THE USE AND ABUSE OF POWERPOINT IN TEACHING AND LEARNING IN THE LIFE SCIENCES:

A PERSONAL OVERVIEW

Allan M Jones
Pages 1-13 | Received 18 Jul 2003, Accepted 18 Aug 2003, Published online: 14 Dec 2015

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.3108/beej.2003.02000004#:~:text=There%20are
%20many%20reasons%20but,presentation%20in%20a%20professional%20manner.

Abstract

The use of PowerPoint for teaching presentations has considerable potential for
encouraging more professional presentations. This paper reviews the advantages and
disadvantages associated with its use in a teaching and learning context and suggests
some guidelines and pedagogical strategies that need to be considered where it is to
be used. It summarises some of the key principles of presentation that are frequently
ignored and suggests some of the approaches that need to be incorporated into good
practice in Life Science teaching and learning. Its use is often limited to an information
transmission mode and this paper emphasises that this is a very restricted pedagogical
use of a very powerful and flexible teaching and learning support tool.

Keywords:
PowerPoint, policy, strategy, pedagogy, handouts

Introduction

PowerPoint (© Microsoft Corp.) is a widely used presentation programme that

originated in the world of business but has now become commonplace in the world of
educational technology. However, its use is far from controversial in this educational
context and opinions as to its use range from highly supportive to significantly negative
(Szabo & Hastings, 2000; Lowry, 2003). One of the major problems is that its current use is
frequently limited to an information transmission mode, often with excessive content, a
usage that obscures the wider potential for diverse professional and pedagogically-
sound presentations. I have been using PowerPoint to deliver all appropriate classes since
1996, as well as delivering staff development sessions on both the programme and the
pedagogy of its use. It is my contention that it is a valuable aid to presentation providing
that its use has been carefully considered in terms of pedagogy. This paper examines
some of the key issues that must be considered at both an individual and an
organisational level.

Part of the difficulty in objectively evaluating the use of PowerPoint in education

stems directly from one of its most favourable features, namely the ease of use and the
relatively shallow learning-curve required to achieve basic-level usage. This has resulted
in, often questionable, practices within educational contexts. It particularly includes
poorly thought-out use in lectures where it becomes simply an alternative form of
presenting largely text-based material that used to be delivered using ‘old technology’
(chalk and talk): this makes little use of the new and flexible opportunities offered by use
of PowerPoint within the educational field.
 This paper provides an overview of both the benefits and the problems associated
with its use and suggests some key pedagogical decisions that should be considered
when adopting its use. It will not discuss the nature of the academic content since that
will be discipline-specific and must remain an issue for the academic staff alone. I also
wish to emphasise that I am not advocating its compulsory adoption under all
circumstances and by all staff. However, I do hope that, by providing information and
direction on best practice, I may persuade those currently contemplating its use that the
benefits, when appropriately used, far outweigh the potential negatives for both staff
and students and that it offers an excellent and powerful tool to facilitate the improved
delivery of many courses and modules.

Some Good Reasons To Use Powerpoint

So why should you consider using PowerPoint for your teaching and learning
activities? There are many reasons but the key ones include:

Appropriate use of PowerPoint can enhance the teaching and learning

experience for both staff and students

It provides encouragement and support to staff by facilitating the structuring of a

presentation in a professional manner. The templates provided have been designed to
default to good presentation criteria such as the number of lines of information per slide
and appropriate font sizes and types, etc: using the styles of the default templates can
significantly improve the clarity and structuring of a presentation. This helps to avoid the
common use of excessive text often found on overhead transparencies.

By careful mixing of media, a presentation can appeal to a number of different

learning styles and be made more stimulating. You are encouraged to incorporate more
sophisticated visual and auditory media into presentations although care is required
because of the inevitable increase in file sizes and the danger of excessive use.
Incorporation can be done, either directly from within the programme or, sometimes
more successfully, by appropriate pausing of the PowerPoint presentation and using
alternative technology (e.g. tape player or VCR). Note that this does not require
switching off either the computer system or the projector system, one of the most
common perceptions that restrict use — instead, use the ‘B’ character toggle switch
during a slide presentation to ‘blank’ the screen temporarily while using other media.

The electronic file format allows distribution and modification for/by students unable to
be present or who have impaired visual or auditory difficulties. PowerPoint comes with a
free viewer programme that can be distributed with the files so that the reader is not
required to have PowerPoint on their personal system. However, if they do have it, they
are able to perform a greater variety of manipulations on the PowerPoint file provided,
such as editing the text, etc before printing it out. Most Virtual Learning Environments
(VLEs) are now capable of including PowerPoint presentations if required.

