best ppt presentation ideas

This simplistic presentation example employs several different colors and font weights, but instead of coming off as disconnected, the varied colors work with one another to create contrast and call out specific concepts.

What I like: The big, bold numbers help set the reader's expectations, as they clearly signify how far along the viewer is in the list of tips.

10. “Pixar's 22 Rules to Phenomenal Storytelling,” Gavin McMahon

This presentation by Gavin McMahon features color in all the right places. While each of the background images boasts a bright, spotlight-like design, all the characters are intentionally blacked out.

What I like: This helps keep the focus on the tips, while still incorporating visuals. Not to mention, it's still easy for me to identify each character without the details. (I found you on slide eight, Nemo.)

11. “Facebook Engagement and Activity Report,” We Are Social

Here's another great example of data visualization in the wild.

What I like: Rather than displaying numbers and statistics straight up, this presentation calls upon interesting, colorful graphs, and charts to present the information in a way that just makes sense.

12. “The GaryVee Content Model,” Gary Vaynerchuk

This wouldn‘t be a true Gary Vaynerchuk presentation if it wasn’t a little loud, am I right?

What I like: Aside from the fact that I love the eye-catching, bright yellow background, Vaynerchuk does a great job of incorporating screenshots on each slide to create a visual tutorial that coincides with the tips. He also does a great job including a visual table of contents that shows your progress as you go .

13. “20 Tweetable Quotes to Inspire Marketing & Design Creative Genius,” IMPACT Branding & Design

We‘ve all seen our fair share of quote-chronicling presentations but that isn’t to say they were all done well. Often the background images are poor quality, the text is too small, or there isn't enough contrast.

Well, this professional presentation from IMPACT Branding & Design suffers from none of said challenges.

What I like: The colorful filters over each background image create just enough contrast for the quotes to stand out.

14. “The Great State of Design,” Stacy Kvernmo

This presentation offers up a lot of information in a way that doesn't feel overwhelming.

What I like: The contrasting colors create visual interest and “pop,” and the comic images (slides 6 through 12) are used to make the information seem less buttoned-up and overwhelming.

15. “Clickbait: A Guide To Writing Un-Ignorable Headlines,” Ethos3

Not going to lie, it was the title that convinced me to click through to this presentation but the awesome design kept me there once I arrived.

What I like: This simple design adheres to a consistent color pattern and leverages bullet points and varied fonts to break up the text nicely.

16. “Digital Transformation in 50 Soundbites,” Julie Dodd

This design highlights a great alternative to the “text-over-image” display we've grown used to seeing.

What I like: By leveraging a split-screen approach to each presentation slide, Julie Dodd was able to serve up a clean, legible quote without sacrificing the power of a strong visual.

17. “Fix Your Really Bad PowerPoint,” Slide Comet

When you‘re creating a PowerPoint about how everyone’s PowerPoints stink, yours had better be terrific. The one above, based on the ebook by Seth Godin, keeps it simple without boring its audience.

What I like: Its clever combinations of fonts, together with consistent color across each slide, ensure you're neither overwhelmed nor unengaged.

18. “How Google Works,” Eric Schmidt

Simple, clever doodles tell the story of Google in a fun and creative way. This presentation reads almost like a storybook, making it easy to move from one slide to the next.

What I like: This uncluttered approach provides viewers with an easy-to-understand explanation of a complicated topic.

19. “What Really Differentiates the Best Content Marketers From The Rest,” Ross Simmonds

Let‘s be honest: These graphics are hard not to love. I especially appreciate the author’s cartoonified self-portrait that closes out the presentation. Well played, Ross Simmonds.

What I like: Rather than employing the same old stock photos, this unique design serves as a refreshing way to present information that's both valuable and fun.

20. “Be A Great Product Leader,” Adam Nash

This presentation by Adam Nash immediately draws attention by putting the company's logo first — a great move if your company is well known.

What I like: He uses popular images, such as ones of Megatron and Pinocchio, to drive his points home. In the same way, you can take advantage of popular images and media to keep your audience engaged.

PowerPoint Presentation Examples for the Best Slide Presentation

Mastering a PowerPoint presentation begins with the design itself.

Get inspired by my ideas above to create a presentation that engages your audience, builds upon your point, and helps you generate leads for your brand.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in March 2013 and has been updated for comprehensiveness. This article was written by a human, but our team uses AI in our editorial process. Check out our full disclosure to learn more about how we use AI.

Don't forget to share this post!

Related articles.

How to Create the Best PowerPoint Presentations [Examples & Templates]

17 PowerPoint Presentation Tips From Pro Presenters [+ Templates]

How to Write an Ecommerce Business Plan [Examples & Template]

How to Create an Infographic in Under an Hour — the 2024 Guide [+ Free Templates]

Get Buyers to Do What You Want: The Power of Temptation Bundling in Sales

How to Create an Engaging 5-Minute Presentation

How to Start a Presentation [+ Examples]

120 Presentation Topic Ideas Help You Hook Your Audience

The Presenter's Guide to Nailing Your Next PowerPoint

How to Create a Stunning Presentation Cover Page [+ Examples]

Marketing software that helps you drive revenue, save time and resources, and measure and optimize your investments — all on one easy-to-use platform

We use essential cookies to make Venngage work. By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.

Manage Cookies

Cookies and similar technologies collect certain information about how you’re using our website. Some of them are essential, and without them you wouldn’t be able to use Venngage. But others are optional, and you get to choose whether we use them or not.

Strictly Necessary Cookies

These cookies are always on, as they’re essential for making Venngage work, and making it safe. Without these cookies, services you’ve asked for can’t be provided.

Show cookie providers

• Google Login

Functionality Cookies

These cookies help us provide enhanced functionality and personalisation, and remember your settings. They may be set by us or by third party providers.

Performance Cookies

These cookies help us analyze how many people are using Venngage, where they come from and how they're using it. If you opt out of these cookies, we can’t get feedback to make Venngage better for you and all our users.

• Google Analytics

Targeting Cookies

These cookies are set by our advertising partners to track your activity and show you relevant Venngage ads on other sites as you browse the internet.

• Google Tag Manager
• Infographics
• Daily Infographics
• Popular Templates
• Accessibility
• Graphic Design
• Graphs and Charts
• Data Visualization
• Human Resources
• Beginner Guides

Blog Graphic Design 31 Powerpoint Presentation Design Tips, Ideas [with Examples]

31 Powerpoint Presentation Design Tips, Ideas [with Examples]

Written by: Sara McGuire May 03, 2023

What’s worse than sitting through a boring presentation? Being the one to deliver a boring presentation. Presentation templates to the rescue!

