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Exploring the Benefits of Using PPT Slide Gratis in Your Business Presentations

In today’s fast-paced digital world, business presentations have become an essential tool for conveying information and engaging audiences. One of the key elements that can make a presentation stand out is the use of visually appealing slides. PowerPoint (PPT) has long been the go-to software for creating professional presentations, and now, with the availability of PPT slide gratis (free PowerPoint slides), businesses have even more options at their disposal. In this article, we will explore the benefits of using PPT slide gratis in your business presentations.

Enhancing Visual Appeal

One of the primary advantages of using PPT slide gratis is its ability to enhance the visual appeal of your business presentations. Free PowerPoint slides often come in a wide range of designs, layouts, and color schemes that can be easily customized to match your brand or topic. These visually appealing slides can captivate your audience’s attention and make your content more memorable.

Additionally, PPT slide gratis often include high-quality images, icons, and graphics that can help illustrate complex concepts or data in a visually engaging manner. By incorporating these elements into your presentation, you can effectively communicate your message and make it easier for your audience to understand and retain information.

Saving Time and Effort

Creating professional-looking slides from scratch can be time-consuming and require significant design skills. However, with PPT slide gratis, you can save both time and effort by utilizing pre-designed templates that are ready to use. These templates come with pre-built layouts and formatting options that allow you to focus on creating compelling content rather than designing every aspect of your slides.

Moreover, many websites offer a vast collection of free PowerPoint slides specifically designed for different purposes such as sales pitches, project updates, or team meetings. This extensive library allows you to quickly find suitable templates that align with your presentation goals without having to spend hours searching or designing from scratch.

Cost-Effective Solution

Another significant advantage of using PPT slide gratis is that it provides a cost-effective solution for businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with limited budgets. Instead of investing in expensive design software or hiring professional designers, businesses can leverage free PowerPoint slides to create visually stunning presentations without incurring additional costs.

Moreover, PPT slide gratis allow you to access a wide variety of designs and styles that would otherwise require purchasing premium templates or paying for custom design services. This cost-saving aspect makes PPT slide gratis an attractive option for businesses looking to create impactful presentations without breaking the bank.

Easy Customization and Flexibility

PPT slide gratis offer a high degree of customization and flexibility, allowing you to tailor your presentations according to your specific needs. Most templates come with editable features that enable you to modify colors, fonts, sizes, and layouts to match your brand guidelines or personal preferences.

Furthermore, these free PowerPoint slides are compatible with different versions of PowerPoint software as well as other presentation tools like Google Slides or Keynote. This compatibility ensures that you can easily access and edit your slides across various platforms without any compatibility issues.

In conclusion, incorporating PPT slide gratis into your business presentations can greatly enhance their visual appeal while saving you time and effort in the design process. The availability of free templates also makes it a cost-effective solution for businesses with limited budgets. Furthermore, the customization options and flexibility provided by these slides allow you to create unique presentations that align with your branding and communication goals. So why not take advantage of the benefits offered by PPT slide gratis and elevate your business presentations?

This text was generated using a large language model, and select text has been reviewed and moderated for purposes such as readability.

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What should be the first slide of a presentation?

The first page of ppt should act like the cover of a book. It should give the would-be reader or audience a clear idea of what’s inside.

A PowerPoint first slide is commonly called a title slide or a cover slide, and it should include 3 main elements: (1) a title detailing the topic of the presentation, (2) An image that visually supports the title by adding more clarity to the topic, and (3) the reading time required to consume the presentation.

What is the best ppt first-page design?

The best first-page design for a ppt presentation or other more modern presentations is a mix of text and visuals that work together to provide the audience with a clear sense that the presentation is relevant, interesting, and worth reading. The best design choice is using a video with a short title text and tagline. A video will be effective in grabbing attention and a well-crafted title will make clear what the benefit of reading the presentation will be.

If you want to create an effective presentation, consider reading our guide on how to create an effective presentation .

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How to easily make an AWESOME first slide in PowerPoint?

By: Author Shrot Katewa

A good first impression can have a lasting impact. Thus, having a good design for your first slide is important. We’ve seen that people often simply put the title of the presentation as a first slide. I personally dislike this the most. It just shows that the person creating the presentation was simply not interested in it (even though that may not necessarily be true).

Thus, knowing how to create a good first slide is as important if not more as knowing how to create the rest of the presentation. The best part is – you can easily create an awesome first slide for your presentation in minutes in a few quick and easy steps. Obviously, if you have the time at hand, you can easily spend an hour or two making that perfect first slide! In this post, we take a look at how to easily create a first slide with a few examples of actual designs that we have created for our clients.

1. What is the first slide of a PPT presentation called?

The first slide of a presentation is called a “Title slide” or a “Cover slide” . This slide often contains the title of the presentation and hence the name title slide. It is also often referred to as the “Opening slide” of the presentation. The title slide is often the slide that is displayed on the screen before you start your presentation. Thus, it is important to have a title slide that not only looks good but also shares relevant information about your presentation.

2. What content should be included on the first slide of the PPT presentation?

A title slide or the cover slide does not need too much content. The purpose of the title slide is really to give an indication of what the presentation is all about. Thus, an ideal title slide should contain nothing more than –

• Presentation title
• Date of the presentation
• Presenter’s name and designation

It is not necessary to have all the above three pieces of information on a cover slide. Do keep in mind that not all cover slides are the same and what content is displayed on the cover slide can be organisation specific. An organisation may have a preference or a fixed structure for the content that needs to be put on a cover slide. This may vary from the above structure.

3. How to easily design a beautiful first slide in minutes?

As I mentioned earlier, having a good first slide can have a lasting positive impact on your audience. Thus, it is important to create a good design for your first slide. There are several ways you can design the cover slide. Let’s look at some of the easiest ways you can create a beautiful cover slide –

Method 1 – Using PowerPoint’s “Design Ideas” functionality (for beginners)

I must admit, PowerPoint’s “Design Ideas” functionality has great potential. In fact, we at OwlScape were planning on creating a similar plugin for PowerPoint users before Microsoft introduced this feature. This functionality is not just great for beginners, but also at least a must try for intermediate level users too. Designers from OwlScape also at least check out the functionality every once in a while especially when we hit a creative bloq.

It is really easy to work with. In just a couple of clicks and a few minutes, you can make your title slide look completely different –

To do this, all you need to do is put some text on your cover slide and use the “Design Ideas” functionality of PowerPoint. For example, you can write the title and subtitle of your presentation.

Next, click on the “Design” tab on your Menu bar. On the ribbon under the design tab, look for “Design Ideas” feature. It is normally on the far right of the screen on the ribbon. Click on it, and wait for a bit.

In a few seconds, PowerPoint will automatically throw a few ways in which you can design your title slide. You can choose the design you like, and repeat the process to get more results.

If you are unable to see any design ideas or you get an error, you could close the error result by clicking on the close button marked with “X” next to Design Ideas. Then, try clicking in any of the text box on the slide and click on “Design Ideas” again. A few attempts will surely give you some interesting results.

There are a few drawbacks though. These are as follows –

• The results are not consistent . If you happen to delete the slide and try to recreate using the exact same process, the result may be different. This can be both good and bad 🙂
• Editing the design of the suggested slide may not be easy for beginners – when you need to make some changes to the chosen design option, it doesn’t happen directly. You will need to work with the master slides in order to make the design changes. This may seem daunting especially if you are a beginner.
• Sometimes, it just doesn’t work – Even though you may have created a slide using the same content before, sometimes when you try to recreate using the same content, it may simply fail to showcase any ideas. In such an event, we would advise you to click on the text box or an image on your slide and try again by clicking on the Design Ideas option.
• Available for Office 2016 onwards – If you are a PowerPoint user using an older version of Microsoft Office, you may not be able to easily access this functionality. Having the latest PowerPoint version can be of great help!