Editing of each PowerPoint file is very easy with minimal associated reprinting
costs. This ease and potential immediacy of revision facilitates reflection upon, and
evolution of, teaching materials by staff whilst minimising the consequences of any
revision in terms of either workload or time. This was a major reason for my own extensive
switch of teaching materials to PowerPoint, even when the end-product was required to
be an overhead projection slide. I also find that I can add a new slide whilst in a lecture
if so required: I often use this method to present notices or create a record of the
outcome when collecting information from the class so that it can subsequently be made
available to the entire class.

The printing of handouts in a variety of formats is facilitated with a number of

embedded options to print either the slides themselves (useful if there are graphics
involved) or the text from the slides (outlines). The outlines may be saved as .rtf format
and opened for further modification within an appropriate word processor. This allows
the easy development of more sophisticated handouts based on the PowerPoint
presentation but with extra interactive elements such as readings and questions added
where appropriate.

Extra information can be ‘hidden’ within files for answering predicted questions or
for providing feedback to students using the file in a distance-learning context. The use
of speakers notes as an automated feedback system was described by Mottley
(2003) who also describes other ways to use PowerPoint for development of self-study
materials

The portability of the files, especially on compact disks (CDs) with their large
capacity, allows presentations to be given wherever the technology is available or
distributed where appropriate. Presentations can also be set up to run automatically if
required e.g. as demonstrations/instructions within a laboratory

COMMON BARRIERS TO ITS USE

Staff are often reluctant to invest the time required to convert materials to an
appropriate PowerPoint format. Those that do convert current materials may not do so
in a very acceptable way, simply using PowerPoint as an alternative way to provide text-
based notes. Appropriate use of PowerPoint involves using its features to enhance the
teaching and learning experience and this is daunting to some who do not wish to spend
significant time developing their understanding of the pedagogical opportunities and
limitations offered by PowerPoint. Most of those who do decide to develop their use of
this technology, however, find that for a relatively short-term investment of time at the
start, they receive a long-term benefit in both the quality of their presentations and in the
ease of maintaining and updating their teaching. Seen as an investment for the future,
using PowerPoint is a very positive activity.

The learning curve for the technology is often perceived to be too steep. There is
always a reluctance, particularly among the older and less technology-orientated staff,
to adopt the new technologies: the adage that “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks”
is an appropriate perception for some. However, there is no absolute requirement for all
to use this technology, simply an opportunity for those who are so inclined to become
involved in this new form of delivery of material. Experience from running staff
development sessions aimed at developing appropriate PowerPoint skills, using both
hands-on and seminar formats, suggests that it is actually a remarkably easy process
compared to learning to use some of the other, commonly used software frequently
found on modern computer systems.

There may be a shortage of the key technological elements required, namely

computers, the PowerPoint programme and the delivery technology, particularly the
computer projector system. This is a significant resource issue for many institutes.
Equipping lecture rooms with the technology is becoming increasingly common but it is
still a problem for many. However, even using PowerPoint to create transparencies is still
an important advance on the common practice of using a word processor for this
purpose and allows easy transference to electronic distribution and presentation
methods when this becomes available within an organisation.

There are, of course, several risk factors associated with using the technology that
make some reluctant to commit to its use, the main ones being:

a. Equipment failure: refusal of any component of the system to work as

expected. Bulb failure in the projector is rare but possible. The solution here is
to have alternative activities, etc prepared.

b. File corruption caused by magnetic or physical damage so that the

presentation will not run. Best countered by having alternative media files
available. CDs are a fairly robust medium, unaffected by magnetic fields, etc.

c. Incompatible media: arriving and finding your files are incompatible with the
system available. Best solution is to be aware of the systems you plan to use or
carry your own laptop.

d. Lack of appropriate training in both the programme and the technology. This
is a significant problem in many institutes but is beyond the topic of this paper.
I favour departmentally-orientated staff development activities where both
seminars and hands-on sessions can be very successful.

THE PEDAGOGICAL ISSUES: HOW SHOULD WE USE IT?

