how to create a powerpoint presentation step by step

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How to Make a PowerPoint Presentation (Step-by-Step)

• PowerPoint Tutorials
• Presentation Design

In this beginner’s guide, you will learn step-by-step how to make a PowerPoint presentation from scratch.

While PowerPoint is designed to be intuitive and accessible, it can be overwhelming if you’ve never gotten any training. In this article, you will learn how to move from blank slides to slides like these.

In this guide, you’ll specifically learn how to:

• Start a blank presentation
• Type text into your title slide
• Insert more slides
• Add content to slides
• Change the design
• Add animations & transitions (optional)
• Save your presentation
• Print your presentation

Additionally, you’ll learn tips and tricks to make a good PowerPoint presentation, including how to:

• Change the slide order
• Reset your layout
• Change the slide dimensions
• Use PowerPoint Designer
• Format text
• Format objects
• Play a presentation (slide show)

With this knowledge under your belt, you’ll be ready to start creating PowerPoint presentations. Moreover, you’ll have taken your skills from beginner to proficient in no time at all. I will also include links to more advanced PowerPoint topics.

Ready to start learning how to make a PowerPoint presentation?

1. Start with a Blank Document

Note: Before you open PowerPoint and start creating your presentation, make sure you’ve collected your thoughts. If you’re going to make your slides compelling, you need to spend some time brainstorming.

For help with this, see our article with tips for nailing your business presentation  here .

The first thing you’ll need to do is to open PowerPoint. When you do, you are shown the Start Menu , with the Home tab open.

This is where you can choose either a blank theme (1) or a pre-built theme (2). You can also choose to open an existing presentation (3).

For now, go ahead and click on the  Blank Presentation (1)  thumbnail.

Doing so launches a brand new and blank presentation for you to work with. Before you start adding content to your presentation, let’s first familiarize ourselves with the PowerPoint interface.

The PowerPoint interface

Here is how the program is laid out:

• The Application Header
• The Ribbon (including the Ribbon tabs)
• The Quick Access Toolbar (either above or below the Ribbon)
• The Slides Pane (slide thumbnails)

The Slide Area

The notes pane.

• The Status Bar (including the View Buttons)

Each one of these areas has options for viewing certain parts of the PowerPoint environment and formatting your presentation.

Below are the important things to know about certain elements of the PowerPoint interface.

The PowerPoint Ribbon

The Ribbon is contextual. That means that it will adapt to what you’re doing in the program.

For example, the Font, Paragraph and Drawing options are greyed out until you select something that has text in it, as in the example below (A).

Furthermore, if you start manipulating certain objects, the Ribbon will display additional tabs, as seen above (B), with more commands and features to help you work with those objects. The following objects have their own additional tabs in the Ribbon which are hidden until you select them:

• Online Pictures
• Screenshots
• Screen Recording

The Slides Pane

This is where you can preview and rearrange all the slides in your presentation.

Right-clicking on a slide  in the pane gives you additional options on the slide level that you won’t find on the Ribbon, such as  Duplicate Slide ,  Delete Slide , and  Hide Slide .

In addition, you can add sections to your presentation by  right-clicking anywhere in this Pane  and selecting  Add Section . Sections are extremely helpful in large presentations, as they allow you to organize your slides into chunks that you can then rearrange, print or display differently from other slides.

The Slide Area (A) is where you will build out your slides. Anything within the bounds of this area will be visible when you present or print your presentation.

Anything outside of this area (B) will be hidden from view. This means that you can place things here, such as instructions for each slide, without worrying about them being shown to your audience.

The  Notes Pane  is the space beneath the Slide Area where you can type in the speaker notes for each slide. It’s designed as a fast way to add and edit your slides’ talking points.

To expand your knowledge and learn more about adding, printing, and exporting your PowerPoint speaker notes, read our guide here .

Your speaker notes are visible when you print your slides using the Notes Pages option and when you use the Presenter View . To expand your knowledge and learn the ins and outs of using the Presenter View , read our guide here .

You can resize the  Notes Pane  by clicking on its edge and dragging it up or down (A). You can also minimize or reopen it by clicking on the Notes button in the Status Bar (B).

Note:  Not all text formatting displays in the Notes Pane, even though it will show up when printing your speaker notes. To learn more about printing PowerPoint with notes, read our guide here .

Now that you have a basic grasp of the PowerPoint interface at your disposal, it’s time to make your presentation.

2. Adding Content to Your PowerPoint Presentation

Notice that in the Slide Area , there are two rectangles with dotted outlines. These are called  Placeholders  and they’re set on the template in the Slide Master View .

To expand your knowledge and learn how to create a PowerPoint template of your own (which is no small task), read our guide here .

As the prompt text suggests, you can click into each placeholder and start typing text. These types of placeholder prompts are customizable too. That means that if you are using a company template, it might say something different, but the functionality is the same.

Note:  For the purposes of this example, I will create a presentation based on the content in the Starbucks 2018 Global Social Impact Report, which is available to the public on their website.

If you type in more text than there is room for, PowerPoint will automatically reduce its font size. You can stop this behavior by clicking on the  Autofit Options  icon to the left of the placeholder and selecting  Stop Fitting Text to this Placeholder .

Next, you can make formatting adjustments to your text by selecting the commands in the Font area and the  Paragraph area  of the  Home  tab of the Ribbon.

The Reset Command:  If you make any changes to your title and decide you want to go back to how it was originally, you can use the Reset button up in the Home tab .

3. Insert More Slides into Your Presentation

Now that you have your title slide filled in, it’s time to add more slides. To do that, simply go up to the  Home tab  and click on  New Slide . This inserts a new slide in your presentation right after the one you were on.

You can alternatively hit Ctrl+M on your keyboard to insert a new blank slide in PowerPoint. To expand your knowledge and learn how to best use the Ctrl+M PowerPoint shortcut, read our guide here . 

Instead of clicking the New Slide command, you can also open the New Slide dropdown to see all the slide layouts in your PowerPoint template. Depending on who created your template, your layouts in this dropdown can be radically different.

If you insert a layout and later want to change it to a different layout, you can use the Layout dropdown instead of the New Slide dropdown.

After inserting a few different slide layouts, your presentation might look like the following picture. Don’t worry that it looks blank, next we will start adding content to your presentation.

If you want to follow along exactly with me, your five slides should be as follows:

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

4. Adding Content to Your Slides

Now let’s go into each slide and start adding our content. You’ll notice some new types of placeholders.

On slide 2 we have a  Content Placeholder , which allows you to add any kind of content. That includes:

• A SmartArt graphic,
• A 3D object,
• A picture from the web,
• Or an icon.

To insert text, simply type it in or hit  Ctrl+C to Copy ( details here ) and Ctrl+V to Paste ( details here ) from elsewhere. To insert any of the other objects, click on the appropriate icon and follow the steps to insert it.

For my example, I’ll simply type in some text as you can see in the picture below.

Slides 3 and 4 only have text placeholders, so I’ll go ahead and add in my text into each one.

On slide 5 we have a Picture Placeholder . That means that the only elements that can go into it are:

• A picture from the web

To insert a picture into the picture placeholder, simply:

• Click on the  Picture  icon
• Find  a picture on your computer and select it
• Click on  Insert

Alternatively, if you already have a picture open somewhere else, you can select the placeholder and paste in (shortcut: Ctrl+V ) the picture. You can also drag the picture in from a file explorer window.

If you do not like the background of the picture you inserted onto your slide, you can remove the background here in PowerPoint. To see how to do this, read our guide here .

Placeholders aren’t the only way to add content to your slides. At any point, you can use the Insert tab to add elements to your slides.

You can use either the Title Only  or the  Blank  slide layout to create slides for content that’s different. For example, a three-layout content slide, or a single picture divider slide, as shown below.

