that tonight it would all work. I soon learned that the more slides I showed the less the audience listened to me. So I cut back on the slides. I also noticed that when I switched to a black screen (see #9) the audience turned all their attention to me. So I practiced fading to black whenever I told a story or had an important point to make.

How I started

When I switched to PowerPoint I suddenly had a candy shop full of treats to sweeten my presentations with. And I started making all the same mistakes again: too many slides, too much content on each slide, and too distracting. After every presentation I always do a quick debrief – what worked, what needs to change? And slowly I developed a checklist for slide presentations.

I have shared with checklist with hundreds of speakers to help put the spotlight on them. Some were designing a new speech, some were preparing for a webinar and others needed slides to back up a video presentation. In every case, this checklist made their presentation better. They sold more products, got more referrals, and, in most cases, spent a lot less time working on their slide deck.

If you’ve ever struggled to create interesting slides or worry your slides are too wordy or you have too many of them, this will help.

Here are my 10 easy ways to make any PowerPoint presentation awesome.

1. Build your slides last

This might be the most important rule on the list. Don’t build your slide deck until you build your presentation.

You could be tempted to start monkeying with slides early in your speech writing process – after all, it’s a fun way to procrastinate from all that hard thinking – don’t. Building your slide deck before you build your presentation is like building a road before you know where it’s going.

Your slides are there to ADD to a well-designed speech, not to replace it.

2. Don’t try to replace you

People come to hear you. If you are launching your service on a webinar, they want to know how this solution has helped you and whether is it right for them. If you are delivering a keynote speech or workshop, they want a glimpse into your solutions that can help move them forward in their work or in life.

Fancy transitions, superfluous video clips, and endless bullet points will get your audience’s attention, but take their attention off of you. Every time you hit the clicker the audience leaves you and goes to the screen.

Your goal for every presentation is to deliver the goods, not the slides.

3. Use a consistent theme

We are easily distracted and confused. That’s why brands always anchor advertising on their unique colors, fonts, slogan, or a jingle. They know that consistency in their brand theme builds recognition and puts more attention on the message. You should do that with your slides.

Start with a simple, white background and san serif fonts.

A consistent, simple theme helps your audience focus on the content of each slide. Watch TED talks that have gone viral to see how simple a slide theme can be, like the ones by Dan Pink The puzzle of motivation (30M views), and Shawn Achor The happy secret to better work (25M views).

4. More images, less text

Want to quickly reenergize a tired slide deck? Make your images larger ( in this post I share where to get free images ) and reduce the text size. Remember, the theme in this post is that you are the presentation, not your slides.

Your brain can process images 60,000 times faster than text. When you use images (and less text) you allow your audience to process the image without distracting them away from your powerful story, or making a critical point. Like subtle mood music in the background of a dramatic movie scene, images can augment and enhance what you are saying without stealing the show.

5. One story per slide

When I started using PowerPoint I would have 60 to 80 slides for a 60-minute speech. It was a lot of work to prepare each deck and when I was deep into the speech I would sometimes forget where I was and have to jump forward a couple of slides.

Then it became 30-35 slides and I could breathe easier, knowing that fewer clicks meant less to worry about. As my confidence grew it became 10-12 slides and each slide became a key part of storytelling or point-making—they had to earn their place.

I might use a slide as a backdrop to a story or for a short list that supports a lesson I’m delivering. Either way, it’s always on ‘story’ per slide. If I don’t need a slide, I fade to black (#9).

But, I always stick to one story per slide.

6. Reveal one bullet at a time

This is an easy one – reveal one bullet at a time. The function of bullets is to reinforce (not replace) what you are delivering. That’s why they need to be short (see the 2/4/8 rule, below). A good bullet point is complete on it’s own, but much better when combined with a live presentation of it. Here’s an example from a list of (very wordy) time management strategies:

• Infrequent visits to your Inbox give you more time for deep work
• time blocking allows you to protect time for important work
• the Pomodoro technique can help you focus with fewer distractions

A better list – like one you might use on a PowerPoint slide – would be:

• visit your Inbox less often
• block time for important work
• the Pomodoro technique helps you focus

To reveal one bullet at a time in PowerPoint, right-click on your text box, select Custom Animation > Add Entrance Effect and then choose the effect you want. In Keynote, click Animate > Build in and choose the effect you want.

7. Leave the fireworks to Disney

It’s great that you know how to turn text into flames and make images spin with the click of your mouse – but leave those fireworks to Disney. Your job is to make your content the star of the show. Every time you haul the audience’s attention away to some animation you lose a truckload of opportunity to help them.

Your slides can still be amazing and helpful, but that should always be secondary to your primary purpose of helping people. Simple transitions, clean, san serif fonts, and large, attractive graphics trump PowerPoint tricks, every time.

8. The 2/4/8 rule

When I am advising other speakers I often don’t know their topic—certainly not as well as they do. So I rely on certain rules I have developed over many years. For slide decks, I use my 2/4/8 rule. Here’s how it goes…

• about every 2 minutes I have a new slide (that’s 30 slides for a 60-minute speech),
• no more than 4 bullets per slide, and
• no more than 8 words per bullet.

