How to Create a PowerPoint Presentation

A PowerPoint presentation can help you communicate an idea to an audience. These methods will teach you how to create a presentation from a PowerPoint template or create a fully customized presentation. Here are some steps to get you started.

Method 1 of 3: Creating a Theme/Template Method For PC (Office 2010)

1 Open PowerPoint. You will see a blank screen with two boxes in the middle of the screen. One of the boxes says "Click to add title," the other says "Click to add subtitle." 2On the tab at the upper left side of your screen, hit the "File" tab. 3 On the vertical toolbar to the left, hit the "New" tab. 4 If you wish to use a template, click on the "Sample templates" box.

• A template is a slideshow with a preloaded background that is designed for specific presentations, such as an itinerary or a status report.

5 Click on the template you want to use, depending on the purpose of your presentation.

• If you don't find the kind of template you need for your presentation, it's probably best to choose a theme.

6 If you wish to use a theme, click on the "Themes" box in the "New" tab.

• A theme is a slideshow with a preloaded background that can be used for general presentations.

7Click on the specific template or theme you want to work with from the list of choices. 8Once your theme is loaded, click on the "Click to add title" and "Click to add subtitle" boxes and add the title and subtitle (if necessary) of your own presentation. 9After deciding on a title, click on the "New Slide" button in the "Slides" tab up top.

• You can also create a new slide with the shortcut (Ctrl + M).

10Continue adding information and pictures as you see fit. In PowerPoint, however, less is often more. 11Once you are finished with your PowerPoint presentation, go to "File > Save As" and save your file so that you can retrieve it later. 12When you want to view your presentation as a series of slides, click on the "Slide Show" tab and then click on "From Beginning" top left.

• To filter through your slides, click the left and right arrows on your keypad to go back and forward, respectively.

Method 2 of 3: Creating a Custom Presentation Method For Mac

1Open PowerPoint. Depending on your version, a blank presentation may open automatically, or you may need to select the option for a custom presentation. 2 Create your first slide. If you want a title page for your presentation, you can use the default title page template provided by PowerPoint. If you want to change the format of the slide, you can pick from among the options in the "Slide Layout" toolbar. These options have different layouts of titles, text, pictures, charts, etc. 3 Add a new slide. You can do this either by clicking the "New Slide" button in the top toolbar, or by selecting "Insert > New Slide".

• Every time you create a new slide, you can manage its format using the "Slide Layout" toolbar.

4Add content to your slides. There are different ways to do this within each version of PowerPoint, and they may differ from version to version. The 2 main ways to add content (text boxes, pictures, charts, other multimedia files) to your slides are described here:

• You can add content using the "Insert" menu. To do this, click "Insert" and then choose the type of content that you want to add to that slide. You will be prompted to choose a file to insert. As you can see in the image below, there are a number of different options that you can choose, from Word Art to movies.

• You can add content directly from a slide. To do this, select a format from the "Slide Layout" toolbar that has content options built in. Then, click on the icon of the type of content that you wish to add, and navigate to find the appropriate file.

5 Change slide themes or backgrounds. In PowerPoint, you can choose pre-made themes or create your own custom slide backgrounds. You can also combine themes with custom background colors.

• To choose a theme, you can either click on "Slide Theme" on the top toolbar, or select "Format > Slide Theme" from the main menu.

• To change background color, you can click "Format Background" in the Formatting Palette or select "Format > Slide Background..." from the main menu. There are tons of different colors and designs to choose from, so you will have to play around to find one that you like. When you are done, click "Apply" or "Apply To All" depending on whether you want that background on just the current slide or all slides.

6 View your slideshow. To view your final product, you can either click "Slide Show" in the top toolbar or select "Slide Show > View Slide Show" in the main menu.

Method 3 of 3: Template/Theme Method For PC (Older)

1 Start with a template or theme. A template or theme will dress up your presentation with pre-made layouts and color schemes. Choose one by clicking the Office orb in the upper-left corner, and selecting New. Then, on the left, select Installed Templates or Installed Themes. 2Browse through the slides from the template and see what you like. On the sidebar at left, you can click different template or theme slides to see what they look like. Here are a few things you can do with the different slides:

• Duplicate slides. Right click on a slide, and select Duplicate Slide.

Delete slides. Right click on a slide and select Delete Slide, or click Home on the top bar, then Delete Slide.

• Change the layout of your slides. You can select slides that have more or less text boxes, photo boxes, or any other template items you want. Select a slide, right click, and hover over Layout. Or, click Home on the top bar, and then the drop menu next to Layout.

• Add slides. If you want your new slide to look exactly like the one before it, right click that slide and select New. Or, if you want a new slide with a completely different layout, click Home, then the drop menu under New Slide.

• Organize your slides. You can drag and drop slides in the sidebar to the left to reorder them.

3Start adding content. Here are some tips for putting information into your PowerPoint presentation:

• Use short, concise words to guide your audience, and let yourself do the detailed explaining. Keywords show that you know your subject when you go more in-depth during your powerpoint. For example, use "Fire Kiln" as a keyword in a PowerPoint, but explain the process during the actual presentation.

• Think bullet points. Don't use full sentences in your PowerPoint presentations unless it's absolutely necessary.

• Don't be afraid to spread information across multiple slides. It's better than overcrowding a PowerPoint!

4Add elements. To insert anything (text, charts, etc), simply click on the designated box to activate it and start inserting away.

• Inserting pictures and graphs is a good idea to make your presentation more visually engaging. Break up your text!

• Use color effectively in your PowerPoint. Have a theme of colors and be consistent when using them to highlight key points. This makes your presentation look more professional.

5Test run your presentation. Click View, then Slide Show, or hit F5 to admire your handiwork.