In the first example above, I’ve inserted 6 text boxes, 3 icons, and 3 circles to create this layout. In the second example, I’ve inserted a full-sized picture and then 2 shapes and 2 text boxes.

The Reset Command:  Because these slides are built with shapes and text boxes (and not placeholders), hitting the  Reset button up in the  Home tab  won’t do anything.

That is a good thing if you don’t want your layouts to adjust. However, it does mean that it falls on you to make sure everything is aligned and positioned correctly.

For more on how to add and manipulate the different objects in PowerPoint, check out our step-by-step articles here:

• Using graphics in PowerPoint
• Inserting icons onto slides
• Adding pictures to your PowerPoint
• How to embed a video in PowerPoint
• How to add music to your presentation

Using Designer to generate more layouts ideas

If you have Office 365, your version of PowerPoint comes with a new feature called Designer (or Design Ideas). This is a feature that generates slide layout ideas for you. The coolest thing about this feature is that it uses the content you already have.

To use Designer , simply navigate to the  Design tab  in your Ribbon, and click on  Design Ideas .

Note: To learn how to use PowerPoint Designer and how to troubleshoot if it’s not working for you (it’s greyed out in the ribbon), read our guide here .

5. Change the Overall Design (optional)

When you make a PowerPoint presentation, you’ll want to think about the overall design. Now that you have some content in your presentation, you can use the Design tab to change the look and feel of your slides.

For additional help thinking through the design of your presentation,  read our guide here .

A. Picking your PowerPoint slide size

If you have PowerPoint 2013 or later, when you create a blank document in PowerPoint, you automatically start with a widescreen layout with a 16:9 ratio. These dimensions are suitable for most presentations as they match the screens of most computers and projectors.

However, you do have the option to change the dimensions.

For example, your presentation might not be presented, but instead converted into a PDF or printed and distributed. In that case, you can easily switch to the standard dimensions with a 4:3 ratio by selecting from the dropdown (A).

You can also choose a custom slide size or change the slide orientation from landscape to portrait in the Custom Slide Size dialog box (B).

To learn all about the different PowerPoint slide sizes, and some of the issues you will face when changing the slide size of a non-blank presentation,  read our guide here .

 B. Selecting a PowerPoint theme

The next thing you can do is change the theme of your presentation to a pre-built one. For a detailed explanation of what a PowerPoint theme is, and how to best use it,  read our article here .

In the beginning of this tutorial, we started with a blank presentation, which uses the default Office theme as you can see in the picture below.

That gives you the most flexibility because it has a blank background and quite simple layouts that work for most presentations. However, it also means that it’s your responsibility to enhance the design.

If you’re comfortable with this, you can stay with the default theme or create your own custom theme ( read our guide here ). But if you would rather not have to think about design, then you can choose a pre-designed theme.

Microsoft provides 46 other pre-built themes, which include slide layouts, color variants and palettes, and fonts. Each one varies quite significantly, so make sure you look through them carefully.

To select a different theme, go to the  Design tab  in the Ribbon, and click on the  dropdown arrow  in the  Themes section .

For this tutorial, let’s select the  Frame  theme and then choose the third Variant in the theme. Doing so changes the layout, colors, and fonts of your presentation.

Note: The theme dropdown area is also where you can import or save custom themes. To see my favorite places to find professional PowerPoint templates and themes (and recommendations for why I like them), read our guide here .

C. How to change a slide background in PowerPoint

The next thing to decide is how you want your background to look for the entire presentation. In the  Variants area, you can see four background options.

For this example, we want our presentation to have a dark background, so let’s select Style 3. When you do so, you’ll notice that:

• The background color automatically changes across all slides
• The color of the text on most of the slides automatically changes to white so that it’s visible on the dark background
• The colors of the objects on slides #6 and #7 also adjust, in a way we may not want (we’ll likely have to make some manual adjustments to these slides)

Note: If you want to change the slide background for just that one slide, don’t left-click the style. Instead, right-click it and select Apply to Selected Slides .

After you change the background for your entire presentation, you can easily adjust the background for an individual slide.

To change the background formatting of your slide, either:

• Right-click  your slide and select  Format Background in the right-click menu
• Navigate to the  Design tab in your Ribbon and select  Format Background

Each one of these options provides you with ways to make your backgrounds look beautiful. There are however some caveats.

Note: To expand your knowledge and learn more about PowerPoint backgrounds (including where to find free ones online), read our guide here .

Inside the Format Background pane, you can see you have the following options:

• Gradient fill
• Picture or texture fill
• Pattern fill
• Hide background

You can explore these options to find the PowerPoint background that best fits your presentation.

D. How to change your color palette in PowerPoint

Another thing you may want to adjust in your presentation, is the color scheme. In the picture below you can see the Theme Colors we are currently using for this presentation.

Each PowerPoint theme comes with its own color palette. By default, the Office theme includes the Office color palette. This affects the colors you are presented with when you format any element within your presentation (text, shapes, SmartArt, etc.).

The good news is that the colors here are easy to change. To switch color palettes, simply:

• Go to the  Design tab in the Ribbon
• In the Variants area, click on the  dropdown arrow  and select  Colors
• Select  the color palette (or theme colors) you want

You can choose among the pre-built color palettes from Office, or you can customize them to create your own.

Note:  To learn more about how to create a custom color palette, as part of a custom theme, check out this article  here .

As you build your presentation, make sure you use the colors from your theme to format objects. That way, changing the color palette adjusts all the colors in your presentation automatically.

E. How to change your fonts in PowerPoint

Just as we changed the color palette, you can do the same for the fonts.

Each PowerPoint theme comes with its own font combination. By default, the Office theme includes the Office font pairing. This affects the fonts that are automatically assigned to all text in your presentation.

The good news is that the font pairings are easy to change. To switch your Theme Fonts, simply:

• Go to the  Design tab  in the Ribbon
• Click on the  dropdown arrow  in the  Variants  area
• Select  Fonts
• Select  the font pairing you want

You can choose among the pre-built fonts from Office, or you can customize them to create your own.

If you are working with PowerPoint presentations on both Mac and PC computers, make sure you choose a safe PowerPoint font. To see a list of the safest PowerPoint fonts, read our guide here .

If you receive a PowerPoint presentation and the wrong fonts were used, you can use the Replace Fonts dialog box to change the fonts across your entire presentation. For details, read our guide here .

6. Adding Animations & Transitions (optional)

The final step to make a PowerPoint presentation compelling, is to consider using animations and transitions. These are by no means necessary to a good presentation, but they may be helpful in your situation.

A. Adding PowerPoint animations

PowerPoint has an incredibly robust animations engine designed to power your creativity. That being said, it’s also easy to get started with basic animations.

Animations are movements that you can apply to individual objects on your slide.

To add a PowerPoint animation to an element of your slide, simply:

• Select the  element
• Go to the  Animations tab in the Ribbon
• Click on the  dropdown arrow  to view your options
• Select the  animation  you want

You can add animations to multiple objects at one time by selecting them all first and then applying the animation.

B. How to preview a PowerPoint animation

There are three ways to preview a PowerPoint animation:

• Click on the Preview button in the Animations tab
• Click on the little star  next to the slide
• Play the slide in Slide Show Mode

Note:  To learn more ways to launch and run your slide show (including keyboard shortcuts),  read our guide here .

To adjust the settings of your animations, explore the options in the  Effect Options ,  Advanced Animation  and the  Timing  areas of the  Animation tab .

Note:  To see how to make objects appear and disappear in your slides by clicking a button,  read our guide here .

C. How to manage your animations in PowerPoint

The best way to manage lots of animations on your slide is with the Animation Pane . To open it, simply:

• Navigate to the  Animations tab
• Select the  Animation Pane

Inside the Animation Pane, you’ll see all of the different animations that have been applied to objects on your slide, with their numbers marked as pictured above.

