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30 PowerPoint Presentation Tips to Make Good PPT Slides in 2024 (+ 6 Expert Tips)

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Here are 30 quick PowerPoint presentation tips to help you improve your presentations. 

Plus, get PowerPoint tips on changing your slide design to make your content shine. We've even called on six presentation experts for their best tips.

How to Make a Good PowerPoint Presentation (Watch & Learn)

This screencast is a speed round of my very favorite PowerPoint tricks. It's a great resource to learn how to make a presentable PowerPoint. I'll walk you through ten of my favorite PowerPoint tips and tricks to create a better presentation.

Keep reading for an illustrated version of these good PPT tips (and more) that you can use to improve your PowerPoint presentations. You'll see 30 of our favorite PowerPoint presentation tips and tricks, including techniques to update slide master PowerPoint 2024 designs.

Jump to content in this section:

• How Do You Give a Memorable PPT Presentation?
• Practice Makes Perfect
• Adapt Your Presentation to the Audience
• Use a Custom Font
• Use Contrast
• Avoid Too Many Animations
• Use the Rule of Three
• Use a Custom PPT Theme Design
• Make Use of Charts and Graphs
• Use the Built-in Slide Layouts
• Align Text Consistently
• Make Your Exports User-Friendly
• Try a Different Color Scheme
• Edit Slide Masters for Consistency
• Use the Alignment Feature
• Use Stock Assets
• Reduce Your Content
• Rethink Your Slide Order
• Use PowerPoint Animations
• Invite Collaborators
• Add Supporting Video Clips
• Use Infographic Templates
• Use Impactful Closing Techniques
• Include Data in the Appendix
• Alternate Between Solid Color and White Slides
• Present Information With Maps
• Keep the Design Best Practices in Mind
• Set a Time Limit
• Test Your Content Everywhere

30 Tips: How to Make Good PowerPoint Presentation Designs Fast in 2024

A few tried and true tips can help you speed up your PowerPoint presentation design. Check out 30 of my favorite PowerPoint tips to do just that. Each of these give you PowerPoint slideshow help to create good PowerPoint slides:

1. How Do You Give a Memorable PPT Presentation?

If you're learning the top PowerPoint presentation tips and tricks, you're probably asking yourself: how do I give a presentation that won't be forgotten?

We all want to be remembered. The best PowerPoint slideshow help to make a mark on the audience. There are tried-and-true ways to do just that, and expert Neil Tomlinson shares expertise on being remembered:

Get your main point into the presentation as early as possible (this avoids any risk of audience fatigue or attention span waning), then substantiate your point with facts, figures etc and then reiterate your point at the end in a ‘Summary’.

2. Practice Makes Perfect

Also, don’t forget to practice your presentation. Go through your slide deck a few times to make sure you know it like the back of your hand when the big day arrives. Doing so helps you feel more confident. It'll reduce any anxiety and nervousness you might feel as the presentation day approaches.

What's the best way to rehears for a good PowerPoint? Here's one of the top PowerPoint presentation tips from expert presenter Sandra Zimmer :

Once slides are ready, practice one slide at a time aloud until you feel like you know it and like the flow of speech. Be willing to change anything that does not feel in flow. At the end of learning all your slides, practice the whole talk.

If you want even more great PowerPoint presentation tips and tricks, check out the following post:

3. Adapt Your Presentation to the Audience

Let's say that you're a seasoned presenter with a pretty standard set of presentation topics. Maybe you're an expert in your field, and you're asked to give a PPT presentation frequently on similar topics.

That's the value of being an expert. You might have a standard spiel that you give your audiences, and your content won't totally change from one presentation to another. That's why it helps to make only slight tweaks to adapt your presentation to each audience.

Leading presentation expert Suzannah Baum offered up this advice:

Different audiences will have different needs and different challenges, which requires me to re-sequence the slides, or create new ones. I tend to do a lot of research on my audiences – via surveys, interviews, and conversations with the hiring manager – to help me better understand what information would be most relevant to them.

How do you adapt to your audience? Here are a few more tips:

• Learn about them. If you're asked to speak, talk to the curator of the presentation to learn more about the audience and their background.
• Ask about them! With contact details, send out a survey or a response link to ask for feedback and preparation info. Ask leading questions like "what do you want to learn?"
• Consider the environment.  If you're presenting via Zoom, your style will differ from presenting in person. The key is to acknowledge the difference and adapt to your environment.

Learn everything you can about your audience. Learning how to make a presentable PowerPoint is all about thinking of the recipient, not the presenter!

4. Use a Custom Font

A PowerPoint presentation tip that'll make your slideshow more interesting and more engaging is to use a custom font.

Fonts set the tone for your presentation. So, when you use a premium font, you’re opting for a high-quality font while also adding a personal or creative touch. 

When choosing a font, remember that you want everyone to read your text easily. 

5. Use Contrast

One PowerPoint trick is to use contrast to make some of your text stand out or make it easier to read.

If you’re putting text over an image on our PowerPoint slide, you may need to use a white box with black text in it to make your text easier to read. You can also use contrasting colors to highlight important text.

6. Avoid Too Many Animations

Another PowerPoint tip is to avoid having too many animations or transitions.

When you've got too many animations, it can be distracting to the audience. It’s not only distracting, but it's unprofessional.

It’s best to stick to one or two animations throughout your presentation. Also, if you've got any animations in your presentation, make sure to test them to see if they work before presenting.

7. Add Audio

Include audio on a slide on PowerPoint to increase audience engagement. Audio can be anything from fun sound effects to interview clips. You can even add an audio clip of your voice.

Audio gives you a break from speaking while also engaging the audience. Envato Elements has hundreds of premium audio clips if you want to add some.

8. Use the Rule of Three

One PowerPoint tip and trick is to follow the rules of PowerPoint.

One of those rules is the rule of three. It's where you start by dividing your presentation into thirds. Everything should come in thirds, so if you use bullet points, you should only have three. If you use icons, you should only have three.

When things come in threes, it's easier to remember them. For more information, read this informative article:

9. Use a Custom PPT Theme Design

Above all, consistently use custom PowerPoint themes. Microsoft has built-in themes that you can use for free, sure. But the premium themes that are on Envato Elements   are a major step-up from PowerPoint's built-in themes. 

When you subscribe to Envato Elements, you'll have access to unlimited downloads of all the PowerPoint themes. Right now, Envato Elements has almost 4,000 PowerPoint themes and that number is always growing. You'll learn tips for a good PowerPoint presentation by using the best templates.

10. Make Use of Charts and Graphs

Illustrate your data with the use of charts and graphs. Not only will you be able to make your presentation more visually appealing, but you'll also help your audience remember the information better.

Many PowerPoint templates already include chart and graph elements. Easily customize them to make your data and stats more interesting and easier to understand.

Want to learn more about how to use data? Turn to expert Adrienne J ohnston , a presentation professional:

When it comes to visualizing data in presentations, we have to remember that our audience does not need all the fine details of the data - they need the main takeaway and we need to make sure that's evident to them when looking at the slide.

11. Use the Built-in Slide Layouts

Inside of PowerPoint themes, you'll find layouts , which are custom slide designs.

Most themes include a selection of content layouts that you can use as a starting point for your own slide designs. You can leverage slide master PowerPoint 2024 designs with the help of layouts.

Layouts are like a starting point for your PowerPoint presentation slides. They contain combinations of placeholders for text boxes, images, and more.

Instead of clicking and drawing individual objects onto the slide, use one of these layouts to start your slide off. It's one of the top PowerPoint presentation tips and tricks to save time.

12. Align Text Consistently

When you're working with text on your slide, it helps to ensure that it aligns consistently. Keeping your text aligned in the same orientation really makes a slide look clean. 

In the example below, I've basically got three text boxes:

• list of bulleted points

Notice that all this text is aligned left. 

Aligning text was the " aha " moment that I learned when I started studying slide design. It's one of those steps that makes a slide look much neater and professional, so keep it in mind when designing.

13. Make Your Exports User-Friendly

No matter how great your PowerPoint presentation slides look, you need to think about how your user will use the presentation file. 

Any of these are likely scenarios if you're regularly sending presentations to other users:

• The viewer may not have PowerPoint installed on their computer.
• The recipient may be using a version of PowerPoint that renders the presentation differently.
• Maybe you don't want the user to be able to make any edits or see your notes in the presentation file.

In this case, my favorite tip is to export the presentation as a PDF. To do that, go to File > Export > Create PDF , and then save your presentation as a PDF.

This is sure to help most of your users see the presentation just the way you intended.

14. Try a Different Color Scheme

Many PowerPoint themes have more than one color scheme that you can apply to your presentation. On the Design  tab, click on the drop-down next to Themes to try out a different color scheme.

Typically, these will restyle your entire presentation. Premium themes that you might get from Envato Elements, for example, may have many versions inside the original presentation zip file.

15. Edit Slide Masters for Consistency

The slide master controls the design for your PowerPoint slide. Instead of making the same change to each slide, apply a change to a slide master. It'll affect all the PowerPoint presentation slides that use the same master.

It's ideal to apply a logo to the slide master itself, for example. This keeps the logo the same size and in the same position on each slide.

To do that, go to View > Slide Master.  On the right side, you're likely to see a variety of slide masters that control designs for many slides. Drop the elements that you want to remain consistent onto one of the slide masters.

16. Use the Alignment Feature

PowerPoint presentation slides look better when the objects on them are in line with one another. There's a certain visual rhythm that occurs when objects line up in the center or along certain boundary lines.

When you start dragging objects on your slide, you'll see guiding lines that pop up. These are very intuitive, and you'll likely notice that they help you line up your objects. You might seem them pop up when you've got a box that's equidistant between two other objects on the slide, for example.

This is one of the best tricks for improving the look of your PowerPoint slide. Spend some time making sure that your key elements line up cohesively.

17. Use Stock Assets

Earlier, I mentioned using Envato Elements to grab PowerPoint themes. But there's more that comes with an Envato Elements subscription for presentations.

That includes a wide variety of stock photos, graphics,  and custom designed fonts  that you can use in your presentation. Instead of reusing the same stock photo or clip art, Envato Elements has everything you need to supplement a presentation. 

Again, Envato Elements is the perfect subscription if you build presentations. It's a one-stop-shop that you can use to fill content.

18. Reduce Your Content

There's nothing that makes an audience tune out faster than being overloaded with slide content. Sometimes we try to make so many points that the audience misses all of them due to information overload.

Less is truly more. When you cut the weaker points of your presentation, the audience's attention will follow your key points accordingly.

It seems like cheating, but one of the best steps that you can take for your slide is to simply reduce the number of items that are on it. Convert some of your typed points to things you'll speak verbally.

19. Rethink Your Slide Order

Sometimes, I find that my presentations are out of order. I might spend too much time explaining my decision before I get to the conclusion.

In these cases, I like to use Slide Sorter View  to re-sequence the slides in my presentation. To access this view, go to View > Slide Sorter  on PowerPoint's ribbon.

From Slide Sorter view, you've got a top-down view of all the slides in your presentation deck. It sometimes becomes obvious that the slides can be reordered into a better sequence from this view.

20. Use PowerPoint Animations 

One of my favorite PowerPoint presentation tips is to complement your major points with a bit of animation. Using animation can bring a key point onto your slide with style!

Check out ten of the best PowerPoint tips for how to use animation from expert Sven Lenaerts below:

21. Invite Collaborators

Building a presentation often benefits from a second set of eyes. That's why it helps so much to invite a collaborator to work with you side-by-side in Microsoft PowerPoint.

Pushing your presentation up to OneDrive and inviting collaborators is easy. Thanks to the cloud-based approach, more than one user can edit a slide deck in real time. Learn how to do that in the tutorial below:

22. Add Supporting Video Clips

Building impactful presentations is all about adding other perspectives and angles to the content. One of my favorite ways to do that is to add a video clip. Maybe that's a production that you built on your own or found on sites like YouTube.

Either way, learn how to add and auto play a video clip in the quick tip below:

23. Use Infographic Templates

More presentations than ever will feature visuals that tell stories with data. But it's easy for an audience become overwhelmed with data. 

That's where infographics come into play. Learn to use them in PowerPoint in the tutorial below:

24. Use Impactful Closing Techniques

I've sat through many presentations in my life. I can only remember a few that really stick out, thanks to techniques that highlighted key points. You need PowerPoint tips and tricks that help leave your audience with an impact.

To do just that, make sure you use some of the techniques highlighted in the article below:

To do that, just drag and drop the thumbnails into the order you want. When you return to Normal view, the PowerPoint presentation slides will be in the resequenced order you set here.

25. Include Data in the Appendix

Many PowerPoint presentations include data in the form of charts and graphs. That means that you'll condense specifics into a few easy-to-follow charts.

But what if your audience wants more of the backing details? Maybe they want to validate and review the detail for themselves. In that case, a   set of  appendix slides  with extra data is sure to help.

Appendix slides are included at the end of a presentation deck for backup purposes. You might not present them, but your audience is certain to appreciate that you included them. That helps your presentation continue to be useful even after you leave the room.

Here's a great tip from: pro presenter  Graeme Thomas of Johnny F Designs:

If (my clients) are sending the deck straight to clients however, I would then put all the information on the slides but will often use more slides so that they aren't too cluttered. In cases where there is a lot of content, like financial statements, I would use  appendix slides.

Including an appendix helps your audience understand data  without  overwhelming them with that data. Follow these tips so that you get the best of both worlds.

26. Alternate Between Solid Color and White Slides

Alternating between solid color and slides with a white background can produce an interesting visual effect and engage your audience. You can use the solid-colored slides to signify a new section in your presentation.

Not to mention, solid-colored slides are the perfect way to re-enforce your brand colors and build your brand recognition.

27. Present Information With Maps

If you’re trying to make a case for a global expansion or need to report on how other branches are performing, consider using a map to help your audience visualize the data.

There's no shortage of quality PowerPoint templates with maps built in so be sure to take advantage of them.

28. Keep the Design Best Practices in Mind

The design of your presentation matters just as much as the content of your presentation. That’s why you need to devote an equal amount of time to making sure the design of your presentation is on point as you do to the actual content.

Familiarize yourself with best design practices and keep them in mind as you go about customizing your template.

29. Set a Time Limit

How many slides is the right number for you? Well, it all depends on the time limit you set for your presentation.

Believe it or not, setting a time limit is helpful to create good PowerPoint slides. If you want to learn how to make a presentable PowerPoint, it's a must to lock in the time limit and ensure that your slides support that timeframe. 

Expert presenter Stephanie Ottavan offers one of our top tips for a good PowerPoint presentation based on time limits:

A presenter is usually limited to a specific time frame and you want to adhere to that as closely as you can. If you have animations and transitions in your deck, these take added time so make sure to rehearse in “show mode” of PowerPoint or Keynote and time yourself.

Believe it or not, setting a time frame is one of the most important part of creating a PPT presentation. It helps you influence how many good PowerPoint slides you should design.

30. Test Your Content Everywhere

PowerPoint in 2024 could take place anywhere. Maybe you present, online, in-person, or beam it to mobile devices. It's important to remember that the content will appear differently on each device.

PowerPoint Online is a different medium than many other apps. Make sure that your presentation design appears the same by testing it with the help of this tutorial. It shows you how your PPT presentation appears even in a browser:

Discover Great Premium PowerPoint Templates With Google Slides (For 2024)

Creating a great presentation starts with a great template. And a great PowerPoint slide design use the best presentation practices, for example:

• Use high-quality photos and graphics to help tell the story.
• Keep text to a minimum.
• Stick to one idea per slide.

Designing a great template doesn’t mean you've got to start from scratch, though. Take a look at some of the best PowerPoint templates we've got on Envato Elements.

1. Neo PowerPoint Template

The Neo PowerPoint template features a modern and bold design and includes five color variations to get you started. Along with this, you'll also get 10 master slides and 30 individual slides for all your presentation needs.

2. Vexana PowerPoint Template

The Vexana template is a great choice for brands that need a touch of elegance. This template works with PowerPoint and Google Slides and comes with a grand total of 150 slides. It also has five color variations and includes infographic elements and photo placeholders.

3. Sprint PowerPoint Template

The Sprint PowerPoint template features a professional and modern design. The template is easy to customize. You'll find 20 masters in the standard 4:3 size, allowing you to choose the best layout for your information.

4. Travelicious PowerPoint Template

For any presentation that deals with the topic of travel, check out the Travelicious template. This template is compatible with both PowerPoint and Google Slides. It includes three premade color variations as well as 30 unique slides.

 As you can see from the examples above, there's no shortage of beautiful and professional PowerPoint slide designs on Envato Elements . What’s more, Envato Elements allows you to download as many PowerPoint templates as you want. Plus, get thousands of other design assets such as fonts, photos, and icons—all for one low monthly price.

Want to see even more great PowerPoint template examples? Be sure to check out our related roundup:

Need Help? Grab Our Making Great Presentations eBook (Free)

We've got the perfect complement to this tutorial. You can find more information in our eBook on making great presentations . Download this PDF eBook now for FREE with your subscription to the Tuts+ Business Newsletter. 

It'll help you master the presentation process from initial creative ideas through to writing, design, and delivering with impact.

PowerPoint Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Now that you’ve read about PowerPoint tips and tricks, if you want to learn more about PowerPoint, here are some FAQs:

1. What Is a Placeholder?

Placeholders in your slide on PowerPoint help you easily add text or images to your slide without changing your design.

In a template, sometimes the placeholders have prompts such as “Click to insert a picture” or “Click to add text.” These prompts let you know what kind of placeholder it is. To learn more about placeholders, read this article: 

2. How Can I Automatically Play a Video?

A PowerPoint tip is to insert an automatically played video in your presentation. When you've got a video that'll play automatically, it saves you the trouble of starting your video manually.