One thing to note is that the “Design Ideas” option can be used not just for the cover slide, but also for other slides. However, I would advise resisting the temptation of using it for every single slide. 🙂

Method 2 – Using shapes to create an interesting cover slide (for intermediate users)

One other way of having an interesting cover slide is by using the shapes in PowerPoint. Let’s look at the following example –

If you look at the above example carefully, you’ll notice that we’ve only added a shape to the already existing title and the subtitle in the “After” slide. Simply adding a shape, a logo and aligning the text can alter the look of the slide drastically.

There are many ways you can add a shape to the slide. My favourite method is to add a horizontal or a vertical “Trapezoid/ trapezium” (a quadrilateral shape with one pair of parallel sides). A trapezoid shape allows me to have enough space to write the title of the slide and some more content.

To create this shape, you can follow the below steps –

On the menu bar, click on “Insert” and then click on “Shapes”. Under the basic shapes option, select the trapezium shape. Next, create the shape on your slide.

Make sure that the size of the trapezium is good enough to cover about ⅔ parts of the slide. Also ensure that the parallel sides of the trapezium touch the top and bottom part of the slide. Now all you need to do is add the title and subtitle, along with the logo to create your cover slide.

Similarly, you can also use the trapezium vertically. You can also use various types of shapes on your cover slide. The possibilities are literally endless!

Method 3 – Using shapes with images to create an awesome cover slide! (for advanced users)

If you are still not satisfied with your cover slide, there are several other ways you can make it look even more impressive. The easiest way to take it to the next level is to use images in combination with the shapes.

Let’s look at a few examples –

Combination cover slide design example – 1

In the above design, a shape has been created in the background using a freeform tool. Next, two appropriate images have been identified and put in front of the shape. All this has been kept predominantly to the right side of the slide allowing space to write the title, subtitle and the other relevant information on the left.

Combination cover slide design example – 2

In this example, we’ve used one corner of curved rectangle shape to create an interesting design. Two copies of the same shape have been considered. The one below is filled with a colour and tilted at a slight angle. The one above has an image inserted in the shape.

Combination cover slide design example – 3

In the above example, a combination of several shapes and images are used to create a visually pleasing design. Obviously, this may not be something that a beginner can create right of the bat. But the reason we put this design as an example is because barring the design skills (knowing what shape to include and where), creating this slide is not as advanced as you might think. This slide has been created by only using shapes and image elements along with the logo and text. The purpose of using this as an example was to showcase the endless possibilities on how a seemingly complex cover slide can be made by merely using basic shapes and images.

4. How to find images for the first slide of your presentation?

Whether you are using a combination of images and shapes or simply using an image on your title slide, it is important to identify a good image that resembles the topic of your presentation. Consider the following example –

If you’ve been following along, I’m sure you would have noticed by now that the above title slide has been created using a combination of images and shapes. Again, the design can be easily created using shapes and image elements. However, part of the reason that makes this slide look good and relevant to the presentation is the choice of image. Since the presentation is for a corporate organisation, choosing an image that resembles a corporate environment would be relevant.

Take a moment to scroll up and notice the other cover slide examples that I shared above.

The cover slide example 1 was designed for a presentation on education. Thus, choosing an image that represents education effectively communicates to the audience that the presentation is something to do with education even without the word “education” in the title or the subtitle or anywhere on the slide (Don’t resist, go ahead and have a look at the slide again! 🙂 )

Likewise, example 3 uses a mobile device in the title slide giving an indication that the product being talked about in the presentation is likely going to be an app.

Thus, choosing an appropriate image is important as it subtly communicates the message to the audience.

Finding the images for your presentation can take some time. You can use Google to see a few references on what type of images can be used. Avoid the temptation of using Google images directly on your presentation as this can violate copyright laws. We wrote a detailed post on where to find and how to use images for your presentation (link – https://owlscape.in/can-i-use-google-images-for-my-presentation/ ). Be sure to check it out!

I’m sure by now you’ve noticed a few different ways you can create a good title slide for your presentation. I hope this post helps you to think out of the box while creating the title slide of your next presentation. I also hope that going forward you will surely give enough focus on creating an impressive first slide even if you only have a few minutes.

If you’re struggling while creating your next title slide or your presentation, simply drop us an email on [email protected]

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How To Create A Captivating Title Slide For A Presentation?

Discover the secrets to crafting a mesmerizing title slide that leaves your audience spellbound! Delve into the purpose and importance of a title slide, unraveling the key elements that make it truly captivating. Learn invaluable tips on creating an attention-grabbing title slide for your presentations, and explore the art of titling slides using PowerPoint.

When designing your PowerPoint presentation, it is no doubt that the most crucial slide is the one at the beginning of your presentation and the one that concludes it. A crisp title slide can amp up your presentation game and instantly get your audience’s attention.

What Is The Purpose Of A Title Slide?

A title slide for a presentation has to be interesting to stand out, and one has to be very cautious while making a title slide. If you make it dull, you will lose your audience’s attention within minutes. An excellent first slide is not only a reflection of professionalism but also a great way of triggering that much-needed initial interest. If you want to know how to create a title slide, this PowerPoint tutorial is for you. This step-by-step tutorial will help you make a beautiful title slide for your presentation. Let’s dive into the recipe for creating the first slide in a few steps.

Title Slide: Definition And Importance

As the name suggests, a title slide is the first slide of a PowerPoint presentation. Usually, a title slide’s content is the presentation’s title and subtitles.

What Should Be In The Title Slide?

A title slide contains

• the title of the presentation.
• At times, a preface of a presentation
• Author’s name.
• At times, background relevant to the topic of the presentation
• Branding of the company

How To Create A Title Slide For Presentation?

Method 1: choosing a template from the powerpoint library for creating a title slide.

Your title slide is ready. Make sure to play around with more tools and options to find out more features you can do to make it more attractive and presentable.

Method 2: Create a title slide design using the ‘Design’ tab

Method 3: Create a title slide using Slideuplift’s PowerPoint Add-In

Slideuplift provides a plethora of templates that can assist you in making a title slide. These templates are accessible through their PowerPoint Plugin.

Follow the steps given below to make a title slide using Slideuplift PowerPoint Add-In .

And you are done!

Just type cover slides on the search console and get various title slides for your presentation. You can choose the one per your liking and make edits.

So these are three ways you can create a title page on PowerPoint.

How To Title A Slide In PowerPoint?

Writing a catchy title is very important. A catchy title triggers the viewers’ interest and shows that you have made some effort to make the presentation.

A title also sets the tone for a presentation; for instance, a Business presentation title slide. A title slide for informal events will have a formal tone and a casual or neutral tone.

The following tips can help you write catchy presentation titles.

• Make it easy to understand.
• The title should be directly related to the presentation.
• Add an element of emotion to the title (keep it neutral during formal meetings and try to add humor if the occasion allows)
• Match other elements of the title slide, like background image, font, etc, with the title.
• Keep it concise and to the point.

Where Is The Layout Of The Title Slide Present In PowerPoint?

The layout of the title slide is present under the ‘home’ tab. You can change the title slide’s layout with this tool’s help.