Say goodbye to typical, boring PowerPoint slides, too. Instead,  create a presentation that will make a lasting impression with presentation templates like this one to engage your audience:

Just so you know, some of our templates are free and some require a small monthly fee to use. Signing up to Venngage is always free.

In this post, I’ll show you how to create a presentation that will not only grab the attention of your audience but hold onto it as well.

This post will offer tips for creating different types of presentations , including:

• Pitch decks
• Elearning slides
• Class presentations
• Webinar presentations
• Marketing presentations

I’ll also give you design tips to customize our presentation templates.

Click to jump ahead:

• Dedicate each slide to only one topic
• Start with presentation templates
• Don’t overburden your slides with text
• Establish a visual hierarchy on your slides
• Pick a visual motif that runs throughout your presentation templates
• Visualize data using charts and infographics
• Create custom illustrations using icons to help tell stories
• Highlight important information using big, bold colorful text
• Alternate between different slide layouts to keep your audience engaged
• Add a progress tracker to your presentation slides
• Download your presentation as a PDF

The example above shows how you can customize our templates and export them directly to PowerPoint. Click any of the presentation templates on this page, sign up for free and you’ll enter Venngage’s online presentation maker tool. It’s a drag and drop editor that anyone can use.

Design a presentation that engages your audience

Think about the last boring presentation you sat through:

• What did the slides look like?
• Did they have a bland color scheme?
• Were there too many points (or worse, paragraphs) crammed onto one slide?
• Were the charts and diagrams clunky and hard to understand?

When people see the same old boring PowerPoint themes, there’s a good chance they’re going to lose focus.

Rich media, like video, matters more than ever and there’s no better way to stand out than by creating creative and engaging visual content . If you want to really capture your audience’s attention, you need to design creative presentations , like this one:

That means incorporating eye-catching images, effective data visualizations, and bold typography into your slide decks.

This onboarding presentation, for example, strategically uses bright icons and illustrations to make the material more engaging. This is especially important when presenting to new hires, who are likely dealing with information overload on their first day. 

In this particular case, a more visual approach is not necessarily a matter of aesthetic preference, but a decision that can make your presentations more likely to stick. Pro Tip: Venngage has over 40,000 icons and illustrations you can use to spice up your presentations!

Need something more geared towards speaking? Our keynote presentation templates are all the rage.

11 tips to hold your audience’s attention

Many Venngage users have mentioned that they’re always looking for ways to make presentations more engaging. But most of them don’t have any formal design experience.

If you’re in the same boat, don’t worry–this guide is for you. You can also check out this video for all the highlights:

Here are my top tips for designing a presentation with impact:

1. Dedicate each slide to only one topic

Just as it’s important for your slides to not be cluttered, it’s also important for your slides to be cohesive.

Keep each slide focused on just one topic. The topic of each slide should be clearly stated in the slide title.

For example, this presentation template covers different ways to be creative. Each individual slide covers one approach:

This simple, straightforward slide pattern will help the audience follow along without any confusion.

Or take this presentation template that introduces some of this year’s biggest business trends. Rather than listing multiple trends on one slide, each trend is fleshed out in its own slide:

As a presenter, keeping your slide topics organized will help you organize your thoughts as well. Each new slide will signal a new topic.

2. Start with presentation templates

Before jumping into the other tips, let’s set the foundation.

You’ve decided to create something a little more interesting than a standard PowerPoint theme–good on you! But that doesn’t mean you have to start completely from scratch.

Instead, you can give yourself a head start by using creative presentation templates, like this one:

Or this one:

While most PowerPoint themes are fairly limited in how much you can customize them, freeform presentation templates will give you the freedom to alter the design as much as you want.

For example, let’s take this template:

I used Venngage’s My Brand Kit tool to efficiently apply our brand color palette to the Uber template in one click:

There are a ton of creative presentation templates. You can take a look at them in our presentations templates library .

Cool? Now let’s talk presentation design.

3. Don’t overburden your slides with text

Even if you decide to ignore most of the other tips in this guide, don’t skip over this one. This is presentation design 101.

When you flip to a slide covered wall-to-wall with text, there’s a good chance your audience is going to think:

• I don’t want to read all of that.
• This presenter isn’t well-prepared.

In fact, a study published in Business and Professional Communication Quarterly found that anxious presenters tended to use more text on their slides, usually because they used their slides as speaking notes.

Instead of using a bunch of text, look for ways to present information visually charts and infographics .

For example, this slide template uses brief text and some simple icons to summarize the presentation :

This startup pitch deck makes use of evocative images, icons and big text to help present its ideas:

4. Establish a visual hierarchy on your slides

When you flip to a new slide, your audience will be seeing it for the first time. Their eyes are going to naturally be drawn whatever the focal point on the page is.

The focal point is the most dominant area on your slide–the point that draws the most attention.

You can create a hierarchy of information on your slide by making the most important information the focal point of your slide. In most cases, the focal point will be the slide title, or a particular visual, or an important phrase or number.

There are a few ways you can create a visual hierarchy on your slides.

You can bold important phrases, like the word “Facebook” in this slide:

Icons also help to establish a reading order. They draw your eye from point to point. Placing icons beside headers and important points will make them stand out from the other information on the slide.

Icons can also be used to indicate where a new point begins:

Color selection can also be used to establish a visual hierarchy. Take a look at how the colorful blocks in this slide help to make the slide titles pop:

Your eyes are drawn first to the title text, then to the supporting information beside it.

5. Pick a visual motif that runs throughout your presentation templates

You can use visuals to pull your presentation design together and make it cohesive. Picking a visual motif will allow you to use consistent visuals throughout your presentation.

A visual motif is a repeated pattern, design, or image. In your presentation design, a motif can take many forms.

When it comes to infographic color selection , one of the simplest approaches is to use a consistent color motif (or color scheme). That could mean using one or two colors for all of your headers, background and borders.

