Maybe you haven’t worked with PowerPoint before but there’s no need to worry about it. Because you’re at the right place to gain knowledge on the basics of Microsoft PowerPoint. You have probably heard many others say that PowerPoint is difficult to learn though it’s a necessary evil they need to conquer for their career sake but the truth is one, anyone can learn PowerPoint and be really good at it. This article is aimed to teach you the basics and also guide you through all the necessary features that will help you learn PowerPoint as a beginner in order for you to create a good presentation.
Creating a PowerPoint Presentation
Once you open the PowerPoint app, a menu with a few options surfaces, you then select Blank Presentation. If you don’t see this menu, go to File, then New, then Blank Presentation.
A new presentation has been created, as well as an empty slide. This slide may be used as a Title Slide, which is a slide on which you place a heading for your presentation.
1. Slides their Layout & Contents
When a new slide is inserted, it includes a placeholder that is used to position different kinds of content on the slide. Slides have several layouts for placeholders based on the sort of content you wish to include. When you create a new slide, you must select a slide layout that is appropriate for your content.
a. To insert a new slide Go to Home tab , Then the bottom of New Slide.
b. Now In the menu select the Layout that best suits the content.
c. The new slide will appear. To add text, click any placeholder and start typing. You can also add other types of content, such as images or a table, by clicking the highlighted icon in the image below.
d. To modify the layout of an already existing slide. Click the Layout command under the Home tab, then select the appropriate layout by clicking on it.
2. How to Organize slides
PowerPoint presentations can have as many slides as required. The Slide Navigation pane (Highlighted) on the left side of the screen makes organizing your slides simple. With it you can copy, rearrange, and delete slides in your presentation.
3. To Delete a Slide
Right click on the slide you want to delete. Then Select Delete Slide.
4. To Rearrange/Reposition Slides
a. Click and hold the slide you want to reposition.
b. Then drag it above or below the other slides.
c. Then drop it at destination.
5. To Copy and Paste a Slide
a. Right click on the slide you want copy
b. Then select Copy from the Slide navigation Pane
c. Click between two slides to choose a paste location. A horizontal insertion point will appear.
d. Right Click and then Select the Paste command . You can also press Ctrl+V on your keyboard.
e. The slide will then appear in the new selected location.
6. To change the slide size:
Slides in PowerPoint 2013 or higher by default use a 16-by-9 aspect ratio. 16-by-9 is also known as widescreen which is commonly used on modern televisions, monitors and projectors. But to change the aspect ratio to fit 4-by-3 screen;
a. Go to the Design Tab
b. Then click the Slide Size option.
c. Select the appropriate slide size from the drop-down menu, or select Custom Slide Size for more possibilities.
Format the slide background
All slides in your presentation have a white background by default. Changing the background style for some or all of your slides is pretty simple. Backgrounds can be filled and decorated with a solid, gradient, pattern, or image/texture.
a. Go to the Design tab and then click Format Background command.
b. On the right side , the Format Background pane will be displayed.
c. Choose the appropriate fill option. The selected slide’s background style will be modified.
d. You can apply the same background style to all slides in your presentation by clicking Apply to All.
Apply a theme
A PowerPoint theme is defined by Microsoft as a predefined set of fonts, colors, and visual effects that you apply to your slides to create a consistent, professional design. One thing you need to know is that different themes employ different slide layouts.
a. To see all of the available themes, select the Design tab on the Ribbon and then click the More drop-down arrow.
b. Select the preferred theme.
c. The theme will be applied your presentation entirely.
Try including a few themes throughout your presentation. Just know that certain themes will function and look better than others.
Variants
After you’ve applied a theme, you can choose a variant from the Variants group. Variants employ alternative theme colors while maintaining the basic design of the theme.
Transitions
During a presentation, a slide transition is how one slide is closed from the screen and the next slide is revealed. PowerPoint has several interesting and unique slide transition schemes; the key is to avoid using too many diverse schemes in one presentation. Before applying it to the various slides, be selective and examine its appropriateness.
At the transitions tab, there are 3 categories of diverse transitions to select from a. Subtle b. Exciting c. Dynamic Content
a. Subtle: These are the most fundamental kinds of transitions that uses basic animations.
b. Exciting: These move between presentations with more creative animations. While Subtle transitions are more aesthetically appealing.
c. Dynamic Content: When transitioning between two slides with comparable slide layouts, dynamic transitions will only shift the placeholders and not the slides themselves.
Applying Transitions
To apply a transition:
a. From the Slide Navigation window, select the desired slide (selected slide is highlighted in brownish color). This will be the slide that appears following the transition.
b. Navigate to the Transitions tab and then to the Transition to This Slide group. No slide has a transition applied by default.
c. To view all transitions, click the More drop-down arrow.
d. To add a transition to the selected slide, click it. The transition will be automatically preview.
To apply the same transition to all slides in your presentation, use the Apply To All command in the Timing group. Remember that this will change any other transitions you’ve used.
Preview a transition:
You may use one of two approaches to preview the transition for a certain slide at any time:
On the Transitions tab, tap the Preview command.
In the Slide Navigation pane, click the Play Animations command.
Remove a transition:
Select the slide whose transition you want to remove.
From the Transition to This Slide group, select None. The transition will be removed.
Do you want to remove transitions from all slides? Apply the None transition to a slide then click the Apply to All command to eliminate transitions from all slides.
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