10 Simple PowerPoint Tips for Stunning Presentations

This is written with PowerPoint 2007 in mind, since that is what I use (and because it’s awesome). Some of these tips will also be helpful for older versions as well.

TIP #1: Recolor Images
So you got all fancy with your slide backgrounds and added a background color or maybe even a gradient. You now want to add an image, but it has a white background, totally messing up the look of your slide. Or maybe the image has lots of pink on it and you’d really prefer for it to just be in black and white. Now what?

1. Select the image object.
2. Click on the Format Tab.
3. On the left side of the page click on Recolor.
4. Set to Transparent Color.
5. Click on the background of your image to make it transparent.
6. If you’d like to change the color of the image, choose More Variations, and then select your color.

TIP #2: Use Smart Art
The best way to present information is by displaying a model. People just get models. But making one from scratch takes a lot of creativity and time. Luckily, Microsoft Office has automated much of the process for you.

1. Click on the Insert Tab –> Select Smart Art
2. Choose from a list, process, cycle, hierarchy, relationship, matrix, or pyramid. A list is especially helpful if you just can’t think of anything else except for bullet points. Use a SmartArt list instead!!
3. If at any point you change your mind about the layout of your smart art, right-click on the border of your smart art and select Change Smart Art
4. To change the color default for your smart art, use the Design Tab.
5. To change individual box colors, right click on the object and select Format Shape.

TIP #3: Embed Your Video
You’ve seen it. A presenter wants to show a video to make a point, but in doing so rifles through his hard drive, exposing several confidential docs in the process. Worse yet, goes to YouTube and attempts to search for the video while the waiting audience grows impatient. Don’t do this! Instead, embed the video in your slide. You can even make it autoplay. There are two options for this:

Online access
Use this if you’ll be using a different computer or someone else will be viewing the presentation. This one is a little trickier so you can watch a video about it here… or you can just read this list:

1. Click on Developer Tab –> Click on More Controls
2. Select Shockwave Flash Object
3. Draw a box in your slide
4. Right click on your box, select Properties
5. Get a url for your video, delete watch? and replace = with / (So for http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hChq5drjQl4, you’d want to input http://www.youtube.com/v/hChq5drjQl4)
6. Insert URL in the Movie field
7. If you want the video to autoplay change Playing to true

Hard drive access
Use this option if you aren’t sure if you will have wi-fi access but you will be using your own laptop to present.

Insert Tab –> Movie from file –> Find your video

A pop-up will ask you “How do you want the movie to start in the slide show?” Choose from automatically or when clicked.

TIP #4: Create a Master Template
Let’s say you have a specific logo and background and font type you tend to use since you like to brand yourself. And you give different presentations fairly often too. For this situation, it is useful to have a template, so you don’t have to always be formatting each and every slide.

1. Start with a blank presentation
2. Click on the View Tab
3. Click on Slide Master
4. In your side bar you see you have a master slide, and then the different types of slide layouts available.
5. Work with the master slide only. Make changes to the others later.
6. Do all the formatting you want to appear.
7. Click on Save As…
8. Choose Microsoft PowerPoint Template from the Drop Down
9. Next time you need to make a presentation, find your template and start from there.

TIP #5: Content Control
You followed my tips and have done an amazing job presenting at a conference. You get a flood of emails asking for a copy of the presentation. Your mind flashes to the cons immediately … stolen content, misattribution, formatting mishaps when viewing in different versions, negative publicity, etc. You have at least three options to prevent that:

Save as PDF
The file is viewable and printable, but it cannot be altered. The videos, animations, sound will not function in a PDF.

1. Download the PDF add-in from Microsoft Office
2. Make appropriate changes to your slides (delete videos, change overlapping animations)
3. Click on Save As –> PDF

Save as PowerPoint Show
When the file is opened, it will always play in presentation mode. The videos and images and sound will be OK, but the user cannot print or edit the presentation. Save As –> Microsoft PowerPoint Show

Save as .GIF, .JPEG, or .PNG
Want to share an awesome slide somewhere? Save it as a pic. Save As —> Select an image type from the Save As Type Drop-Down Bar

TIP #6: Use Images
Microsoft clip art is limiting? Don’t want to pay for images? Don’t have a camera/time/artistic ability to create your own art? Use open source images from Flickr or Google Image Search.

TIP #7: Link your Excel chart in your PowerPoint document
This is most useful when your primary document is an Excel spreadsheet and you then must create a PowerPoint presentation based on the data contained in that spreadsheet. This tip is especially useful when the data changes or is updated regularly.

1. Open up both your PowerPoint file and your Excel spreadsheet.
2. Create a chart in Excel.
3. Copy the chart.
4. In your PowerPoint document.. Paste Special –> Paste Link.
5. Every time the data in your Excel chart is updated, you can right click on the chart in your presentation and select Update Link (or you can set it to update automatically).

TIP #8: Jazz it Up
Make images stand out or add some interest to flow charts.

1. Select your image or text box or shape object
2. Click on the Format Tab. Alternatively, you can right click the object and select Format Picture or Format Shape.
3. Your effect options are shadow, reflection, glow, soft edges, bevel, and 3D. My favorite is a beveled reflection.
4. You can also add or change the border as well as the color.

TIP #9: Link to It
Link to a place within the document, in your files, or on the internet.

1. Click on your object or select your text
2. Insert Tab–>Hyperlink
3. Choose from:
   • Place in the document (if you want to create a Choose Your Own Adventure type of – presentation or a Tutorial or you want to reference another slide)
   • Place on your hard drive (if you’ll be using your own computer during the presentation)
   • URL on the Internet (if you’ll have internet access during the presentation)

TIP #10: Break Some Old-School Conventions
It was well-meaning advice at one point, but usually your presentations will be better off without the following:

• Agenda slide so you can “tell them what you’re going to tell them”
  Your slides don’t have to parallel your words. It’s OK, you can tell them what you’re going to tell them without showing them a table of contents.
• Slides per time limit/2 minutes per slide
  Forget it, there’s no rule of thumb for this. It depends. If you want a dynamic PowerPoint, you’ll need WAY more than this. If you are telling stories or have built in interactivity during your presentation, you’ll need way less.
• X words per bullet point or per slide
  Words do not make a slide and you shouldn’t be using bullet points, see TIP #2.

Most of all, be consistent. Make sure everything flows together. Don’t use different font types unless you have a good reason. Don’t switch the background unless it helps prove a point. Don’t use animations just to make things creative. Do things that enhance your message, not things that distract.

Since this article is from a design perspective, check out PowerPoint is My Slave for some delivery tips and tricks.

What are your favorite tips and tricks for PowerPoint?