Videos can illustrate topics or specific points. They're also a great way to keep your audience engaged. If you want to learn how to play a video automatically, read this tutorial:

3. How Can I Add a Map to my Slide?

Another PowerPoint trick is to add a map to your slide. If you're discussing a specific location, then a map can help your audience visualize the location you're presenting. To learn how to add a map to your PowerPoint slide, read this tutorial:

4. How Do I Add a GIF to My Presentation?

Adding a GIF to your slide on PowerPoint is one way you can grab your audience's attention. To add a GIF to your slide, you’ll need to download a GIF.

Once you download it, upload it into PowerPoint and use it on your slide. For more information about how to add a GIF to your slide on PowerPoint, read this article:

5. Can I Recover My Unsaved Presentation?

Another PowerPoint trick is to learn how to recover unsaved PowerPoint files so that you can be prepared in case of an emergency. If you want to learn more, read this tutorial:

Learn More About How to Make Presentable PowerPoints

These quick PowerPoint Presentation tips are some of my favorite ways to rapidly improve a presentation. Keeping them in mind while you build a presentation can help you build a deck that you'll be confident about presenting.

Check out these tutorials to keep learning more about PowerPoint. These tutorials will give you more ideas for fixing up your PowerPoint presentation slides efficiently:

Find More Templates

Didn't see a template you like? Here are some more:

Use These PPT Presentation Tips on Your Next Presentation

Now that you've studied some of our best PowerPoint tips, it's time to put them to use. Download one of our top-notch PowerPoint themes from Envato Elements to get started. These PowerPoint presentation tips and tricks give you confidence to make you a skilled presenter.

Editorial Note : This post was first published in February of 2019. Our staff updates this post regularly — adding new, exciting PowerPoint tips and templates (with special help from Brenda Barron , Andrew Childress and Sarah Joy ).

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If you don't have these add-ons in your home assistant setup, you're missing out, why are pc builders using "dummy" ram, quick links, table of contents, start with a goal, less is more, consider your typeface, make bullet points count, limit the use of transitions, skip text where possible, think in color, take a look from the top down, bonus: start with templates.

Slideshows are an intuitive way to share complex ideas with an audience, although they're dull and frustrating when poorly executed. Here are some tips to make your Microsoft PowerPoint presentations sing while avoiding common pitfalls.

It all starts with identifying what we're trying to achieve with the presentation. Is it informative, a showcase of data in an easy-to-understand medium? Or is it more of a pitch, something meant to persuade and convince an audience and lead them to a particular outcome?

It's here where the majority of these presentations go wrong with the inability to identify the talking points that best support our goal. Always start with a goal in mind: to entertain, to inform, or to share data in a way that's easy to understand. Use facts, figures, and images to support your conclusion while keeping structure in mind (Where are we now and where are we going?).

I've found that it's helpful to start with the ending. Once I know how to end a presentation, I know how best to get to that point. I start by identifying the takeaway---that one nugget that I want to implant before thanking everyone for their time---and I work in reverse to figure out how best to get there.

Your mileage, of course, may vary. But it's always going to be a good idea to put in the time in the beginning stages so that you aren't reworking large portions of the presentation later. And that starts with a defined goal.

A slideshow isn't supposed to include everything. It's an introduction to a topic, one that we can elaborate on with speech. Anything unnecessary is a distraction. It makes the presentation less visually appealing and less interesting, and it makes you look bad as a presenter.

This goes for text as well as images. There's nothing worse, in fact, than a series of slides where the presenter just reads them as they appear. Your audience is capable of reading, and chances are they'll be done with the slide, and browsing Reddit, long before you finish. Avoid putting the literal text on the screen, and your audience will thank you.

Related: How to Burn Your PowerPoint to DVD

Right off the bat, we're just going to come out and say that Papyrus and Comic Sans should be banned from all PowerPoint presentations, permanently. Beyond that, it's worth considering the typeface you're using and what it's saying about you, the presenter, and the presentation itself.

Consider choosing readability over aesthetics, and avoid fancy fonts that could prove to be more of a distraction than anything else. A good presentation needs two fonts: a serif and sans-serif. Use one for the headlines and one for body text, lists, and the like. Keep it simple. Veranda, Helvetica, Arial, and even Times New Roman are safe choices. Stick with the classics and it's hard to botch this one too badly.

There reaches a point where bullet points become less of a visual aid and more of a visual examination.

Bullet points should support the speaker, not overwhelm his audience. The best slides have little or no text at all, in fact. As a presenter, it's our job to talk through complex issues, but that doesn't mean that we need to highlight every talking point.

Instead, think about how you can break up large lists into three or four bullet points. Carefully consider whether you need to use more bullet points, or if you can combine multiple topics into a single point instead. And if you can't, remember that there's no one limiting the number of slides you can have in a presentation. It's always possible to break a list of 12 points down into three pages of four points each.

Animation, when used correctly, is a good idea. It breaks up slow-moving parts of a presentation and adds action to elements that require it. But it should be used judiciously.

Adding a transition that wipes left to right between every slide or that animates each bullet point in a list, for example, starts to grow taxing on those forced to endure the presentation. Viewers get bored quickly, and animations that are meant to highlight specific elements quickly become taxing.

That's not to say that you can't use animations and transitions, just that you need to pick your spots. Aim for no more than a handful of these transitions for each presentation. And use them in spots where they'll add to the demonstration, not detract from it.

Sometimes images tell a better story than text can. And as a presenter, your goal is to describe points in detail without making users do a lot of reading. In these cases, a well-designed visual, like a chart, might better convey the information you're trying to share.

The right image adds visual appeal and serves to break up longer, text-heavy sections of the presentation---but only if you're using the right images. A single high-quality image can make all the difference between a success and a dud when you're driving a specific point home.

When considering text, don't think solely in terms of bullet points and paragraphs. Tables, for example, are often unnecessary. Ask yourself whether you could present the same data in a bar or line chart instead.

Color is interesting. It evokes certain feelings and adds visual appeal to your presentation as a whole. Studies show that color also improves interest, comprehension, and retention. It should be a careful consideration, not an afterthought.

You don't have to be a graphic designer to use color well in a presentation. What I do is look for palettes I like, and then find ways to use them in the presentation. There are a number of tools for this, like Adobe Color , Coolors , and ColorHunt , just to name a few. After finding a palette you enjoy, consider how it works with the presentation you're about to give. Pastels, for example, evoke feelings of freedom and light, so they probably aren't the best choice when you're presenting quarterly earnings that missed the mark.

It's also worth mentioning that you don't need to use every color in the palette. Often, you can get by with just two or three, though you should really think through how they all work together and how readable they'll be when layered. A simple rule of thumb here is that contrast is your friend. Dark colors work well on light backgrounds, and light colors work best on dark backgrounds.

Spend some time in the Slide Sorter before you finish your presentation. By clicking the four squares at the bottom left of the presentation, you can take a look at multiple slides at once and consider how each works together. Alternatively, you can click "View" on the ribbon and select "Slide Sorter."

Are you presenting too much text at once? Move an image in. Could a series of slides benefit from a chart or summary before you move on to another point?

It's here that we have the opportunity to view the presentation from beyond the single-slide viewpoint and think in terms of how each slide fits, or if it fits at all. From this view, you can rearrange slides, add additional ones, or delete them entirely if you find that they don't advance the presentation.

The difference between a good presentation and a bad one is really all about preparation and execution. Those that respect the process and plan carefully---not only the presentation as a whole, but each slide within it---are the ones who will succeed.

This brings me to my last (half) point: When in doubt, just buy a template and use it. You can find these all over the web, though Creative Market and GraphicRiver are probably the two most popular marketplaces for this kind of thing. Not all of us are blessed with the skills needed to design and deliver an effective presentation. And while a pre-made PowerPoint template isn't going to make you a better presenter, it will ease the anxiety of creating a visually appealing slide deck.

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• Design Tips
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• 50 tips on how to improve PowerPoint presentations in 2022-2023 [Updated]

While PowerPoint helps create a compelling presentation, a business meeting or a lecture can easily turn boring if the information is less engaging or distracting. This post acts as a guideline on how best to improve PowerPoint presentation and make your message remembered by any audience, whether business owners, students or even homemakers. Plus, you will also learn the easiest ways to make a better PowerPoints presentation without it taking forever and convey the content in the best possible way by presenting it with maximum impact. So let’s get down to it!

Create a memorable opening slide

Your presentation’s opening slide resembles a book cover. You choose whether to open and read the book based on what you see. The same often holds true for PowerPoint slides. To make better PowerPoint slides that immediately catch the audience’s attention, you should always make sure the opening slide contains an intriguing headline and a noticeable image.

These tips will help you create a perfect opening slide:

• Come up with a catchy headline.
• Keep your ppt slides tidy.
• Impress with sophisticated colors and images.

Remember, for your PowerPoint slides makeover to get the desired results, your slides have to be designed following the best practices.

Keep your presentation simple

Do you often find yourself typing, “how to improve my presentation,” but can’t seem to get a definitive answer? The answer could be a PowerPoint slide makeover. Too much text on a PowerPoint makes the presentation forgettable, hard to pay attention to, confusing, and overwhelming.

To improve PowerPoint presentation:

• Ensure that your slides don’t have too many words.
• Go for a PowerPoint redesign where a striking image is teamed with a simple but clear message.
• Use the 1-6-6 ppt presentation redesign rule to include not more than six bullet points and six words per slide.

Pros usually improve PowerPoint presentation by limiting the words on the slides to allow the audience to listen to you and not focus more on reading. So instead of using complete sentences in your ppt redesign, use short forms that improve your memory. That way, a presenter can focus on each specific point and make it easier for the audience to comprehend which point in the ppt slides is being covered.

Present one idea per slide

If you want to craft a powerful PowerPoint like a pro, the first tip is to have only one idea per slide. But why is it necessary to have one main point per slide?

The first reason is to improve PowerPoint presentation. Your slides should not read like a textbook or novel. Otherwise, you might redo the whole thing or get a PowerPoint slide makeover. So let’s uncover more reasons why you should have only one idea per slide.

• The audience will focus on a single idea that prevents them from getting confused or overwhelmed by the slides.
• It allows the presenter to give more details orally, which motivates students to attend class.
• It prevents giving out too much information that dilutes the central message in the slides.

If you are worried about the low word count in your slides, go for a PowerPoint redesign and add impactful imagery or visual aids. Ensure each point is consistently structured and there is a clear transition in all slides.

Relevance and quality of content are key

There is plenty to consider when making a PowerPoint slide makeover. However, the relevance and quality of the content are among the top factors. The text has to be supported by relevant and quality images to ensure the presentation exudes professionalism.

In addition, PP slides created specifically for students must be aimed at improving learning. Some quick tips to ensure your slides are relevant and of decent quality are:

• Before presenting the content, ensure it engages the audience.
• Maintain quality by ensuring a slide is not full of text.
• Use structure to keep the content organized.
• If it does not fit in a single line, chances are high it is not relevant.

Ensure your slides don’t have too much information, as it reduces relevance. Since the human brain process images faster than text, convert any long paragraphs into appropriate visual formats.

Eliminate unnecessary text

The first step to improve PowerPoint is removing unnecessary text that might reduce the white space and make the slide look uncluttered. If the text is too much, your audience will focus more on reading the slides than what you want to say.

Don’t know how to make your slides simple? Use these tips:

• Remove any content that is not intended for your audience.
• Any phrases that are not clear should be eliminated.
• Be brief and clear.
• Only add two to three sentences on each slide.
• Replace words with visual elements.

No need to cram everything into a single slide redesign. Instead, include main phrases that help you remember what you want to talk about and ensure the listeners absorb the information you are conveying.

Always use one story per slide

The correct way to improve PowerPoint presentation is to use one story per slide. That way, your ppt slides won’t overwhelm your audience with too much information. Moreover, if you improve a ppt redesign, it will also prevent the presenter from diverting away from the main topic. Besides, people don’t attend lectures to read the ppt slides. But rather to hear you speak because you are an expert in that subject matter.

When you include only one story in a ppt redesign, it gives the audience a chance to:

• Concentrate on what you are saying.
• Quickly digest the information.
• Use the texts on the ppt slides to support your verbal presentation.

The story is what helps you focus on the central message and drive the point home. But even if you put a single story in each slide, ensure there is a great transition to avoid confusing the listeners. Also, make sure the story is consistently structured and doesn’t generalize the subject under discussion.

Use white space to make texts more readable

Using white space to your advantage is another way to improve PowerPoint presentation. How? With a good redesign, you will improve the readability of the text and add a professional effect to your slides. Without white space in a redesign, the information on your slides becomes disorganized, hard to read, and showcases clutter.

We all know that cluttered PowerPoint presentation slides are unattractive. But how do you know you need white space in your PowerPoint presentation slides? If you try to add white space but run out of space, your slides could probably benefit from less content and a redesign.

To improve PowerPoint presentation and make your redesign effective, consider active and passive white space and micro and macro white space. Overall, the type of white space to use to improve your redesign is determined by:

• User research
• The message being conveyed
• User interface design

White space is also crucial in directing the audience to focal points and helps improve specific text parts. So play around with the number of white spaces to improve your ppt redesign and shine the spotlight on specific points. If you are still wondering, “how do I redesign my presentation?” try improving the white or negative space.

Rework text-heavy PPT screens

Most people, especially in formal presentations, focus on making text-heavy slides. This often bores the audience and results in a disastrous presentation. Such a case leads a presenter to wonder, “how do I improve my presentation.” Ensure your slides are not loaded with text, as it reduces the chances of the audience paying attention to what you have to say.

Instead, the audience will be busy reading the heavy text screens, which reduces learning or understanding of the information. If you have heavy text slides and urgently need to enhance PowerPoint presentation, here are three tips to help you change them into impressive slides:

• Change data into graphs, charts, diagrams, or appropriate visual elements.
• Use infographics to showcase step-by-step procedures.
• Use different shapes to show the relationship between subjects or items.
• Convert long texts into bullets.

Finally, remove all text irrelevant to the central message and include only short phrases.

Visualize data

Do you have a lot of data in text format and want to change it to improve your slides? Visualize that data to enhance PowerPoint presentation. For complex data that can be compared, consider changing it into a graph format. This helps to reduce heavy text usage and makes the information easier to comprehend.

Wondering, “how do I improve my presentation through data visualization?” Use these tips:

• Go for visual elements that tell a story.
• Tweak the elements to make them easier to comprehend.
• Always opt for visual consistency.
• The headers for graphs and charts should be simple.
• Use one color to represent one type of data.

Data visualization is a great option for those who want to improve PowerPoint presentation. It makes it easier to convey a lot of information and still uses limited space. It also allows the audience to comprehend complex data.

Use original PowerPoint presentation templates

Looking at the same old PowerPoint template slides can make a fascinating topic boring. That’s why if you wish to make better PowerPoint slides, you must use original templates from trustworthy sites. For example, Microsoft PowerPoint has original template slides that you can use to create a great visual experience for the audience.

But why do you need original ppt template slides?

• To access a wide range of ppt redesign choices.
• To make it easy to create professional and visually appealing ppt presentations.

And the best part is that you don’t have to be an IT pro to use the ppt template slides.

Overall, original ppt template slides improve the redesign and give you confidence in the work you are presenting. They also eliminate the time-wasting factor of looking for and arranging the ppt redesign slides from scratch. When you redesign a PowerPoint template, the slides are already prepared and laid out for you. Adding fancy fonts, graphics, and relevant photos helps to improve your PowerPoint slides makeover even more.

These template examples can provide some inspiration:

Remember, even after you improve the slides and have a ppt template at your disposal, you can still create custom slides. So take advantage of all the great features such as themes, shapes, and editing tools to improve a ppt redesign and give it a professional look.

Don’t let PowerPoint decide how you use it

If you allow the default settings of PowerPoint to dictate how you will create and present your slides, you are more likely to come up with a less creative piece. Instead, opt to improve your PowerPoint presentation with a ppt redesign.

Consider PowerPoint as a blank canvas but keep the design simple. That way, you won’t get overwhelmed by what to do or, worse, end up with a confusing ppt slide. Listed below are important tips to use when creating PowerPoint slides.

• Make better PowerPoints when dealing with macro details or concepts.
• Balance the text and image appropriately to avoid losing the audience’s attention.
• Make the message in the ppt slide clear and clutter-free.

After PowerPoint slides makeover, ensure that the content or concept is easy to absorb. Remember, there is no one-size-fits-all approach, and PowerPoint slides are effective for a large audience of around 20 people.

Create a new PPT presentation for a template or blank page

When you start a project in PowerPoint, you have to create a new presentation. This can either be from a ppt template or blank slides. You can also opt to open a previously made or an existing presentation and edit it to improve PowerPoint. The great part about making professional ppt slides is that you can work with the same presentation without making several changes.

Using a predesigned ppt presentation or template is also advantageous and time-saving. This is because ppt templates have custom formatting options that allow you to save designs. This, in turn, reduces the need to start a new ppt project from scratch. With a ppt template acting as the foundation, each presentation will inherit:

While ppt templates come with the material you can recycle for future presentations, they are often harder to modify. In such a case, it’s better to consider a PowerPoint redesign and start with a blank presentation.

Use slide master to edit your PPT slide template design

Knowing how to redesign a slide template is a great skill for anyone who wants to improve PowerPoint presentation. Editing a template allows the user to make the necessary changes that translate to an effective ppt presentation.

When you redesign your favorite ppt template or one that you really love, it creates custom designs that are clean and professional-looking. So how do you edit a PowerPoint template?

• First, pick a suitable ppt template.
• Add the number of ppt slides that fit the content elements you want to include.
• Adjust the ppt fonts and color.
• Remove the ppt slides you don’t need to make the redesign process easier.

The trick with good ppt slides redesign is to use the slide master placed under view and ensure the slides grouping fits what you want. Note that while the slide master is open, any changes you make to one ppt slide affect the entire pack.

Use duplicate slides to save time

Are you asking yourself, “how do I redesign my presentation without spending a lot of time doing it?” Use duplicate ppt slides! Using slides from a previous presentation eliminates the need to redesign the entire PowerPoint lecture.