Note: To see examples of advanced PowerPoint animations that we recommend using the Animation Pane for, see our tutorial here .

D. How to add transitions to your PowerPoint presentation

PowerPoint has an incredibly robust transition engine so that you can dictate how your slides change from one to the other. It is also extremely easy to add transitions to your slides.

In PowerPoint, transitions are the movements (or effects) you see as you move between two slides.

To add a transition to a PowerPoint slide, simply:

• Select the  slide
• Go to the  Transitions tab in the Ribbon
• In the Transitions to This Slide area, click on the  dropdown arrow  to view your options
• Select the  transition  you want

To adjust the settings of the transition, explore the options in the  Timing  area of the Transitions tab.

You can also add the same transition to multiple slides. To do that, select them in the  Slides Pane  and apply the transition.

E. How to preview a transition in PowerPoint

There are three ways to preview your PowerPoint transitions (just like your animations):

• Click on the Preview  button in the Transitions tab
• Click on the little star  beneath the slide number in the thumbnail view

To learn more ways to launch and run your PowerPoint presentation (start slide show mode), read our guide here .

Note:  In 2016, PowerPoint added a cool new transition, called Morph. It operates a bit differently from other transitions. For a detailed tutorial on how to use the cool Morph transition,  see our step-by-step article here .

7. Save Your PowerPoint Presentation

After you’ve built your presentation and made all the adjustments to your slides, you’ll want to save your presentation. YOu can do this several different ways.

To save a PowerPoint presentation using your Ribbon, simply:

• Navigate to the  File tab
•  Select  Save As  on the left
• Choose  where you want to save your presentation
• Name  your presentation and/or adjust your file type settings
• Click  Save

You can alternatively use the  Ctrl+S keyboard shortcut to save your presentation. I recommend using this shortcut frequently as you build your presentation to make sure you don’t lose any of your work.

This is the standard way to save a presentation. However, there may be a situation where you want to save your presentation as a different file type.

To expand your knowledge and learn how to save your PowerPoint presentation as a PDF, read our guide here .

How to save your PowerPoint presentation as a template

Once you’ve created a presentation that you like, you may want to turn it into a template. The easiest – but not technically correct – way, is to simply create a copy of your current presentation and then change the content.

But be careful! A PowerPoint template is a special type of document and it has its own parameters and behaviors.

If you’re interested in learning about how to create your own PowerPoint template from scratch, read our guide here .

8. Printing Your PowerPoint Presentation

After finishing your PowerPoint presentation, you may want to print it out on paper. Printing your slides is relatively easy.

To open the Print dialog box, you can either:

• Hit Ctrl+P on your keyboard
• Or go to the Ribbon and click on File and then Print

Inside the Print dialog box, you can choose from the various printing settings:

• Printer: Select a printer to use (or print to PDF or OneNote)
• Slides: Choose which slides you want to print
• Layout: Determine how many slides you want per page (this is where you can print the notes, outline, and handouts)
• Collated or uncollated (learn what collated printing means here )
• Color: Choose to print in color, grayscale or black & white

There are many more options for printing your PowerPoint presentations. Here are links to more in-depth articles:

• How to print multiple slides per page
• How to print your speaker notes in PowerPoint
• How to save PowerPoint as a picture presentation

So that’s how to create a PowerPoint presentation if you are brand new to it. We’ve also included a ton of links to helpful resources to boost your PowerPoint skills further.

When you are creating your presentation, it is critical to first focus on the content (what you are trying to say) before getting lost inserting and playing with elements. The clearer you are on what you want to present, the easier it will be to build it out in PowerPoint.

If you want to get access to all our best PowerPoint training courses, check out our PowerPoint Pro Membership here .

If you enjoyed this article, you can learn more about our PowerPoint training courses and other presentation resources by  visiting us here .

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How to Use Microsoft Office PowerPoint

Last Updated: August 24, 2023 Approved

This article was co-authored by Mitch Harris . Mitch Harris is a Consumer Technology Expert based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Mitch runs his own IT Consulting company called Mitch the Geek, helping individuals and businesses with home office technology, data security, remote support, and cybersecurity compliance. Mitch earned a BS in Psychology, English, and Physics and graduated Cum Laude from Northern Arizona University. wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. This article received 21 testimonials and 100% of readers who voted found it helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 705,261 times.

PowerPoint gives you the ability to create a powerful visual aid that can help make your presentation the best it can be. See Step 1 below to get started.

Creating a Presentation

• You can edit any aspect of a template, so feel free to choose one that mostly matches your vision and tweak it as you see fit.
• You can apply themes to your project at a later time after you've added content. Click the Design tab and select a theme. It will be immediately applied to your project. You can either undo it (Ctrl + Z) or revert to a blank theme if you don't like it.
• You can access templates from the File tab. Click New and then browse the available templates. You can also download additional templates from a variety of resources online.

• When adding a text box, you can click and drag to make it whatever size you'd like. You can then adjust this later by grabbing one of the corners with your cursor and then clicking and dragging again.
• You can click on any text box and start typing to begin adding text to your presentation. You can format text just as you would in Word, with formatting options available in the Home tab.

Jazzing It Up

• When you pick a transition, it will affect how that slide appears. For example, adding a transition to Slide 2 will affect how Slide 1 transitions into Slide 2. You will be able to see a preview in the slide editing window when you click each transition.
• Don't add too much transitions to your presentation. This can be distracting to the audience and keeps them from focusing on your what is the most important which is your content.

• Right-click on a blank section of your slide and select "Format Background", or click the Design tab and the click the arrow icon next to "Background" on the far right.
• Choose your fill type. You can choose a solid color, a gradient fill, a picture background, or a pattern fill. Selecting each choice will display several options for it, such as fill color, picture location, gradient settings, and more. Experiment until you find the background that fits your presentation.
• By default, the background will only be applied to your active slide. Click the "Apply to All" button to apply your background choices to every slide.
• Make sure that your text is still easily readable with the background you choose.

• Click the Insert tab. There will be a large number of options when it comes to inserting objects. Click the Picture button to insert a picture from a file on your computer. You can click the Photo Album button to insert an entire album of photos into the slide as well.
• Use the Charts button to insert easy-to-read charts that will help the audience understand your data. Once you choose your Chart type, Excel will open, allowing you to enter in your data or copy it from an existing spreadsheet.
• Use the Shapes button to insert pre-made shapes or dray your own. You can use the shapes to outline important text or create arrows and other visual indicators.
• Avoid drowning your presentation with pictures. If it looks too busy, the audience will have a hard time parsing your written information.

• To add a link, place your cursor in a text box and then click the Hyperlink button on the Insert tab. You can choose to link to a file on your computer, a webpage, an email address, or even another slide in your presentation.

• You can drag the video from the PC file or use the Insert menu to add the video. If using the menu, click the Video button in the Insert tab. You will be able to browse your computer for video files. Just make sure the video is in the right format first. PowerPoint will then put it in place in the PowerPoint.
• While it's not as straightforward, you can embed YouTube videos as well. See this guide to learn how.

Making It Memorable

• On a related note, make sure that your font choice is readable as well. Curvy and extravagant fonts may look cool, but they'll make your audience just stop caring if they can't read it.

• Get someone to help you proofread your presentation before you give it. A fresh set of eyes are much more likely to catch mistakes that you gloss over.

• See this guide for more information on giving a successful presentation, either in class or at the office.

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• ↑ http://howto.cnet.com/8301-11310_39-20104882-285/how-to-use-powerpoint-effectively/
• ↑ http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/powerpoint-help/basic-tasks-in-powerpoint-2010-HA101824346.aspx#_Toc255815788

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1. Create slideshows from templates or start from scratch. 2. Add transitions between slides. 3. Create solid or gradient backgrounds. 4. Insert images and graphics. 5. Embed video. Did this summary help you? Yes No

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You can make your next classroom or office presentation stand out by creating slides in PowerPoint, a simple process anyone can learn with a little practice.