The use of PowerPoint has caused much debate since its increasing use has
corresponded with a period when attendance at lectures has declined noticeably
throughout Higher Education, largely independent of discipline or institution. This has led
to some implicating the availability of PowerPoint files to the student population in this
decline. However, it is evident from the widespread observations that courses not using
PowerPoint have suffered similar declines in attendance to those that do use it, that the
problem is not specific to the technology. It is much more closely related to the quality
of lectures in general and more general difficulties encountered by the student
population such as having to undertake paid term-time employments. Where PowerPoint
is considered a negative factor, it is usually as a result of the ‘misuse’ of the technology
through inappropriate pedagogical approaches. So how should it be used? The
following is a review of some of the key issues that need to be resolved before PowerPoint
can be used optimally within a course/module.
 A key issue is ‘when’ it can be used. ‘When’ may be a curriculum issue that is
discipline dependent or it may be a resource issue in terms of using in computer
projection mode. However, its wider adoption for the production of acetate overheads,
even when computer projection mode is restricted, would unify the presentations
strategy and produce files/materials that are ready for the projection technology once
it becomes available. Even if delivery is by overhead, it would be sensible to produce
PowerPoint files as a student resource that can be distributed or adapted for disability
requirements. They are normally compatible with VLEs such as BlackBoard and webCT so
that an overhead presentation can usefully be provided in PowerPoint format.

In terms of its use within the curriculum, there are many potential options available,
limited only by the nature of the subject and the creativity of the user (e.g. Mills 2003).
Clearly it is most commonly used in lecture/seminar situations, often largely in information
transmission mode. Here the potential improvements in structure and clarity, especially
when appropriate graphics are used, are very significant positives although there are
dangers too: such presentations can e.g. become gimmicky; overloaded with material
and effects; encourage students to be passive during lectures; be delivered too quickly,
etc. The linear structuring typical of many lectures can be made more flexible by using
hyperlinking options, both within and outwith the PowerPoint presentation, and by using
the methods for jumping to particular slides that are not part of the linear sequence. Non-
linear use of PowerPoint, however, is mainly a pedagogical issue that PowerPoint can be
adapted to provide.

THERE ARE DIVERSE WAYS THAT IT CAN BE USED, EVEN DURING LECTURES AND SEMINARS,
INCLUDING:

a. delivering automated instructional protocols in laboratory sessions

b. gathering the outcomes of discussions and polls during class activities
c. providing tests and options for consideration during class sessions
d. question and answer sessions
e. interacting with web sites and information
f. provision of self-study sessions with feedback after the class activity e.g. Mottley
(2003)
g. requiring student presentations (group or individual)
h. building complex visuals, with or without animation

So familiarisation with the technology provides a whole range of pedagogical

options (Forsyth et al, 1995: Maier et al, 1998) that can be incorporated in the curriculum
to facilitate learning by those with different learning styles. It should, if integrated and
used properly, encourage and support more professional delivery of teaching and
learning materials and thus facilitate student learning.

Perhaps the most significant potential negative effect, especially where

‘complete’ presentations are made available to students, is the danger of encouraging
students to sit passively through the session since they may perceive that they have ‘got
the notes’. This is a particular risk where PowerPoint presentations are the primary
teaching medium in, for example, distance learning situations. It is also true where ‘full’
handouts are provided for lectures/seminars and in both cases, it represents poor
pedagogical practice since all presentations should require some active participation
by the students. The development of note-taking skills is a vital transferable skill and
careful use of PowerPoint can encourage this by, for example, providing students with
only outline structures that require annotation or handouts that are ‘interactive’ as
suggested by Race (1999). There are good reasons to encourage students to listen to a
presentation rather than spend all their time writing notes but totally passive behaviour
(listening but not taking notes) does not encourage processing and gaining ownership of
information: a sensible balance is required. It is correctly argued that a ‘chalk and talk’
presentation slows the lecturer down, allowing students to catch up with notes and even
provides time for students to think, but all of this is equally possible within a pedagogically-
sound PowerPoint presentation.

CREATING A SUCCESSFUL PRESENTATION

There are diverse teaching and learning contexts in which PowerPoint can be
used for presentations but the key general requirements are summarised below.

a. Plan your presentation structure carefully and according to the general rules
of presentations. The key to a successful presentation/lecture is to have a clear
structure and generally not more than five key topic areas.

b. Know the level at which the presentation is aimed and develop the content for
this level

c. Do not present too much textual material on each slide and avoid simply
reading out what is on the slide: provide mainly structural headings and sub-
headings around which the bulk of the verbal presentation takes place so that
students still require to be active and take notes of detail, etc

d. Make sure that you speak at a normal pace and do not allow the use of
PowerPoint to deliver material too quickly: this is one of the most commonly
encountered problems when converting to using PowerPoint.

e. Utilise the visual and other media opportunities offered to enhance your
presentation whenever possible but be careful to avoid excessive use of colour
effects, animation effects, transition effects, sound effects, etc.