For example, this presentation template uses two shades of purple for a modern design:

But combining different colors and patterns can also make for a more interesting design. For example, this presentation template uses a blue stripe motif to link the slides together visually:

You could also use a recurring shape or image, like the circle image frames in this presentation template:

Or you could use a motif that reflects the theme of your presentation. For example, this presentation template uses a recurring cloud motif throughout the presentation to reflect the “dream” theme of the brand:

This is a case where starting with a presentation template can really come in handy, because the template will already have a motif. Look for presentation templates with a motif that fits your topic and brand.

6. Visualize data using charts and infographics

Replacing text with visuals is one of the best ways to prevent your slide design from becoming cluttered. Charts and infographics present information in an engaging, digestible way.

I won’t go into too much detail here about what types of charts you should use for what data. We’ve got an in-depth guide to picking charts for that.

But I’ll give you a few ideas for some types of charts and infographics that work well in presentations.

Related : How to Make Better Infographics for PowerPoint

If you want to visualize steps in a process, the history of something, or a roadmap, use a timeline.

This slide template uses a simple timeline with complementary icons to emphasize each date:

To compare amounts or sizes, a bubble chart can help drive the point home:

Learn how to customize this template:

To create an infographic for geographic and demographic information , a map can make a big impact on your audience:

A classic pie chart or bar graph should be easily understood by your audience, provided you’re following  chart best practices .

This presentation template uses a bar graph, a pie chart and a line graph to show different metrics:

If you can, mix up the types of data visualizations you use. This will help prevent your audience from getting bored.

Those are just a few different ways you can use charts to visualize. For more ideas, check out our guide to picking the best charts for your data .

7. Create custom illustrations using icons to help tell stories

Custom illustrations are one of this year’s  biggest graphic design trends . They’re fun, quirky, and more exciting than a boring old stock photo.

Creating your own illustrations for social media graphics might seem like a costly and time-consuming undertaking. And it can be. But I’m going to offer you a hack:

Use icons to create illustrations.

You can arrange icons together to create a scene–like the pieces of a puzzle. (Venngage offers over 40,000 icons, so finding an image shouldn’t be too hard!) 

For example, this real estate presentation template uses icons to illustrate each real estate hack:

When picking ico ns or symbols for your illustrations , make sure that the icon style you use is consistent. For example, this presentation template uses line art icons for a scribbly youthful look:

For more ideas, read our guide to creating icon illustrations .

8. Highlight important information using big, bold colorful text

Returning to the idea or focal points on your slide: emphasize a key number or phrase when creating a persuasive presentation using big, bold text in a contrasting color.

This will communicate to your audience that if they take away one thing from your slide, it should be that piece of information.

For example, this presentation template uses bright colored font in several sizes larger than the rest of the text to emphasize important numbers on each slide:

But you could also pick one color to emphasize key information with. That way, your audience will catch on to the pattern and look for that color in upcoming slides.

Take a look at how this presentation uses teal to contrast with the other text and emphasize information:

9. Alternate between different slide layouts to keep your audience engaged

You may be tempted to use the same slide layout throughout your entire presentation–either for consistency or because you’re not sure how else to design your slide.

The problem is, using the same slide layout over and over again won’t do much to excite your audience.

There are other ways you can create consistency throughout your presentation, while also using different slide layouts–like through a visual motif.

For example, this presentation template uses five different slide layouts. The consistent color scheme, image style and font style pull the presentation together.

To come up with different slide layouts, try dividing your slide into columns. This can make it easier to arrange the elements in your slide.

This can make it easier to arrange the elements in your slide.

10. Add a progress tracker to your presentation slides

Creating a sense of forward movement will help keep your audience engaged.

Similar to how you would put the chapter title at the top of the pages in a book, you can track the progress of your presentations in your slides. This will let your audience know what stage you’re at in your presentation. Your audience will also be able to refer to the sections in your presentation more easily afterward.

That said, pacing your presentation thoughtfully with well-designed presentation slides also adds brownie points to your presentation. Check out the top qualities of awesome presentations and learn all about how to make a good presentation to help you nail that captivating delivery.

A simple progress bar at the bottom of your slide shouldn’t distract too much from the rest of your information.

11. Download your presentation as a PDF

It’s common for audience members to request a copy of your presentation for their reference. Make sharing your presentation easy by exporting it as a PDF or zipped file.

Now that you’re equipped with some fundamentals of presentation design, the best way to learn is by doing. It’s also the perfect time to upgrade your presentation skills  while you’re thinking about it too!

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment below.

More presentation templates and design guides:

• 120+ Best Presentation Ideas, Design Tips & Examples  (+ Presentation Templates!)
• 12 Business Pitch Deck Templates and Design Best Practices to Impress Investors
• 5 Foolproof Presentation Layout Ideas  (+ Presentation Templates!)
• How to Get Featured on the Front Page of SlideShare [Infographic]
• What Is A Webinar & How Do They Work? [Beginners Guide]

Discover popular designs

Infographic maker

Brochure maker

White paper online

Newsletter creator

Flyer maker

Timeline maker

Letterhead maker

Mind map maker

Ebook maker

20 Really Good PowerPoint Examples to Inspire Your Next Presentation

By Sandra Boicheva

2 years ago

You may also like Show related articles Hide

You might have the most amazing idea that you wish to share with the world, but you might not get the results you want if the delivery isn’t good. Although as a tool, PowerPoint is pretty easy to use and intuitive, creating a good PowerPoint presentation is not a simple task. There is a lot of things to consider when designing your slides from the words you use, to the copy structure, data visualization, and overall design. This is why today we gathered 20 really good PowerPoint examples of presentations that flawlessly deliver their messages. These creative ideas will surely inspire you to make your next presentation your best one, as they all share good design and engaging storytelling.

“If you don’t know what you want to achieve in your presentation your audience never will.” – Harvey Diamond

1. Idea to Identify: The Design of Brand

This is a long one. Here we have a 242 slides presentation that exposes the myriad facets of design and how they impact the brand identity. The presentation has a lot of data to show and spreads it throughout more than 200 slides to make it easy to read and follow. In all, this is the best way to present a lot of information: instead of overwhelming the viewers with text walls, the presenter simply adds more slides.

• Author:   Sudio Sudarsan

2. Jeunesse Opportunity Presentation 2021

This is a great example of brand presentation with company profile, product system, plan, and reward. It gives a similar experience to browsing a website.

• Author:   DASH2 – Jeunesse Global

3. Accenture Tech Vision 2020

A short and sweet presentation about how companies prepare for data regulation and how this impacts the customer experience. 