Parting words

Having a beautiful and functional title page is very important if you want to catch the attention of the viewer. A bland title page is not only boring but also shows your lack of effort, which can be a deal breaker. At the same time, keep the title slide minimalistic, only use animations and effects which add value and look interesting.

It’s time to buckle up for your next presentation now that you know how to create an interesting title slide.

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Home Blog Presentation Ideas How to Start a Presentation: 5 Strong Opening Slides and 12 Tricks To Test

How to Start a Presentation: 5 Strong Opening Slides and 12 Tricks To Test

Knowing how to start a presentation is crucial: if you fail to capture the audience’s attention right off the bat, your entire presentation will flop. Few listeners will stick with you to the end and retain what you have told.

That is mildly unpleasant when you are doing an in-house presentation in front of your colleagues. But it can become utterly embarrassing when you present in front of larger audiences (e.g., at a conference) or worse – delivering a sales presentation to prospective customers.

Here is how most of us begin a presentation: give an awkward greeting, thank everyone for coming, clear our throats, tap the mic, and humbly start to mumble about our subject. The problem with such an opening performance? It effectively kills and buries even the best messages.

Table of Contents

• The Classic Trick: Open a Presentation with an Introduction
• Open a Presentation with a Hook
• Begin with a Captivating Visual
• Ask a “What if…” Question
• Use the Word “Imagine”
• Leverage The Curiosity Gap
• The Power of Silence
• Facts as Weapons of Communication
• Fact vs. Myths
• The Power of Music
• Physical Activity
• Acknowledging a Person

Closing Thoughts

How to start a powerpoint presentation the right way.

Let’s say you have all of your presentation slides polished up (in case you don’t, check our quick & effective PowerPoint presentation design tips first). Your presentation has a clear storyline and agenda. Main ideas are broken into bite-sized statements for your slides and complemented with visuals. All you have left is to figure out how you begin presenting.

The best way is to appeal to and invoke certain emotions in your audience – curiosity, surprise, fear, or good old amusements. And here’s how it’s done.

1. The Classic Trick: Open a Presentation with an Introduction

When you don’t feel like reinventing the wheel, use a classic trick from the book – start with a quick personal introduction. Don’t want to sound as boring as everyone else with your humble “Hi, I’m John, the head of the Customer Support Department”? Great, because we are all about promoting effective presentation techniques (hint: using a dull welcome slide isn’t one of them).

Here’s how to introduce yourself in a presentation the right way.

a. Use a link-back memory formula

To ace a presentation, you need to connect with your audience. The best way to do so is by throwing in a simple story showing who you are, where you came from, and why your words matter.

The human brain loves a good story, and we are more inclined to listen and retain the information told this way. Besides, when we can relate to the narrator (or story hero), we create an emotional bond with them, and, again – become more receptive, and less skeptical of the information that is about to be delivered.

So here are your presentation introduction lines:

My name is Joanne, and I’m the Head of Marketing at company XYZ. Five years ago I was working as a waitress, earning $10/hour and collecting rejection letters from editors. About ten letters every week landed to my mailbox. You see, I love words, but decent publisher thought mine were good enough. Except for the restaurant owner. I was very good at up-selling and recommending dishes to the customers. My boss even bumped my salary to $15/hour as a token of appreciation for my skill. And this made me realize: I should ditch creative writing and focus on copywriting instead. After loads of trial and error back in the day, I learned how to write persuasive copy. I was no longer getting rejection letters. I was receiving thousands of emails saying that someone just bought another product from our company. My sales copy pages generated over $1,500,000 in revenue over last year. And I want to teach you how to do the same”

b. Test the Stereotype Formula

This one’s simple and effective as well. Introduce yourself by sharing an obvious stereotype about your profession. This cue will help you connect with your audience better, make them chuckle a bit, and set a lighter mood for the speech to follow.

Here’s how you can frame your intro:

“My name is ___, and I am a lead software engineer at our platform [Your Job Title]. And yes, I’m that nerdy type who never liked presenting in front of large groups of people. I would rather stay in my den and write code all day long. [Stereotype]. But hey, since I have mustered enough courage…let’s talk today about the new product features my team is about to release….”

After sharing a quick, self-deprecating line, you transition back to your topic, reinforcing the audience’s attention . Both of these formulas help you set the “mood” for your further presentation, so try using them interchangeably on different occasions.

2. Open a Presentation with a Hook

Wow your audience straight off the bat by sharing something they would not expect to hear. This may be one of the popular first-time presentation tips but don’t rush to discard it.

Because here’s the thing: psychologically , we are more inclined to pay attention whenever presented with an unexpected cue. When we know what will happen next – someone flips the switch, and lights turn on – we don’t really pay much attention to that action.

But when we don’t know what to expect next – e.g., someone flips the switch and a bell starts ringing – we are likely to pay more attention to what will happen next. The same goes for words: everyone loves stories with unpredictable twists. So begin your presentation with a PowerPoint introduction slide or a line that no one expects to hear.

Here are a few hook examples you can swipe:

a. Open with a provocative statement

It creates an instant jolt and makes the audience intrigued to hear what you are about to say next – pedal back, continue with the provocation, or do something else that they will not expect.

Image Source: TED

“You will live seven and a half minutes longer than you would have otherwise, just because you watched this talk.”

That’s how Jane McGonigal opens one of her TED talks . Shocking and intriguing, right?

b. Ask a rhetorical, thought-provoking question

Rhetorical questions have a great persuasive effect – instead of answering aloud, your audience will silently start musing over it during your presentation. They aroused curiosity and motivated the audience to remain attentive, as they did want to learn your answer to this question.

To reinforce your message throughout the presentation, you can further use the Rhetorical Triangle Concept – a rhetorical approach to building a persuasive argument based on Aristotle’s teachings.

c. Use a bold number, factor stat

A clean slide with some mind-boggling stat makes an undeniably strong impact. Here are a few opening statement examples you can use along with your slide:

• Shock them: “We are effectively wasting over $1.2 billion per year on producing clothes no one will ever purchase”
• Create empathy: “Are you among the 20% of people with undiagnosed ADHD?”
• Call to arms: “58% of marketing budgets are wasted due to poor landing page design. Let’s change this!”
• Spark curiosity: “Did you know that companies who invested in speech recognition have seen a 13% increase in ROI within just 3 years?”

3. Begin with a Captivating Visual

Compelling visuals are the ABC of presentation design – use them strategically to make a bold statement at the beginning and throughout your presentation. Your first presentation slide can be text-free. Communicate your idea with a visual instead – a photo, a chart, an infographic, or another graphics asset.

Visuals are a powerful medium for communication as our brain needs just 13 milliseconds to render what our eyes see, whereas text comprehension requires more cognitive effort.

Relevant images add additional aesthetic appeal to your deck, bolster the audience’s imagination, and make your key message instantly more memorable.

Here’s an intro slide example. You want to make a strong presentation introduction to global pollution.  Use the following slide to reinforce the statement you share:

“Seven of nine snow samples taken on land in Antarctica found chemicals known as PFAs, which are used in industrial products and can harm wildlife”

Source: Reuters

4. Ask a “What if…” Question

The “what if” combo carries massive power. It gives your audience a sense of what will happen if they choose to listen to you and follow your advice.  Here are a few presentations with starting sentences + slides to illustrate this option:

Alternatively, you can work your way to this point using different questions:

• Ask the audience about their “Why.” Why are they attending this event, or why do they find this topic relevant?
• Use “How” as your question hook if you plan to introduce a potential solution to a problem.
• If your presentation has a persuasion factor associated, use “When” as a question to trigger the interest of the audience on, for example, when they are planning to take action regarding the topic being presented (if we talk about an inspirational presentation).