SOME KEY POINTS RELATING TO DESIGNING POWERPOINT PRESENTATIONS ARE GIVEN

BELOW:

a. Try to avoid having more than 6 lines of text per slide and make them primarily
headings or subheadings.

b. Remember that a picture can be worth a thousand words (Beakes, 2003) — use
graphics to enhance your presentation. Consider how you will make such
diagrams available to the students (time to copy during presentation,
handouts, files, etc) but be aware of copyright limitations on non-original
material.
 c. Try to avoid using red and green combinations for emphasis — the most
common form of colour blindness prevents separation of reds and greens.

d. Consider introducing lines of text one at a time, dimming the previous lines as
the new line is introduced: this facilitates concentration on the current item.
Putting the full slide up can result in the audience reading ahead and not
listening to what is being currently discussed. This facility is accessed within the
custom animation option.

e. Standardise on a form of animated text entry that is straightforward: I use ‘wipe

right’ since I consider that it mimics the normal entry of text in a wordprocessor
and feels natural, at least for those from most western countries.

f. Use a Sans Serif font such as Arial rather than a Serif font such as Times New
Roman: typographical texts recommend this as being easier to read on a
poster or presentation slide. If you want a more casual font, Comic Sans is a
popular alternative. For reading from paper handouts, etc, a Serif font is
recommended.

g. Do not use more than two text colours in a presentation unless there are
particular reasons for doing so.

h. Consider whether to use a dark or a light background for the presentation. Dark
backgrounds may not work well if the room is not fairly dark. Remember too
that the darker the room has to be, the more likely the audience are to find it
hard to stay awake!

i. Bear in mind that students with dyslexia often find high contrast between text
and background (such as black text on white background) very difficult to
read (http://www.essex.ac.uk/psychology/overlays/). Consider standardising
on reduced contrast combinations (e.g. yellow text on dark blue background)
for that reason.

The mechanics of using the programme are well dealt with both through the help
options that are included with the programme and through texts such as that of Wempen
(1999)

THE PROBLEMS WITH CONTENT

The content of a presentation is clearly a very individual and discipline-specific

matter beyond the remit of this paper but there are well-accepted general guidelines
(e.g. Race 1999; McCarthy & Hatcher); Presenters University) for presentations that are
equally valid for PowerPoint usage. The main ones include:

a. Use educationally appropriate design templates whenever possible and adopt

their predetermined formats unless there is good reason to vary them: sites such
as Presenters University provide free collections of such templates.
Alternatively, create your own templates but use the design templates as a
 model. If you have a corporate style template, consider whether it should be
used for external presentations only — it can result in very monotonous
presentations if the same style is used for all teaching material. I use a
customised style for each module that I teach.

b. Utilise the options for headers and footers to include at least the name of the
presenter/course designation and the slide number on each slide to provide
easy navigation by students within their own notes

c. Standardize the positions of elements, colours used (keep to a minimum) and

font styles within a presentation

d. Include only necessary information: use headings and sub-headings mainly to

provide a clear structure whilst leaving note-taking tasks to ensure students are
active during the session.

e. Restrict the number of key topics to no more than 5 per 50 minute presentation.

f. Be consistent and minimalist with effects, transitions and animation. Consider

focusing attention on the current line by using animated entry followed by use
of the dimming option.

g. Do not use too many slides. An average of 15 – 20 per 50 minute presentation

is a good guideline if using design template rules. You can put extra ones in
providing they are mainly illustrative in nature e.g. some photographs purely
for illustration and not requiring detailed descriptive support

h. Provide good contextual material during the introduction and make sure that
you have time to conclude the session appropriately. For largely information
transmission sessions, use the adage “Tell them what you are going to tell them,
tell them, then tell them what you have told them”: it is a well established
strategy in a learning context.

i. Generally use no more than 6 lines on a slide, excluding a heading, and avoid
long sentences

j. Use a font and a font size that is appropriate and clear. Arial is recommended
for clarity whilst I use Comic Sans in less formal presentations. Do not use
gimmicky fonts and do not mix fonts unless it is for a good reason e.g.
presenting quotes.

k. Do not use capitals except for occasional emphasis — they are harder to read
than lower-case letters

l. Use graphics where appropriate but do not overuse them. No more than 2
graphics per slide is a good general rule. It is perfectly valid to continue to mix
media when using PowerPoint. The projector does not have to be switched off
when another device needs to use the same screen: while presenting a slide
 show, the B key becomes a toggle switch that blanks the screen to allow other
media to use it! Appropriate graphics include photographs, screen-shots

CLIPART, WEB IMAGES AND DIAGRAMS

a. Use sound and video from within PowerPoint very sparingly: sound rarely adds
anything and sound effects can become very irritating whilst video clips are
very demanding on the storage media. Video is usually better when run from
a dedicated video player unless you have a very high-specification system.

b. Always remember the requirements of accessibility to disabled students. This is

particularly relevant in the areas of font size (needs to be large for visually
impaired students) and choice of colours of both the font and background
(red-green colour blindness is common and 40% of dyslexics are colour-
contrast sensitive). One of the benefits of using PowerPoint is that the files can
be used as a resource that is easily adapted for use by disabled students.