Getting Started

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When you first open PowerPoint, you'll see a blank “slide” with space for a title and a subtitle in different boxes. You can use this page to begin creating your presentation right away. Add a title and subtitle in the boxes if you want, but you can also delete the boxes and insert a photo, graph, or another object onto the slide.

Creating Slides

Here is an example of a title in the “title” box, but instead of a subtitle, there's a photo in the subtitle box.

To create a slide like this, click inside the “Title” box and type a title. The “subtitle” box is a container for inserting text, but if you don't want a subtitle there, you can remove this box by clicking on one edge to highlight it and then hitting “delete.” To insert a picture into this space, go to "Insert" on the menu bar and select "Picture." Choose a photo from your saved photo files in locations such as "My Pictures" or a flash drive .

The picture you select will be inserted onto the slide, but it may be so big that it covers the entire slide. You can select the picture and make it smaller by moving your cursor to the edge of the photo and dragging the corners inward.

Now that you have a title slide, you can create additional presentation pages. Go to the menu bar at the top of the page and select "Insert" and "New Slide." You’ll see a new blank slide that looks a little different. The makers of PowerPoint have tried to make this easy and have guessed that you’d like to have a title and some text on your second page. That's why you see “Click to add title” and “Click to add text.”

You can type a title and text in these boxes, or you can delete them and add any type of text, photo, or object that you like by using the "Insert" command.

Bullets or Paragraph Text

A title and text have been inserted in the boxes on this slide template. The page is set up to insert text in bullet format. You can use bullets, or you can delete the bullets and type a paragraph .

If you choose to stay with the bullet format, type your text and hit "return" to make the next bullet appear.

Adding a Design

Once you have created your first couple of slides, you might want to add a design to your presentation. Type the text for your next slide, then go to "Format" on the menu bar and select "Slide Background." Your design choices will show up on the right side of the page. Click on the different designs to see how your slide will look in each format. The design you select will be applied to all your slides automatically. You can experiment with the designs and change them at any time.

Watch Your Slide Show

You can preview your slideshow at any time. To see your new creation under way, go to "View" on the menu bar and select "Slide Show." Your presentation will appear. To move from one slide to another, use the arrow keys on your computer keyboard.

To go back to design mode, hit the “Escape” key. Now that you have some experience with PowerPoint, you're ready to experiment with some of the other features of the program.

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How to Create a PowerPoint Presentation

Introduction: How to Create a PowerPoint Presentation

The possible uses of PowerPoint are countless.  A slide show can help a teacher teach a lesson, illustrate an event in history, easily display statistical information, or be used for training in corporations.  A slide show can be a valuable tool for teaching, sharing and learning.  Whether presenting at a conference or convincing your parents to get a puppy, PowerPoint presentations are useful no matter what the topic and help communicate ideas to an audience.  The invention of PowerPoint by Gaskins has saved presenters hours of painstakingly handcrafting displays, and created a professional and easy way to relay information.  The following are steps on how to create a basic PowerPoint presentation, however certain steps may vary slightly depending upon what version of PowerPoint you are using.  This tutorial is specifically using PowerPoint 2007.

Step 1: Launch the PowerPoint Program

When you launch the PowerPoint program, you may be prompted to pick what kind of document you want to create.  Choose to create a blank presentation.  If it does not ask you this, a blank presentation will automatically launch.

Step 2: Choosing a Design

The next thing you want to do is decide what design you want for the presentation. To do this, go to the 'Design' tab at the top of the page. Scroll through all the options and decide which one looks best for the presentation you want. To get a preview of what the design will look like before applying it to the presentation, hover over the design you want to preview. This design will be automatically continued throughout the rest of your presentation. Once you have more than one slide, you can add a different design for just one slide. To do this, select the slide you want to change the design on by clicking on it. It will pop-up as the big slide in the screen. Then you can right-click the design you want for this slide and select 'Apply to Selected Slide'. It will appear on that slide, but will not change the design of the other slides.

Step 3: Create Title Page

Click the first box that says 'Click to add title' and add the title of your presentation.  Click the bottom box to add your name, or any other subtitle that you choose.  Once you have your text in the boxes, you can change their font, size, color, etc. with the toolbar options at the top.  You can change the size of the text box by selecting it, and then dragging the corners of the box.  To move the text boxes, select the box, and move your arrow over the border of the box.  A four-arrow icon will appear, and clicking with this icon will allow you to move the text boxes wherever you choose.

Step 4: Add More Slides

Chances are, you are going to need more than one slide.  There are a few ways you can add more slides.  Notice that there is a separate area to the left of the screen where your first slide is located.  The first way to add a slide is to right-click the area under where your first slide is located and select 'New Slide'.  A new slide will appear.  The second way to add another slide it to click 'New Slide' in the toolbar above the slides.  This button is divided into two parts,. The top will insert a new slide with a default layout.  You can also click the bottom half of this button, which will allow you to choose what type of layout you want.  You can choose a slide with two text-boxes and a title, one text-box, only a title, and many other options.  You will see your new slide appear to the left under the first, as well become the large slide that you can edit.  The design you picked earlier will have carried over to this slide.  The design will carry over for the rest of the slides you create unless you decide to change just one, like described earlier.  The guideline layout you chose will appear, and you can then add in your information.

Step 5: Add Charts, Pictures, Graphs, Etc.

If you want to insert a chart, picture, graph, or any other graphic, click on the 'Insert' tab at the top of the window.  Here you will see buttons of all the options of what you can insert into your slide.  Click the designated box and insert what it is you want to have on that slide.  A second way you can insert pictures and graphs is when you have an empty text or image box.  Little pictures of the same options you saw in the toolbox will show up in the middle of the box, and you can click any of these to insert as well.  Once you have your chart or picture, you can add a border or edit it however you want in the 'Format' tab.

Step 6: Add Transitions

To add transitions in between your slides, click the 'Animations' tab at the top of the page.  Here you can scroll through all the options of transitions, and hover over them to see a preview.  Select the slide you want the transition applied to, and then click the transition you chose.  You can do this for every slide, selecting the same or different transitions.

Step 7: Changing the Order

Once you have all your slides made, you can change the order of the slides.  To do this, click and drag the slides from where they are to where you want them in the order.  Another possibility, which is particularly useful if you presentation is longer, is to click the 'Outline' button.  You can find this small button above the left area where all your slides are located smaller, directly to the right of the 'Slides' button.  Here you will see a list of all your slides and you can click and drag your slides to where you want them.

Step 8: Play the Presentation

Once you have all your slides completed and in the order you want, view your slideshow.  Click the 'Slide Show' tab at the top of the page and select 'From Beginning'.  You can go through your entire slideshow, and change slides by clicking or pressing the right arrow.  A shortcut to this is pressing F5.  Congratulations! You have now made a PowerPoint presentation.

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37 Comments

Question 1 year ago on Step 8

Which key combination can be used to close the presentation?

8 years ago on Introduction

You saved my life today with showing me how to do this for the first time, I thank you very much. I have one question though that I can not find the answer to on here unless I am just overlooking it all together, ...how do you save it and give it a file name? I lost everything I did as I thought it would do this feature when I closed it the same way I do in Word....uggg...

Reply 2 years ago

By the left hand side up... You'll see save icon click on it

2 years ago

Mi se pare eficient această aplicație

Question 4 years ago

I don't any answers here...only questions. How do you find the answers to these questions?

Answer 2 years ago

Philosophii

Answer 4 years ago

What do you want to know? You can try asking here, and the author or other members might know the answer. Alternately, You can see if someone in the forums knows the answer.

Question 4 years ago on Introduction

How do I actually show this power point to my students? What do I need to use to present it in the classroom? I really don't know.