• Author:   Accenture

4. APIs as Digital Factories’ New Machines

A comparison presentation of how companies capture most of the market value. It explains well how to view the economy from a different perspective and adopt customer-centric thinking. The presentation has a lot of value, it’s well structured and it’s a good read in only 28 slides.

• Author:  Apidays

5. 24 Books You’ve Never Heard Of – But Will Change Your Life

This is a great example of how repeating slides design for the same type of content isn’t a synonym for being unimaginative. It’s pretty straightforward: it promises 24 titles, an inspirational introduction, and a slide for each book that will change your life.

• Author:   Ryan Holiday

6. 10 Memorable David Bowie Quotes

Not always presentations must have a specific educational or conventional goal. Sometimes, it could be a cool personal project meant to inspire your audience. And let’s be honest, who doesn’t love David Bowie? A presentation with 10 memorable quotes by him is worth watching. 

• Author: Stinson

7. Creative Mornings San Diego 

• Author:   Anne McColl

8. Digital 2020 Global Digital Overview

A report heavy-data presentation about everything you need to know about mobile, internet, social media, and e-commerce use around the world in 2020. It’s a long read but comprehensive and well-illustrated with data visualization.

• Author:   DataReportal

9. Blitzscaling: Book Trailer

One of the most well-made presentations about informative topics such as startup’s life-cycle and where the most value is created. It’s designed as a book, consistent, with lesser text as possible, and imitates animation by adding new content on copies of the same slide. 

• Author:  Reid Hoffman

10. Poor Self-Esteem: Just Beat It!

A very valuable presentation that takes on the reasons for low self-esteem and how to overcome it. The design is very simple and comprehensive and even suitable for social media carousel posts.

• Author:   SlideShop.com

11. You Suck At PowerPoint!

This presentation is more than a decade old and still checks out. After all, you could expect great presentation design from someone who talks about design mistakes and how to overcome them.  61 slides of a fun experience and a great read.

• Author:  Jesse Desjardins

12. Pixar’s 22 Rules to Phenomenal Storytelling

Pixar’s 22 Rules to Phenomenal Storytelling, originally tweeted by Emma Coats, in a 24-slides presentation with a custom design. 

• Author:   Gavin McMahon

13. A Complete Guide To The Best Times To Post On Social Media

A fun little presentation with great value. It takes on the most effective times to post on social media, send an email, or publish a blog.

• Author:   TrackMaven

14. Fix Your Really Bad PowerPoint

The next presentation honors Seth Godin and his wisdom. It uses his book’s insights to visualize all the tips in 45 engaging slides.

• Author:   HighSpark

15. 10 Lessons from the World’s Most Captivating Presenters

This presentation is for presenters who wish to become better. And what better way than getting inspired by the world’s greatest presenters and accessing some of their secrets. 

• Author:   HubSpot

16. Crap. The Content Marketing Deluge

For starters, this presentation has a very captivating title and opening. Winning the attention from the very start, it continues with consistent clean design and great content. It delivers exactly what it promised. 

• Author: Velocity Partners

17. Displaying Data

More insightful advice and tips from professional presenters that check out to this very day. It’s a great presentation about visualizing your data in the best way possible and it also delivers it with design.

• Author:   Bipul Deb Nath

18. 5 Storytelling Lessons From Superhero Stories

Custom-made presentation with illustrations made specifically for the occasion, and brilliant execution. It shows it’s definitely worth it to spend time making your presentation more personal and from scratch. 

19. 10 Things your Audience Hates About your Presentation

Another custom presentation with icons-style illustrations about how to avoid cringe when making presentations. 

• Author:   Stinson

20. The Designer’s Guide to Startup Weekend

You will work hard all weekend long but you will also find new friends, mentors, and the chance to promote yourself. A pretty wholesome presentation with a custom design where the presenter shares her own experience in the world of startups.

• Author:  Iryna Nezhynska

That’s It!

These 20 presentations prove that PowerPoint is never out of date and it’s a great tool to deliver your message across. We hope you got inspired for your next presentation and make your audience fall in love with your concepts.

In the meantime, why not take a look at the related articles to get some more inspiration or grab a couple of freebies:

• [Freebies] 17 Really Good Sources For Free Vector Images For Commercial Use
• [Inspiration] 85 Really Good T-Shirt Design Ideas to Inspire You for Your Next Project
• [Insights] The 5 Top Online Tools for Custom YouTube Banners (and YouTube Thumbnails)

Share this article

You may also like ....

30 Beautiful Mood Board Examples with Inspiring Aesthetics 30 Beautiful Mood Board Examples with Inspiring Aesthetics

Brochures, Flyers & Cards Inspiration

20 creative marketing flyer ideas that stand out 20 creative marketing flyer ideas that stand out.

Posters Inspiration

60+ really good poster examples with memorable design 60+ really good poster examples with memorable design.

Home Blog Presentation Ideas 23 PowerPoint Presentation Tips for Creating Engaging and Interactive Presentations

23 PowerPoint Presentation Tips for Creating Engaging and Interactive Presentations

PowerPoint presentations are not usually known for being engaging or interactive. That’s often because most people treat their slides as if they are notes to read off  and not a tool to help empower their message.

Your presentation slides are there to help bring to life the story you are telling. They are there to provide visuals and empower your speech.

So how do you go about avoiding a presentation “snoozefest” and instead ensure you have an engaging and interactive presentation?  By making sure that you use your slides to help YOU tell your story, instead of using them as note cards to read off of.

The key thing to remember is that your presentation is there to compliment your speech, not be its focus.

In this article, we will review several presentation tips and tricks on how to become a storytelling powerhouse by building a powerful and engaging PowerPoint presentation.

Start with writing your speech outline, not with putting together slides

Use more images and less text, use high-quality images, keep the focus on you and your presentation, not the powerpoint, your presentation should be legible from anywhere in the room, use a consistent presentation design, one topic per slide, avoid information overwhelm by using the “rule of three”.

• Display one bullet at a time

Avoid unnecessary animations

• Only add content that supports your main points

Do not use PowerPoint as a teleprompter

• Never Give Out Copies of the Presentation

Re-focus the attention on you by fading into blackness

Change the tone of your voice when presenting, host an expert discussion panel, ask questions, embed videos, use live polling to get instant feedback and engage the audience.

• He kept his slides uncluttered and always strived for simplicity
• He was known to use large font size, the bigger, the better.
• He found made the complex sound simple.