5. Use the Word “Imagine”

“Imagine,” “Picture This,” and “Think of” are better word choices for when you plan to begin your presentation with a quick story.

Our brain loves interacting with stories. In fact, a captivating story makes us more collaborative. Scientists have discovered that stories with tension during narrative make us:

• Pay more attention,
• Share emotions with the characters and even mimic the feelings and behaviors of those characters afterward.

That’s why good action movies often feel empowering and make us want to change the world too. By incorporating a good, persuasive story with a relatable hero, you can also create that “bond” with your audience and make them more perceptive to your pitch – donate money to support the cause; explore the solution you are offering, and so on.

6. Leverage The Curiosity Gap

The curiosity gap is another psychological trick frequently used by marketers to solicit more clicks, reads, and other interactions from the audience. In essence, it’s the trick you see behind all those clickbait, Buzzfeed-style headlines:

Image: Buzzfeed

Not everyone is a fan of such titles. But the truth is – they do the trick and instantly capture attention. The curiosity gap sparks our desire to dig deeper into the matter. We are explicitly told that we don’t know something important, and now we crave to change that. Curiosity is an incredibly strong driving force for action – think Eve, think Pandora’s Box.

So consider incorporating these attention grabbers for your presentation speech. You can open with one, or strategically weave them in the middle of your presentation when you feel like your audience is getting tired and may lose their focus.

Here’s how you can use the curiosity gap during your presentation:

• Start telling a story, pause in the middle, and delay the conclusion of it.
• Withhold the key information (e.g., the best solution to the problem you have described) for a bit – but not for too long, as this can reduce the initial curiosity.
• Introduce an idea or concept and link it with an unexpected outcome or subject – this is the best opening for a presentation tip.

7. The Power of Silence

What would you do if you attended a presentation in which the speaker remains silent for 30 seconds after the presentation starts? Just the presenter, standing in front of the audience, in absolute silence.

Most likely, your mind starts racing with thoughts, expecting something of vital importance to be disclosed. The surprise factor with this effect is for us to acknowledge things we tend to take for granted.

It is a powerful resource to introduce a product or to start an inspirational presentation if followed by a fact.

8. Facts as Weapons of Communication

In some niches, using facts as the icebreaker is the best method to retain the audience’s interest.

Say your presentation is about climate change. Why not introduce a not-so-common fact, such as the amount of wool that can be produced out of oceanic plastic waste per month? And since you have to base your introduction on facts, research manufacturers that work with Oceanic fabrics from recycled plastic bottles .

Using facts helps to build a better narrative, and also gives leverage to your presentation as you are speaking not just from emotional elements but from actually recorded data backed up by research.

9. Fact vs. Myths

Related to our previous point, we make quite an interesting speech if we contrast a fact vs. a myth in a non-conventional way: using a myth to question a well-accepted fact, then introducing a new point of view or theory, backed on sufficient research, that proves the fact wrong. This technique, when used in niches related to academia, can significantly increase the audience’s interest, and it will highlight your presentation as innovative.

Another approach is to debunk a myth using a fact. This contrast immediately piques interest because it promises to overturn commonly held beliefs, and people naturally find it compelling when their existing knowledge is put to the test. An example of this is when a nutritionist wishes to speak about how to lose weight via diet, and debunks the myth that all carbohydrates are “bad”.

10. The Power of Music

Think about a presentation that discusses the benefits of using alternative therapies to treat anxiety, reducing the need to rely on benzodiazepines. Rather than going technical and introducing facts, the presenter can play a soothing tune and invite the audience to follow an exercise that teaches how to practice breathing meditation . Perhaps, in less than 2 minutes, the presenter can accomplish the goal of exposing the advantages of this practice with a live case study fueled by the proper ambiance (due to the music played in the beginning).

11. Physical Activity

Let’s picture ourselves in an in-company presentation about workspace wellness. For this company, the sedentary lifestyle their employees engage in is a worrying factor, so they brought a personal trainer to coach the employees on a basic flexibility routine they can practice in 5 minutes after a couple of hours of desk time.

“Before we dive in, let’s all stand up for a moment.” This simple instruction breaks the ice and creates a moment of shared experience among the attendees. You could then lead them through a brief stretching routine, saying something like, “Let’s reach up high, and stretch out those muscles that get so tight sitting at our desks all day.” With this action, you’re not just talking about workplace wellness, you’re giving them a direct, personal experience of it.

This approach has several advantages. Firstly, it infuses energy into the room and increases the oxygen flow to the brain, potentially boosting the audience’s concentration and retention. Secondly, it sets a precedent that your presentation is not going to be a standard lecture, but rather an interactive experience. This can raise the level of anticipation for what’s to come, and make the presentation a topic for future conversation between coworkers.

12. Acknowledging a Person

How many times have you heard the phrase: “Before we begin, I’d like to dedicate a few words to …” . The speaker could be referring to a mentor figure, a prominent person in the local community, or a group of people who performed charity work or obtained a prize for their hard work and dedication. Whichever is the reason behind this, acknowledgment is a powerful force to use as a method of starting a presentation. It builds a connection with the audience, it speaks about your values and who you admire, and it can transmit what the conversation is going to be about based on who the acknowledged person is.

Now you know how to start your presentation – you have the opening lines, you have the slides to use, and you can browse even more attractive PowerPoint presentation slides and templates on our website. Also, we recommend you visit our article on Key Insights on How To End a Presentation Effectively in order to apply the best practices in your slides and how to make a PowerPoint Presentation .

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Unit 1 Use a Theme Template and Slide Layouts to Create a Presentation

3 Create a Slide Presentation

Create a slide presentation, topics include:.

• Choose a Theme Template

Create Slide Content

Create a new slide, multi level bulleted lists.

A PowerPoint has two methods for creating a slide presentation:

• Choose a theme template
• Create a blank presentation (this method is covered in Unit 3)

PowerPoint software has built in and free online pre-designed templates that contain various color schemes and pre-arranged elements in a slide, eg. text and graphics. Select a template and PowerPoint will format the entire presentation according to that template.

Steps to choosing a theme template:

• Open PowerPoint.
• At the PowerPoint window, click the File tab, then click New.
• Once you have selected the desired template, it will be displayed in normal view. New slides can be added as needed.

Tips & Tricks

A theme template can be added to a presentation before, during or after you have added the presentation content.

To apply various templates to a presentation, click the Design tab, then click on the desired template in the themes group.

Whether you are using a pre-made theme template or working from your own design, it is very easy to insert a new slide.

• In the slide pane click on the slide where you would like the new slide to appear below.
• The new slide should appear below the selected slide. If you want to add a new slide between two, select the first of the two slides and click New Slide .

Entering text and images into your presentation slide is easy and fun. When using the theme template the first slide to appear in Normal view is called the Title Slide .

The title slide is the slide that is used to introduce the presentation to the audience. It has two text placeholders for text: title text placeholder and sub-title text placeholder. Placeholders are the building blocks for a PowerPoint slide.

To insert text in a placeholder, left click inside of the textbox and begin typing. Once you have entered text, click outside the text box to see how your text looks. The placeholder then becomes an object. An object is any item on a slide that can be manipulated. Objects are the building blocks that make up a slide. A text object can moved around and repositioned on a slide.

A object is selected when there is a gray, bold outline around the object, and when the cursor turns into a cross. Around the selected object are small white circles that are called sizing handles. You can drag the handles to position the object.