Just use share screen in zoom, or use a presentor in your classroom

4 years ago

Simplified by good n easy narrative.. pretty useful

Question 3 years ago on Introduction

It seems I have the 2007 version?? Can I update to a later version? Is it possible to include videos besides photos? Thank you for your assistance. Aubrey

Yes, it is possible. I have done it before with the latest version. Good luck! :D

Question 2 years ago on Step 6

What is transition

What is transition in using PowerPoint

Question 2 years ago

How can create a slite power point

3 years ago

Question 3 years ago

I want to make a presentation on solar System I don't know how to do

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

How to Make a PowerPoint Presentation? (Step-by-Step Guide)

Have you ever been asked to give a presentation, but weren’t sure how to make a PowerPoint presentation? Knowing how to create an effective and professional PowerPoint presentation can be a useful skill for any professional.

In this article, we’ll provide a step-by-step guide on how to make a PowerPoint presentation and ensure it is engaging and effective.

We will cover topics such as determining the purpose and desired outcome, gathering and organizing the content, designing the slides, incorporating visuals, selecting a font, practicing the presentation, and finally finalizing the presentation.

Read on to learn how to make a PowerPoint presentation that will be sure to wow your audience.

Table of Contents

Short Answer

Making a PowerPoint presentation is a relatively easy process.

Firstly, open a blank PowerPoint presentation by launching the program.

Then, select a theme or template for your presentation.

Next, add content to the slides, such as text, images, and animations.

Finally, use the ‘Slide Show’ tab to practice presenting and save the presentation when you’re done.

Determine the Purpose and Desired Outcome

Before you create your PowerPoint presentation, it is important to take a step back and determine the purpose and desired outcome of the presentation.

Ask yourself what the goal of the presentation is and what you want the audience to take away from it.

Do you want to inform, educate, or persuade? Knowing the purpose of the presentation will help guide the design and content.

Additionally, consider the audience and the material that is most appropriate for them.

For example, a presentation for a group of experts should include more technical information than one for a general audience.

With the purpose and desired outcome in mind, you can then begin to gather the necessary content and organize it.

Gather and Organize the Content

Gathering and organizing the content for a PowerPoint presentation is the first step in the process and is essential to ensure its success.

It is important to start the process by identifying the purpose of the presentation and the desired outcome.

Once these have been determined, the next step is to gather all the necessary information and organize it in a way that will be easy to understand and follow.

When gathering content, it is important to have reliable sources and to be sure to cite any material used from outside sources.

Additionally, it is important to include only the most pertinent information for the presentation.

This will help to keep the audience engaged and ensure that the presentation is concise and to the point.

Once all the content has been gathered, it is time to organize it.

Organizing the content will help to ensure that the presentation flows smoothly and logically.

Start by creating an outline of the presentation that includes the main points and any supporting details.

It is also helpful to divide the content into sections or subsections, depending on the length of the presentation.

Additionally, it is important to consider the order in which the content should be presented, as this will help to ensure that the audience is able to follow the presentation from beginning to end.

Once the content is organized, the next step is to design the slides.

Design the Slides

Designing the slides of a PowerPoint presentation is a crucial step.

This is where you will be able to create an engaging experience for your audience.

When designing your slides, it is important to keep a few things in mind.

First, keep the design simple.

Too much text or too many visuals can be overwhelming for the audience.

Second, use visuals that are relevant and visually appealing.

Be sure to incorporate images, charts, and graphs that help illustrate the points you are making.

Lastly, choose a font that is easy to read.

Using a font size that is too small or a font that is too decorative can be difficult to read and make your presentation difficult to follow.

With these tips in mind, you will be able to create an effective and engaging PowerPoint presentation.

Incorporate Visuals

When creating a PowerPoint presentation, visuals can help engage an audience and reinforce your key points.

Visuals can include images, charts, graphs, and other graphics, as well as animations and videos.

The visuals should be appropriate for the topic and audience and should be used to enhance the presentation rather than overwhelm it.

When selecting visuals, it is important to consider the purpose of the presentation.

If the goal is to inform, visuals should be used to illustrate data or concepts.

If the goal is to persuade, visuals should be used to show the benefits or consequences of an action.

In either case, visuals should be relevant and easy to understand.

When adding visuals to a slide, it is important to consider the size and placement of the visual.

For example, if the visual is an image, it should be large enough to be clearly visible, but not so large that it takes up the entire slide.

Additionally, it should be placed in the most effective location on the slide.

Too much text or too many visuals can be distracting, so it is important to keep the slide simple and uncluttered.

Incorporating visuals into a PowerPoint presentation can help engage an audience and reinforce key points.

When selecting visuals, it is important to consider the purpose of the presentation and the desired outcome.

Additionally, it is important to consider the size and placement of the visual on the slide in order to keep the presentation uncluttered and effective.

Select a Font

Font selection is an important part of creating an effective PowerPoint presentation.

The font used should be professional and easy to read.

It should also reflect the tone and content of the presentation.

Popular choices for PowerPoint presentations include sans serif fonts like Arial and Calibri.

Serif fonts, such as Times New Roman and Georgia, can also be used but may be more difficult to read.

It is important to select a font size that is appropriate for the audience.

Smaller fonts may be difficult to read, while larger fonts may be too overwhelming.

Consider using a different font for titles and subtitles to add variety and emphasize important points.

With the right combination of font type and size, a professional and engaging PowerPoint presentation can be created.

Practice the Presentation

Practicing the presentation is the final step in creating an effective PowerPoint presentation.

It is important to practice in order to ensure that all the content is accurate and that the presentation is delivered confidently.

Before practicing, it is helpful to set up a mock audience to practice in front of.

This will help to prepare for any questions and ensure that the presentation is presented in an organized manner.

When practicing, it is important to pay attention to the pacing, intonation, and body language.

The presenter should practice speaking in a clear and concise manner, using pauses to emphasize key points.

They should also practice using appropriate facial expressions and body language to ensure that the presentation is engaging and inviting.

Lastly, the presenter should practice speaking in a natural and conversational tone to keep the audience engaged.

Practicing the presentation is key to success.

It allows the presenter to become familiar with the content and practice their delivery.

With adequate practice, the presenter will be able to create an engaging and successful PowerPoint presentation.

Finalize the Presentation

Once the content is ready and the slides are designed, the next step is to finalize the presentation.

This includes making sure that all the visuals, slides, and fonts are properly implemented.

Visuals can be used to enhance the presentation and make it more engaging, so it is important to choose images and graphics that are appropriate and relevant to the subject matter.

Additionally, the chosen font should be easy to read, as this can greatly affect the audience’s comprehension.

It is also important to think about the timing of the presentation and how long it should be.

Keep in mind that shorter is better; try to limit the total time to around 10 minutes.

After this is done, the presentation can be practiced in order to ensure confidence and effective communication.

Once the presenter is comfortable, the presentation is ready to be shared with the audience.

With the right combination of planning, design, and delivery, a successful PowerPoint presentation can be created.

With an engaging and informative presentation, audiences can gain a better understanding of the subject matter and be more likely to remember the key points.

Planning ahead and taking the time to design the slides and visuals will pay off when it comes to delivering a successful presentation.

Final Thoughts

Creating a successful PowerPoint presentation is a combination of planning, design, and delivery.

From determining the purpose and desired outcome, to gathering and organizing content, to designing the slides and incorporating visuals, to selecting a font and practicing the presentation, each step is critical in creating an effective and engaging presentation.

With the right combination of these steps, you can create an impressive PowerPoint presentation and achieve great results with your audience.

Now that you know the steps for creating a successful presentation, it’s time to get started!

James Wilson

James Wilson has extensive knowledge in the information technology industry.His second love, besides dealing with computers, is smart home technology. He is continually updating information to better comprehend this problem and has a deep understanding of the apartment’s support system.