THE MOST COMMON ABUSES

The most common abuses in PowerPoint use for teaching and learning include:

a. Including excessive detail so that students need not be active (or even present
if files are made available) during delivery.

b. Slides are visually poor and/or boring or even over the top — this is particularly
the case when reds and greens dominate

c. Too much text is put on a slide detracting from its legibility.

d. Excessive use of graphics—just because you can

e. Irritating noises and slide transitions.

f. Inappropriate use of multimedia options.

g. Content often unmodified from an earlier non-PowerPoint presentation thus

failing to make use of the advantages offered — the 50 slides of text-only
presentation is doomed to fail

h. Tendency to go too fast is common simply because of the ease of delivery of

the material

i. Not making plans for coping in event of technological failure e.g. backup
overheads (expensive) or alternative activities, etc

These negative aspects are easily avoided by training and reflecting upon your
approach to teaching and learning.
 14 POWERPOINT PRESENTATION TIPS TO MAKE MORE CREATIVE SLIDESHOWS
Written by Jamie Cartwright @cart_writing
https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/easy-powerpoint-design-tricks-ht

Even if my spoken presentation is well rehearsed, a bad visual experience

can ruin it for the audience. Expertise means nothing without a good presentation
to back it up. For starters, grab your collection of free PowerPoint
templates below, and use the tips that follow to perfect your next presentation.

No matter your topic, successful PowerPoints depend on three main

factors: your command of PowerPoint's design tools, your attention to
presentation processes, and your devotion to consistent style. Here are some
simple tips to help you start mastering each of those factors, and don't forget to
check out the additional resources at the bottom of this post.

HOW TO MAKE A POWERPOINT SLIDE

a. Open Microsoft PowerPoint.

b. If a page with templates doesn't automatically open, go to "File" at the
top left of your screen and click "New Presentation".
c. To use a template, either click the "Design" tab or go to "File" again and
click "New from Template".
d. Insert a new slide by clicking on the "Home" tab and then the "New Slide"
button.
e. Consider what content you want to put on the slide, including heading,
text, and imagery.
f. Keep the amount of text under 6-8 lines (or 30 words) at a minimum of
size 24 pt.
g. Add images by clicking "Insert" and clicking the "Picture" icon.
h. Add other elements by using features in the "Home" and "Insert" tabs on
the top ribbon.
i. Play around with the layout by dragging elements around with your
mouse.

HOW TO MAKE A POWERPOINT PRESENTATION

A presentation is made up of multiple slides, and now that you know how
to make one, you can delve deeper into PowerPoint's capabilities.

a. Open a blank presentation again or start from one you've already

created.
If you've already created a presentation, double click the icon to
open the existing file. Otherwise, open Microsoft PowerPoint, click
 "File" in the top left corner, and click "New Presentation." From
there, you can follow the prompts to set up a new presentation.

b. Choose a "theme" or create your own.

Microsoft offers built-in themes and color variations to help you
design your slides with a cohesive look. To choose from these pre-
built themes, choose the "File" tab again, select "New", choose
one of the options, and click "Create."

Otherwise, you can use PowerPoint elements, your design sense,

and your brand's color palette to make your own "theme."

c. Create a variety of slides for different purposes.

You don't want to present the same exact slide, just with different
content on it. This would bore your audience. Ensure that you
create multiple variations, accommodating some of the common
uses for slides. At minimum, you'll need:
1. A title slide
2. An agenda or table of contents slide
3. A slide that introduces the speaker
4. Various content slides (create different layouts
considering what kind of multimedia you'll use)

d. Use the Duplicate Slides feature to save you time.

There's no reason to create these designs over and over again.
Now that you have a few to draw from, you can simply duplicate
them before inputting your content. Here's how to do that:

On the left pane, right click the thumbnail of the slide you want to
duplicate. Choose "Duplicate Slide" from the pop-up menu.

This will automatically add a copy of this slide to the presentation.

From there, you can customize it for your needs.

e. Add transitions to your slides (optional).

Done well, transitions can add a little bit of movement and
showmanship to your presentation. PowerPoint has several
transitions built in for you to choose from.