He was known to practice, practice, and keep on practicing.

Summary – how to make your presentation engaging & interactive, fundamental rules to build powerful & engaging presentation slides.

Before we go into tips and tricks on how to add flair to your presentations and create effective presentations, it’s essential to get the fundamentals of your presentation right.

Your PowerPoint presentation is there to compliment your message, and the story you are telling. Before you can even put together slides, you need to identify the goal of your speech, and the key takeaways you want your audience to remember.

YOU and your speech are the focus of this presentation, not the slides – use your PowerPoint to complement your story.

Keep in mind that your slides are there to add to your speech, not distract from it.  Using too much text in your slides can be distracting and confusing to your audience. Instead, use a relevant picture with minimal text, “A picture is worth a thousand words.”

This slide is not unusual, but is not a visual aid, it is more like an “eye chart”.

Aim for something simpler, easy to remember and concise, like the slides below.

Keep in mind your audience when designing your presentation, their background and aesthetics sense. You will want to avoid the default clip art and cheesy graphics on your slides.

While presenting make sure to control the presentation and the room by walking around, drawing attention to you and what you are saying.  You should occasionally stand still when referencing a slide, but never turn your back to your audience to read your slide.

You and your speech are the presentations; the slides are just there to aid you.

Most season presenters don’t use anything less than twenty-eight point font size, and even Steve Jobs was known to use nothing smaller than forty-point text fonts.

If you can’t comfortably fit all the text on your slide using 28 font size than you’re trying to say and cram too much into the slide, remember tip #1.4 – Use relevant images instead and accompany it with bullets.

Best Practice PowerPoint Presentation Tips

The job of your presentation is to help convey information as efficiently and clearly as possible. By keeping the theme and design consistent, you’re allowing the information and pictures to stand out.

However, by varying the design from slide to slide, you will be causing confusion and distraction from the focus, which is you and the information to be conveyed on the slide.

Technology can also help us in creating a consistent presentation design just by picking a topic and selecting a sample template style. This is possible thanks to the SlideModel’s AI slideshow maker .

Each slide should try to represent one topic or talking point. The goal is to keep the attention focused on your speech, and by using one slide per talking point, you make it easy for you to prepare, as well as easy for your audience to follow along with your speech.

Sometimes when creating our presentation, we can often get in our heads and try to over-explain. A simple way to avoid this is to follow the “ Rule of Three ,” a concept coined by the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle.

The idea is to stick to only 3 main ideas that will help deliver your point.  Each of the ideas can be further broken into 3 parts to explain further. The best modern example of this “Rule of Three” can be derived from the great Apple presentations given by Steve Jobs – they were always structured around the “Rule of Three.”

Display one sentence at a time

If you are planning to include text in your slides, try to avoid bullet lists, and use one slide per sentence. Be short and concise. This best practice focuses on the idea that simple messages are easy to retain in memory. Also, each slide can follow your storytelling path, introducing the audience to each concept while you speak, instead of listing everything beforehand.

Presentation Blunders To Avoid

In reality, there is no need for animations or transitions in your slides.

It’s great to know how to turn your text into fires or how to create a transition with sparkle effects, but the reality is the focus should be on the message. Using basic or no transitions lets the content of your presentation stand out, rather than the graphics.

If you plan to use animations, make sure to use modern and professional animations that helps the audience follow the story you are telling, for example when explaining time series or changing events over time.

Only add engaging content that supports your main points

You might have a great chart, picture or even phrase you want to add, but when creating every slide, it’s crucial to ask yourself the following question.

“Does this slide help support my main point?”

If the answer is no, then remove it.  Remember, less is more.

A common crutch for rookie presenters is to use slides as their teleprompter.

First of all, you shouldn’t have that much text on your slides. If you have to read off something, prepare some index cards that fit in your hand but at all costs do not turn your back on your audience and read off of your PowerPoint.  The moment you do that, you make the presentation the focus, and lose the audience as the presenter.

Avoid Giving Out Copies of the Presentation

At least not before you deliver a killer presentation; providing copies of your presentation gives your audience a possible distraction where they can flip through the copy and ignore what you are saying.

It’s also easy for them to take your slides out of context without understanding the meaning behind each slide.  It’s OK to give a copy of the presentation, but generally it is better to give the copies AFTER you have delivered your speech. If you decide to share a copy of your presentation, the best way to do it is by  generating a QR code  for it and placing it at the end of your presentation. Those who want a copy can simply scan and download it onto their phones.

Tips To Making Your Presentation More Engaging

The point of your presentation is to help deliver a message.

When expanding on a particularly important topic that requires a lengthy explanation it’s best to fade the slide into black.  This removes any distraction from the screen and re-focuses it on you, the present speaker. Some presentation devices have a built-in black screen button, but if they don’t, you can always prepare for this by adding a black side to your presentation at the right moment.

“It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it.”

Part of making your presentation engaging is to use all the tools at your disposal to get your point across. Changing the inflection and tone of your voice as you present helps make the content and the points more memorable and engaging.

One easy and powerful way to make your presentation interactive is experts to discuss a particular topic during your presentation. This helps create a more engaging presentation and gives you the ability to facilitate and lead a discussion around your topic.

It’s best to prepare some questions for your panel but to also field questions from the audience in a question and answer format.

How To Make Your Presentation More Interactive

What happens if I ask you to think about a pink elephant?  You probably briefly think about a pink elephant, right?

Asking questions when presenting helps engage the audience, and arouse interest and curiosity.  It also has the added benefit of making people pay closer attention, in case they get called on.

So don’t be afraid to ask questions, even if rhetorical; asking a question engages a different part of our brain. It causes us to reflect rather than merely take in the information one way. So ask many of them.

Asking questions can also be an excellent way to build suspense for the next slide.

(Steve Jobs was known to ask questions during his presentations, in this slide he built suspense by asking the audience “Is there space for a device between a cell phone and a laptop?” before revealing the iPad) Source: MacWorld SF 2018

Remember the point of your presentation is to get a message across and although you are the presenter, it is completely fine to use video in your PowerPoint to enhance your presentation.  A relevant video can give you some breathing time to prepare the next slides while equally informing the audience on a particular point.

CAUTION: Be sure to test the video beforehand, and that your audience can hear it in the room.

A trending engagement tool among presenters is to use a live polling tool to allow the audience to participate and collect immediate feedback.