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Create a new presentation with Copilot for Microsoft 365 in PowerPoint

Create a presentation from a file with copilot.

With Copilot for Microsoft 365 in PowerPoint, you can create a presentation from an existing Word document. Provide Copilot in PowerPoint with the link to your Word document, and it will generate slides, apply layouts, and choose a theme for you.

Create a new presentation in PowerPoint.

Select Send . Copilot will draft a presentation for you!

Edit the presentation to suit your needs, ask Copilot to add a slide , organize your presentation, or add images.

Best practices when creating a presentation from a Word document 

Leverage word styles to help copilot understand the structure of your document .

By using Styles in Word to organize your document, Copilot will better understand your document structure and how to break it up into slides of a presentation. Structure your content under Titles and Headers when appropriate and Copilot will do its best to generate a presentation for you. 

Include images that are relevant to your presentation 

When creating a presentation, Copilot will try to incorporate the images in your Word document. If you have images that you would like to be brought over to your presentation, be sure to include them in your Word document. 

Start with your organization’s template 

If your organization uses a standard template, start with this file before creating a presentation with Copilot. Starting with a template will let Copilot know that you would like to retain the presentation’s theme and design. Copilot will use existing layouts to build a presentation for you. Learn more about  Making your presentations look great with Copilot in PowerPoint . 

Create a new presentation with Copilot

Edit the presentation to suit your needs, ask Copilot to add a slide , or start over with a new presentation and refine your prompt to include more specifics. For example, "Create a presentation about hybrid meeting best practices that includes examples for team building.”

Create a presentation with a template

Copilot can use your existing themes and templates to create a presentation. Learn more about making your presentations look great with Copilot in PowerPoint .

Enter your prompt or select  Create presentation from file to create a first draft of your presentation using your theme or template.

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How To Write A Presentation 101: A Step-by-Step Guide with Best Examples

Jane Ng • 02 Nov 2023 • 8 min read

Is it difficult to start of presentation? You’re standing before a room full of eager listeners, ready to share your knowledge and captivate their attention. But where do you begin? How do you structure your ideas and convey them effectively?

Take a deep breath, and fear not! In this article, we’ll provide a road map on how to write a presentation covering everything from crafting a script to creating an engaging introduction.

So, let’s dive in!

Table of Contents

What is a presentation , what should be in a powerful presentation.

• How To Write A Presentation Script
• How to Write A Presentation Introduction 

Key Takeaways

Tips for better presentation.

• How to start a presentation
• How to introduce yourself

Start in seconds.

Get free templates for your next interactive presentation. Sign up for free and take what you want from the template library!

Presentations are all about connecting with your audience. 

Presenting is a fantastic way to share information, ideas, or arguments with your audience. Think of it as a structured approach to effectively convey your message. And you’ve got options such as slideshows, speeches, demos, videos, and even multimedia presentations!

The purpose of a presentation can vary depending on the situation and what the presenter wants to achieve. 

• In the business world, presentations are commonly used to pitch proposals, share reports, or make sales pitches. 
• In educational settings, presentations are a go-to for teaching or delivering engaging lectures. 
• For conferences, seminars, and public events—presentations are perfect for dishing out information, inspiring folks, or even persuading the audience.

That sounds brilliant. But, how to write a presentation?

How To Write A Presentation? What should be in a powerful presentation? A great presentation encompasses several key elements to captivate your audience and effectively convey your message. Here’s what you should consider including in a winning presentation:

• Clear and Engaging Introduction: Start your presentation with a bang! Hook your audience’s attention right from the beginning by using a captivating story, a surprising fact, a thought-provoking question, or a powerful quote. Clearly state the purpose of your presentation and establish a connection with your listeners.
• Well-Structured Content: Organize your content logically and coherently. Divide your presentation into sections or main points and provide smooth transitions between them. Each section should flow seamlessly into the next, creating a cohesive narrative. Use clear headings and subheadings to guide your audience through the presentation.
• Compelling Visuals: Incorporate visual aids, such as images, graphs, or videos, to enhance your presentation. Make sure your visuals are visually appealing, relevant, and easy to understand. Use a clean and uncluttered design with legible fonts and appropriate color schemes. 
• Engaging Delivery: Pay attention to your delivery style and body language. You should maintain eye contact with your audience, use gestures to emphasize key points, and vary your tone of voice to keep the presentation dynamic. 
• Clear and Memorable Conclusion: Leave your audience with a lasting impression by providing a strong closing statement, a call to action, or a thought-provoking question. Make sure your conclusion ties back to your introduction and reinforces the core message of your presentation.

How To Write A Presentation Script (With Examples)

To successfully convey your message to your audience, you must carefully craft and organize your presentation script. Here are steps on how to write a presentation script: 

1/ Understand Your Purpose and Audience:

• Clarify the purpose of your presentation. Are you informing, persuading, or entertaining?
• Identify your target audience and their knowledge level, interests, and expectations.
• Define what presentation format you want to use

2/ Outline the Structure of Your Presentation:

Strong opening: .

Start with an engaging opening that grabs the audience’s attention and introduces your topic. Some types of openings you can use are: 

• Start with a Thought-Provoking Question: “Have you ever…?”
• Begin with a Surprising Fact or Statistic: “Did you know that….?”
• Use a Powerful Quote: “As Maya Angelou once said,….”
• Tell a Compelling Story : “Picture this: You’re standing at….”
• Start with a Bold Statement: “In the fast-paced digital age….”

Main Points: 

Clearly state your main points or key ideas that you will discuss throughout the presentation.

• Clearly State the Purpose and Main Points: Example: “In this presentation, we will delve into three key areas. First,… Next,… Finally,…. we’ll discuss….”
• Provide Background and Context: Example: “Before we dive into the details, let’s understand the basics of…..”
• Present Supporting Information and Examples: Example: “To illustrate…., let’s look at an example. In,…..”
• Address Counterarguments or Potential Concerns: Example: “While…, we must also consider… .”
• Recap Key Points and Transition to the Next Section: Example: “To summarize, we’ve… Now, let’s shift our focus to…”

Remember to organize your content logically and coherently, ensuring smooth transitions between sections.

Ending: 

You can conclude with a strong closing statement summarizing your main points and leaving a lasting impression. Example: “As we conclude our presentation, it’s clear that… By…., we can….”

3/ Craft Clear and Concise Sentences:

Once you’ve outlined your presentation, you need to edit your sentences. Use clear and straightforward language to ensure your message is easily understood.

Alternatively, you can break down complex ideas into simpler concepts and provide clear explanations or examples to aid comprehension.

4/ Use Visual Aids and Supporting Materials:

Use supporting materials such as statistics, research findings, or real-life examples to back up your points and make them more compelling. 

• Example: “As you can see from this graph,… This demonstrates….”

5/ Include Engagement Techniques:

Incorporate interactive elements to engage your audience, such as Q&A sessions , conducting live polls , or encouraging participation.

6/ Rehearse and Revise:

• Practice delivering your presentation script to familiarize yourself with the content and improve your delivery.
• Revise and edit your script as needed, removing any unnecessary information or repetitions.

7/ Seek Feedback:

You can share your script or deliver a practice presentation to a trusted friend, colleague, or mentor to gather feedback on your script and make adjustments accordingly.

More on Script Presentation

How to Write A Presentation Introduction with Examples

How to write presentations that are engaging and visually appealing? Looking for introduction ideas for the presentation? As mentioned earlier, once you have completed your script, it’s crucial to focus on editing and refining the most critical element—the opening of your presentation – the section that determines whether you can captivate and retain your audience’s attention right from the start. 

Here is a guide on how to craft an opening that grabs your audience’s attention from the very first minute: 

1/ Start with a Hook

To begin, you can choose from five different openings mentioned in the script based on your desired purpose and content. Alternatively, you can opt for the approach that resonates with you the most, and instills your confidence. Remember, the key is to choose a starting point that aligns with your objectives and allows you to deliver your message effectively.