The duplicate slide and copy-paste are some methods used to create duplicate ppt slides. The easiest method to duplicate ppt slides is to use the copy and paste method. For this ppt procedure to work, follow these steps:

• Start by right-clicking the ppt slide you want to duplicate.
• Select “copy” from the menu.
• Move it to a specific section on the ppt slide.

The duplicate technique involves opening the ppt slides show and selecting the sliding thumb from the slide you wish to duplicate. Then, when you right-click on any of the ppt slides, a menu will appear, allowing you to click on the duplicate slide option.

Select the right font

Font can make or break your PowerPoint presentation. When chosen right, it will improve PowerPoint presentation. Unfortunately, most presenters make the mistake of choosing a fancy font to add visual appeal to the content. That is a big mistake. When it comes to professional presentation, stick to a standard-looking font that doesn’t detract from the main message.

Some of the standard fonts that give slides a professional and clean look while making the text readable include:

• Times New Roman

You don’t even need to download these fonts as they are accessible in all PowerPoint slides. So if you are still wondering, “which is the easiest way to redesign my presentation,” the answer is to use the appropriate font. Comic Sans and Mistral should be avoided, and using fonts like Forte sparingly is better. Serif and Helvetica are great for headers.

Make sure you use the proper font size

Your content font size greatly impacts how the audience perceives the information you are presenting. For example, it can affect navigation speed, the amount of content included in a single slide, and a reader’s experience. That’s why presenters who ask, “how do I improve my presentation?” are often advised to check the font size.

But which font size is appropriate for a PowerPoint presentation?

• Larger than 18 points improve readability.
• For titles, the font size is between 36 and 44.
• For text, maintain a range of between 24 and 36.
• Use a font size of 18-20 when adding explanatory text to a diagram or graph.

Overall, use a big enough fit to ensure anyone sitting at the back of the room can clearly see the slides’ contents.

Settle on specific style and color to use in a redesign

Thanks to its numerous features, PowerPoint has become the go-to option for making professional and impactful presentation redesign. That’s why when considering a PowerPoint slide makeover, style and color are some of the first things you should look into. For your redesign to improve, you can choose a specific style, color, and design with themes. To create consistency and improve the redesign, use the same style or design in all the slides.

Use the following tips to improve the style and color of your redesign:

• Experiment with different ppt theme styles before settling on a specific one.
• Mix and match color, effects, and font until you get a unique ppt look that fits your presentation.
• Customize the themes to fit the style and color you want.

Using themes makes it easier to get clues on the general style, design, and color you wish to have. But for a ppt redesign, go further and customize the themes by modifying the color, font, background styles, and effects.

Avoid PPT templates with too many colors

One of the things you should do when you want to improve PowerPoint presentation is to use different colors to your advantage to inspire your audience. Unfortunately, ppt templates with too many colors distract and fail to drive the message home.

But the right color combination evokes the right emotions that lead to enjoyment of the PowerPoint presentation. For example:

• Blue shows trust, peace, and confidence.
• Yellow portrays optimism and happiness.
• Red shows passion and grabs attention.
• Green is associated with nature and the environment.

When selecting a ppt template with the right colors, consider the following:

• Your brand or that of the company you are representing.
• Niche or industry.

So if you need to improve PowerPoint presentation redesign quickly, use colors that are easy on the eyes and look harmoniously together. Use ppt templates with complementary color schemes when you want to draw attention to a specific point or data.

Stick to using basic coloring

Color themes are a powerful thing that can easily improve PowerPoint presentation. You can use colors to emphasize specific information or draw attention to a specific element in a slide. Yes, if you are a pro, you can use more than two colors in a slide, especially when giving an informative PowerPoint presentation. However, if you are giving a formal presentation to adults, stick to basic coloring.

Young kids will enjoy bold and vibrant colors in a presentation. However, when dealing with adults, consider using neutral hues. Besides considering your target audience, what else should you do when it comes to colors?

• Use color to create contrast.
• Use colors to make information pop and direct the train of thought.
• Take advantage of complementary and monochromatic color schemes.
• Brighter or vibrant colors balance dark backgrounds.

Don’t use more colors than needed in one slide, as it affects balance and creates confusion. On the other hand, the right colors improve PowerPoint presentation and deliver excellent results.

Contrast in a presentation is essential

One of the most effective ways to improve PowerPoint presentation is through contrast. It draws the eye towards something specific. Colors help to show contrast in slides and draw the viewer to something specific.

But when choosing to use different colors as a way to create contrast, remember that some of your viewers might have color blindness issues. While there are different types of contrast, including shape, shade, color, and size, here are the top tips for creating contrast:

• Black and white provide the strongest contrasts.
• The colors in the background and foreground should be different.
• The colors in the slides should be 30% lighter than what you see on your laptop.

The display for your slide, whether a laptop or projector, and even the room you will be giving the presentation might alter the color and brightness. So check the colors in dark and light to see the contrast difference.

In PPT, images are more powerful than words

Our brains process images faster than text. That’s why visuals or images will be a good option for when you need to improve PowerPoint presentation. Besides, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by text in a ppt redesign.

On the other hand, images add visual appeal to the ppt slides, improve concertation and engagement. Having fewer texts and more images in slides also applies to academics and scientific ppt presentations.

But how many images are too many in ppt? Pros tend to combine beautiful images with text. However, it’s better to have more relevant images than text to redesign the ppt and make the content engaging. We are not just talking about pictures but also infographics, animations, and GIFs added to ppt.

Incorporating images in ppt slides has the following advantages:

• Saves time by preparing the ppt slides.
• Reduces boredom or dullness associated with class PowerPoint presentations.
• Helps to make complex concepts presented in a ppt redesign easy to comprehend.

Overall, the best PowerPoint slides makeover is rich in memorable imagery.

Use high-resolution clip art for your PPT redesign

Adding clip art is one of the things that can spice up a PowerPoint presentation. Instead of having ppt slide after slide, clip art breaks the monotony of the text and adds a striking visual effect to the PowerPoint redesign presentation. It also allows the presenter to showcase additional information not included in the PowerPoint slides. The advantages of adding clip art to a ppt redesign include:

• Helps get rid of using too many words.
• Keeps the audience’s attention.
• Improves the information in the ppt redesign and makes it memorable and engaging.

While, in some cases, outdated clip art makes your redesign presentation look unprofessional, it’s a great PowerPoint slide makeover if only it’s of high quality and can be scaled without distortion. So support your ppt redesign text with clip art as it assists the audience in visualizing the words.

Add meaningful visuals and interactions

Want a PowerPoint slides makeover to ensure your presentation makes a lasting impression? Add meaningful visuals and interactions. Most times, what differentiates a great PowerPoint presentation from a bad one is the content and visuals.

High-quality, relevant images make a presentation more visual. The trick is not to get carried away with the number of visuals included in a single slide. Instead of subjecting your audience to one boring slide after another, make a PowerPoint redesign and create an interactive presentation. How?

Tailor the presentation redesign to suit a wide range of audiences without having to edit the slides beforehand. When it comes to visuals and interactions in a redesign, stick to these three principles:

• Less is more.
• Consistently use high-resolution and quality images.
• Treat each slide as a special visual object.

Not all visuals will fit your message or the redesign you want. So choose correctly and avoid those with too many focal items, color, and contrast.

Align elements properly

Icons, shapes, and images are the most common elements in a PowerPoint presentation. Keeping these crucial elements properly aligned showcases professionalism in ppt and helps to grab the audience’s attention. It also keeps the ppt slides organized and makes it easier to convey the main message effectively.

Here are some tips to help you align elements like a PowerPoint redesign expert:

• Always select the object you want to align.
• Use ppt redesign guides are a reference to align objects correctly.
• For ppt redesign, have the option to align two or more objects.
• In a ppt redesign, you can align left, right, center, top, or bottom.

When you choose a specific position, for instance, to align the center if it’s two or more objects, they will be aligned vertically but centered on the ppt slides. For users who want a ppt redesign, aligning the text is another way to go. This involves tweaking the text placed inside the ppt text box.

Include a good background picture to improve your slides

Are your slides lacking a unique look? The simplest step to improve a ppt redesign is to include a background picture that will improve your PowerPoint presentation and clarify the message. A good background photo will personalize your PowerPoint presentation redesign and take it to the next level.

Here are five tips to help improve and select a great background image for a redesign:

• Go for a photo with a high resolution.
• Avoid choosing small photos as they will be distorted if the slide size is bigger.
• Ensure the picture makes it easier to see the text in the slides.

If the background image obscures the text, improve PowerPoint presentation redesign by adjusting the transparency or fine-tuning the text percentage. If you want to use that same background image in all the slides, don’t forget to select the “apply all” option when redesigning.

Incorporate interactive mockups

Don’t be fooled into believing that screenshots and diagrams can improve PowerPoint presentation. They add too much information to a slide and, in turn, make the presentation boring and visually unappealing. A quick way to improve a PowerPoint redesign is to use interactive mockups.

Even if you don’t have exceptional design skills, a mockup is a great way of ensuring your presentation makes a lasting impression. 3D mockups are also unique and a great tool for conveying your message. In case you feel stuck and require a unique way to make better PowerPoints, consider these tips:

• Use screenshots to create unique mockups.
• Copy the screenshots on a blank ppt slide.
• Edit and crop the image to hide unnecessary elements.
• Ensure the changes made on your mockups are duplicated in all the slides.

It’s optional to use PowerPoint hyperlinks to create interactive mockups. However, always test the mockup on different platforms such as laptops and mobile phones to ensure the font size is not affected regardless of the medium used.

Add relevant images to the redesign

Creating a redesign with engaging presentation slides that summarize the key points and capture attention is not easy. That’s why most professional presenters add pictures to improve PowerPoint presentation slides. But in a formal setting or when presenting complex or scientific information, most people don’t add photos to improve the redesign. However, that’s a mistake because it reduces the overall success of your redesign and PowerPoint presentation.

Before you add a specific visual aid to the redesign, consider its purpose. For example, apart from assisting in ppt redesign, use visual aids to:

• Summarize information.
• Reduce the total words to be included in redesign slides.
• Improve and enforce the points being talked about in the redesign.
• Make a stronger impact.
• Engage your audience and capture their attention.

While there are many benefits of using pictures in a ppt redesign, avoid cluttering them as it will make your work look unprofessional. So if you are asking yourself, “which is the ideal way to improve my presentation slides?” use these redesign tips:

• Use images consistently in all ppt redesign slides.
• Go for pictures that tell a story and improve the ppt slides.
• Incorporate photos that improve understanding of the ppt slides.
• Prioritize clarity and simplicity in your ppt redesign.

Adjust and format images appropriately in a redesign

PowerPoint has numerous effective features that can help correct a picture. That means you can play around with color, resizing, saturation, and even apply artist effects. This is a great option for anyone looking for “quick ways to fix my PowerPoint presentation.” What’s to love about PowerPoint redesign is that it ensures no non-destructive editing for adjusting photos.

If you realize that you have made a mistake in your PowerPoint presentation redesign, you can quickly reset, remove any changes, and get your original image. The editing and redesign option allows you to format your photo to ensure it holds the audience’s attention. Some of the tips that you can use to make your photo better and redesign your slides include:

• Sharpen the image to refine edges and correct slightly blurry images in the presentation redesign.
• Use brightness and contrast to improve the pictures and the redesign.
• Scale an image to fit your redesign slides.

Crop any parts of the images that you don’t want to appear on the redesign slides.

Use graphs to increase understanding of content

Graphs come in handy when ppt data is too large or complicated to be represented in the text. Graphs are a great tool when you need to “fix my PowerPoint presentation” or redesign the project because they can help showcase trends or similarities between two variables. The benefits of incorporating graphs in a PowerPoint presentation include:

• Improve comprehension of data added in the ppt redesign.
• Improve the visual interpretation of any complex numerical to be included in a ppt redesign.
• Highlight and improve the interpretation of salient features of the ppt data.
• Showcase relationships that may not be that obvious when viewing the ppt redesign.
• Improve comparison of a different set of data.

While a specific presentation may call for different types of graphs, all of them work to enhance PowerPoint presentation. Graphs improve focus and allow the audience to concentrate on one salient point. That’s why a presenter should create graphs with one clear message that is simple to understand and find meaning in presented data. Graphs also allow a user to back up their claims.

Modify graphs to suit the data in the presentation

Did you know that one great way to improve PowerPoint presentation is by enhancing the appearance of a chart? To improve it, override the default graph format and edit. However, if not used correctly, graphs can be distracting. So to improve a redesign, keep each graph simple and easy to comprehend.

That way, the audience won’t get confused or spend much time deciphering what the graph from your redesign means. For large data, convert it to graphs but follow these redesign tips to ensure you improve the slides’ visual aid:

• To improve a redesign, you have to choose a specific graph presentation that tells a story.
• The elements included in the graphs should not be distracting but improve the redesign and PowerPoint presentation.
• To improve a redesign, use colors to highlight the key message.
• To improve a redesign, use different colored lines to improve and contrast two items or variables.

Another trick to improve a ppt redesign is adding titles to your graphs with information you want the audience to remember. Then, for a simple PowerPoint slides makeover, apply the simple formatting commands that adjust the font size, color, and style.

Add bulleted lists to organize ideas

Writing, whether in an academic or professional setting, must be clear, concise, and organized. Bullet points can help to organize ideas. For example, to use them to “redesign my presentation and improve it,” list out key points or items from the PowerPoint presentation.

This is mostly because even in a PowerPoint presentation , the audience might scan your content instead of reading it line by line. A bulleted list will break up long blocks of text, improve it, and motivate your audience to read the information.

But for bullet points to be effective in a ppt redesign, you should do the following:

• To improve the ppt redesign, keep bullets short in order to motivate the reader to move through the presentation.
• To improve the ppt redesign, the bullets must be brief and act as mini headlines.
• Bullets should be formatted the same way as the text in the PowerPoint presentation.

Since bullet points should be thematically related to the text, you might wonder how they can help redesign or improve PowerPoint presentation. A bulleted list in a ppt redesign breaks up long blocks of texts into digestible chunks and keeps the audience reading down the slides.

Make the slides pop with the 2/4/8 rule

One of the quickest ways to enhance PowerPoint presentations or give a PowerPoint redesign a fresh look is to use the 2/4/8 rule. To improve your redesign, you should not spend more than 2 minutes on a slide. Moreover, a single slide should not have more than four bullets. Finally, a bullet point should not have more than eight words.

This powerful rule is popular among professional presenters. So to help you out, here are some pointers for the 2/4/8 rule that can help improve a redesign:

• Ensure that 2 minutes are enough to inform the audience about the key points.
• The four bullet points should highlight the main points.
• Adding only eight words per line to every slide ensures the audience doesn’t get bored.

The 2/4/8 rule works to ensure that your slides are not cluttered. It also shows that there is no need to squeeze all the information into a single slide. Instead, it helps supplement the short words with a lengthy verbal presentation

Replace long bullet lists with pictures

Replace a long bulleted list with a high-quality image. Combining graphics and information to create infographics is another great way to achieve an impactful PowerPoint slide makeover.

Since the infographic accommodates varying font types, font sizes, color contrasts, and imagery, it eliminates monotony and adds visual appeal. So which is the correct way to add infographics to PowerPoint slides? Follow these tips:

• Use data visualization to turn lengthy data in slides into fascinating pictures.
• Opt for a ppt slides redesign to play with different shapes and diagrams.
• In your ppt redesign, include icons to improve the overall look.
• Use vector graphics that can be customizable per your preference to improve the ppt redesign.

While bullets in a ppt redesign were meant to break long blocks of text and make paragraphs easier to digest, sometimes they fail to create a fascinating visual aid. But when replaced with a picture or infographic, your message becomes memorable and works to enhance PowerPoint presentation.

Make use of PowerPoint redesign presentation examples

If you want to improve your PowerPoint presentation by always ending up with a blank page, find appealing and relatable redesign examples online. The redesign samples will act as guidelines and inspiration for your next project. With a redesign example to follow, you will know which colors to use and what to include to ensure your PowerPoint slides makeover is a success. The trick is to use online redesign examples from reputable sites. When looking at examples, follow these tips:

• Go for redesign examples that capture your attention and note which areas you focus more on.
• Use the redesign example to check how the slides have been customized and use that aspect to create your pieces.
• Use the redesign sample to determine whether the PowerPoint presentation is image-heavy or text-heavy or combines the two approaches.

It’s often best to combine text and images in equal proportion to help give PowerPoint presentation redesign in a conversational style.

Improve the layout

Did you know that you can improve clarity with layouts? This is simple but important to help improve PowerPoint presentation. When the layout has too much content, including a chart, text, and picture, in a single redesign or slide, the audience often gets confused. That’s why when it comes to a perfect redesign, avoid complex layouts and stick to simple ones.

Not all PowerPoint slides will be equal. However, when it comes to ppt redesign, here are essential tips that result in a great layout:

• Always limit the number of items you add in a single slide layout.
• Ensure every text added to the layout is readable.
• Don’t overfill the entire layout.
• For a stunning redesign, leave white space between each element.

Use placeholders in the slide layout to set a good position for texts, images, graphs, and other visual elements. You can also create custom layouts and save them within the chosen ppt template.

Use shapes to redesign a winning PPT presentation

Are you fond of asking, “how do I redesign my presentation?” Shapes can enhance your PowerPoint presentation. Using other format options, PowerPoint shapes will elevate your slides and add a visual appeal to the content.

What’s even greater is that you don’t have to stick to using common shapes such as rectangles, circles, and ovals. Instead, opt for sleek shapes that transform your ppt presentation.

Shapes can help you create simple or even complex ppt illustrations that will showcase your professionalism. But what’s so great about shapes, and what are their benefits in PowerPoint redesign?

• PPT shapes can be resized without getting distorted or losing image quality.
• PPT shapes offer immense flexibility.
• PPT shapes come in a variety of sizes, from large to small.
• PPT shapes are great for creating flowcharts, illustrations, and other basic diagrams.