Using a live polling tool is a fun and interactive way to engage your audience in real-time and allow them to participate in part of your presentation.

Google Slides has a built-in Q&A feature that allows presenters to make the slide deck more interactive by providing answers to the audience’s questions. By using the Q&A feature in Google Slides, presenters can start a live Q&A session and people can ask questions directly from their devices including mobile and smartphones.

Key Takeaways from one of the best presenters, Steve Jobs

He kept his slides uncluttered and always strove for simplicity.

In this slide, you can easily see he is talking about the battery life, and it uses a simple image and a few words. Learning from Jobs, you can also make a great presentation too. Focus on the core benefit of your product and incorporate great visuals.

Source: Macworld 2008

SlideModel.com can help to reproduce high-impact slides like these, keeping your audience engagement.

He was known to use large font sizes, the bigger, the better

A big font makes it hard to miss the message on the slide, and allows the audience to focus on the presenter while clearing the understanding what the point of the slide is.

He found made the complex sound simple

When explaining a list of features, he used a simple image and lines or simple tables to provide visual cues to his talking points.

(This particular slide is referencing the iMac features)

What made Steve Jobs the master of presentation, was the ritual of practicing with his team, and this is simple yet often overlooked by many presenters.  It’s easy to get caught in the trap of thinking you don’t need to practice because you know the material so well.

While all these tips will help you create a truly powerful presentation , it can only achieve if applied correctly.

It’s important to remember when trying to deliver an amazing experience, you should be thoroughly prepared. This way, you can elevate your content presentation, convey your message effectively and captivate your audience.

This includes having your research cited, your presentation rehearsed.  Don’t just rehearse your slides, also take time to practice your delivery, and your tone.  The more you rehearse, the more relaxed you will be when delivering. The more confident you will feel.

While we can’t help you with the practice of your next presentation, we can help you by making sure you look good, and that you have a great design and cohesiveness.

You focus on the message and content; we’ll focus on making you look good.

Have a tip you would like to include?  Be sure to mention it in the comments!

Like this article? Please share

Audience, Engaging, Feedback, Interactive, Poll, Rule of Three, Steve Jobs Filed under Presentation Ideas

Related Articles

Filed under Presentation Ideas • November 29th, 2023

The Power of Audience Engagement: Strategies and Examples

As presenters, captivating the interest of our viewers is the most important thing. Join us to learn all that’s required to boost audience engagement.

Filed under Business • April 30th, 2020

A Manager’s Guide to Interpersonal Communication

People are promoted to management positions for a variety of reasons. For many, they rise to the top because of their knowledge, technical skills, and decision-making capabilities. As a manager, your effectiveness also strongly depends on your ability to communicate well with your team members and other stakeholders. Here is a quick guide on Interpersonal Communication for Managers.

Filed under Business • June 27th, 2019

Using 360 Degree Feedback in Your Organization

Many organizations use 360 degree feedback to provide assessment for employees via multiple sources to analyze the knowledge, skill and behavior of employees. It is also known as multi-rater feedback, multi-source feedback, 360 Degree Review and multi-source assessment, since it is used frequently for assessing the performance of an employee and to determine his/her future […]

2 Responses to “23 PowerPoint Presentation Tips for Creating Engaging and Interactive Presentations”

Very great advices!

Greetings ! A compact composed communication for the host to have an impact -VOICE

Thank You ?

Leave a Reply

Got any suggestions?

We want to hear from you! Send us a message and help improve Slidesgo

Top searches

Trending searches

holy spirit

35 templates

11 templates

business pitch

598 templates

ai technology

169 templates

21 templates

environmental science

36 templates

Creative Presentation templates

Use these free creative google slides themes and ppt templates to give a new twist to conventional slide designs while following the latest trends. your presentation will definetely impress your audience, related collections.

1498 templates

It seems that you like this template!

My creative resume.

A good CV is the key to unlock the doors to the best job interviews. For this reason, here at Slidesgo we go beyond the limits of the conventional design, offering you a modern colorful template whose main focus is no one else but you!

Pastel Portfolio

Having a very creative portfolio opens a lot of doors, more than you think. We've created this template for those who want to showcase their work and skills. As always, the Memphis graphic style will help you grab attention, and the pastel colors too! Mention your studies, add images of...

All About Peruvian Rainforest

Download the All About Peruvian Rainforest presentation for PowerPoint or Google Slides and start impressing your audience with a creative and original design. Slidesgo templates like this one here offer the possibility to convey a concept, idea or topic in a clear, concise and visual way, by using different graphic...

Premium template

Unlock this template and gain unlimited access

Problem-based Learning

Download the "Problem-based Learning" presentation for PowerPoint or Google Slides and prepare to receive useful information. Even though teachers are responsible for disseminating knowledge to their students, they also embarked on a learning journey since the day they decided to dedicate themselves to education. You might find this Google Slides...

GTM Strategy Consulting

Download the GTM Strategy Consulting presentation for PowerPoint or Google Slides. Your business demands smart solutions, and this consulting toolkit template is just that! This versatile and ingenious toolkit will provide you with the essential tools you need to shape your strategies and make informed decisions. Whether you are devising...

No More Interrupting

Download the "No More Interrupting" presentation for PowerPoint or Google Slides and teach with confidence. Sometimes, teachers need a little bit of help, and there's nothing wrong with that. We're glad to lend you a hand! Since Slidesgo is committed to making education better for everyone, we've joined hands with...

Project Evaluation in Pre-K and Elementary

Download the "Project Evaluation in Pre-K and Elementary" presentation for PowerPoint or Google Slides and prepare to receive useful information. Even though teachers are responsible for disseminating knowledge to their students, they also embarked on a learning journey since the day they decided to dedicate themselves to education. You might...

Meet Our Professors

The beginning of the school year is always synonymous with nerves for teachers and students. To break the ice, why not introduce your professors in a different way? We propose you this original template with a dark background and abstract and colorful shapes. It features doodle-style illustrations related to teaching,...

World Literature Theme

Download the World Literature Theme presentation for PowerPoint or Google Slides. The education sector constantly demands dynamic and effective ways to present information. This template is created with that very purpose in mind. Offering the best resources, it allows educators or students to efficiently manage their presentations and engage audiences....