2/ Establish Relevance and Context:

Then you should establish the topic of your presentation and explain why it is important or relevant to your audience. Connect the topic to their interests, challenges, or aspirations to create a sense of relevance.

3/ State the Purpose

Clearly articulate the purpose or goal of your presentation. Let the audience know what they can expect to gain or achieve by listening to your presentation.

4/ Preview Your Main Points

Give a brief overview of the main points or sections you will cover in your presentation. It helps the audience understand the structure and flow of your presentation and creates anticipation.

5/ Establish Credibility

Share your expertise or credentials related to the topic to build trust with the audience, such as a brief personal story, relevant experience, or mentioning your professional background.

6/ Engage Emotionally

Connect emotional levels with your audience by appealing to their aspirations, fears, desires, or values. They help create a deeper connection and engagement from the very beginning.

Make sure your introduction is concise and to the point. Avoid unnecessary details or lengthy explanations. Aim for clarity and brevity to maintain the audience’s attention.

For example, Topic: Work-life balance

“Good morning, everyone! Can you imagine waking up each day feeling energized and ready to conquer both your personal and professional pursuits? Well, that’s exactly what we’ll explore today – the wonderful world of work-life balance. In a fast-paced society where work seems to consume every waking hour, it’s vital to find that spot where our careers and personal lives harmoniously coexist. Throughout this presentation, we’ll dive into practical strategies that help us achieve that coveted balance, boost productivity, and nurture our overall well-being. 

But before we dive in, let me share a bit about my journey. As a working professional and a passionate advocate for work-life balance, I have spent years researching and implementing strategies that have transformed my own life. I am excited to share my knowledge and experiences with all of you today, with the hope of inspiring positive change and creating a more fulfilling work-life balance for everyone in this room. So, let’s get started!”

Check out: How to Start a Presentation?

Whether you’re a seasoned speaker or new to the stage, understanding how to write a presentation that conveys your message effectively is a valuable skill. By following the steps in this guide, you can become a captivating presenter and make your mark in every presentation you deliver.

Additionally, AhaSlides can significantly enhance your presentation’s impact. With AhaSlides, you can use live polls, quizzes, and word cloud to turn your presentation into an engaging and interactive experience. Let’s take a moment to explore our vast template library !

Frequently Asked Questions

1/ how to write a presentation step by step .

You can refer to our step-by-step guide on How To Write A Presentation Script:

• Understand Your Purpose and Audience
• Outline the Structure of Your Presentation
• Craft Clear and Concise Sentences
• Use Visual Aids and Supporting Material
• Include Engagement Techniques
• Rehearse and Revise
• Seek Feedback

2/ How do you start a presentation? 

You can start with an engaging opening that grabs the audience’s attention and introduces your topic. Consider using one of the following approaches:

3/ What are the five parts of a presentation?

When it comes to presentation writing, a typical presentation consists of the following five parts:

• Introduction: Capturing the audience’s attention, introducing yourself, stating the purpose, and providing an overview.
• Main Body: Presenting main points, evidence, examples, and arguments.
• Visual Aids: Using visuals to enhance understanding and engage the audience.
• Conclusion: Summarizing main points, restating key message, and leaving a memorable takeaway or call to action.
• Q&A or Discussion: Optional part for addressing questions and encouraging audience participation.

A writer who wants to create practical and valuable content for the audience

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How To : Create a Powerpoint presentation step by step

In this video, we learn how to create a PowerPoint presentation. Start off by adding in the title and subtitle of the project. After you do this, you can start to change the fonts and colors, as well as add pictures to the background and add transitions to the next page. When you're done with this, go onto your next page and start to add in all the information you need to on the following pages. When you are finished, you will be able to save your project and then use it for a presentation. This is easy to do and once you get the hang of making the different slides it won't take long to finish.

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Create Powerpoint Presentation With Step By Step Guide

In this tutorial, we will know how to create Powerpoint presentation with step by step guide. Asides from that, we cover different elements we see in creating a presentation.

In today’s fast-paced world, presentations have become an essential part of our daily lives. From business presentations to academic lectures, presentations have become a tool for conveying ideas and thoughts. With the latest advancements in technology, creating a presentation has become easier than ever before.

One of the most popular tools for creating presentations is Microsoft PowerPoint. In this article, we will walk you through the steps of creating and opening presentations in PowerPoint.

Getting Started with PowerPoint

To get started with PowerPoint, you need to have the software installed on your computer. If you do not already have it installed, you can download it from the Microsoft website.

Once you have installed the software, you can launch it by clicking on the Start menu , typing “ PowerPoint ” in the search box, and then clicking on the PowerPoint icon.

How to Create a Powerpoint Presentation Step by Step

To create a new presentation in PowerPoint, follow these steps:

To open the Powerpoint, click start menu , type “ powerpoint ” in the search bar and press Enter .

Opening an Existing Presentation in PowerPoint

If you already have a presentation saved on your computer, you can open it in PowerPoint by following these steps:

Step 1. Open PowerPoint .

Step 2. Click on the “ File ” menu .

Step 3 . Select “ Open ” from the list of options.

Step 4 . Locate the presentation you want to open and click on it.

Step 5 . The presentation will open in PowerPoint and you can start editing it.

Adding Content to Your Presentation in PowerPoint

Once you have created or opened a presentation in PowerPoint, you can start adding content to your slides. To add content to a slide, follow these steps:

• Select the slide you want to add content to.
• Click on the “ Home ” tab in the ribbon.

• Enter or insert the content into the slide.

Saving Your Presentation in PowerPoint

When you are finished adding content to your presentation, you need to save it. To save your presentation in PowerPoint, follow these steps:

• Click on the “File” menu.
• Choose the location where you want to save the presentation.
• Enter a name for the presentation.
• Click on “Save.”

Creating and opening presentations in PowerPoint is a straightforward process that can be easily completed by anyone. By following the steps outlined in the article, you can create professional-looking presentations in no time.

Whether you are creating a presentation for work or for personal use, PowerPoint is a powerful tool that can help you achieve your goals.

Thank you for reading.

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How to Create Action Buttons in Microsoft PowerPoint

Learn how to create action buttons in PowerPoint that let your audience control the flow of your presentation.

Action buttons, as the name suggests, are buttons that trigger an action in Microsoft PowerPoint. Adding action buttons can make your presentations more interactive.

You can add a button to move up a slide or play a video. This guide explains how to create, design, and add effects to action buttons in PowerPoint.

How to Add Action Buttons in Microsoft PowerPoint

Go to your Microsoft PowerPoint presentation and open the slide on which you want to create an action button. Here are three simple steps to add an action button to your slide:

1. Insert the Shape

Click on the slide where you want to insert the button. Go to the Insert tab, click Shapes , and then under Action Buttons at the bottom of the menu, click the button shape that you want to add.

Once you've selected a shape, click and drag your cursor across the slide to draw. Keep dragging around until you see the desired dimensions, and then release the click. Of course, you can always resize or reposition the shape if needed, even after you've drawn it.

Microsoft PowerPoint lets you use any image to create an action button as well. To add an image and assign it an action, go to the Insert tab, in the Illustrations group, click Pictures . Once inserted, click the picture, then on the Insert tab, in the Links group, click Action .

If you need to perform some basic editing, you can use the built-in image editing tools in Microsoft PowerPoint .

2. Open the Action Settings Dialog Box

Creating an action button involves linking another space and a piece of information to your slide. This means you can link to another slide, another presentation, a URL, a video, or a document.

Action buttons work differently than hyperlinks in a PowerPoint presentation , which are generally used to link to URLs. To assign an action:

3. Configure the Action

After you've opened the Action Settings dialog box, head over to the Mouse Click tab to configure an action that triggers when someone clicks on the action button. Alternatively, you can use the Mouse Over tab to create an action that triggers when someone hovers the cursor over the action button.