To apply formatting to text inside an object, select the text with your cursor, then click on the Home tab and in the Font group add text attributes such as bold, underline, and italics. The Paragraph group, located next to the Font group, contains commands that allow you to change the alignment of text, insert numbers or bullets to lists, and indent text.

You can also edit your text by accessing the Font dialogue box by clicking the Font group dialogue box launcher. (The dialogue box launcher is the small button containing a diagonal arrow that displays in the lower right corner of the group.) The Font dialogue box includes special effects such as: double strikethrough, superscript and subscript.

Another quick and easy way to format slides is by using a slide master. A Slide Master will reduce the steps needed to format all the slides in a presentation. Any changes made in the slide master will affect all slides in the presentation. This allows for consistency in any presentation.

When you choose a theme template PowerPoint automatically adds a Slide master. To format the slide master click the View tab and then choose Slide Master located in the Presentation View group.

A slide master appears in the slide pane and in the Outline/Slide pane. The largest thumbnail in the pane is the slide master and the other thumbnails represent associated layouts.Click on the master slide or a specific layout to apply formatting or themes. Once formatting changes have been made click on Close Master View to return to the normal view.

For more information on Slide Masters take this link to Microsoft Tips for using Slide Masters .

PowerPoint allows information to be displayed as multilevel bulleted lists. Bulleted lists are used in PowerPoint to display levels of importance within the presentation. Various slide layouts in the Slide Layout task pane contain bullets. To add multi levels to a bulleted list you need to choose the appropriate layout.

The first-level bullet will be displayed under the title placeholder. Once you have typed your text next to the first-level bullet press Enter on your keyboard. The new first-level bullet automatically appears. Press Tab on your keyboard and the first-level bullet becomes a second level bullet. Press Shift + Tab this will decrease the indent and bring the bullet back to first level.

Another method to add levels to your presentation is by clicking the decrease list level or increase list level buttons on the Paragraph group in the Home tab.

You can customize the bullets in your presentation by selecting the Bullets and Numbering dialogue box from Paragraph group located in the Home tab. Select the bullet text, click on the drop down arrow next to Bullets or Numbering, click on Bullets and Numbering , then choose the from the pre-designed bullets.

Now that you are able to create a presentation let us move on to view and save presentations.

Presentation Software by bpayne is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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How to Start a Presentation: Engage your Audience from the First Slide to the Last

I’ve been there: your presentation is due soon . 

Probably your boss is awaiting an update on an important project. Maybe your client is eager for your update. You might even need to sell something to someone through a presentation. 

Today I want to layout your game plan. It’s my winning strategy. My playbook . 

It has been my reliable go-to plan each time I get faced with a new presentation. And today, I will guide you step by step. 

These are not easy times. Our presentations used to happen in person; now, they are remote. We used to shake hands with our audiences; sometimes now we don’t see them at all. 

Today you can’t just create presentations. You need to plan for a production . Our medium is not only slides anymore but video calls. And to create excellent video content, you need to put up a show . 

I am Matteo , by the way, and I have a thing for presentations . This led me to study the art of storytelling . I studied this complex topic to make it easy for you.

Now it is time for me to share all this knowledge with you! Here you will learn the basics on how to create and deliver a presentation , or more accurately your show. 

This article is organized into three sections :

1. The First Slide & How to Start your Presentation

The beginning of a presentation is critical because it is in this fraction of time that your audience will decide whether you are worth the time or not . 

So it is imperative to make an excellent first impression and capture their attention. A few tricks and tips can help you do that. In the following paragraphs, I will show the wisdom I collected over time !

Crafting the Perfect First Slide 

How to start a presentation ? That’s the central question when it comes to presentations. It’s challenging to create a first slide to get your audience’s attention and convey your presentation’s message. I want to show you how to make the best out of it and use it to deliver your message effectively.

You have lived this scenario a thousand times : you enter a conference or meeting room, unsure if it’s the right one, glance at the screen to see if the slide that is being projected aligns with the topic of the presentation that you are expecting. Based on that, you take a seat.

Or maybe you’ve been on the internet a few times and have seen the first slide of presentations being used as a “ preview image ” on social media, inviting you to click and see the whole presentation.

You may even know (and love) Slideshare , the most popular slide hosting site on the web: here, the first slide is used to invite you to click, like, and download a presentation deck.

You have spent time waiting for a presentation to start looking at a first slide, wondering if the presenter would be any good, wondering who they were and what to expect.

From the cases that I just outlined, it’s easy to understand that the first slide has many jobs, functions, and purposes . First of all, it needs to convey clearly the message of your presentation. It can do that – in the traditional template – with a Title and Subtitle. At least this is how PowerPoint displays a “title slide”. But those are not fields that you must fill in.

There are more critical objectives that a first slide can help you accomplish: depending on the setting, you should have your name or your Twitter (Linkedin or Instagram) handle in the first slide. In some environments, it would be better to have both.

Sometimes it helps to display a 3-word bio . Often you also represent a company, so your logo also belongs somewhere on this first slide.

Some people even feature the location and the date of the presentation. Is this information really useful or just filler?

It’s easy to have an overcrowded first slide that fails miserably at conveying any useful message while trying to accomplish all the objectives.

My solution is to focus on one objective first . The most important one is usually the title of the talk. It’s great if your title goes well with an image . Image and title are then the core element of your first slide.

Once you have a powerful title with a powerful visual you can think about the output format of your slides . When I’m presenting at a conference I always display my Twitter handle and a website as part of the first slide .

If your output format is paper or a slide sharing platform, you can have a super clean title slide with just a title and visual and devote a second slide to you, your contacts, and your bio.

If you are presenting in a more formal environment, you may want to skip the social contacts and focus on your name and bio a bit more. But we will talk about this more accurately in the next chapter.

The important thing is that your core message comes across clearly.

Not Only the First Slide: Start your Presentation by Telling your Audience Who you Are

Your presentation is just starting. How do you start your presentation? What is the first thing you need to do? Should you focus immediately on your topic and start providing your audience your wisdom?

Hold your horses. Before you let your knowledge shine, you have an essential job to do. You need to convince your audience that you’re worthy of their time and attention. 

How would you then capture this attention ? My top tip is to start from yourself . Start by showing your humanity. How? By revealing something as simple as your name . 

Even if most everyone knows you in the call or the room, there might be someone who still doesn’t know your name. Even if someone introduced you by name, it doesn’t hurt to repeat it so that everyone will know who you are and how to address you later on for questions. 

Right after telling your name, give your audience some helpful hints about yourself. I am not talking about reciting a full bio, about hearing about your academic accomplishments and essential role. To understand who you are, I need to place you on a map . 

In my case, I would say “My name is Matteo, I teach people how to craft amazing stories.” I know this phrase doesn’t capture the essence of Matteo. But it’s sufficient for my audience to understand roughly what I am about. 

My tip for you: keep your bio between 5 and 20 words . Remember: you’re not on stage to gloat or recite your curriculum. You’re there to convince your audience that you’re worth listening to. 

By telling your name and revealing your bio you will make yourself more relatable for your audience. The closer they feel to you, they will be more inclined to listen to you and to follow your advice.

How to Start Your Presentation with Energy: Share your Motivation for Presenting with your Audience

So you made a few things clear: who you are, your bio. Now your audience feels like they know you. And that’s exactly what you wanted to achieve. 

The second thing you need to do before starting your actual presentation is to share your motivation for presenting . Why? In order to convince them to listen to what you will say.  

But how do you do that? And what do I mean exactly by “motivation”? It is the reason why you chose to make a presentation about that particular topic. 