Eco-City: Sustainable Future

Download the Eco-City: Sustainable Future presentation for PowerPoint or Google Slides and start impressing your audience with a creative and original design. Slidesgo templates like this one here offer the possibility to convey a concept, idea or topic in a clear, concise and visual way, by using different graphic resources....

Stock Market Quotes App Pitch Deck

Download the Stock Market Quotes App Pitch Deck presentation for PowerPoint or Google Slides. Whether you're an entrepreneur looking for funding or a sales professional trying to close a deal, a great pitch deck can be the difference-maker that sets you apart from the competition. Let your talent shine out...

Notebook Lesson

These are the last days before the Summer break! We know that there are some pending lessons that you need to prepare for your students. As they may be thinking about their friends and their holidays, catch their attention with this cool template!

Science Fiction Film Pitch Deck

Download the Science Fiction Film Pitch Deck presentation for PowerPoint or Google Slides. Whether you're an entrepreneur looking for funding or a sales professional trying to close a deal, a great pitch deck can be the difference-maker that sets you apart from the competition. Let your talent shine out thanks...

How to Encourage Reading in High School: 3 Activities

Download the "How to Encourage Reading in High School: 3 Activities" presentation for PowerPoint or Google Slides. High school students are approaching adulthood, and therefore, this template’s design reflects the mature nature of their education. Customize the well-defined sections, integrate multimedia and interactive elements and allow space for research or...

Salsa Academy

Download the Salsa Academy presentation for PowerPoint or Google Slides. Are you looking for a way to make your school or academy stand out among the competition? This template is designed to showcase all the fantastic aspects of your center. With perfect slides that allow you to easily add information...

Team Building Class for Elementary

Your students spend most of their days at school, so building a good atmosphere in the class is vital for their happiness. Why don’t you dedicate a day to team building activities? This will help new students make friends and older students create deeper relationships with their classmates. It that...

Time Boxing Step by Step

Download the "Time Boxing Step by Step" presentation for PowerPoint or Google Slides and teach with confidence. Sometimes, teachers need a little bit of help, and there's nothing wrong with that. We're glad to lend you a hand! Since Slidesgo is committed to making education better for everyone, we've joined...

Lettering Grid MK Plan

Do you know what lettering is? It’s the art of turning writing into a masterpiece. Use this beautiful template to explain how to master this beautiful art or to present your marketing plan in an original way. We have included infographics, maps, charts, and lots of letterings to decorate the...

• Page 1 of 313

Great presentations, faster

Slidesgo for Google Slides :

The easy way to wow

Register for free and start editing online

120+ Best Free PowerPoint Templates (PPT) 2024

Not everyone can afford to buy premium PowerPoint templates to create their slideshows. But, that doesn’t mean you have to settle for a default template. There are dozens of incredible free PowerPoint templates to try out!

A great thing about the design community is that there are designers out there who willingly share their amazing work for free of charge, including gorgeous free PowerPoint templates.

To help you save some money, we scoured the web and handpicked a collection of the best free PowerPoint templates with modern and professional designs that you can use to make various types of presentations. Good luck with your presentation!

Just looking for a stylish free Powerpoint Template? No problem. Let’s dive into our collection of the best free PowerPoint templates!

How Does Unlimited PowerPoint Templates Sound?

Download thousands of PowerPoint templates, and many other design elements, with a monthly Envato Elements membership. It starts at $16 per month, and gives you unlimited access to a growing library of over 2,000,000 presentation templates, fonts, photos, graphics, and more.

Pitch PowerPoint

Animated PPT Templates

Fully animated.

Business PPT Templates

Corporate & pro.

Explore PowerPoint Templates

What Type of Free PowerPoint Template Do You Need?

We’ve broken our collection down into different categories, so you can quickly find just the right PPT template for your project! Almost of all of these PPT templates are free, but at the start of each section you’ll see one or two premium ones, just so you have that option to choose as well.

• Professional PowerPoint Templates
• Business PowerPoint Templates
• Animated PowerPoint Templates
• Modern PowerPoint Templates
• Creative PowerPoint Templates
• Pitch Deck PowerPoint Templates
• Medical PowerPoint Templates
• Teacher & Education PowerPoint Templates
• Church & Christian PowerPoint Templates
• Infographic PowerPoint Templates

Free Professional PowerPoint Templates

Selfone – free professional presentation template.

Selfone is an amazing presentation template that features lots of useful slides with professional and modern designs. There are 32 unique slides in this template and it’s ideal for making various types of slideshows for businesses, brands, and creatives. It comes in PowerPoint, Keynote, and Google Slides formats too.

Free Consulting Presentation PowerPoint Template

This free PowerPoint template is great for creating presentations for consultants. It features a set of modern and stylish slides featuring image placeholders, shapes, and editable graphics.

Free Geometric Professional Presentation Template

The colorful geometric shapes are what make this PowerPoint template one of the best on our list. This template is also available in Google Slides and Keynote formats. And you can use the free version of the template to create a basic slideshow for your professional project.

Ash – Free Professional PowerPoint Template

Ash is a modern and stylish PowerPoint template featuring a dark color theme. This template is made with professionals in mind and it’s especially suitable for event and product presentations. The free version of the template can be used to create a simple presentation.

Free Artificial Intelligence PowerPoint Template

This free PowerPoint template is ideal for making professional presentations for showcasing startups, ideas, and products related to artificial intelligence. The template features 7 unique slides with creative charts, timelines, and more.

Free Tech Slides PowerPoint Presentation Template

You can use this PowerPoint template to design attractive slideshows for technology-themed presentations. It comes with 10 different slide layouts with gradient colors, editable shapes, and text. You can also download it in Google Slides format.

Hendrix – Free Dark Professional PowerPoint Template

Another free and professional PowerPoint template with a dark theme. This template comes in both PowerPoint and Google Slides versions. You can easily customize the slide layouts to create various types of presentations.

Pro Portfolio PPT Template

Every business needs a presentation template for showcasing their portfolio. This PowerPoint template is perfect for that task. It comes with 50 unique slides featuring a minimalist design that effectively highlights your portfolio in every slide. The template also includes editable vector graphics, infographics, and icons.

Aesthic – Free Multipurpose PowerPoint Template

It’s hard to believe that this PowerPoint template is free to download. The modern and unique design of this presentation gives it a truly professional look. It’s perfect for creating presentations for showcasing your portfolio, creative projects, and more.