Use the rule of thirds to improve PowerPoint slides

Anyone looking for a quick way to improve PowerPoint presentation should use the rule of thirds. It offers an easy way to make attractive slides that capture attention. The rule of thirds is based on the principle of dividing the slides into nine equal parts with two horizontal and vertical intersections.

Based on the rule, you should keep important visual elements in your redesign within the intersections. To use the principle effectively to redesign slides, follow these tips:

• Use the guide feature in PowerPoint to draw four lines on the slides and improve your redesign.
• Both the vertical and horizontal lines should divide your images into thirds and make the redesign better.
• In the redesign, ensure the lines intersect at four points, also known as the power points.

Note that even if your image has several elements, the viewer’s eye will be focused on the power points. Therefore, when you need to improve PowerPoint redesign and achieve maximum impact, place the key elements in the power points.

Add GIFs to your PowerPoint slides

Is your ppt presentation missing a wow factor that can appeal to a target audience? Are you asking yourself, “how do I fix my PowerPoint presentation and make it less boring? Insert a GIF into your ppt slides. A well-placed GIF makes the ppt presentation entertaining, which appeals to a younger audience. The ppt slides redesign can also add humor and capture attention.

Most people might refrain from adding GIFs to PowerPoint presentations because they believe it requires special skills or tools. However, inserting a GIF into ppt slides is just like adding an image. The steps include:

• Download a GIF.
• Open PowerPoint slides.
• Insert a picture.
• Choose the location where you placed the downloaded GIF.
• Insert the GIF in a specific position in the ppt slides.

Depending on the device you are using or the version of PowerPoint, you may choose clip art or picture instead.

Make slides advance automatically

PowerPoint allows users to improve their presentation with special effects. For example, you can create slides that advance automatically using the autoplay feature. This eliminates the need to keep clicking a slide whenever you want to move to the next one.

For a presentation, having an automatic advance feature shows professionalism and that you are well prepared. On the other hand, clicking a slide during a PowerPoint presentation can be distracting and cause you to lose flow or rhythm.

If you want an effective PowerPoint slide makeover, consider creating a slide show that advances automatically. But before setting the advance option, consider the following:

• Have you practiced beforehand to ensure your slides advance with your speech?
• Do you want to focus on the audience instead of looking at the slides?

A self-advancing PowerPoint slide would fit your needs if you answered yes to any of these questions.

Use animations wisely

Animation can improve PowerPoint presentation. It’s also a go-to option for anyone who wants to make better PowerPoints. While adding animation to ppt slides is risky, especially if it’s distracting, it will often improve the presentation redesign.

The trick is to use animations that complement your ppt message. That way, the audience understands what the animation represents, eliminating misunderstandings. If you want to incorporate animations as a way to improve PowerPoint, consider these tips:

• Use animation as a tool to help your audience connect with the message in the ppt.
• Use eye-catching animations to break the monotony of the ppt text and capture attention.
• For long ppt presentations, use animations to engage the audience and prevent fatigue.
• Use animations to draw attention to key points or new terms in the ppt.

While animations are great for presentations, they can only be effective if kept simple. So avoid using several animations in a single slide and use them consistently.

In PPT, it’s better to keep transition effects at a minimum

Animation and slide transition effects have a poor reputation among many professional PowerPoint presenters because they can distract the audience. However, simple animations and quick slide transitions can add meaning and improve PowerPoint presentation or redesign. But before you include a transition and animation into your slide as a way to “improve my presentation redesign,” consider the following:

• Context and relevancy.
• Whether the ppt redesign presentation involves complex or simple data.
• Which points need more attention and can help improve the ppt redesign.

If you fail to use transition effects or animations, your PowerPoint presentation can appear boring. Adding only one or two animation effects is a great PowerPoint slide makeover. This ensures that the effects of the redesign don’t overpower the message.

PPT slide transitions also add professional impact and draw attention to important data. When appropriately customized, you can use the effects to control the speed at which the PowerPoint slides appear on the screen.

Change slide size to fit your presentation

PowerPoint usually has two common slide sizes: 16:9 and 4:3. The first size is ideal for ppt presentations that involve a modern projector. However, 4:3 is great when you are using an old model device. But what if I want to redesign my presentation? Are these the only slide sizes appropriate for ppt? Of course, not.

You can customize the slides to fit the size you want. This is often an option if 4:3 and 16:9 are unsuitable for the ppt redesign. But before you customize the size of your slides, here are some tips to consider:

• 4:3 is great for creating multipurpose ppt content to be printed or shown across different platforms.
• 16:9 is great for high visual ppt content.
• Use 4:3 when the ppt slides are not going to be projected on the LCD screen.

It would be best if you also educated yourself on the ppt aspect ratio. For instance, the 4:3 aspect ratio is 1024×768 pixels, ideal for smaller ppt slides and screens.

When in doubt, dump the slides

Thanks to PowerPoint, it’s possible to have a ppt redesign that creates engaging content. However, sometimes even after looking at several examples, you can find out that your presentation is still dull. For example, if you have tried several times to improve PowerPoint presentation, but the result is slides that will bore the audience, then dump the whole project and start over.

The main aim of a PowerPoint presentation is to hook the audience on the message you are conveying and make them understand it. That is, if your ppt redesign does not have the necessary elements to hook the audience from the word go, it’s best to trash it. To make your next PowerPoint redesign a success, adhere to these tips:

• Replace large chunks of texts in ppt with stunning visual elements.
• Use animations, clip art, and GIFs sparingly in ppt.
• Instead of adding text in ppt, think like an editor and delete what can be omitted.

Finally, be consistent with font size, color schemes, font types, and bullets used in any ppt redesign.

Now that you know how to create a perfectly-balanced presentation, let’s find out how to present it to your audience in the best possible way. These tips will be especially relevant for teachers, lecturers, and presenters.

Present PPT material in short phrases

Presenting the material in short phrases rather than full sentences is another way to improve PowerPoint redesign. It ensures you don’t focus more on reading from ppt slides as it’s an ineffective way to teach. Instead, adding only a few short phrases to improve PowerPoint presentation allows you to focus on one idea and make the topic easier for the audience to understand.

The benefits of shorter phrases in a PowerPoint presentation redesign are as follows:

• It leaves less room for your audience to focus more on what is written on the ppt slides.
• It allows your audience to focus on your thoughts, explanation, and insights on the subject discussed in the ppt redesign.
• It lets the audience know and focus on the main point presented in the ppt redesign.

To improve PowerPoint presentation at any time, stick to short phrases that do not exceed 30 words or one line. Emphasize the short phrases with bold or bigger font sizes.

Include verbal explanations for pictures/graphs

It’s without a doubt that visual aids improve PowerPoint presentation redesign. PPT slides increase an audience’s understanding of the topic. That’s why pictures and graphs are great for anyone asking themselves, “how do I fix my PowerPoint presentation redesign.”

But without a verbal explanation, it can be challenging to comprehend the information in the ppt redesign presentation. So to give PowerPoint slides makeover, accompany visual aids with verbal explanations. Adding verbal explanations in ppt redesign slides is important because:

• A real-time ppt presentation allows the audience to ask questions about the visual aids used in the redesign.
• It enables your audience to assimilate the content better and freely discuss any doubts.
• It allows the lecturer or presenter to give real-time answers to any relevant question asked.

Simplicity in the verbal explanation is key in assimilating the message and a great way to improve a redesign or a PowerPoint presentation.

Don’t make the audience read the information on the slides

It’s hard for people to concentrate on what you are saying and still read the content on the slides. So if you want to make better PowerPoint presentation, don’t make your audience read the slides. Instead, allow them to listen to you and digest the information you have given in the redesign.

When the audience reads the slides, there is a high chance that they will not listen attentively. This reduces the concentration and retention of relevant information. It also beats the purpose of PowerPoint slide makeover. Besides, listening makes it easier for the audience to take notes and remember the key points in the redesign. When making a redesign, instead of allowing your audience to read the slides on their own, consider these four tips:

• At the beginning of the PowerPoint presentation, tell the audience what to expect.
• Elicit conversation to prevent the audience from focusing on the slides.
• Use the redesign to open with a story that ties to the topic to captivate your audience.
• Blackout the screen to ensure you are not competing with the PowerPoint redesign slides.

Fade to black when speaking

In search engines, the phrase “redesign my presentation” is commonly asked by presenters who want to be pros. However, one answer that is often overlooked but can easily improve PowerPoint presentation is the fade-to-black effect.

It’s often considered a transition that prevents the audience from concentrating too much on the slides. Instead, it allows the listeners to focus on the presenter. If fade-to-black is a new concept to you, check out the tips below:

• Use the fade-to-black effect to carry and improve your narrative.
• Fade-to-black provides room to pause and move on to the next slide.
• Use fade-to-black to get undivided attention and connect with the audience.

The chances are high that you have not been using the fade-to-black effect in your presentation. However, we recommend you try it because you are definitely missing out on a big opportunity that can enhance PowerPoint presentation.

Use PowerPoint slides to boost note-taking skills

One efficient way to make better PowerPoint presentation slides is to ensure your lectures improve note-taking skills. How?

With PowerPoint slides that summarize the subject or topic under discussion, students will have all it takes to improve and make good notes. In addition, learners will be able to follow what the lecturer is saying to understand key points given in the ppt slides.

The key to improving note-taking skills is to do it when the professor is not talking, decreasing information retention and learning. If a professor realizes that students focus more on taking notes than listening, they might have to do a PowerPoint redesign. For starters, ensure the ppt slides don’t have too much text that takes too much time for students to write down. When presenting your ppt slides, promote active listening by:

• Repeating the main points stated in the ppt slides.
• Asking questions to help learners focus on what is being said in the ppt slides.
• Don’t cover what is not included in the ppt slides.
• Don’t speak too fast or often point at the ppt slides.

And last but not least, take breaks or pauses between ppt slides to allow students to catch up and not miss any crucial information.

Give PowerPoint slides before the lecture

Do you sometimes see a specific student struggle to understand your ppt presentation? The solution might lie in the PowerPoint slide makeover. Most professors are used to presenting the slides during the actual lecture. This is because some students will not attend class if given the ppt slides before the lesson. However, there are numerous advantages to making the ppt slides available before the lecture.

• The ppt slides act as a guide for note-taking.
• When you improve a ppt redesign, it allows your audience to add information that was verbally discussed during class.
• PPT redesign increases student participation and concentration.

PowerPoint slides given before class allow the audience to gauge which sections they might find difficult to comprehend and ask relevant questions. However, if your students don’t attend class after getting the slides and you ask yourself, “how do I fix my PowerPoint presentation?” we recommend considering the quality of the slides. Ensure the slides don’t divulge every important detail. That way, you leave room for a verbal presentation to fill in the blanks and explain the subject matter further.

Use PowerPoint slides structure to complement lectures

Every teacher has used PowerPoint slides to improve lectures. But some of the teachers end up creating the slides in a dull way that makes students bored. However, the appropriate use of PowerPoint slides can be a great teaching tool as long as it follows a logically sound structure. This is another great tip to improve PowerPoint presentation redesign.

So how do you structure slides and improve PowerPoint presentations?

• As a way to improve the ppt slides, include the outline view to help you get a quick overview of the content
• Ensure slides from the ppt redesign include the table of contents to ease navigation
• Combine ppt slides into collapsible and expandable sections

The trick to improve PowerPoint slides is to make the presentation just like any other narration. Ensure the ppt redesign has an introduction, body, and conclusion. Besides, you can also give the PowerPoint presentation slides to students before class to enhance understanding and memory.

Wrapping up

PowerPoint presentations can be a great tool to get information across, demonstrate your expertise, projects, and accomplishments, as well as supplement a lecture. However, slides have to be created using best practices to get you the result you want.

Observance of a few simple principles will help you easily make effective PowerPoint presentations in 2022:

• Design your PowerPoint slides in one style. Use font, color, and shapes to create a visual hierarchy.
• Arrange elements so that everyone can immediately read the most important message.
• Highlight key elements with color, shape, or layout. Create a contrast or color spot.
• In the text, try to highlight the most critical phrases. This can be done using the color, thickness, or size of the text.
• Choose flat icons and simple shapes instead of 3D elements and rendered details.
• Use the built-in alignment tools (ruler, guides, and grid in PowerPoint).
• Copy slides and elements instead of re-creating them. An excellent PowerPoint presentation design is the reproduction of items, colors, and other objects.

In case you’re not good at slide design, don’t worry. SlidePeak can help you ensure each slide of your PowerPoint presentation looks professional and grabs your audience’s attention from the first line.

#ezw_tco-2 .ez-toc-widget-container ul.ez-toc-list li.active::before { background-color: #ededed; } Table of contents

• Presenting techniques
• Present financial information visually in PowerPoint to drive results
• Keynote VS PowerPoint
• Types of presentations

8 rules of effective presentation

How to make a presentation interactive

The biggest trends in graphic design for presentations in 2022/2023

27 Super Hidden PowerPoint Tips and Tricks Only The Pros Know!

Ausbert Generoso

Ever felt like your PowerPoint presentations could use a little magic? You’re not alone. Whether you’re a seasoned presenter or just getting started, there’s a world of PowerPoint tips and tricks waiting for you. In this guide, we’re diving into the nitty-gritty of Microsoft PowerPoint to uncover 30 hidden gems that’ll transform the way you create and deliver slides.

From making your designs pop to streamlining your workflow, these PowerPoint hacks are designed for real-world impact. No jargon, just practical insights that’ll have you presenting like a pro in no time.

Let’s cut through the noise and get straight to the good stuff – your next presentation is about to level up. Ready? Let’s get started.

27 PowerPoint Tips and Tricks That Put The Power in PowerPoint

1. Morph Transition for Seamless Animation

What’s it for:  Elevate your presentation by seamlessly animating objects and creating smooth transitions between slides. Morph transition is your key to a dynamic and visually engaging storytelling experience, allowing you to captivate your audience effortlessly. 

How to do it:

• Position the same object in different parts on multiple slides
• Select all slides, and go to the Transitions tab.
• Choose “Morph” as the transition effect.

2. SVG Image Integration

What’s it for:  Did you think SVG’s only work for websites and professional photo editing tools? They do, too, in PowerPoint! Import high-quality Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG). Maintain image clarity, resize without loss, and enhance your presentations with crisp logos and icons. 

• Save your chosen SVG on your device.
• Click on the Insert tab.
• Choose “Pictures” and select your SVG file.
• Adjust the size without compromising image quality.

3. Designer Feature for Quick Layouts

What’s it for:  Effortlessly create professional-looking slides with the Designer feature. Receive instant layout suggestions based on your content, saving time and ensuring your presentation looks polished. 

• Select a slide.
• Go to the Design tab and click Designer on the far right along the ribbon.
• Select through ready-made slide designs for instant layouts.

4. Insert 3D Models

What’s it for:  Amp up your presentations with manipulable 3D models, adding a dynamic dimension. Whether it’s showcasing products or visualizing data, 3D models bring your slides to life. 

• Click on the “3D Models” dropdown and proceed to Stock 3D Models.
• Search for a 3D model of your choice and insert.
• Manipulate and customize as needed.

5. SmartArt Graphics for Visual Hierarchy

What’s it for:  Convey complex ideas with visual hierarchy using SmartArt graphics. These graphics offer a structured and visually appealing way to organize information, making your content more digestible. 

• Go to the Insert tab.
• Select “SmartArt” and navigate through the available categories.
• Select a graphic template that fits your presentation needs.
• Enter your content and customize as needed.

6. Eyedropper Tool for Color Matching

What’s it for:  Maintain a cohesive design by using the Eyedropper tool to pick colors from images or elements within your presentation. Ensure consistency and professional aesthetics in every slide. 

• Select the editable, native PowerPoint object you wish to customize.
• Go to the Shape Format tab and click on the Shape Fill dropdown.
• Select “More Fill Colors…” and click the eyedropper icon to begin color appropriating.

7. Record and Insert Audio

What’s it for:  Infuse personality into your presentation by recording audio directly within PowerPoint. Ideal for adding voiceovers, explanations, or personal touches that enhance audience engagement. 

• Click on “Audio” and choose “Record Audio.”
• Record your audio and insert it into the slide.

8. Presenter Coach for Rehearsing

What’s it for:  Elevate your presentation skills with Presenter Coach. Receive valuable feedback on pacing, filler words, and more, refining your delivery for a confident and impactful performance. 

• Click on the Slide Show tab.
• Choose “Rehearse with Coach” to start practicing.

9. Hyperlink Navigation for Seamless Transitions

What’s it for:  Streamline your presentation flow by implementing Hyperlink Navigation. This trick allows you to create clickable links within your slides, enabling effortless transitions between related content or external resources, enhancing the overall navigational experience. 

• Select the text or object you want to hyperlink.
• Right-click and choose “Hyperlink” or use the Ctrl+K shortcut.
• Specify the destination, whether it’s another slide, a website, or a file, to create a seamless navigational experience.

10. Alt Text for Accessibility

What’s it for:  Improve accessibility by adding descriptive alternative text to images and objects. Ensure inclusivity for visually impaired individuals, making your presentation accessible to a wider audience. 

• Right-click on the image or object.
• Choose “Edit Alt Text” and enter a descriptive text.

11. Slide Zoom for Dynamic Navigation

What’s it for:  Elevate your presentation’s navigation with Slide Zoom, offering the flexibility to jump to specific slides during a presentation without adhering to a linear sequence. This dynamic feature ensures a more engaging and tailored audience experience. 

• Set a master slide where you’d like to put your “mini slides” altogether.
• Navigate to the Insert tab > Zoom dropdown > Slide Zoom.
• Select the slides you want to link onto your master slide and insert.

12. Live Captions and Subtitles

What’s it for:  Foster inclusivity by enabling live captions and subtitles in multiple languages. This feature enhances accessibility, making your presentation more engaging and comprehensible for a diverse global audience. 