Let’s analyze this accurately: you chose to study a topic and now you want to share what you have learned with the public. 

Now ask yourself “ why ”:

• why are you interested in that topic? Do you have a new perspective on the matter? Do you have a particular relationship with it? What is new and interesting about your presentation? Have you invested a lot in the topic?
• why do you want to share that particular knowledge with the public? This is simple: you want to help others. You want to help others answer a question, find a new key to an old problem, reach a new perspective. Maybe you have studied the topic in advance so that I don’t need to.

If you show them why you’re interested in the topic of the presentation, they will automatically be more eager to listen to you. Your motivation will therefore be contagious .

I could say something like: “I will talk about presentations because I care about helping people speak up and get heard”. This is a good example of contagious motivation because the audience will think: “oh, you can help me get heard? How? I am interested!

Tell them that you want to help them and what you want to help them with. If they see a point , a final destination , they will want to know more. 

So my tip is: show your passion and care for the topic, because they are contagious. If you care, your audience will care as well. This way they will be eager to listen to you.

Did you ever have trouble following a presentation because you didn’t know how much it would last ? Yeah I know, I have been there too. But you don’t want that to happen to your presentation, right?

This issue occurs because the audience doesn’t feel in control of what is going on .

In order to avoid this, you have to be honest with them. Thus, the best thing you could do is sign a metaphorical agreement with them by revealing the structure and timing of your presentation.

I could say something like: “During this talk I will tell you three stories that will last five minutes each.”

With these few lines, I just made clear a few things: how much the presentation will last and what its structure is like .

By giving this mental map to your public, in every moment of the presentation they will know exactly at which point your presentation is and how much longer it will last.

This knowledge will make them feel in control of what is going on and able to focus more confidently on the topic.

Start your Presentation by Giving your Audience a Sample of the Outcome

Now the third thing to do before starting your actual presentation is giving your audience a reason to listen to you .

I mean, they showed up, and that’s great! The reason to attend the presentations was strong enough and this means that you have already done a terrific job.

But do they have a valid reason to listen to you? I mean, are they eager to find out what you will say?

You want them excited by what they will learn with you and focused on your every word. 

How do you do that? Simple: you have to give them what they want: that is, what they will gain out of this experience. 

As we will say better later, every presentation is about giving something valuable to your audience, a prize that we will call: “transformation”.

Your audience wants to know in advance what the reward is, to be sure that you are worth listening to. 

So that is what you have to do: show them in advance the outcome of your presentation. 

If they take a bite of the transformation they will experience by listening to you, they will want to have more and automatically pay more attention. Because they want to fully experience the transformation you gave them a bite of.

But be careful, you have to show, not tell . Practically speaking, this means giving a little bit of the advantage of the transformation, not talking about that advantage.

2. The Goals of a Presentation

You managed to start your presentation effectively. But it’s not over yet. Now you have to go through with it ! Planning out your presentation stresses you out? I have a few tips about this as well . The best way to plan your presentation is to know exactly what you want to achieve. And I can tell you that every good presentation has two objectives : bringing change and managing conflict. 

Read on to learn more about these concepts.

Presentations Always have One Goal: Change

As stated earlier in the article, the first and most important objective of a presentation is changing, transforming something. 

Transforming mostly the point of view of the audience and therefore giving them a gift . The gift of a new perspective, of a new concept in their mind, of seeing something unusually close.  

You may think, I don’t want to transform anybody, I just want to make my presentation, outline a topic!

But As Seth Godin (international bestselling author) effectively states : “ no change, no point ”. According to him the “real” presentation is only the one with the purpose of change . If there is no change, the presentation is not worth doing. It is just entertainment or a waste of time.

To better understand this concept try and think about this: if there isn’t anything special about your presentation, anything new or personal you want to say, why should your audience listen to you?

It needs to be the seed to a change. This change doesn’t have to be something big, but your presentation needs to be transformative : you may be shifting the point of view about a certain topic, introduce them to a new topic, or change the way they look at a problem.

As you plan everything out, pay attention to that. 

I find Seth Godin’s advice in this regard really helpful: before starting to work on your presentation, ask yourself: who will be changed by this and what kind of change am I looking for? 

Having these concepts very clear in your mind will help you plan out your presentation effectively . And If you don’t find any change, try and rethink your presentation. Why are you doing it?

You want to present in order to transform your audience. Otherwise you may need to prepare a memo or some other kind of document. 

So, try to focus on this concept to figure out the transformation you want to achieve.

Then, build up your presentation on top of your transformative moment. This way, you will be certain that your presentation is worth listening to.

Change is just around the corner.

Managing the Audience’s Reaction to your Presentation

You are finally delivering your presentation and your want your whole audience to like it .

It’s natural to desire that. But it is not what you are looking for ! It’s literally impossible to please everyone. Why?

Simple: your audience is made of individuals and every one reacts in their own unique way at every step of the presentation. 

Instead, try and give something to everyone. What does this mean? You can’t make a presentation that pleases everyone in every single part of your presentation. That presentation doesn’t exist.

All you can do is divide your audience into categories, please each category in a given part of your speech , and then pass on to another category. What do I mean by “category”? 

In every presentation, there are members of the audience whose attitude follows a certain pattern . 

A few examples: there are the “ Confused ”. In their opinion, any information is too much information, and they will always be a little puzzled by what you are saying.

There are the “ Fans ”: to them, everything you say is just amazing. So you shouldn’t  judge your presentation on their reaction.

And there are all sorts of different types of audiences.

Here are a few steps to go through:

• do research about the members of your audience : by doing this you will be able to satisfy each type of person in your audience.
• try to give something to every category .

An effective way of explaining the second point might be the example of the politician . 

Politicians that give a speech have to address the needs of the many categories their electorate is made of. There are many categories: students, young voters, working-class people, etc…

They can’t leave anyone out, otherwise that category will not vote for them. But they also can’t address all these categories at the same time . 

So they divide their speech into sections . In the first section they may address the students, then in the second the persons with disabilities, and so on and so forth.

You have to do the same with your presentation.

If you make sure to address every category , every person in the audience, you will make sure that they listen and get involved, at least partially, in your speech. 

If all your audience gets involved in your speech and react in unison, they become a group .

And this is the secret goal of your presentation: to transform your audience into a group .

Here is the reason why: if they react in unison forming a group, this means that you have done your job correctly, because you managed to involve all the different categories your audience is made of , despite their high number and their different interests.

3. Engage your Audience from the First Slide to the Last

Now it is time for you to learn about a few tools and tricks that will make it easier for you to build your presentation. Everybody should know them because they represent the very essence of presentations. 

To engage your audience from the first slide to the last, you have a few tools.

The Most Important Storytelling Moment of any Presentation

Each presentation has a high point. You get to this high point by building up your argument as we described in the previous chapters: you explain the “context” of your presentation to set your speech’s ground. Ultimately you set up the transformation.

What you reach is a climax . And your audience expects it .

But what is the climax? Well, “climax” is a storytelling term that refers to the part of your speech thatis most transformative . It’s the “ peak ” of the transformation your talk is all about.

So it is pretty safe to say that it is the crucial moment of your presentation. 

The audience can “feel” it when you reach the climax and expect you to give the most insight on the topic you are covering, thus transforming them the most. 

Take advantage of this state of mind because, thanks to this excitement, your audience will better understand what you say and remember it more accurately.

Provide the most critical information, provide them the most data, make this moment special . 

Right after the climax, when the tension is at its highest, it is time for you to end your presentation and leave the stage .

If you make your exit right after a theatrical climax, your core transformation will be a lot more effective .