Just like any recipe, you can mess with the ingredient a bit. If your content is more technical, you might need more slides. Sometimes I need 5 or 6 bullets. I use the 2/4/8 rule to remind me that slides are there to support what I have to say, not replace me.

9. Fade to black

The last time I was shopping for a car, I noticed the salesperson had a clever technique. While he asked how I liked the car and if I had any questions, he kept his sales offer face-down on the table. Because there were no other distractions, he had my full attention. And when it was time to reveal his offer, it was much more dramatic (so was the price!) Use the same technique with your slides.

When you fade to black you regain your audience’s attention. For example, after I present a solution, I’ll fade to black while I expound on how to apply that solution in my audience’s work/life. When I’m finished, I turn black off and go to the next point. Or if I’m halfway through a story I’ll fade to back before the punchline so I know I have everyone’s attention.

It’s no different than a close-up scene in a movie—the director wants you to focus only on the speaker. Note that if you are shopping for a slide remote, be sure that yours has the black screen feature.

10. When in doubt, delete

This might be the most advice I can leave you with. When in doubt, delete it.

There is a weird attraction to more. Authors add more pages thinking it makes the book more valuable. Sales people who talk too much miss the opportunity to ask for the sale. And presenters add more slides thinking it will make them look better. Wrong.

When you are doing the final edits on your slide deck, the ultimate question you should be asking about each slide is, “Will it make my speech better?” If not, dump it.

Remember, nobody will miss what isn’t there. Also fewer slides allows you more time for side stories, spontaneous thoughts or even time for Q&A.

Remember this…

I’ve said it numerous times in this post, but it’s worth repeating. You are the show, not your slides. More slides means more time your audience is not paying attention to you. Fewer (and better) slides means you have more time to build rapport, share memorable stories, explain your solutions and motivate your audience to action. You are there for a reason. Now go and deliver.

One last thing. Spend the $80 and pack a remote (with spare batteries.) Nothing’s worse than watching a speaker repeatedly lean over, hunt for the right key, and then peck away to advance the slides.

If you enjoyed this article, here is more about presentation skills:

How the experts create world-class PowerPoint Slides (and you can too) PowerPoint Primer – the only 3 slides you’ll ever need How to add video to PowerPoint and Keynote like a pro

Slide by  Nathan Anderson  on  Unsplash

Related Posts

End procrastination. Start taking action.

Get your FREE 30-page guide now.

• My Million-Dollar Lesson About Public Speaking
• Time Management is Broken—Here’s What to do Instead
• The Spiral and the Flywheel
• The magic of boring routines
• How to get started on your goals with small wins

Publish your presentation to make it public

Using OneDrive, you can make your presentation public, so someone who’s searching the web or who clicks a link can open it in their browser.

Under Share , click Get a link .

You can make it so the presentation is not public anymore by clicking Everyone Can view under Permissions , and then clicking Remove Permissions .

Need more help?

Want more options.

Explore subscription benefits, browse training courses, learn how to secure your device, and more.

Microsoft 365 subscription benefits

Microsoft 365 training

Microsoft security

Accessibility center

Communities help you ask and answer questions, give feedback, and hear from experts with rich knowledge.

Ask the Microsoft Community

Microsoft Tech Community

Windows Insiders

Microsoft 365 Insiders

Was this information helpful?

Thank you for your feedback.

How do I make accessible presentations?

View this accessible presentation guide (Google Doc) 

It is essential that our lectures and presentations are accessible to all. Accessible presentations help everyone and make it easier for your audience to better understand your message.

Requirements:

• Have adequate color contrast between your slide’s content and background color. Presentations are required to meet WCAG 2.0 AA standards (see the  color guide ). You can check your slides with WebAIM’s Contrast Checker . Avoid light colored text on a light colored background.
• Don’t rely on color alone to provide information. This is particularly important when presenting information in charts or graphs. Add extra information, like texture, shapes, or labels, to provide additional context and clarity.

Best Practices:

• Verbally describe graphics and images on your slides . Specifically describe meaningful content that is essential for understanding your presentation. It is particularly important to verbally describe charts and graphs.
• Use Plain Language . Avoid jargon, acronyms, or overcomplicated terminology where possible. This helps everyone better understand your presentation. This can be challenging in academic presentations.
• Consider your font. Use easy to read sans serif fonts, such as Arial, Calibri, Verdana etc. Make sure your font size is at least 24 points (or, better yet, 28 points).
• Make your slide deck available before your presentation . Give your audience access to your slide deck as early as possible. This is helpful for people with a variety of cognitive challenges and allows those with low vision to view text at the size they need.

How to Create Accessible Slidedecks:

• Microsoft Powerpoint
• Grackle Slides : Accessibility Checker for Google Slides 

Have more questions?

Please email [email protected] for any accessibility questions or help making your presentation more accessible.

Was this page helpful?

Tell us what you think.