• Go to the Slide Show tab.
• Select “Always Use Subtitles” and choose your language.

13. Password Protection for Security

What’s it for:  Safeguard your presentation’s sensitive content by adding a password. This security measure ensures that only authorized individuals can access and view the information, adding an extra layer of protection. 

• Navigate to the File tab.
• Select “Info” and click on “Protect Presentation.”
• Choose “Encrypt with Password” and set your password.

14. Animation Painter for Consistent Animations

What’s it for:  Maintain a polished and consistent look throughout your presentation by using the Animation Painter. Copy and apply animations across different objects with ease, ensuring a cohesive visual experience. 

• Select the object with the same, desired animation as the others.
• Go to the Animation tab.
• Click on “Animation Painter” and apply to other objects.

15. Linked Excel Charts for Real-Time Updates

What’s it for:  Integrate linked Excel charts for real-time updates in your PowerPoint presentation. Any modifications made to the linked Excel file automatically reflect in your slides, ensuring data accuracy. 

• Copy your Excel chart.
• In PowerPoint, use “Paste Special” and choose “Microsoft Excel Worksheet Object.”

16. Custom Slide Sizes

What’s it for:  Tailor your presentation to various screen dimensions by customizing slide sizes. This feature, accessible through the Design tab, ensures your content fits seamlessly across different display settings. 

• Navigate to the Design tab.
• Click on the “Slide Size” dropdown and choose “Page Setup”.
• Change “Slide sized for” to Custom.

17. Grid and Guidelines for Precision

What’s it for:  Achieve precise object alignment with gridlines and guides. This feature, essential for creating visually polished and organized presentations, ensures your content is visually appealing and professionally structured. 

• Go to the View tab.
• Check the “Grids” and “Guidelines” toggles for display options and customization.

18. Slide Master for Consistent Design

What’s it for:  Establish a cohesive presentation design by utilizing the Slide Master. This time-saving feature enables you to set consistent layouts, fonts, and colors throughout your presentation. 

• Click on “Slide Master” to access and customize master slides.

19. Quick Access Toolbar Customization

What’s it for:  Streamline your workflow by personalizing the Quick Access Toolbar with your most-used commands. This customization ensures quick access to essential tools, enhancing efficiency during presentation creation. 

• Click on the dropdown arrow on the Quick Access Toolbar.
• Select “More Commands” to customize your toolbar.

20. Ink Annotations for Handwriting

What’s it for:  Personalize your presentations with a touch-enabled device using ink annotations. This feature allows you to draw or write directly on slides, adding a unique and handwritten touch to your content. 

• Go to the Draw tab and click on Draw to begin drawing.
• Choose “Ink to Text” or “Ink to Shape” for handwriting annotations.

21. Crop to Shape for Image Customization

What’s it for:  Unleash your creativity by utilizing the Crop to Shape feature, allowing you to create custom image shapes. This adds a distinctive flair to your presentation, providing a visually dynamic and engaging experience. 

• Select the image.
• Navigate to the Picture Format tab.
• Click on “Crop” and choose “Crop to Shape.”
• Select the shape you want your image to have as frame.

22. Slide Show Recording with Narration

What’s it for:  Capture your entire presentation, including narration and animations, by recording a self-running slideshow. This feature is invaluable for sharing presentations with a wider audience, ensuring a consistent and engaging delivery. 

• Click on “Record Slide Show” and choose recording options.

23.  Dynamic Color Scheme Switch for Vibrant Slides

What’s it for:  Infuse energy into your presentation by dynamically switching color schemes. This handy trick allows you to quickly experiment with various color palettes, giving your slides a vibrant and fresh appearance in just a few clicks. 

• Explore different color options by selecting “Colors” and experimenting with the available palettes. Instantly transform the look of your presentation to match your desired mood and style.

24.  Smart Alignment and Distribution for Pixel-Perfect Precision

What’s it for:  Attain pixel-perfect precision in your presentation design with the Smart Alignment and Distribution trick. This technique allows you to not only align objects with accuracy but also evenly distribute them horizontally, ensuring a polished and visually appealing layout. 

• Select the objects you want to align.
• Navigate to the Format tab.
• Click on “Align” to access options like Align Left, Center, or Right for precise alignment.
• Further refine your layout by choosing “Distribute Horizontally,” ensuring equal spacing between objects and achieving a professional design.

25. Insert Online Videos

What’s it for:  Seamlessly integrate online videos directly into your presentation. This feature eliminates the need for external players, offering a smooth and immersive viewing experience for your audience. 

• Click on the “Video” dropdown and select Online Movie.
• Paste the video link and your video should be embedded onto your PowerPoint slide.

26. Embed Fonts for Portability

What’s it for:  Ensure consistent visual appeal on any device by embedding fonts in your presentation. This is particularly useful when sharing your work with others who may not have the same fonts installed, enhancing portability. 

• Go to the File tab.
• Select “Options” and go to the Save tab from the window popup.
• Check “Embed fonts in the file” as well as “Embed all characters”.

27.  Text Transformation

What’s it for:  Uncover the elegance of text transformation with the Shape Format trick. This hack allows you to access a myriad of text transformation designs, offering a swift and sophisticated way to elevate the visual appeal of your presentation. 

• Select the text you want to transform.
• Navigate to the Shape Format tab.
• Click on “Text Effects” and explore the “Transform” options for a variety of stylish text designs. Instantly apply a transformation that suits the tone and style of your presentation.

5 Critical Best Practices to Implement These Pro PowerPoint Tips and Tricks for a Technically Proficient Presentation

Enhance the technical brilliance of your presentation by focusing on these crucial best practices:

1.  Streamlined Font Selection

• Practice:  Limit your font styles to a maximum of three per slide.
• Why:  Simplifying fonts enhances readability, maintains visual consistency, and prevents distraction, ensuring your message is clear and impactful.

2.  High-Resolution Images

• Practice:  Source HD images from reputable free resource websites like Freepik or Unsplash .
• Why:  High-resolution images prevent pixelation, ensuring clarity and professionalism. Crisp visuals contribute to a visually appealing presentation.

3.  Cohesive Color Palette

• Practice:  Stick to a consistent color palette throughout your slides; use the eyedropper tool for precise color matching.
• Why:  A unified color scheme enhances visual harmony, reinforces brand identity, and elevates the overall aesthetics of your presentation.

4.  Efficient Data Visualization

• Practice:  Use charts and graphs for data-driven slides, choosing appropriate chart types for different data sets.
• Why:  Visualizing data through charts improves comprehension, making complex information more accessible and engaging for your audience.

5.  Transitions with Purpose

• Practice:  Apply slide transitions judiciously. Choose transitions that complement the content and avoid excessive animations.
• Why:  Subtle transitions maintain audience focus, while excessive animations may distract from the core message.

Final Thoughts

In presentation-making, technical practices harmonized with thoughtful design is the key to delivering an impactful message. Whether it may be as simple as considering font choices, to incorporating high-resolution visuals, you do not only get to enhance the aesthetics but also ensure your audience’s undivided attention.

Remember, a technically proficient presentation is not just a showcase of information, but also one that leaves a rather immersive experience for those who will see. But at the end of the day, it comes down to your delivery. So, no sweat! You’re doing amazing, rockstar!

Find them useful? Save them, or share these PowerPoint tips and tricks with others to make their day!

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Improving PowerPoint Presentation Skills: Tips for PPT Presentation Skills

• Presentation Skills
• June 5, 2024

You’re sitting in a dimly lit conference room, eyes fixed on the screen as yet another PowerPoint presentation unfolds. Slide after slide, bullet points blur together, and your mind wanders. Sound familiar? We’ve all been there.

But what if a presentation didn’t have to be dull and uninspiring? What if they could captivate, inform, and leave a lasting impression?

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore the nitty-gritty of a PowerPoint presentation skills , uncovering tips for crafting engaging slideshows that command attention and resonate with your audience.

From mastering the basics of PowerPoint’s interface to fine-tuning your delivery techniques, we’ll cover everything you need to know in your presentation to elevate it to the next level.

To make your slideshows more impactful, we will delve into how to improve various elements in the presentation process, ensuring you create compelling content that stands out in the competitive landscape.

Whether you’re a seasoned presenter looking to  refine your skills  or a novice seeking guidance, this blog is your roadmap to success.

Join us as we explore the art and science of PowerPoint presentations, unlocking the tools and techniques that will empower you to communicate confidently and clearly.

So, let’s dive in and discover the  tips to improve  your PowerPoint presentation together.

Phase 1: Understanding The Basics

Laying a robust foundation is similar to building a sturdy structure in PowerPoint presentations—it’s essential for creating compelling slideshows. In this section, we’ll discuss the fundamental elements of PowerPoint, equipping you with the knowledge needed to navigate the software seamlessly and unleash your creativity.

Familiarisation With PowerPoint Interface

To begin your journey with PowerPoint, let’s first acquaint ourselves with its interface. Upon launching the application, you’ll encounter a familiar sight – a blank canvas awaiting your creativity. At the top, you’ll find the Ribbon, a dynamic toolbar housing various tabs and commands. These tabs, including Home, Insert, Design, Transitions, Animations, and the Slide Show, serve as gateways to PowerPoint’s vast array of features and tools. Take your time to explore each tab and familiarise yourself with its offerings, from basic formatting options to advanced functionalities.

Exploring Different Slide Layouts And Designs

Now that you’re comfortable with the interface let’s dive into the realm of slide layouts and designs. Gone are the days of mundane bullet-point slides – PowerPoint offers a treasure trove of pre-designed layouts and themes to elevate your presentations. From title slides to content slides to conclusion slides, each layout serves a unique purpose and sets the tone for your presentation. Experiment with different designs, colours, and fonts to find a style that resonates with your message and captivates your audience.

Utilising Basic Formatting Tools

With your layout chosen, it’s time to populate your slides with content. Text, images, and multimedia elements are the building blocks of your presentation, and mastering basic formatting tools is key to ensuring their effectiveness. Explore font options, sizes, and colours to enhance readability and visual appeal. Likewise, leverage formatting tools for objects such as shapes, icons, and SmartArt to convey complex ideas with clarity and precision. Remember, simplicity is key – aim for clean, concise slides that convey your message effectively.

Phase 2: Structuring Your Presentation

In crafting a compelling presentation, the structure serves as the backbone that supports your message and captivates your audience.

In this section, we’ll explore two distinct approaches to structuring your presentation: leveraging pyramid principle to create impact and influence, and employing Monroe’s Motivated Sequence to tell a story and instil urgency.

Creating Impact And Influence with Pyramid Principle

The Pyramid Principle, developed by Barbara Minto, is a structured approach to presenting ideas logically, clearly, and compellingly. It involves organising your thoughts in a hierarchical structure, starting with the main idea and breaking it down into supporting arguments and evidence. This approach helps ensure that your message is coherent and impactful, making it easier for your audience to follow and understand.

1. Start with the main idea (Top of the Pyramid)

Begin your presentation with the key message or main idea you want to convey. This is the most important point you want your audience to take away. State it clearly and succinctly to grab their attention from the outset.

2. Provide Supporting Arguments (Middle of the Pyramid)

After stating your main idea, present the key arguments that support it. These arguments should be logically connected to your main idea and provide a strong rationale for why it is valid. Each supporting argument should be a separate point that contributes to the overall message.

3. Present Evidence and Examples (Base of the Pyramid)

To reinforce your supporting arguments, provide concrete evidence and real-world examples. This can include data, case studies, testimonials, or any other form of proof that lends credibility to your claims. The evidence should be relevant and compelling, helping to convince your audience of the validity of your main idea.

Telling A Story And Creating Urgency With Monroe’s Motivated Sequence

In this section, we’ll explore how to structure your presentation using Monroe’s Motivated Sequence to tell a compelling story and instil urgency in your audience. 

Capture your audience’s attention right from the start by highlighting a shocking statistic, asking a thought-provoking question, or sharing a captivating anecdote related to the challenges your organisation currently faces. Possible Elements to Include:

Start with a surprising fact or statistic

Ask a thought-provoking question

Use a story or share personal experiences

Incorporate humour or suspense

Utilise visual aids or a prop

Engage the audience with participation

By grabbing their attention with a compelling hook, you set the stage for the rest of your presentation and ensure that your audience is fully engaged from the outset.

Next, establish the need for change by outlining the specific pain points and challenges your organisation faces with its current project management system. Paint a vivid picture of the consequences of inaction and the missed opportunities for improvement. Possible elements to include:

Identify the problem

Establish the significance

Use examples and anecdotes

Provide a solution

Establish credibility

Appeal to emotion

By highlighting the urgent need for improvement, you create a sense of dissatisfaction with the status quo and lay the groundwork for your proposed solution.

Satisfaction:

Present your proposed solution – the implementation of a new project management system – as the answer to your organisation’s problems. Clearly articulate the benefits and advantages of adopting the new system, addressing the specific needs and concerns of your audience. Possible elements to include:

Clearly articulate the solution

Address potential concerns

Provide multiple solutions

Provide evidence

Show how to implement the solution

Use clear and concise language

By showcasing the benefits of your solution, you inspire hope and enthusiasm among your audience, motivating them to embrace change.

Visualisation:

Help your audience envision the positive outcomes and benefits of adopting your proposed solution by painting a vivid picture of the future state. Describe the transformative impact the new project management system will have on their daily work lives and the organisation as a whole. Possible elements to include:

Use graphics and images

Use storytelling

Use metaphors and analogies

Use real-world examples

Use interactive elements

By inspiring your audience to visualise the possibilities, you ignite their imagination and fuel their desire for change.

Conclude your presentation with a clear call to action that prompts your audience to take the next steps toward implementing the new project management system. Provide specific instructions and resources to facilitate their involvement and commitment to the initiative. Possible elements to include:

Provide a clear call-to-action

Use persuasive language

Use social proof

Provide clear instructions

Create a sense of urgency

Break it down into smaller steps

By issuing a compelling call to action, you galvanise your audience into action and create a sense of urgency around the need for change.

Phase 3: Designing Engaging Slides

From choosing the right colour scheme and fonts to incorporating multimedia elements, we’ll explore the essential components of slide design that will elevate your presentation to the next level.

Right Colour Scheme And Fonts

Colour and typography play a crucial role in conveying your message and evoking the desired emotional response from your audience. When selecting a colour scheme for your slides, opt for colours that complement your brand identity or the theme of your presentation.

Consider using contrasting colours for text and background to ensure readability, and avoid overwhelming your audience with too many vibrant hues.

Similarly, choose fonts that are easy to read and visually appealing. Stick to one or two primary fonts throughout your presentation to maintain consistency and coherence. Sans-serif fonts like Arial or Calibri are often preferred for on-screen readability, while serif fonts like Times New Roman or Georgia can lend a touch of elegance to your slides.

High-Quality Images And Graphics

Visual imagery can be enhanced with the impact of your message and make your presentation more memorable. Instead of relying solely on text, incorporate high-quality images and graphics that reinforce your key points and capture your audience’s attention.

Choose images that are relevant to your content and convey your message effectively, avoiding clichéd stock photos whenever possible.

Utilise graphics such as icons, illustrations, and charts to simplify complex concepts and add visual interest to your slides. Ensure that all images and graphics are of high resolution and properly aligned within your slides to maintain a polished and professional appearance.

Animations And Transitions

Animations and transitions can add a dynamic element to your presentation and help guide your audience’s focus from one point to the next. However, use them sparingly and purposefully to avoid distracting your audience or detracting from your message. Consider using subtle animations such as fade-ins or slide transitions to introduce new content or emphasise key points.

Be mindful of the timing and duration of animations, ensuring that they enhance rather than detract from the flow of your presentation.

Avoid excessive or gimmicky animations that may overshadow your content or come across as unprofessional.

Ensuring Consistency

Consistency is key to creating a cohesive and polished presentation that leaves a lasting impression on your audience. Maintain a consistent visual style, including colour scheme, fonts, and layout, across all slides to reinforce your branding and enhance readability.

Use slide templates or master slides to establish a uniform design framework for your presentation, ensuring that each slide adheres to the same design guidelines. Pay attention to details such as alignment, spacing, and formatting to create a visually harmonious presentation that reflects attention to detail and professionalism.

Phase 4: Enhancing Aesthetics and Interactivity

In this section, we’ll explore techniques for enhancing the aesthetics of your presentation and incorporating interactive elements to engage your audience effectively. 

Utilising Bullet Points Effectively

Bullet points are a versatile tool for organising information and improving the readability of your slides. Follow these guidelines to use the bullet points effectively:

Keep it Concise: Use bullet points to convey key ideas or supporting details in a concise and digestible format. Limit each bullet point to one idea or concept to avoid overwhelming your audience with too much information.

Maintain Consistency: Use consistent formatting for bullet points throughout your presentation to create a sense of coherence and professionalism. Align bullet points consistently, and ensure that spacing and indentation are uniform across slides.

Prioritise Information: Arrange bullet points in order of importance or logical sequence to guide your audience’s attention and understanding. Use bullet points to highlight key takeaways or action items, ensuring that your message is clear and easy to follow.

Keeping Slides Clutter Free

Clean and clutter-free slides are essential for maintaining audience engagement and conveying your message effectively. Follow these principles to keep your slides clean and visually appealing:

Limit Text: Avoid overcrowding slides with excessive text or information. Keep text blocks concise and use visuals, such as images or icons, to complement and reinforce key points.

Embrace White Space: Use white space strategically to create a sense of balance and focus on your slides. Leave ample space between text, images, and other elements to improve readability and visual clarity.

Choose a Cohesive Design: Select a consistent design theme or template for your presentation to ensure visual cohesion. Use complementary colours, fonts, and layouts to create a professional and polished appearance.

Adding Interactive Elements

Interactive elements can enhance audience engagement and make your presentation more dynamic and memorable. Consider incorporating the following interactive features into your PowerPoint presentation:

Hyperlinks: Include hyperlinks to external websites, documents, or resources related to your presentation topic. Encourage audience members to explore additional information or resources at their own pace.

