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PowerPoint Tips and Tricks
by Shannon Hoolihan
PowerPoint is today's presentation standard commanding around 95% of the market share. Over the past few years it has developed into a premier presentation program. Every new version has seen the addition of new features which have been welcomed by its users.While PowerPoint is user-friendly software, I have found over the years certain tips and tricks that have made my life a lot easier when thinking about the design and mechanics of my presentation.
Design Choices for Effective Presentations
In designing a presentation remember that less is more.
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Keep wordiness to a minimum - don’t crowd your slides.
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Keep in mind the 6 by 6 rule – 6 words per line, 6 lines per slide.
- If you have a long list under a general heading, divide it into two slides or more.
Text Choices
With so many fonts to choose from it is easy to get caught up and go wild and use too many fonts.
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Use fonts consistently. Use the same font for headlines in every slide.
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The body of your slide should generally have no more than two font types in it.
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Use a typeface that is easy to read so you can get the message across quickly. It is tempting to try a snazzy font that may not be easily read or may not really go with your message.
- All caps are hard to read if placed within the main body of your text. Use all caps in the title only.
Color Choices
A dark text and light background combination is okay but I prefer light (white or yellow) text on a dark color background.
Starting a Slide Show
A slide show can be started from within PowerPoint. An alternative method is to start Windows Explorer and right-click any PowerPoint presentation and then click Show to start the show.
When you want to stop for a break in your presentation without losing your place in the slide show, just press the lowercase B for a black screen or lowercase W for a white screen. If it is a self-running presentation, it will pause. When you are ready to resume the show, press either key again, and you will start right where you left off.
This is my favorite tip!
Create a Summary Slide in PowerPoint
You've just created a PowerPoint presentation, but you haven't added an introduction, agenda, or conclusion. PowerPoint provides a quick method of adding a Summary Slide to your existing presentation. This slide can be renamed Introduction or Agenda, or you can copy it to the end of your presentation and rename it Conclusion or Review. To create a summary slide from the titles of other slides:
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Open the completed presentation you want to add a summary slide to.
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On the View menu, click Slide Sorter.
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In slide sorter view, select the slides with the titles you want to use. To select multiple slides, hold down CTRL and click the slides you want. (Be sure to select the slides that will best summarize your presentation.)
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On the Slide Sorter toolbar, click Summary Slide. A new slide, titled "Summary Slide," with bulleted titles from the selected slides, appears in front of the first selected slide.
- Double-click the new slide to edit it. You can change the title, edit existing bullets, or add new ones.
Display Shortcuts During a Slide Show
Can’t remember that important keyboard command during your slide show? Get access to keyboard shortcuts during your PowerPoint slide show, press F1 and Slide Show Help will display automatically.
PowerPoint Templates
PowerPoint is designed to give your slide presentations a consistent appearance. Design templates contain color schemes, slide and title masters with custom formatting and styled fonts, all designed to create a particular look. PowerPoint offers a wide selection of design templates to choose from when creating your presentation.
Below is a list of websites some free and some free on a trial basis to give you more choices when applying a design template to your presentation.
About the Author
We are pleased to partner with Shannon Hoolihan, of SCH Consulting, who delivers PowerPoint training workshops for Speak for Success.
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