Presentation Ending Slides: Closing with a Summary

So, you just led your audience through the climax. 

Now, as stated before, you need to leave the stage effectively . That is, you need to accompany your audience back to their life gently, but you also want to make sure that they take with them the new knowledge given by the transformation.

How do you achieve both goals?

My advice is: provide a summary right after the climax. An overview of all the points covered during your speech. 

Why right after the climax?

The level of excitement provided by the climax will make them listen very carefully : what you say now will be remembered more efficiently and will also be understood more accurately.

A summary is the only moment when you are allowed to use bullet points . Recap the main points of your presentation, but be careful! It must be more than a simple bulleted list . 

Take your audience flying above your topic. Flying? 

When you fly, you feel powerful, happy, and exhilarated. You dominate the landscape. You feel like the master of the world. 

You want to give all these sensations to your public in regards to your speech. 

You want them to feel like they finally dominate the topic , like they are masters of the subject .

You want to show them how much you have covered and how much they have learned. You want to make them feel powerful ! 

Moreover, seeing things with some distance is very helpful to understand the subject better.

Show how much ground you have covered. Give them a bird’s eye view of your presentation so that they will remember the very essence of your message . 

How to End a Presentation Assigning Actionable Tasks to your Audience

The final goal of your presentation is to make your audience truly remember your speech .

You spent a lot of time trying to explain something, outline a topic or show a new perspective. And maybe your audience will remember what you said. 

But you want more : you want the concepts you outline to change your audience’s behavior .

It would be fantastic, right? And what if I told you that there is something you can do about that? Something you can do to make sure to transform the life of your audience truly?

Well, here is my tip for you: at the end of your presentation, give your audience something they can actually do .

Practice reinforces the theory . Translate the wisdom from your presentation into something practical.

Sum-up all the wisdom from your presentation in a task : a rule they can follow, a new goal to reach, a new habit, a call-to-action. 

Ideally, your audience can apply it in their daily life: at work, at home, during their fitness routine. It is something that can and should become a habit . It is a gift from you to your audience. 

Doing something practical related to your presentation will help your public cement your speech’s concepts in their mind. 

Doing that every day will make your presentation and insight part of their everyday lives, thus truly transforming them .

You made it! I am so proud ! You just learned how to build up a successful presentation . Thank you, I appreciate you reading this far! So… What’s next? How about having a presentation coach by your side the next time you need to craft a presentation?

The best way for me to understand your needs and provide the best solutions is to have a 30 minutes informal call. Book your slot here.

If you liked what you read, please subscribe to my almost monthly newsletter !

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Change the starting slide number

Change the number that appears on the first slide.

On the Design tab, in the Customize group, click Slide Size , and then click Custom Slide Size .

In the Slide Size dialog box, in the Number slides from box, enter the number that you want to show on the first slide in your presentation, and then click OK .

Number only one slide, or number all sides but the first slide

In the Header and Footer dialog box, click the Slide tab.

Do one of the following:

To number the slide that you currently have selected, select the Slide number check box, and then click Apply . Repeat this step for each individual slide that you want to number.

To number all slides but the first slide, select the Slide number check box, select the Don’t show on title slide check box, and then click Apply to All .

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How to Structure a PowerPoint Presentation

Table of Contents

This is the main part of your presentation, which should keep the promises you made in the introduction. This is where you explain your topic and present all your information. 

Depending on the nature of your presentation, divide it into segments/points. Arrange your points in a logical order and then provide information to support each of them. There are many different ways to organize your key points, for example:

• Number your points according to their priority (1, 2, 3, …)
• Place the points in a time frame (past, present, future)
• Use narration (tell a story from beginning to end)
• Present the points with a problem-solution dynamic (state a problem, describe its impact, offer ways to solve the issue)

A good conclusion summarizes the key points you made or highlights what the audience should have learned. It clarifies the general purpose of your presentation and reinforces the reason for viewing it. Here are the slides you may want to include:

• Summary. List what goals your audience have achieved, what knowledge they got, and how this information can help them in the future.
• Conclusion. Here you can thank your audience for viewing the presentation.

Tips for Structuring a Presentation in PowerPoint

Now that you know which parts a typical presentation should consist of, let’s see how to structure it in PowerPoint. 

1. Combine slides into sections

When working with a large PowerPoint presentation (PPT), you can create sections that can be collapsed and expanded. This will help you keep presentation slides organized and facilitate navigation in editing mode. To do that, follow these steps:

• To shift a section, right-click on its name and use the Move Section Up and Move Section Down options.
• To collapse or expand a certain section, click on the collapse icon to the left of the section name. You can also minimize and maximize all sections at once by right-clicking on the section name and choosing Collapse All or Expand All .

As well, you can access these settings by choosing Slide Sorter under the VIEW tab.

This kind of segmentation is a great way to overview the logical flow of your slides all at once and see if there are any changes required. For example, you may decide to break one slide into two or three, or the other way around.

2. Use the Outline View

One other way to structure a PowerPoint presentation in the editing mode is to use Outline View . You can choose it from the VIEW tab.

This view doesn’t display sections, but it shows the title and main text of each slide, which can give you a quick overview of the presentation contents. Here you can go through the entire text and edit it instantly. You can also work with text (on the left) and slides (on the right) simultaneously, as the latter is shown on the right side of your screen.

Note that, to be displayed in an outline, text needs to be typed in a text placeholder, not a text box . A text placeholder is a box with the words “Click to add text” or “Click to add title”, and it appears when you choose a standard layout.

You can also use Outline View to promote bullet text to titles and the other way around. To do that, right-click on a relevant title or text and select the Promote or Demote options.

Be attentive about demoting a title, as this will delete the original slide and move its title and text to the adjacent slide.

PowerPoint only allows users to promote and demote text, not entire slides. Therefore, there’s no possibility to change the hierarchical order of slides.

3. Create a table of contents

All the aforementioned tips help you organize a presentation when formatting it. However, it’s crucial that your viewers can easily navigate through entire presentation too. One sure way to provide them with this opportunity is to create an interactive and structured table of contents.

Though there’s no native automatic outline in PowerPoint, it can be created manually:

• Press Ctrl+A to select all the names, and Ctrl+C to copy them. 
• Then Press Ctrl+V to paste the copied titles on the desired slide. In case there are too many titles and they don’t fit onto a single page, you can divide the table of contents into two columns or place it on two slides.

You’ll need to repeat this procedure to link all the chapters to corresponding slides. For more information, read this step-by-step guide on how to add a hyperlink in PowerPoint .

Now all the chapters can be accessed from a single table of contents, which is very convenient. However, you will also need to link them back to that unifying page. You can do this by inserting an Action Button on every slide of your presentation in Slide Master mode:

Now there is a single page from which all the other pages can be easily accessed. As well, it’s possible to go back to the table of contents at any time with the intuitive Home button.

Depending on the size of your presentation, the time it takes to create an interactive outline may vary, as you will need to add hyperlinks to every chapter manually. Be aware that if you rename a slide or simply delete it, these changes will not be automatically registered in the table of contents. For example, if you delete a slide, its title will still be displayed in the table of contents, but clicking on it won’t lead the viewer to another point in the presentation.

This is what our sample presentation looks like:

A Better Way to Structure a PowerPoint Presentation

Creating a table of contents manually might be fine for a small presentation, but if you have 122 slides, it would require too much time and energy to do so. That’s why, instead of manually creating a table of contents, we took advantage of iSpring Suite and simply enabled the automatic outline.  

iSpring Suite

Fully-stocked eLearning authoring toolkit for PowerPoint. No training required to start!