Clickable Buttons: Create clickable buttons or icons that trigger actions such as advancing to the next slide, revealing hidden content, or launching multimedia elements. Use buttons strategically to prompt audience interaction and guide the flow of your presentation.

Polls and Surveys: Integrate polls or surveys into your presentation to gather feedback, gauge audience opinions, or spark discussions. Use polling software or built-in PowerPoint features to create interactive polls that encourage audience participation.

Conclusion: P owerpoint Presentation Skills

Mastering PowerPoint presentation skills can transform mundane slideshows into captivating, impactful experiences that resonate with your audience.

By understanding the basics, structuring your content effectively using techniques, and enhancing your slides with engaging designs and interactive elements, you can elevate your presentations to new heights. Whether you’re persuading stakeholders, training a team, or delivering a keynote address, the ability to craft and deliver powerful presentations is an invaluable asset.

Embrace these strategies and tools to communicate with confidence, clarity, and creativity, leaving a lasting impression every time you present.

Rishabh Bhandari

Rishabh Bhandari is the Content Strategist at Kapable. Rishabh likes to transform complex ideas into captivating narratives relatable to the target audience. He loves telling stories through his content. He believes that stories have the power to shift mindsets and move mountains. He has 3 years of experience in educational blog writing and copywriting.

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15 PowerPoint Tips & Tricks To Improve Your Presentations

Creating a presentation in PowerPoint will be significantly easier if you know a few tips and tricks. We’ve shown you how to change the size of your slides, insert a PDF , add music , and how to make your PowerPoint more engaging. 

Whether you’re brand new to creating PowerPoint presentations or you’re a pro, you can improve further by incorporating new PowerPoint design ideas. 

1. How to Lock an Image in PowerPoint

Locking an image in a PowerPoint presentation will prevent the image’s proportions or aspect ratio from getting distorted or out of scale.

To lock an image in PowerPoint, follow the steps below:

• Right-click on the image and select Size and Position .

• Check the box labeled Lock aspect ratio .

It’s also possible to lock an image or object so it cannot be resized or moved around the slide at all. This feature may be missing from most PowerPoint desktop versions. You might be able to right-click on an image, shape, or object and select Lock .

If you don’t see that option, one workaround is to place objects into the master slide. To learn how, read how to edit master slides in PowerPoint . 

2. Loop a Slideshow in PowerPoint

If you plan on continuously running a PowerPoint slide show, you can set the slideshow to loop instead of having to restart it manually.

• Open the PowerPoint you want to loop.
• Select the Slide Show tab.
• Select the Set Up Slide Show button.

• Check the box labeled Loop continuously until ‘Esc.’

• Select the OK button.

You’ll need to press the Esc key to end the looped PowerPoint presentation. Clicking on the final slide in your deck or pressing the right arrow key on your keyboard will cause the slideshow to restart.

3. How to Reduce the Size of a PowerPoint

PowerPoint files can become large if you’ve inserted high-resolution images or media files. We’ve got a few PowerPoint tips and tricks that can help reduce the size of your PowerPoint file.

• Embed only the font characters used in your presentation by selecting File > Options > Save in the menu on the left.

• If you’ve chosen to embed fonts in the file, select the Embed only the characters used in the presentation option.

• Select File > Options > Advanced .
• Under Image Size and Quality , check the box labeled Discard editing data .
• To further reduce the size of your PowerPoint, uncheck the box labeled Do not compress images in file and opt for a lower default resolution for your images.

• In the Picture Format tab, select the Compress Pictures button. You can choose whether to apply compression options to all images or only the picture you’ve chosen.
• Check the box labeled Delete cropped areas of pictures , and select Use default resolution . Press OK .

By reducing the size of your PowerPoint file, you’ll make the file easier to store and email.

4. How to Add and Print PowerPoint Notes

Add speaker notes to help the presenter remember what to say during the presentation by selecting the Notes button at the bottom of the PowerPoint. Type a script or just a few notes as reminders.

To print the presentation with the notes, select Notes Pages in the Settings section of the Print dialog box.

5. How to Edit PowerPoint Backgrounds

To add, remove, or edit a background graphic from your slides using the PowerPoint desktop app, you’ll need to select Slide Master from the View menu. Then, on the left, select the slide master or one of the layouts that appears below it: Right-click and select Format Background . Check a box labeled Hide background graphics .

If you’re using PowerPoint in a browser, you might have noticed there is no slide master. When you use the online version, you can directly add, remove, or edit any graphics that appear on a slide.

6. How to Link to Another Slide in the Presentation

Linking to another slide in the same presentation can be helpful if you anticipate the need to skip part of your presentation due to time constraints or refer back to a previous slide. It is as simple as adding a hyperlink.

• Select the text, image, or shape you want to use as a link.
• Select Insert > Link or right-click and select Hyperlink .
• In the Insert Hyperlink dialog box, under Link to , select Place in This Document .

• Choose which slide you want to link to and press the OK button.

7. Stay Consistent by Using the Format Painter

Consistency is a hallmark of a well-designed PowerPoint presentation. For example, slide headings should have the same color, font, and font size throughout the deck. Using the format painter makes standardizing all the headings and element labels in your presentation quick and easy.

• Select the content that has the formatting you like.
• In the Home tab, select the Format Painter .
• Next, select something else, and the formatting of the first element will automatically be applied.

Simple. To apply formatting to multiple elements, double-click the Format Painter and repeat step #3 above until you’ve applied the formatting to all the elements you want. Press the Esc key to stop using the Format Painter.

8. Look Smart with SmartArt

PowerPoint’s built-in SmartArt feature will help take your presentations to the next level. With SmartArt, you can convert plain, boring text to engaging graphics.

• Select the text you want to convert into a graphic.
• On the Home tab, select Convert to SmartArt .

• Select the option you like the most. As you move your mouse over the different options, you’ll see what your text looks like converted to that SmartArt option.
• If you’d like a SmartArt option that allows you to add pictures, select More SmartArt Graphics .
• In the menu on the left, select Picture .

• Select the option you like best.
• To add an image, select an image icon in a SmartArt element and choose whether to insert an image from a file on your computer or from an online source like Bing.

The SmartArt gallery has dozens of options to choose from. One of them is bound to make your slide more engaging.

9. Align Your Objects

You’ve used the Format Painter to ensure your formatting is consistent throughout your presentation. While you’re at it, make sure all your objects are perfectly aligned using PowerPoint’s Align tool.

• Select the objects you want to align by holding down Shift as you select each object.
• In the Format tab, select Align .
• Choose how you want the selected object to align.

• To distribute three or more objects evenly, select the objects, and then select Align and either Distribute Horizontally or Distribute Vertically .

Being intentional about how objects on your slides are aligned goes a long way to making a professional-looking presentation.

10. How to Use Picture Layout

When you’re working with a slide with one or more images, try using PowerPoint’s built-in Picture Layout tool. It’s SmartArt for images.

• Select all the images on the slide (hold down Shift to select multiple images).
• In the Picture Tools menu, select Format > Picture Layout .

• Mouse over the options to find the Picture Layout you like best, and select it.

If you decide you don’t want to use a Picture Layout, you can convert your images back to Shapes by selecting Design > Convert > Convert to Shapes .

11. Be Sparing with the Slide Transitions

Once you discover that you can add animations between slides, you might be tempted to try them all. However, you should remember the cardinal rule of PowerPoint presentations: less is more. If you absolutely must use a transition, stick to the simple ones like Cut and Fade .

• Select a slide.
• From the Transitions tab, select a transition.

• Select Effect Options if it’s available to choose additional settings for the transition.

• Select Preview to see the transition in action.

12. Use Animations Wisely

While you’re toning down your slide transitions, make sure you’re using animations judiciously, too. Animating text or objects on a slide can help the flow of your presentation, but too many animations can be distracting. Be discerning about when and where you use them.

To add animations and effects:

• Select the text or object you want to animate.
• On the Animations tab, select an animation.

• Next, select Effect Options to choose an effect. Note, the Effect Options will be different depending on which animation you have selected.

You can select different ways to start the animations. In the Timing section of the Animations tab, choose when to start the animation.

• On click . This option will start the animation when you click the slide.
• With previous . Choose this option if you want the animation to play at the same time as the previous animation in the sequence.
• After previous . The animation will begin immediately after the prior one concludes.
• Duration . This option allows you to make an effect last longer or shorter.
• Delay . Add some time before an effect begins.

To change the order your animations play:

• Select an animation marker on a slide (or toggle on the Animation Pane by selecting it in the Advanced Animation section of the Animation tab and select an animation in the list.)

• In the Timing section of the Animation tab, select either Move Earlier or Move Later .

To add an animation to a group of objects:

• Press Ctrl and select multiple objects.
• Select Format > Group > Group to create a group.
• Choose an animation from the Animations tab.

If you use them the right way, animations can make your presentation clearer and easier for viewers to understand.

13. K.I.S.S.

PowerPoint slides are most effective when they’re simple. When you include only the most important information on your slides, you make it easier for people to digest and remember your message. You can always say more about the topic, but don’t pack the slide with more content than you need. After all, your audience should be listening more than reading.

14. Seek Out High Quality Templates, Images, and Graphics

When you keep it simple, that means using images and graphics that look good. We’ve rounded up some great stock photo sites and places to get beautiful PowerPoint templates .

15. Export the Presentation as a Video

When you’re happy with your presentation, export it as a video:

• Select File > Export .

• Choose Create a video .

• Select the quality of the video and whether to use recorded timings and narrations.

• Set the duration of each slide.
• Select the Create Video button.
• Navigate to the folder where you want to save the video file.
• Select the Save button.

By implementing these tips and tricks, you’ll take your presentations to the next level!

However, perhaps despite all the tips and tricks you’ve learned, you’ve decided to swear off the software entirely. So many PowerPoint presentations have put audience members to sleep that we now have a term for it: “death by PowerPoint.” In that case, say goodbye to Powerpoint, and check out these seven alternatives to PowerPoint that you can use online. 

Maggie Marystone is a freelance technology writer, human rights worker, and storyteller based in Chicago. Read Maggie's Full Bio

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Center for Teaching

Making better powerpoint presentations.

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Baddeley and Hitch’s model of working memory.

Research about student preferences for powerpoint, resources for making better powerpoint presentations, bibliography.

We have all experienced the pain of a bad PowerPoint presentation. And even though we promise ourselves never to make the same mistakes, we can still fall prey to common design pitfalls.  The good news is that your PowerPoint presentation doesn’t have to be ordinary. By keeping in mind a few guidelines, your classroom presentations can stand above the crowd!

“It is easy to dismiss design – to relegate it to mere ornament, the prettifying of places and objects to disguise their banality. But that is a serious misunderstanding of what design is and why it matters.” Daniel Pink

One framework that can be useful when making design decisions about your PowerPoint slide design is Baddeley and Hitch’s model of working memory .

As illustrated in the diagram above, the Central Executive coordinates the work of three systems by organizing the information we hear, see, and store into working memory.

The Phonological Loop deals with any auditory information. Students in a classroom are potentially listening to a variety of things: the instructor, questions from their peers, sound effects or audio from the PowerPoint presentation, and their own “inner voice.”

The Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad deals with information we see. This involves such aspects as form, color, size, space between objects, and their movement. For students this would include: the size and color of fonts, the relationship between images and text on the screen, the motion path of text animation and slide transitions, as well as any hand gestures, facial expressions, or classroom demonstrations made by the instructor.

The Episodic Buffer integrates the information across these sensory domains and communicates with long-term memory. All of these elements are being deposited into a holding tank called the “episodic buffer.” This buffer has a limited capacity and can become “overloaded” thereby, setting limits on how much information students can take in at once.

Laura Edelman and Kathleen Harring from Muhlenberg College , Allentown, Pennsylvania have developed an approach to PowerPoint design using Baddeley and Hitch’s model. During the course of their work, they conducted a survey of students at the college asking what they liked and didn’t like about their professor’s PowerPoint presentations. They discovered the following:

Characteristics students don’t like about professors’ PowerPoint slides

• Too many words on a slide
• Movement (slide transitions or word animations)
• Templates with too many colors

Characteristics students like like about professors’ PowerPoint slides

• Graphs increase understanding of content
• Bulleted lists help them organize ideas
• PowerPoint can help to structure lectures
• Verbal explanations of pictures/graphs help more than written clarifications

According to Edelman and Harring, some conclusions from the research at Muhlenberg are that students learn more when:

• material is presented in short phrases rather than full paragraphs.
• the professor talks about the information on the slide rather than having students read it on their own.
• relevant pictures are used. Irrelevant pictures decrease learning compared to PowerPoint slides with no picture
• they take notes (if the professor is not talking). But if the professor is lecturing, note-taking and listening decreased learning.
• they are given the PowerPoint slides before the class.

Advice from Edelman and Harring on leveraging the working memory with PowerPoint:

• Leverage the working memory by dividing the information between the visual and auditory modality.  Doing this reduces the likelihood of one system becoming overloaded. For instance, spoken words with pictures are better than pictures with text, as integrating an image and narration takes less cognitive effort than integrating an image and text.
• Minimize the opportunity for distraction by removing any irrelevant material such as music, sound effects, animations, and background images.
• Use simple cues to direct learners to important points or content. Using text size, bolding, italics, or placing content in a highlighted or shaded text box is all that is required to convey the significance of key ideas in your presentation.
• Don’t put every word you intend to speak on your PowerPoint slide. Instead, keep information displayed in short chunks that are easily read and comprehended.
• One of the mostly widely accessed websites about PowerPoint design is Garr Reynolds’ blog, Presentation Zen . In his blog entry:  “ What is Good PowerPoint Design? ” Reynolds explains how to keep the slide design simple, yet not simplistic, and includes a few slide examples that he has ‘made-over’ to demonstrate how to improve its readability and effectiveness. He also includes sample slides from his own presentation about PowerPoint slide design.
• Another presentation guru, David Paradi, author of “ The Visual Slide Revolution: Transforming Overloaded Text Slides into Persuasive Presentations ” maintains a video podcast series called “ Think Outside the Slide ” where he also demonstrates PowerPoint slide makeovers. Examples on this site are typically from the corporate perspective, but the process by which content decisions are made is still relevant for higher education. Paradi has also developed a five step method, called KWICK , that can be used as a simple guide when designing PowerPoint presentations.
• In the video clip below, Comedian Don McMillan talks about some of the common misuses of PowerPoint in his routine called “Life After Death by PowerPoint.”

• This article from The Chronicle of Higher Education highlights a blog moderated by Microsoft’s Doug Thomas that compiles practical PowerPoint advice gathered from presentation masters like Seth Godin , Guy Kawasaki , and Garr Reynolds .

Presenting to Win: The Art of Telling Your Story , by Jerry Weissman, Prentice Hall, 2006

Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery , by Garr Reynolds, New Riders Press, 2008

Solving the PowerPoint Predicament: using digital media for effective communication , by Tom Bunzel , Que, 2006

The Cognitive Style of Power Point , by Edward R. Tufte, Graphics Pr, 2003

The Visual Slide Revolution: Transforming Overloaded Text Slides into Persuasive Presentations , by Dave Paradi, Communications Skills Press, 2000

Why Most PowerPoint Presentations Suck: And How You Can Make Them Better , by Rick Altman, Harvest Books, 2007

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.css-1qrtm5m{display:block;margin-bottom:8px;text-transform:uppercase;font-size:14px;line-height:1.5714285714285714;-webkit-letter-spacing:-0.35px;-moz-letter-spacing:-0.35px;-ms-letter-spacing:-0.35px;letter-spacing:-0.35px;font-weight:300;color:#606F7B;}@media (min-width:600px){.css-1qrtm5m{font-size:16px;line-height:1.625;-webkit-letter-spacing:-0.5px;-moz-letter-spacing:-0.5px;-ms-letter-spacing:-0.5px;letter-spacing:-0.5px;}} Best Practices The #1 rule for improving your presentation slides

by Tom Rielly • May 12, 2020

When giving presentations, either on a video conference call or in person, your slides, videos and graphics (or lack of them) can be an important element in helping you tell your story or express your idea. This is the first of a series of blog posts that will give you tips and tricks on how to perfect your visual presentations.

Your job as a presenter is to build your idea -- step-by-step -- in the minds of your audience members. One tool to do that is presentation graphics, such as slides and videos.

Why graphics for your presentation?

A common mistake is using slides or videos as a crutch, even if they don’t actually add anything to your presentation. Not all presentations need graphics. Lots of presentations work wonderfully with just one person standing on a stage telling a story, as demonstrated by many TED Talks.

You should only use slides if they serve a purpose: conveying scientific information, art, and things that are hard to explain without pictures. Once you have decided on using slides, you will have a number of decisions to make. We’ll help you with the basics of making a presentation that is, above all, clear and easy to understand. The most important thing to remember here is: less is more.

Less is so much more

You want to aim for the fewest number of slides, the fewest number of photos, the fewest words per slide, the least cluttered slides and the most white space on your slides. This is the most violated slide rule, but it is the secret to success. Take a look at these examples.

As you can see in the above example, you don’t need fancy backgrounds or extra words to convey a simple concept. If you take “Everything you need to know about Turtles”, and delete “everything you need to know about” leaving just “turtles”, the slide has become much easier for your audience to read, and tells the story with economy.

The above example demonstrates that a single image that fills the entire screen is far more powerful than a slide cluttered with images. A slide with too many images may be detrimental to your presentation. The audience will spend more mental energy trying to sort through the clutter than listening to your presentation. If you need multiple images, then put each one on its own slide. Make each image high-resolution and have it fill the entire screen. If the photos are not the same dimensions as the screen, put them on a black background. Don’t use other colors, especially white.