To access them, select the "Transitions" tab from the top ribbon.
From there, you can select a transition for it to preview on your
screen. To customize it further, click "Effect Options" and play with
the features to find something that suits your liking. To remove a
transition, select "Transitions" and click "None."
f. Add animations to your slides (optional).
Like transitions, animations can add movement, reveal
information, and help you underscore the points you want to hit
during your speech. To animate an element, follow these steps:

Select the element you want animated by clicking on it. Choose

"Animations" from the top ribbon.

You'll have the option to choose from several effects displayed in

the ribbon. Clicking on one will give you a preview.

To customize the animation, select "Effect Options." To remove an

animation, click "None" in the ribbon.

Some of the ways to customize animations include:

1. On Click
2. With Previous
3. After Previous
4. Duration
5. Delay

These describe how you want the effect to behave, so play

around with them until you find an effect that suits your liking.

You'll also have the option to move animations around as you edit
your slides with the "Reorder Animation" function in the top ribbon.

g. Save your presentation.

Click "File" and "Save", making sure to specify which folder or
destination you want your PowerPoint to be stored.

h. Run your presentation.

It's always good to do a trial run to ensure that your slides are set
up properly and your animations fire they way you expect them
to.

To present your PowerPoint, go to the "Slide Show" tab and click

"Play from Start". The slide will cover your whole screen, blocking
out your desktop and PowerPoint software. This is so your
audience (in this case, you for the trial run) is solely focused on the
visual elements of your presentation.
 i. Advance the slides.
When you're done with one slide and want to show the next in
your sequence, click your mouse in presentation mode. This will
advance the slide.

POWERPOINT PRESENTATION TIPS

a. Don’t let PowerPoint decide how you use PowerPoint.

Microsoft wanted to provide PowerPoint users with a lot of tools.
But this does not mean you should use them all. Here are some
key things to look out for:

Make sure that preset PPT themes complement your needs before
you adopt them.

Try to get away from using Microsoft Office’s default fonts, Calibri
and Cambria. Using these two typefaces can make the
presentation seem underwhelming.

Professionals should never use PPT’s action sounds. (Please

consider your audience above personal preference).

PowerPoint makes bulleting automatic, but ask yourself: Are

bullets actually appropriate for what you need to do? Sometimes
they are, but not always.

Recent PPT defaults include a small shadow on all shapes.

Remove this shadow if it's not actually needed. Also, don’t leave
shapes in their default blue.

b. Create custom slide sizes.

 While you usually can get away with the default slide size for most
presentations, you may need to adjust it for larger presentations
on weirdly sized displays. If you need to do that, here's how.

In the top-left corner, choose "File." Select "Page Setup."

Type the height and width of the background you'd like, and click
"OK." A dialogue box will appear. Click "OK" again. Your
background is resized!

Tip: Resize your slides before you add any objects to them or the
dimensions of your objects will become skewed.

c. Edit your slide template design.

Often, it's much easier to edit your PowerPoint template before you
start -- this way, you don't have design each slide by hand. Here's
how you do that.

Select "Themes" in the top navigation.

In the far right, click "Edit Master," then "Slide Master."

Make any changes you like, then click "Close Master." All current and
future slides in that presentation will use that template.
d. Write text with your audience in mind.

A significant part of a
PowerPoint's content is text.
Great copy can make or break
your presentation, so
evaluating your written work
from a few different angles
could make you seem more
persuasive. Thinking about how
your text is received
differentiates good presenters
from the best.

Many people underestimate the influence of typeface, but choosing

the right font is important -- the perception of your font type could
influence your audience's impression of you. The right font is an
opportunity to convey consistent brand personality and
professionalism.

Some fonts are seen as clean and professional, but this doesn't mean
they're boring. A common mistake is thinking your font isn't "exciting"
enough, which could lead you to choose a font that distracts from
your overall message.

That said, you can still use fun and eccentric fonts -- in moderation.
Offsetting a fun font or large letters with something more professional
can create an engaging presentation. Above all, be sure you're
consistent so your presentation looks the same throughout each slide,
so your audience doesn't become distracted by too many disparate
fonts.

e. Make sure all of your objects are properly aligned.

Having properly aligned objects on your slide is the key to making it

look polished and professional. You can manually try to line up your
images ... but we all know how that typically works out. You're trying
to make sure all of your objects hang out in the middle of your slide,
but when you drag them there, it still doesn't look quite right. Get rid
of your guessing game and let PowerPoint work its magic with this
trick.
 How to align multiple
objects:

Select all objects by

holding down "Shift" and
clicking on all of them.