Note: iSpring Suite turns slides into HTML5 format, so your audience can view them online, right in their browsers. 

As you can see, the new presentation has a pop-up outline and a navigation panel, which make it possible to move to any slide at any time without leaving the slide show mode. 

How to set up navigation

To create navigation in your presentation, follow these simple steps:

• Get a free trial of iSpring Suite.

• When you’ve configured the Slide Properties settings, click on Save & Close in the upper-left corner.

How to configure an outline

Whereas PowerPoint requires the outline to be designed manually, iSpring Suite has already prepared it for you. At the same time, you don’t have to stick with the standard outline template, as you can easily customize the player’s final look and feel:

We recommend leaving Enable Search marked, as this will allow viewers to search for any content at any time, including the texts on the slides. This is especially useful for large presentations with a lot of text.

If you have previously arranged slides into multiple levels in the Slide Properties, then leave Multilevel outline marked. That way, the outline will display the nesting structure of the presentation, facilitating navigation. You can learn more about the other outline options here .

• When you have finished configuring the player, click on Apply & Close in the upper-left corner.
• Now you can publish your enhanced presentation either to HTML5, to make it easily accessible via browser on any device, or MP4 video format. If you’re going to upload your presentation to an LMS, you can publish it to any eLearning format: SCORM, AICC, Tin Can, or cmi5. 

While a standard PowerPoint slideshow is straightforward and limited, iSpring Suite saves viewers from having to follow a strict slide order. An interactive and searchable outline allows non-linear navigation, where any information can be accessed at any time at a glance.

Also read : → How to Convert PowerPoint to MP4 Video

Also read : →  How To Record Presentations With Audio

Another perk

iSpring Suite comes with Content Library , which provides a great collection of presentation templates and allows you to create professional-looking presentations in a matter of minutes. Each template includes basic course elements: a title slide, a table of contents, chapters, a timeline, and info slides. Organize them in the order you prefer, populate them with your texts and images, and your presentation is ready to go.

We hope this article will help you develop an ideal structure for your PowerPoint presentation and do this quickly and easily. Captivate your audience with a powerful and persuasive presentation!

Do you have any other insights on how to simplify PowerPoint slides design? Please share them in the comment section. We’d like to hear from you. 

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Content creator:

Helen Colman

She enjoys combining in-depth research with expert knowledge of the industry. If you have eLearning insights that you’d like to share, please get in touch .

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PowerPoint 2016  - Presenting Your Slide Show

Powerpoint 2016  -, presenting your slide show, powerpoint 2016 presenting your slide show.

PowerPoint 2016: Presenting Your Slide Show

Lesson 12: presenting your slide show.

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Introduction

Once your slide show is complete, you'll need to learn how to present it to an audience. PowerPoint offers several tools and features to help make your presentation smooth, engaging, and professional.

Optional: Download our practice presentation .

Watch the video below to learn more about presenting your slide show.

Presenting a slide show

Before you present your slide show, you'll need to think about the type of equipment that will be available for your presentation. Many presenters use projectors during presentations, so you might want to consider using one as well. This allows you to control and preview slides on one monitor while presenting them to an audience on another screen.

To start a slide show:

There are several ways you can begin your presentation:

To advance and reverse slides:

You can advance to the next slide by clicking your mouse or pressing the spacebar on your keyboard. Alternatively, you can use or arrow keys on your keyboard to move forward or backward through the presentation.

You can also hover your mouse over the bottom-left and click the arrows to move forward or backward.

To stop a slide show:

You can exit presentation mode by pressing the Esc key on your keyboard. Alternatively, you can click the Slide Show Options button in the bottom-left and select End Show .

The presentation will also end after the last slide . You can click the mouse or press the spacebar to return to Normal view.

Presentation tools and features

PowerPoint provides convenient tools you can use while presenting your slide show. For example, you can change your mouse pointer to a pen or highlighter to draw attention to items in your slides. In addition, you can jump around to slides in your presentation or access other programs from your taskbar if needed.

To show the taskbar:

Sometimes you may need to access the Internet or other files and programs on your computer during your presentation. PowerPoint allows you to access your taskbar without ending the presentation.

• Locate and select the Slide Options button in the bottom-left corner.

Slide options

You can also access any of the menu items above by right-clicking anywhere on the screen during your slide show.

To skip to a nonadjacent slide:

You can jump to slides out of order if needed.

• The selected slide will appear.

To access drawing tools:

Your mouse pointer can act as pen or highlighter to draw attention to items in your slides.

• Locate and select the Pen Tools button in the bottom-left corner.

You can also use the laser pointer feature to draw attention to certain parts of your slide. Unlike the pen and highlighter, the laser pointer will not leave markings on your slides. To use the laser pointer, select it from Pen Tools, or press and hold the Ctrl key and the left mouse button.

To erase ink markings:

When you end a slide show, you'll also have the option to Keep or Discard any ink annotations made during your presentation. If you keep ink markings, they'll appear as objects on your slides in Normal view.

Presenter view

If you're presenting your slide show with a second display—like a projector—you can use Presenter view . Presenter view gives you access to a special set of controls on your screen that the audience won't see, allowing you to easily reference slide notes , preview the upcoming slide , and much more.

To access Presenter view:

Start your slide show as you normally would, then click the Slide Options button and select Presenter View . Alternatively, you can press Alt+F5 on your keyboard to start the slide show in Presenter view.

Click the buttons in the interactive below to learn more about using Presenter view.

End Slide Show

Click here to end the presentation.

Display Settings

From here, you can customize your d isplay settings , including the option to duplicate—or mirror—the slide show on two screens and swap the monitors if Presenter view is appearing on the wrong screen.

Show Taskbar

Click here to show the taskbar and access other programs without closing the presentation.

Here, you can see how long you've been giving the presentation. You can also pause and restart the timer if necessary.

Current Slide

This is the current slide being shown to the audience.

Slide Options

Here, you can access the same slide options you would find in normal presentation mode, including the Pen Tools and See All Slides buttons.

Advance and Reverse Slides

Use the arrows to move forward and backward through your presentation.

Here, you'll see any speaker notes for the current slide. You can use the Increase and Decrease buttons below to make the notes larger or smaller.

Here, you can preview the next slide that will appear in the presentation.

Slide show setup options

PowerPoint has various options for setting up and playing a slide show. For example, you can set up an unattended presentation that can be displayed at a kiosk and make your slide show repeat with continuous looping.

To access slide show setup options:

• The Set Up Show dialog box will appear. From here, you can select the desired options for your presentation.

Click the buttons in the interactive below to learn about various options for setting up and playing a slide show.

Here, you can choose a show type .

Show Options

Here, you choose playback settings and disable certain features if desired.

Show Slides

Here, you can choose which slides you want to show during the presentation. All is selected by default, but you can choose to show only certain slides or use any custom shows you have created from your original presentation.

Advance Slides

If you have set timings in your slide show, they will play automatically. However, if you want to disable the timings and control the slides yourself, select Manually .

Multiple Monitors

If you have more than one monitor, you can choose which one to display the slide show on. It's usually best to leave this setting on Automatic .

To advance slides automatically, you'll need to customize the slide timing on the Transitions tab. Review our lesson on Applying Transitions to learn how.

• Open our practice presentation .
• In the Set Up Slide Show options, change the pen color to purple.
• Start your slideshow, then access Presenter view .
• Advance to slide 8.
• Use the pen tool to circle the fundraising amounts for the 2015-2016 school year. These are the amounts over the green bars.

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