Your slides will be much more effective if you use the fewest words, characters, and pictures needed to tell your story. Long paragraphs make the audience strain to read them, which means they are not paying attention to you. Your audience may even get stressed if you move on to your next slide before they’ve finished reading your paragraph. The best way to make sure the attention stays on you is to limit word count to no more than 10 words per slide. As presentation expert Nancy Duarte says “any slide with more than 10 words is a document.” If you really do need a longer explanation of something, handouts or follow-up emails are the way to go.

Following a “less is more” approach is one of the simplest things you can do to improve your presentation visuals and the impact of your presentation overall. Make sure your visuals add to your presentation rather than distract from it and get your message across.

Ready to learn more about how to make your presentation even better? Get TED Masterclass and develop your ideas into TED-style talks.

© 2024 TED Conferences, LLC. All rights reserved. Please note that the TED Talks Usage policy does not apply to this content and is not subject to our creative commons license.

How to give better PowerPoint presentations and improve your slides to keep an audience engaged

• You can improve your PowerPoint presentations by both improving your presentation skills and making better use of the program. 
• To create a more compelling PowerPoint presentation, you can use tricks like animated charts, a background soundtrack, or embedded fonts. 
• Here are 17 tips for making cleaner slides, speaking more effectively, and using little-known PowerPoint tools for smarter presentations.

Microsoft PowerPoint remains the most common platform to create and deliver presentations. 

No matter what your content, you can make a more compelling presentation when you've toned some common presentation skills and also mastered some of PowerPoint's lesser-known features.

How to make a better PowerPoint presentation

Here are nine ways to get more out of PowerPoint and create a killer presentation. 

Start your presentation instantly 

Few things look as unprofessional as fumbling around trying to start your presentation in the PowerPoint app. But you can skip all that by setting your presentation to start instantly.

1. When your PowerPoint deck is complete, click "File" and "Save As."

2. In the Save As dialog box, change the "Save as" type to "PowerPoint Show" and store it somewhere easy to find, like your desktop. 

3. When you're ready to start the presentation, double-click this icon, and the deck will launch instantly in presentation mode, without needing to open the PowerPoint application. 

Create an animated chart

You can format any kind of chart so each segment animates individually. This can help you call attention to specific parts of the chart as you discuss it. Add a chart in the usual way, then:

1. Click the "Animations" tab in the ribbon and then click "Animation Pane."

2. In the ribbon, click "Add Animation."

3. Choose the kind of animation you want to apply to the chart. 

4. Right-click the effect in the Animation Pane and then, in the menu, choose "Effect Options."

5. In the Properties box, choose the "Chart Animation" tab and then change "Group chart" to "By Category" and click "OK."

Align your graphics

PowerPoint lets you add objects — shapes, lines, arrows, text boxes, and other elements — to the screen, but getting them aligned can be tricky. You might appreciate knowing you can perfectly align any elements on the screen with just a couple of clicks. 

1. Press and hold the Shift key.

2. While continuing to hold Shift, click each item on the screen that you want to align. If you click an element by accident, click it again to de-select it. Release the Shift key when they're all selected.

3. Click the "Home" tab in the ribbon.

4. In the ribbon, click "Arrange" and then, in the "Position Objects" section, choose an alignment to arrange or distribute the objects neatly on the screen. 

Embed your fonts for portability

If you're using special fonts in your presentation and you try to open the deck on a computer that doesn't have those fonts installed, PowerPoint will substitute a local font, sometimes with disastrous results. You can avoid that problem by embedding the font in the deck, making the presentation fully portable (and possible for other people to share and edit the deck as well).

1. Click the "File" tab in the ribbon and then choose "Options."

2. In the PowerPoint Options dialog box, choose "Save" in the navigation pane on the left.

3. In the section called "Preserve fidelity when sharing this presentation," click "Embed fonts in the file" and then select "Embed all characters."

Blank the screen to keep all eyes on you

It seems inevitable: For whatever reason, you find yourself needing to discuss a topic that's not directly related to the slide on the screen. That's when the deck can become a distraction, with your audience's eyes focused on a pie chart when you're answering an unrelated question. PowerPoint has an easy solution: Press the B key to blank the screen — it'll turn black until you press B again or move to the next slide. If you prefer, press W to turn the screen white. 

Easily jump between sections of your deck

Not every presentation is linear, and you might prefer to jump back and forth from sections of your deck to a common "table of contents," so you can tackle the presentation in any order. This can be handy, for example, if you're using a deck for training or education. PowerPoint's Zoom feature is ideal for this.

1. Create a presentation and be sure to organize it into sections, ideally with title slides dividing each part of the deck.

2. Click the "Insert" tab in the ribbon.

3. Click "Zoom" and then click "Summary Zoom."

4. In the "Insert Summary Zoom" window, select the title slide or start of each section and then click "Insert."

PowerPoint will add a summary page to your deck. Now you can start your presentation here and click a section to go there. When that section is complete, PowerPoint will return you to the summary page. 

Preserve the presentation as a PDF

If you want to share your presentation with your audience, a PDF file is an easy way to preserve the formatting, make it easily printable, and prevent anyone from modifying your content. Just click the "File" tab in the ribbon, choose "Save As," and then select "PDF" as the "Save as" type. You can now share this PDF file quickly and easily. 

Zoom in for a closer look

During a presentation, you might realize that the audience can't clearly see a detail you want to focus on. That's ok — PowerPoint lets you zoom in with a couple clicks. 

First, make sure your presentation is set to Slide Show view. To zoom in, click on the magnifying glass in the lower-left corner of the presenter view. You'll see a zoom box appear — position it where you want to zoom, and click. Now the presentation will be zoomed in on the part of the screen you want to focus on. You can even click and drag to move around the screen while zoomed in. 

When you're done and want to zoom back out, either press the Escape key or the magnifying glass icon again. 

Add a musical soundtrack

You can easily add a musical score that plays in the background across all your slides. This is especially handy for "kiosk" presentations that run autonomously. 

1. Go to the slide where you want the music to begin and then click the "Insert" tab in the ribbon.

2. Click "Audio" and then click "Audio on my PC…"

3. Choose the track you want to play. 

4. In the ribbon, click "Play in Background."

Now, when you reach this slide, the music will start to play automatically and it will continue playing across slides until the track is over, then loop and play again.

Related coverage from  Tech Reference :

How to do a voiceover on a powerpoint presentation and add pre-recorded audio to your slides, the 48 best powerpoint keyboard shortcuts for making great presentations quickly and easily, how to add a border to slides in powerpoint, and give your slideshow a sleek design, how to compress a powerpoint file so that it loads faster and doesn't take up as much space, how to create a custom powerpoint template to use or share with others.

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10 PowerPoint Productivity Tips to Design Presentations

Presentations are a must-have for almost every important meeting. Project updates, sales pitches, client approvals… but creating a good set of slides takes time. It’s not just the content part that you need to take care of but also the visual aspect of your presentation.

To speed up the process, here are 10 PowerPoint productivity tips to help you (and your team) get your presentations done faster - and without sacrificing quality.

How to Boost Your PowerPoint Productivity to Meet Tight Deadlines

If you landed in this post, there’s a PowerPoint presentation (or multiple ones) that you need to finish soon. Let’s tackle this situation with the following time-saving PowerPoint tips:

PowerPoint Productivity Tip #1: Repurpose Old Slides

When the clock is ticking against you, repurposing an old deck is one of the quickest ways to have a fresh presentation on time and on-brand.

Revise your marketing and sales collateral and look for a previous deck with a similar topic to the one you’re about to present. There you’ll have not only fully-branded slides but also images, icons, and even data that could help you enrich and put together your new presentation faster.

PowerPoint Productivity Tip #2: Pick a Ready-to-go PowerPoint Template

But what if your business hasn’t worked with branded presentations before? Well, you still have other alternatives. There are thousands of online sites where you can find pre-designed slides for project reports, sales presentations, pitch decks, and more.

For instance, the Templates by 24Slides site has incredible PowerPoint templates for corporate and creative presentations. From timelines and roadmaps to data-driven charts and progress bars to PPT icons and backgrounds (Yes, you can get all that in PowerPoint) Thousands of PowerPoint resources in one place, for free .

PowerPoint Productivity Tip #3: Use PowerPoint Add-ins

Another way to work faster on PowerPoint and elevate the quality of your presentation is using PowerPoint add-ins. They are extra features you can install in PowerPoint to perform specific actions. For example, searching for stock images and icons, aligning the elements of your slides, creating cool transitions, working with animations, and so much more.

Since PowerPoint add-ins are meant to help presenters complete tasks in a couple of clicks, there’s no steep learning curve or any required design training to use them correctly.

If you want to start now, here’s a hand-picked list of the best free and paid PowerPoint add-ins to increase your productivity.

PowerPoint Productivity Tip #4: Explore the Design ideas tool

“Design Ideas” is a feature in PowerPoint that helps you create visually appealing slides in a matter of seconds.

To activate it, go to your “Home” tab and click on “Design Ideas” at the end of the ribbon. A lateral column will appear with creative options for arranging your slides’ elements and creating new designs.

I recommend you use this powerful PowerPoint tool once you have all the presentation content (text, images, charts) in place because it generates designs according to what’s on your slides.

PowerPoint Productivity Tip #5: Outsource your Presentation Design

The easiest and fastest way to design a PowerPoint presentation is not to do it yourself.

Let me break it down real quick. Just like there are specialists in video editing or product photography, there are expert PowerPoint designers that can get you results like these:

Why spend your day in PowerPoint when you can leave it to the experts (and focus on more important tasks)?

If this sounds like a perfect idea, outsourcing your presentation design is the option you're looking for.

At 24Slides , our designers have experience creating impactful work for thousands of professionals who need help with their PowerPoints. In fact, the slides you’ve seen above are real examples of what they can do for you. And the best part is that you can get your brand-new slides in 24 hours .

How to Boost Your Team’s Productivity in PowerPoint for Future Presentations

We’ve covered the quickest ways to get your presentations done. But if you have a flexible deadline or more slides to deliver in the future, here are some things you and your team can implement to avoid working against the clock.

PowerPoint Productivity Tip #6: Build a library of brand-approved assets

Do you want stakeholders to remember your company after every meeting? Give your team the resources to integrate your brand identity into their presentations.

You can start by making an audit of your marketing and sales collateral and pick the ones you consider to represent your brand the best. Building a library or repository of brand-approved templates will save your team HOURS of work and ensure a consistent, professional look for all your communications.

PowerPoint Productivity Tip #7: Utilize Master Slides

When talking about productivity in PowerPoint, Master slides are probably one of the best PowerPoint features you’ll find. Some people mistake them for templates, but they’re more than that.

Let’s say you want your logo on every slide. Instead of copy-pasting your image 20 or 50 times, you just go to the “View” tab > “Slide Master” option and place your watermark logo in the first slide. Then, all the slides that you create will automatically have your logo on them. And you can do the same to apply your brand colors, set up your font types, create data visualization charts, etc.

In short, master slides help you standardize the design of your presentations. If this is the first time you read about them, it might take you a couple of tries to master this art. But you can always check out our guide on how to create and use master slides . It will change the way you work in PowerPoint forever.

PowerPoint Productivity Tip #8: Find Design Inspiration Sites

Considering that your presentations’ design always takes some hours, it'd pay off to put together design references before starting. This way, you can set a clear vision of the look you want for your slides and optimize the time you spend on them.

Luckily, there are plenty of online sites that showcase creative work from all over the world. And you don't have to restrict yourself to PowerPoint examples . You can find design inspiration in banners, typographies, web designs, color palettes, etc.

Here’s a curated list of design inspiration sites you can visit whenever you or your team feel stuck when working on new slides.

PowerPoint Productivity Tip #9: Learn some PowerPoint Shortcuts

I know what you’re thinking. Keyboard shortcuts are not the most exciting thing, that’s true. But they come in handy when working with large presentations. For example, did you know that you can check the spelling of your whole deck with F7? Or that you can easily duplicate slides and shapes with Ctrl + D?

There are many shortcuts like these that help you work faster in PowerPoint. But you don’t have to learn them all. Only the ones that you’ll need when designing your slides. That’s why I’ve compiled the top 20 PowerPoint keyboard shortcuts every presenter should know. It includes basic and advanced commands to use before and during a presentation.

PowerPoint Productivity Tip #10: Get a dedicated team of presentation designers

When PowerPoint design is not one of your team’s core skills, coming up with professional-looking slides can be a challenge.

According to our survey, the average executive spends around 4 hours a week designing a presentation . That might not sound much, but when you do the math, it translates into roughly 188 hours a year . And that’s not even their main job!

If your company works with presentations constantly, it might make more sense to have a team of presentation designers.

At 24Slides, we support businesses with a dedicated team trained in their branding. This means every time they send a PowerPoint project, we already know which fonts, images, and colors to apply. We also provide overnight turnarounds to all their presentations and other features that ensure seamless integration into their workflow. That's how employees from leading companies receive impactful decks that are a big win for their teams - with no hassle of designing one.

And there you have it! I hope you give these PowerPoint productivity tips a try because making presentations shouldn’t take your or your team’s whole day. Especially when there are smart ways to deliver time back to your people .

You might also like these articles:

• 45 Tips To Speed Up Your PowerPoint Design Workflow
• 10 of the Best Productivity Tools for Working in PowerPoint

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21 Ways To Improve Your Presentation Skills

Published: April 07, 2023

You know the feeling of sitting through a boring presentation. A text distracts you. A noise outside pulls your gaze. Your dog begs for attention. By the time the presentation ends, you question why you needed to sit and listen in the first place.

Effective presentation skills can stop you from boring an audience to oblivion. Delivering strong presentations can help you stand out as a leader, showcase your expertise, and build confidence.

Table of contents:

• Presentation skills definition
• Importance of presentation skills
• How to improve presentation skills
• Effective presentation skills
• Presentation skills for executives

Presentation Skills Definition

Presentation skills include anything you need to create and deliver clear, effective presentations to an audience. This includes creating a compelling set of slides , ensuring the information flows, and keeping your audience engaged.

Speakers with strong presentation skills can perform the following tasks:

• Bring together different sources of information to form a compelling narrative
• Hook audiences with a strong beginning and end
• Ensure audiences engage with their content through questions or surveys
• Understand what their audience wants and needs from their presentation

Importance of Presentation Skills

At some point in your career, you will present something. You might pitch a startup to a group of investors or show your research findings to your manager at work. Those in leading or executive roles often deliver presentations on a weekly or monthly basis.

Improving your presentation skills betters different aspects of your working life, including the following:

Communication: Improving your presentation skills can make you a better communicator with your co-workers and friends.

Confidence: 75% of people fear public speaking. By working on your presentation skills, you can gain confidence when speaking in front of a crowd.

Creativity: You learn to understand how to use imagery and examples to engage an audience.

Management: Presentations involve pulling together information to form a succinct summary, helping you build project and time management skills.

How To Improve Presentation Skills

1. create an outline.

Before designing slides and writing a script, outline your presentation. Start with your introduction, segue into key points you want to make, and finish with a conclusion.

2. Practice, Practice, Practice

Almost 8 in 10 professionals practice their presentations for at least an hour. So, practice your presentation in the mirror or to a close friend.

3. Start With a Hook

When presenting, grab your audience with a hook. Consider starting with a surprising statistic or a thoughtful question before diving into the core information.

4. Stay Focused on Your Topic

You might want to cover everything under the sun, but information overload can overwhelm your audience. Instead, stay focused on what you want to cover. Aim for key points and avoid including unnecessary details.

5. Remember To Introduce Yourself

At the beginning of the presentation, introduce yourself. Kill any tension in the room by mentioning your name, your role, and any other helpful details. You could even mention a fun fact about yourself, putting the audience at ease.

6. Work on Your Body Language

55% of people look to nonverbal communication when judging a presentation. Straighten your back, minimize unnecessary gestures, and keep your voice confident and calm. Remember to work on these aspects when practicing.

7. Memorize Structure, Not Words

You might feel better knowing exactly what you want to say. But skip the script and stick to memorizing the key points of your presentation. For example, consider picking three to four phrases or insights you want to mention for each part of your presentation rather than line-by-line memorization.

8. Learn Your Audience

Before crafting a killer outline and slide deck, research your audience. Find out what they likely already know, such as industry jargon, and where they might need additional information. Remember: You're presenting for them, not you.

9. Reframe Your Anxiety as Excitement

A study conducted byHarvard Business School demonstrates that reframing your anxiety as excitement can improve performance. For example, by saying simple phrases out loud, such as “I’m excited,” you then adopt an opportunity-oriented mentality.

10. Get Comfortable With the Setting

If you plan to present in person, explore the room. Find where you’re going to stand and deliver your presentation. Practice looking into the seats. By decreasing the number of unknowns, you can clear your head and focus on the job.

11. Get Familiar With Technology

Presenting online has unique challenges, such as microphone problems and background noise. Before a Zoom presentation, ensure your microphone works, clean up your background, test your slides, and consider any background noise.

12. Think Positively

Optimistic workers enjoy faster promotions and happier lives. By reminding yourself of the positives — for example, your manager found your last presentation impressive — you can shake off nerves and find joy in the process.

13. Tell a Story

To engage your audience, weave storytelling into your presentation — more than 5 in 10 people believe stories hold their focus during a presentation. Consider ways to connect different parts of your slides into a compelling narrative.

14. Prepare for Questions

At the end of your presentation, your audience will likely have questions. Brainstorm different questions and potential answers so you’re prepared.

15. Maintain Eye Contact

Eye contact signals honesty. When possible, maintain eye contact with your audience. For in-person presentations, pay attention to each audience member. For online ones, stare at your camera lens as you deliver.

16. Condense Your Presentation

After you finish the first draft of your outline, think about ways to condense it. Short and sweet often keeps people interested instead of checking their phones.

17. Use Videos

Keep your audience’s attention by incorporating video clips when relevant. For example, videos can help demonstrate examples or explain difficult concepts.

18. Engage With Your Audience

Almost 8 in 10 professionals view presentations as boring. Turn the tide by engaging with your audience. Encourage audience participation by asking questions or conducting a live survey.