Select "Arrange" in the

top options bar, then
choose "Align or
Distribute."

Choose the type of

alignment you'd like.

How to align objects to the slide:

Select all objects by holding down "Shift" and clicking on all of them.

Select "Arrange" in the top options bar, then choose "Align or Distribute."

Select "Align to Slide."

Select "Arrange" in the top options bar again, then choose "Align or Distribute."

Choose the type of alignment you'd like.

f. Use "Format Menus" to better control your objects' designs.

Format menus allow you to do fine adjustments that otherwise seem

impossible.

To do this, right click on an object and select the "Format" option.

Here, you can fine-tune shadows, adjust shape measurements,
create reflections, and much more. The menu that will pop up looks
like this:

Although the main options can be found on PowerPoint’s format

toolbars, look for complete control in the format window menu.
Other examples of options available include:

Adjusting text inside a

shape.

Creating a natural
perspective shadow
behind an object.

Recoloring photos
manually and with
automatic options.
g. Take advantage of PowerPoint's shapes.

Many users don’t realize how flexible PowerPoint’s shape tools have
become. In combination with the expanded format options released
by Microsoft in 2010, the potential for good design with shapes is
readily available. PowerPoint provides the user with a bunch of great
shape options beyond the traditional rectangle, oval, and rounded
rectangle patterns, unlike even professional design programs like
Adobe Creative Suite or Quark.

Today’s shapes include a highly functional Smart Shapes function,

which enables you to create diagrams and flow charts in no time.
These tools are especially valuable when you consider that
PowerPoint is a visual medium. Paragraphing and bullet lists are
boring -- you can use shapes to help express your message more
clearly.

h. Create custom shapes.

When you create a shape, right click and press "Edit Points." By editing
points, you can create custom shapes that fit your specific need. For
instance, you can reshape arrows to fit the dimensions you like.

Another option is to combine two shapes together. When selecting

two shapes, right-click and go to the "Grouping" sub-menu to see a
variety of options.
 Combine creates a custom shape that has overlapping portions of
the two previous shapes cut out.

Union makes one completely merged shape.

Intersect builds a shape of only the overlapping sections of the two
previous shapes.

Subtract cuts out the overlapping portion of one shape from the
other. By using these tools rather than trying to edit points precisely,
you can create accurately measured custom shapes.

i. Crop images into custom shapes.

Besides creating custom shapes in your presentation, you can also

use PowerPoint to crop existing images into new shapes. Here's how
you do that:
Click on the
image and select
"Format" in the
options bar.

Choose "Crop,"
then "Mask to
Shape," and then
choose your
desired shape. Ta-
da! Custom-
shaped photos.

Learn more about

creating images
for your marketing
channels in the
video below.

j. Present websites within PowerPoint.

Tradition says that if you want to show a website in a PowerPoint, you

should just create link to the page and prompt a browser to open.
For PC users, there’s a better option.

Third party software that integrates fully into PowerPoint’s developer

tab can be used to embed a website directly into your PowerPoint
 using a normal HTML iframe. One of the best tools is LiveWeb, a third-
party software developed independently.

By using LiveWeb, you don’t have to interrupt your PowerPoint, and

your presentation will remain fluid and natural. Whether you embed
a whole webpage or just a YouTube video, this can be a high-quality
third party improvement.

k. Try Using GIFs.

GIFs are looped animated images used to communicate a mood,
idea, information, and much more. Users add GIFs to Powerpoints to
be funny or quickly demo a process. It's easy to add GIFs to your
slides. To do so, simply follow these steps:

Download and save the GIF you want.

Go to the slide you want the GIF on.
Go to the "Home" tab, and click either "Insert" or "Picture".
From the "Picture" drop-down menu, choose "Picture from File".
Navigate to where you saved your GIF and select it. Then,
choose "Insert".
To play the animated GIF, click the "Slide Show" tab and then
"Play from Current Slide".

l. Keep it simple.
PowerPoint is an excellent tool to support your presentation with
visual information, graphics, and supplemental points. This
means that your powerpoint should not be your entire presentation.
Your slides -- no matter how creative and beautiful -- shouldn't be the
star of the show. Keep your text and images clear and concise, using
them only to supplement your message and authority.

If your slides have dense and cluttered information, it will both distract
your audience and make it much more likely that you will lose their
attention. Nothing in your slides should be superfluous! Keep your
presentation persuasive by keeping it clean. There are a few ways to
do this:
Limit bullet points and text.
Avoid paragraphs and long quotes.
Maintain "white space" or "negative space".
Keep percentages, graphs, and data super basic.
m. Embed your font files.