• Run macro : You can link to a macro using this option. If you don't have a macro in the slideshow, the option will appear grayed out.
• Object action : Use this option to select an OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) object. Again, if your slideshow doesn't have an OLE object, this option won't be available.

Click OK to apply. Go to the Slideshow on the ribbon and select Play from start to test the action buttons.

How to Add Effects to the Button in PowerPoint

Adding visual effects is a great way to draw attention and make your presentation visually appealing. To add visual effects, you can use the animation pane in Microsoft PowerPoint . Click on your action button and go to the Animations section on the ribbon at the top. Select an animation from the available options.

How to Edit an Action Button in PowerPoint

There are various ways to edit an action button in your PowerPoint presentation.

• Action Settings option: Right-click on the action button, go to Action Settings , and change the assigned action.
• Insert section: Or, you can click on the action button and go to the Insert section on the ribbon. Select Action or Link to edit the assigned action quickly.

Next, to edit the appearance or the animation of the action button, click on the action button and go to the Shape Format section on the ribbon. This section allows you to customize the shape, size, color, and more. In fact, you can also change the button's shape if you like without changing the action assigned to it.

Try Out Action Buttons in Your Presentations

Try playing around with action buttons while preparing for your next presentation to see if it can make the presentation more interactive and visually appealing. While you're at it, you might also want to learn about using a PowerPoint screen recorder to engage your audience and leave a lasting impression.

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2 Easy Methods to Convert PowerPoint to Google Slides for Free_ A Step-by-Step Guide

 In today's digital landscape, collaboration and accessibility are paramount. Sharing PowerPoint presentations across various platforms often presents challenges and frustrations.

This guide provides two straightforward approaches to effortlessly converting your PowerPoint files into Google Slides, facilitating seamless cloud-based collaboration.

Method1: Open your PowerPoint Presentation in Google Slides

Here's a step-by-step guide on how to open your PowerPoint presentation in Google Slides:

Step 1 : Open Google Slides

To open your PowerPoint file in Google Slides, you need to go to the Google Slides website from your browser. Then click the “Open file picker” icon.

Step 2: Upload your File

Now, the “Open a file” window pops up, and you can import your file by selecting the “Upload” option. Then you can drag and drop your file into the window, or click the “Select a file from your device” button to upload the file from your local folder.

Step 3 : Open the PowerPoint in Google Slides

Finally, the PowerPoint file will be opened in the Google Slides platform, and you can manage the file here as you desired.

Method2: Convert PowerPoint to Google Slides in Google Drive

Converting your PowerPoint presentation to Google Slides within Google Drive is a simple process. Here's a step-by-step guide:

Step 1: Open your Google Drive and hit the New button to upload your presentation files.

Step 2: Click  File upload option and locate the PowerPoint presentation you want to upload.

Step 3: After the PowerPoint file is uploaded in the Drive, you will be able to:

Select and right-click on the .pptx file

Select the Open with menu

Click on Google Slides

How to Convert PowerPoint to Google Slides on Mobile Device

Converting PowerPoint to Google Slides on an Android mobile device is straightforward. Here's how to do it:

Step 1: Download the Google Slides app

Open the Play Store

In the top search bar, search Google Slides.

Tap Install. The Google Slides app will appear on your Home screen.

Step 2: Open the App: In the top right corner of the screen, you’ll notice an icon looking like a folder. Tap it.

Step 3: The Open from pop-up menu will appear, allowing you to choose whether you want to open a presentation file from Google Drive or Device storage.

Step 4: If you choose Device storage, a new menu will appear, showing you all presentation files on your device.

Step 5: Tap the one you want to open and that’s it.

Note : You can upload and download files with the Google Slides app for Android.

- Import : You can open and edit PPT, PPTX, and ODP files.

- Export : You can export as PPTX, PDF, TXT, and ODP files. You can also export a current slide as JPEG, PNG, and SVG.

iPhone or iPad

You can transfer your PowerPoint presentation to Google Slides on your iPhone or iPad by following these steps:

Step 1 : Download the Google Slides app

Open the App Store

Tap Get -> Install. The Google Slides app will appear on your Home screen.

Step 2 : Sign in to your Google account if you're not already logged in.

If you want to:

Edit a slide: Tap on the slide -> Edit slide.

Tip: You can also double tap the slide you want to edit.

View comments : Tap on the slide -> View comment.

Add comments : Tap on the slide -> Add comment.

Step 3: Share & work with others

You can share files and folders with people and choose whether they can view, edit, or comment on them.

How to Edit PowerPoint Presentations for Free with WPS Office

WPS Office is a popular office suite software that offers a range of features and advantages, including file compatibility, PDF editing capabilities, and a built-in free template store. Here's an overview of these features and how WPS Office provides certain advantages over Microsoft Office when it comes to these aspects:

File Compatibility : WPS Office boasts excellent compatibility with Microsoft Office file formats (.docx, .xlsx, .pptx), ensuring seamless handling without formatting issues.

PDF Editing : WPS Office offers built-in PDF editing, enabling text, image, shape, and comment additions, a feature typically requiring premium subscriptions or separate applications in Microsoft Office.

Built-In Free Delicate Templates Store : WPS Office includes a template store with a wide range of free, professionally designed templates, making document creation visually appealing and cost-effective. Microsoft Office offers templates but with potential costs or limitations.

How to Edit PowerPoint Presentation for Free Using WPS Office

WPS Office offers a comprehensive office suite, complete with a presentation application akin to Microsoft PowerPoint. Harnessing the potential of this presentation tool within WPS Office is advantageous for accessing PowerPoint templates, crafting presentations, and all of this at no cost. Here's how:

How to Use PPT Templates in WPS Office

These steps can help you open and edit your Microsoft PowerPoint files in WPS Office:

Step 1: Begin by launching WPS Office.

Step 2: On the sidebar, navigate to "Slides" and then select "Blank" to initiate a new presentation.

Step 3: Access the menu and opt for "Open."

Step 4: Choose your Microsoft PowerPoint file and click "Open."

Step 5: Once the file is open, you can view and make edits to the presentation.

Step 6: Save your changes by clicking either "Save" or "Save As" from the "File" menu.

How to Make a Presentation in WPS Office

Step 1: Launch WPS Office and navigate to the "Slides" module.

Step 2 : Choose a template that suits your presentation style and content.

Step 3: Customize the slide layouts to your preference by adding, removing, or rearranging elements as needed.

Step 4: Populate the slides with your content, applying formatting options for a polished look. Enhance the overall presentation by incorporating slide transitions and animations where appropriate.

Step 5: Save your completed presentation and seamlessly transition into full-screen mode when ready to start your presentation.

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How to convert PowerPoint to PDF?

Step 1: Select File > Export.

Step 2: Click Create PDF/XPS Document, then click Create PDF/XPS.

Step 3: In the Publish as PDF or XPS dialog box, choose a location to save the file to. If you want it to have a different name, enter it in the File name box.

  2. Do animations transfer from PowerPoint to Google Slides?

Before you export and transfer your presentation, please be aware that the animations and transitions you've applied to objects within your project won't be preserved.

  3. Does WPS Office support online document editing?

Yes, WPS Office supports online document editing, and it's entirely free. Here is the link you can visit: WPS Docs .

In this guide, we'll delve into two straightforward methods for free PowerPoint to Google Slides conversion, providing step-by-step instructions. Additionally, we'll introduce a powerful alternative: WPS Office. This versatile suite allows you to create and edit PowerPoint presentations without any cost, making it an excellent Microsoft PowerPoint alternative. With a wide array of tools and functionalities, WPS Office ensures an easy and cost-free solution for creating, editing, and presenting slideshows.

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