19. Present Slowly and Pause Frequently

When you get nervous, you talk faster. To combat this, remember to slow yourself down when practicing. Place deep pauses throughout your presentation, especially when transitioning between slides, as it gives you time to breathe and your audience time to absorb.

20. Start and End With a Summary

A summary at the start of a presentation can pique your audience’s interest. One at the end brings everything together, highlighting key points your audience should take with them.

21. Ask for Feedback

You will never deliver the perfect presentation, so ask for feedback. Talk to your managers about where you could improve. Consider surveying your audience for an unbiased look into your presentation skills.

Effective Presentation Skills

Effective presentation skills include communicating clearly, presenting with structure, and engaging with the audience.

As an example, say a content manager is presenting a quarterly review to their team. They start off with a summary. Their introduction mentions an unprecedented 233% growth in organic traffic — numbers their team has not seen in years. Immediately, the presenter grabs their team’s attention. Now, everyone wants to know how they achieved that in one quarter.

Alternatively, think of an entrepreneur delivering their pitch to a group of investors. They start with a question: How many of you struggle to stay awake at work? They then segue into an exciting product designed to improve the sleep quality of working professionals. Their presentation includes videos demonstrating the science behind sleep and surprising statistics about the demand for their product.

Both examples demonstrate effective presentation skills. They incorporate strong attention grabbers, summaries, and attempts to engage the audience.

Think back to strong presentations you viewed as an audience member. Ask yourself: What made them so memorable, and how can I incorporate those elements into my presentations?

Presentation Skills for Executives

Presentations take up a significant portion of an executive’s workload. Executives regularly showcase key company initiatives, team changes, quarterly and annual reviews, and more. Improving your presentation skills as a leader can help with different parts of your job, such as:

Trust: Delivering great, effective presentations can build trust between you and your team.

Confidence: Most people dread presentations — so a strong presenter projects the confidence needed by a leader.

Emotional intelligence: A great presentation taps into the audience’s perspectives, helping executives improve their emotional intelligence .

Expertise: Presentations help executives display their subject-matter expertise, making employees safe in their hands.

Delegation: At times, executives might need to pull information from different sources for a presentation — improving their ability to delegate as managers.

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13 PowerPoint Presentation Tips to Create Engaging Presentations

Written by: Chloe West

Have to create a PowerPoint presentation and dread it? Your presentations don’t always have to be dry, boring and limited. With these PowerPoint presentation tips, you’ll be able to put together a dynamic and engaging presentation.

Let’s start from the very beginning before you even open up your presentation tool.

• Start by writing out your talking points.
• Get creative with your slide design.
• Keep your design consistent throughout.
• Make your presentation interactive.
• Add animation.
• Put together seamless transitions.
• Use text creatively.
• Align objects with the grid.
• Create non-linear presentations.
• Place shapes strategically.
• Crop images into shapes.
• Utilize the presenter notes.
• Use a dynamic presentation software.

1. Start by writing out your talking points.

The first thing you need to do, before even considering your presentation design, is to write out your talking points and outline your speech.

Pay attention to popular and engaging presentation structures so you know the framework you want to follow throughout your talk. This will also make it easier to create an outline that focuses on each of your talking points.

Once you’ve put together an outline that represents your topic and touches on each important element you need to cover, you can start searching for a PowerPoint presentation template that will fit your topic.

Or, you can start browsing through Visme’s presentation templates below.

Presentation Templates

Ecommerce Webinar Presentation

Buyer Presentation

PixelGo Marketing Plan Presentation

Technology Presentation

Product Training Interactive Presentation

Work+Biz Pitch Deck - Presentation

Create your presentation View more templates

2. Get creative with your PowerPoint presentation slide design.

When it comes to putting your content onto your PowerPoint presentation slides, you want to be sure your slides are clean, easy to read and engaging.

This means you should try out a variety of different creative themes. And while we have a post with over 100 creative presentation ideas you should check out, here are a few ways to really make your slideshow stand out.

Use more design elements than photos.

While a photo collage or stock image background tends to be PowerPoint presentation go-to’s, we’re trying to empower you to do something different!

Take a page out of this template’s book by taking advantage of different design elements. Here, we see a solid colored background, shapes, icons and text decorating the slides of this presentation.

In this example PowerPoint slides, we do still see a photo added to emphasize the point on one of the slides, but it’s used as a design element rather than the foundation of the slide.

Use a bold color scheme.

When customizing example PowerPoint slides , your color palette matters. Using a more bold and bright color scheme is a great way to grab audience attention and make yourself seem more serious about your topic.

A more powerful color scheme makes an impression on your viewers, helping them to further see you as an authority on the information you’re sharing.

This example PowerPoint slides uses a bold blue and orange color scheme to stand out. To get an idea for a color palette for your next presentation, take a look at these 50 combinations .

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3. Keep your design consistent throughout.

We just shared a couple of different presentation templates available with our platform in the last point. What do you notice?

Here’s another example for you to take a look at.

All of the example PowerPoint slides have a similar look and feel, creating a cohesive presentation deck that looks intentional and professionally designed.

Imagine if you were sitting in a presentation that looked something like this.

This looks messy and cluttered. It’s an amateur-looking design, and your audience will be confused about how these slides make any sense together.

Because keeping your design consistent is an essential part of creating an engaging presentation, we’ve also created a few different presentation themes with hundreds of example PowerPoint slides that all follow the same design theme.

Here’s an example of our Modern presentation theme below with over 900 different slides so that you can find a variety of slides perfect for your next slide deck.

4. Make your presentation interactive.

One way to create a really dynamic presentation that will keep your audience engaged and create a memorable experience is to make your presentation interactive.

While we’ve covered 17 ways to create an interactive presentation before, let’s go over how you can do this using a tool like Visme.

PowerPoint is widely known as the go-to presentation software, but there are so many alternatives that can lead you to a better solution and a better end result.

In Visme’s presentation maker, you can easily add links to any object in your presentation that lead to web pages, other slides within your presentation or create popup or hover effects with other objects on your slide.

Simply click on the element that you want to add a link to, head to the Actions menu, then select which type of interactive link you want to add.

You’re also able to create interactive maps and data visualizations that allow you or your viewers to hover over each element in your visual to see more information.

Here’s an example of an interactive map that you can easily create to showcase more information in a more digestible format.

Visme also allows you to embed external content like videos, polls, forms, surveys, quizzes and more. Plus, there are several third-party integrations you can use to embed and connect even more interactive content.

5. Add animation.

Another way to help your slides stand out is by adding in animated elements. Try to incorporate enter and exit effects for various objects on your slides to grab your audience’s attention as new slides fly onto the screen.

Here’s a great example of how this could look.

Or, if you put together your PowerPoint presentation slides with a different tool – like Visme, wink wink – you can gain access to even more animated elements.

Visme provides users with fully customizable animated illustrations, icons, shapes and more that can have their size, colors and animation speed updated to fit your needs.

These illustrations can be perfect for adding even more depth to your presentation slides, especially when it comes to your title slides and section headers to help break up your presentation.

6. Put together seamless transitions.

When customizing example PowerPoint slides, you want to put a creative spin on it. Instead of having one slide disappear for another to appear in full, why not try out some creative transitions?

It’s important for us to note that if you find a transition you like, you should stick with it throughout your presentation. This goes back to our point about cohesive design. You want everything to flow well.

This means that you don’t want to throw a ton of different slide designs, animation types and transitions into the mix, or you’ll end up with a cluttered and hard-to-follow presentation deck.

Visme’s unique transitions offer not just slide transitions, but a way to seamlessly transition all of your elements onto the screen as well.

Take a look at this presentation below to see how this looks. Click through the slides to see them transition.

To get this effect, simply choose one of the following transitions that also show the slide elements following suit after the background appears.

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• Add your own text, images and more
• Customize colors, fonts and everything else
• Choose from hundreds of slide designs and templates
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7. Use text creatively.

There are hundreds of fonts to choose from, so how do you know the best ones to use and how to make them stand out on your slides?

First, you can check out our guide to font pairing to understand some basics for choosing the right fonts for your slides.

For example, make sure you’re using 3 fonts max, and that each has a specific role in your presentation, as you see below.

Once you’ve chosen your preferred fonts, whether you look through our selections of top fonts , modern fonts , pretty fonts or elsewhere, start considering how you can use them creatively in your presentation design.

Pro Tip: It’s important to remember that in a presentation, you won’t have many words on the screen. So you want to make sure the text that you do include focuses on your main point of each slide and grabs attention.

Let’s cover a few ways that you can use text creatively and really make your slides stand out to your viewers.

Surround your text with shapes.

If you really want to make certain words pop off the slide, add a shape behind them like you see in this presentation about dinosaurs above.

While this is more of an informational presentation, this tactic can also be used for business-related presentations as well. 

Simply search through Visme’s library of shapes for something that matches your theme and set it behind your content.

Place your text on the white space of a photo.

Try positioning your photos strategically and utilizing pictures with more white space than you normally would. This helps you find the perfect spot to place your text so that it’s easy for your audience to read while still being visual.

In the above example PowerPoint slides, these minimalistic nature photos are the perfect backdrop for the text, providing tons of white space while still offering texture and visual elements.

Use color overlays.

Another great way to really make your words pop is by adding a translucent color overlay on top of your background photo.

Incorporating a photo into your presentation slide helps create more depth and visualize the words you’re saying, but you still want to be able to have your text be legible throughout the slide deck.

8. Align objects with the grid.

When using a tool like Visme to create your presentation, you can turn on a grid that allows you to ensure your design elements are properly aligned and perfectly symmetrical.

To access the grid in Visme’s editor, click the hamburger menu, then go to View Options , then toggle the Show grid option to turn it on.

You can set the size you want your grid to be to strategically align elements around your slide as well as set how opaque the grid lines are.

9. Create non-linear presentations.

You don’t have to go from slide to slide in your PowerPoint presentation. In fact, there are endless options for how you could navigate between slides when presenting.

Whether you let the audience decide the direction of your presentation by offering them different options to choose from, you create a navigation bar for your presentation or you allow yourself to determine the flow as you go by adding a progress bar, you have tons of options.

Here’s a great example of what your presentation could look like with a navigation menu within your slides.

10. Place shapes strategically.

Don’t underestimate the power of shapes in your presentation design. Or any design, really. 

Using various geometric shapes or even shapes you may not have heard of before to draw attention to various elements on the screen is a great design practice.

Our Creative presentation theme – with over 300 different slide layouts – is a great example of using shapes strategically to add design elements and emphasize various parts of your content.

Visme presentation maker has a library full of different types of shapes that can be used in diagrams, as backgrounds to icons , to frame text and so much more.

Put together a set of guidelines for which shapes you plan to use in your presentation and stick to no more than two or three different shapes throughout. While you can resize them based on your needs, you don’t want to clutter your slides.

11. Crop images into shapes.

Back with the shapes! Another creative way to bring shapes into your designs is to crop photos into different geometric shapes.

The presentation template below is the perfect example for how you can visually incorporate these cropped images into your slide design.

It’s easy to do this with a tool like Visme. Simply drag and drop your choice of photo from the photo library in the left sidebar onto your slide, click it, choose Frames in the navigation bar and choose the one that fits your design.

Take a look at a few of the frames available in our software.

12. Utilize presenter notes.

Want to really give a good presentation ? It’s important not to read off the slide and actually speak directly to your audience throughout your PowerPoint presentation.

One great way to keep yourself on task and ensure you don’t skip over any important information is to take advantage of presenter notes available to you when up on stage or in front of your audience presenting.

Visme has dynamic and comprehensive presenter notes built in that help ease the pressure of presenting.

Take a look below at what you can expect to see on your screen when presenting – all while your audience only sees the slide you’re showcasing.

You get access to the time of your presentation, the current slide, the slide you can expect next to help with the flow of your slideshow and the notes you’ve prepared for your talking points.

13. Use a dynamic presentation software.

The last way to create an amazing and engaging PowerPoint presentation is to use a dynamic presentation software that isn’t PowerPoint.

I know what you’re thinking – how can you deliver a PowerPoint by using a different software?

With a tool like Visme, you’ll get tons of premade example PowerPoint slides to choose from. You’re able to both import existing PowerPoints to edit and spice them up and export editable PowerPoints to present offline and make any last minute changes.

When creating your presentation, you can use Dynamic Fields to automatically update key information throughout the slides. You can also personalize the fields and apply them to other projects.

Our analytics tool helps you track the performance of your presentation. You can track views, unique visits, average time, average completion and a host of other key metrics.

Learn more about turning your Vismes into PowerPoint presentations in this quick tutorial video.

Start improving your PowerPoint presentations with Visme.

Ready to start creating PowerPoint presentations with Visme? Sign up for a business account today and improve your brand and the presentations you share with your audience. Start creating engaging and interactive presentations that your viewers will love.

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About the Author

Chloe West is the content marketing manager at Visme. Her experience in digital marketing includes everything from social media, blogging, email marketing to graphic design, strategy creation and implementation, and more. During her spare time, she enjoys exploring her home city of Charleston with her son.

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10 EASY TIPS TO IMPROVING YOUR POWERPOINT PRESENTATION

• They are boring
• They are irrelevant or
• The presenter tried to cram too many slides into too little time.

So, given that people still use Powerpoint presentation equipment  to deliver the message, what can you do to be more interesting and engaging to your audience? Below are some simple tips that can help get your message across and keep your attendees begging for more.

• Hit the presentation “sweet spot”. In today’s fast-paced mobile market, it is important to plan your presentation for 20 minutes or less. It isn’t about you, your company, or your organization’s reputation. It is all about the message.
• Be enthusiastic and exciting. Make good eye contact with attendees and smile. Tell stories to bring your message to life.
• Show, don’t tell. How can your presentation improve the lives of your attendees? Show them  through videos, photographs, and stories. The less text you have on slide, the better.
• Limit the number of slides to 10 or less. This will keep you focused on the message.
• If you have to use text, use no more than 6 words per slide. The purpose of PowerPoint is to be a visual cue to you for your story. It is intended to enhance your presentation, not prolong it.
• Never, ever, READ your slides. This will turn your attendees away faster than you can say “PowerPoint”. One bold CEO of a Fortune 1000 company told the presenter to stop their presentation and leave the slides behind “because he could read the slides just as well as the presenter could.”
• Try to find out the attendee’s needs and tailor your presentation to meet them. If you are conducting a product launching event, find out what need this product will solve for the participant. If it is a training session , present what they need to know and why it is important.
• Ask and listen. Answer questions as they come up, don’t wait for Q & A. Be willing to abandon your slides in the interest of where your audience is at. You are the subject matter expert, but they are the experts in what they need to know. Be flexible.
• Learn as much about your audience as possible . This can be completed through an online community before your talk or by asking a series of questions before your presentation begins.
• Test your presentation audio visual equipment well in advance . Have your audiovisual rental company on premise to go over the entire presentation with you and test the sound and Internet connection if necessary. Give yourself 1 to 2 hours in advance of your talk to be comfortable with all the equipment and connections.

Are you event planning in California and looking for LCD projector and screen rentals? Give AV Event Solutions a call or check out their  express quote form for fast turnaround on rental equipment and event services.

INDUSTRY UPDATES AND MORE

Time-crunched event sponsorship: how creative av can help  , elevating the attendee experience: how public space enhancements boost retention and extend messaging beyond meeting rooms , refine your ai prompts for better event marketing results, it solutions.

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How can I get help with creating or improving my PowerPoint presentations?

July 8, 2024 /

Creating or improving PowerPoint presentations can be a daunting task, but there are several strategies you can employ to ensure your slides are both visually appealing and effective in conveying your message. Here are some practical steps to get you started:

• Understand Your Audience : Tailor your content to meet the needs and expectations of your audience. Knowing who you are presenting to will help you decide on the appropriate tone, style, and level of detail.
• Plan Your Content : Outline your presentation before you start designing slides. This will help you organize your thoughts and ensure a logical flow of information.
• Use High-Quality Visuals : Incorporate high-resolution images, icons, and graphics to make your slides more engaging. Avoid clutter by using visuals that directly support your message.
• Keep It Simple : Stick to a clean and consistent design. Use a limited color palette and choose fonts that are easy to read. Avoid overloading slides with text; aim for bullet points and concise statements.
• Leverage Templates : Utilize professional PowerPoint templates to give your presentation a polished look. Templates can save time and ensure consistency across all slides.
• Practice Good Design Principles : Pay attention to alignment, contrast, and spacing. These elements can significantly impact the readability and overall aesthetic of your presentation.
• Seek Professional Help : If you find yourself struggling with design or content, consider consulting with a professional presentation design service. Experts can provide tailored solutions to enhance your slides, ensuring they are both visually stunning and effective in delivering your message.

By following these tips, you can create compelling PowerPoint presentations that captivate your audience and clearly communicate your key points.

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Create a presentation

Create a presentation in powerpoint for the web.

With PowerPoint for the web running in your web browser, you can:

Create presentations that include images, videos, transitions, and animations.

Get to your presentations from your computer, tablet, or phone.

Share and work with others, wherever they are.

If you're using the desktop version of PowerPoint on a Windows PC, see the PowerPoint Quick Start .

If you're using the desktop version of PowerPoint on a Mac, see Office for Mac Quick Start Guides and PowerPoint for Mac Help .

Create, open, and name a presentation

Go to powerpoint.office.com .

Select New blank presentation , open a Recent file, select one of the themes , or start with a presentation template .

To name the presentation, select the title at the top and type a name.

If you need to rename the presentation, select the title and retype the name.

Add a slide

Select the slide you want your new slide to follow.

Select Home > New Slide .

Select Layout and the you type want from the drop-down.

When working in PowerPoint for the web, your work is saved every few seconds. You can select File > Save a Copy to create a duplicate copy in another location.

Or choose File > Download As to save a copy to your device.

When you're online, AutoSave is always on and saves your changes as you work. If at any time you lose your Internet connection or turn it off, any pending changes will sync as soon as you’re back online.

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