One constant problem presenters have with PowerPoint is that fonts

seem to change when presenters move from one computer to
another. In reality, the fonts are not changing -- the presentation
computer just doesn’t have the same font files installed. If you’re
using a PC and presenting on a PC, then there is a smooth work
around for this issue. (When you involve Mac systems, the solution is a
bit rougher. See Tip #11.)

Here’s the trick: When you save your PowerPoint file (only on a PC),
you should click Save Options in the "Save As …" dialog window.
Then, select the "Embed TrueType fonts" check box and press "OK."
Now, your presentation will keep the font file and your fonts will not
change when you move computers (unless you give your
presentation on a Mac).

n. Save your slides as JPEGs.

In PowerPoint for Mac 2011, there is no option to embed fonts within

the presentation. So unless you use ubiquitous typefaces like Arial or
Tahoma, your PPT is likely going to encounter font changeson
different computers.

The most certain way of avoiding this is by saving your final

presentation as JPEGs, and then inserting these JPEGs onto your
slides. On a Mac, users can easily drag and drop the JPEGs into PPT
with fast load time. If you do not use actions in your presentation,
then this option works especially well.

If you want your presentation to appear "animated," you'll need to

do a little tinkering. All you need to do is save JPEGs of each "frame"
of the animation. Then, in your final presentation, you'll just display
those JPEGs in the order you'd like the animation to appear. While
you'll technically have several new slides in place of one original one,
your audience won't know the difference.

An important consideration: If your PPT includes a lot of JPEGs, then

the file size will increase.

o. Embed multimedia.

PowerPoint allows you to either link to video/audio files externally or

to embed the media directly in your presentation. You should embed
 these files if you can, but if you use a Mac, you cannot actually
embed the video (see note below). For PCs, two great reasons for
embedding are:

Embedding allows you to play media directly in your

presentation. It will look much more professional than switching
between windows.

Embedding also means that the file stays within the PowerPoint
presentation, so it should play normally without extra work to
only insert video or audio files once the presentation and the
containing folder

p. Bring your own hardware.

Between operating systems, PowerPoint is still a bit jumpy. Even

between differing PPT versions, things can change. One way to fix
these problems is to make sure that you have the right hardware --
so just bring along your own laptop when you're presenting.

q. Use "Presenter View."

In most presentation situations, there will be both a presenter’s screen

and the main projected display for your presentation. PowerPoint has
a great tool called Presenter View, which can be found in the "Slide
Show" tab of PowerPoint 2010 (or 2011 for Mac). Included in the
Presenter View is an area for notes, a timer/clock, and a presentation
display.

For many presenters, this tool can help unify their spoken presentation
and their visual aid. You never want to make the PowerPoint seem
like a stack of notes that you use a crutch. Use the Presenter View
option to help create a more natural presentation.

With style, design, and presentation processes under your belt, you
can do a lot more with PowerPoint than just presentations for your
clients. PowerPoint and similar slide applications are flexible tools that
should not be forgotten. With a great template, you can be on your
way to creating presentations that wow your audience.
 CREATE A PRESENTATION IN POWERPOINT
WITH POWERPOINT ON YOUR PC, MAC, OR MOBILE DEVICE:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/create-a-presentation-in-powerpoint-
422250f8-5721-4cea-92cc-202fa7b89617

a. Create presentations from scratch or a template.

1. Add text, images, art, and videos.

2. Select a professional design with PowerPoint Designer.
3. Add transitions, animations, and motion.
4. Save to OneDrive, to get to your presentations from your computer, tablet,
or phone.
5. Share and work with others, wherever they are.
6. Create a presentation
7. Open PowerPoint.
8. Select an option:
9. Select Blank Presentation to create a presentation from scratch.
10. Select one of the templates.
11. Select Take a Tour, and then select Create, to see tips for using PowerPoint.
b. Add a slide

1. Select the slide you want your new slide to follow.

2. Select Home > New Slide.
3. Select Layout and the you type want from the drop-down.

c. Add and format text

1. Place the cursor where you

want, and type.
2. Select the text, and then
select an option on
the Home tab: Font, Font
size, Bold, Italic, Underline,
...
3. To create bulleted or
numbered lists, select the
text, and then
select Bullets or Numbering.
d. Add a picture, shape, or chart

1. Select Insert.
2. To add a picture:
3. Select Picture.
4. Browse for the picture you want and select Insert.
5. To add a shape, art, or chart:
6. Select Shapes, Icons, SmartArt, or Chart.
7. Select the one you want.