Dolor – Free Professional Presentation Template

This free PowerPoint template also comes with modern and professional slide design. It uses a perfect combination of visuals and minimalism to create a very attractive slide layout. You can use it for free with your creative projects.

Kitulah – Free Dark Professional PowerPoint Template

The dark color theme of this PowerPoint template adds an elegant look to this entire presentation design. It’s perfect for creating slideshows for modern brands and startups.

DSGN – Free Lookbook Presentation Template

This free PowerPoint template comes with 90 unique slide layouts you can use to make slideshows for creative portfolios, photography, and fashion related presentations. The template is also available in 5 color schemes and it’s free to use with your personal projects.

Enable – Free Modern PowerPoint Template

Enable is a modern PowerPoint template featuring a set of minimal slide designs that are most suitable for making creative and business-related presentations. The template comes with an easily editable design and image placeholders for easily replacing the images.

Look – Free Fashion PowerPoint Template

Look is an elegant PowerPoint template that features a highly visual design that’s most suitable for making fashion and photography related presentations. The template includes 55 unique slides and comes in two different colors.

Free Creative Portfolio PowerPoint Template

If you’re looking for a stylish PowerPoint template to create a simple portfolio to showcase your work and services, this free template is perfect for you. It includes 20 unique slides that are designed to make highly visual slideshows filled with large images.

Project Proposal – Free Professional PowerPoint Template

This is a professional PowerPoint template you can use for free to create proposals for various client and freelance projects. This template includes 19 unique slides with an icon pack, illustrations, and much more.

Resume Presentation – Free PowerPoint Template

This minimal PowerPoint template is ideal for showcasing your portfolio and resume. It comes with 14 unique slides with editable vector graphics and image placeholders. The template is available in Google Slides version as well.

Free Modern Portfolio PowerPoint Template

Another free portfolio PowerPoint template with a set of creative slides. This template also includes 20 unique slides with editable layouts, image placeholders, icons, and much more.

Wagner – Free Multipurpose PowerPoint Template

Wagner is a multipurpose PowerPoint template that comes with a modern and stylish design that allows you to design all kinds of presentations. Each slide in the template is fully customizable and features editable vector shapes and elements as well.

Minimal – Simple Free PowerPoint Template

This minimal free PowerPoint template is perfect for crafting slideshow for presenting personal portfolio as well as creative agency presentations. The template is fully customizable as well.

Xara – Free PowerPoint Template

Xara is a modern PowerPoint template most suitable for making minimal slideshows for business and corporate presentations. It includes 9 unique slides with editable layouts, graphics, and charts.

Red White – Free PowerPoint Template

Red White is a modern free PowerPoint presentation template you can use to make slideshows for businesses, brands, and creatives. The template includes 30 unique slides with editable designs.

Free Business PowerPoint Templates

Free retro pixel business powerpoint template.

This is a free PowerPoint template that comes with colorful and creative slide designs inspired by retro-themed pixel graphics. It includes many stylish slide designs with dark color themes for creating attractive presentations for business meetings.

Free Geometric Shapes Marketing Plan for PowerPoint

This free PowerPoint template comes with a set of slides full of colorful geometric shapes and patterns. It’s designed with marketing agencies in mind and you can use it to create attractive marketing plans for your business meetings.

Free Content Strategy Meeting PowerPoint Template

Create the perfect presentation for your content strategy meetings with this free PowerPoint template. It includes many beautiful slide layouts featuring gradient color backgrounds and image placeholders. You can fully customize each slide to your preference.

Free Abstract Shapes Business PowerPoint Template

You can download this PowerPoint template for free to create modern business presentations. It has a set of minimalist slides featuring abstract shapes with rough textures.

Free Morph Business Plan PowerPoint Template

This free PowerPoint template comes with more than 40 slides featuring modern backgrounds and trendy content layouts. It’s especially perfect for creating business plan slide decks and presentations.

Free Company Profile Powerpoint Template

This free company profile PowerPoint template provides a comprehensive overview of your organization in a 20-slide presentation. Designed to showcase a brand’s identity, it covers the company’s journey, from establishment to its current successes, capturing its mission, vision, and values. With customizable slides, the template features a Presentation Agenda, Financial Reports, Business SWOT Analysis, Gantt chart, various graphical charts, and a Company Timeline.

Cranford – Free Business Presentation PPT

Cranford is a free PowerPoint template that includes a set of professional slide layouts. It’s most suitable for making modern business and agency slideshows. It comes in Google Slides and Keynote formats too.

Howard – Free Business PowerPoint Template

This PowerPoint template is also available in multiple formats. You can use it to create presentations for small businesses as well as corporate brands. There are 8 unique slides in this template.

Merville – Free Business PowerPoint Template

Merville is a free PowerPoint template that includes very professional-looking slides. It has highly visual slides with easily editable designs. The template is suitable for all types of business presentations.

Free Business Meeting PowerPoint Template

This is a creative PowerPoint template that comes with a set of beautiful slides. There are 24 unique slides in this template with editable graphs, timelines, mockups, and more. It’s available in Google Slides version too.

Free Creative Agency PowerPoint Template

This is a huge PowerPoint template that includes more than 100 different slides. Of course, the full version comes at a price. But if you scroll all the way down on the page, you’ll find a free version of the template that’s also pretty great for making a simple business presentation.

Free 2022 Marketing Plan Infographic PowerPoint Template

This is a must-have presentation template for marketing agencies and businesses. It includes creative infographic slides you can use to showcase your marketing plan and the performance of your campaigns. It includes 32 slides and it’s available in Google Slides format too.

Free Electric Scooter Company Profile PPTX

This free PowerPoint template is ideal for making company profiles. It’s especially perfect for making company profile presentations for startups and modern brands. The template includes 28 fully customizable slides with free icons and graphics.

Free Human Resource Meeting PowerPoint Template

This PowerPoint template comes with a set of professional slide designs you can use to create presentations for human resource meetings for all kinds of businesses. There are 24 unique slides included in this template and it comes in Google Slides format as well.

Free Gradient Corners Business PowerPoint Template

The elegant design of this PowerPoint template makes it a perfect choice for making business presentations. The template features 7 unique slides with colorful blue gradient corner designs.

Free Simple Business Executive PowerPoint Template

You can use this free PowerPoint template to make simple presentations for corporate brands and businesses. The template includes 8 editable slides with professional layouts. It comes in Google Slides version as well.

Digital Marketing Strategy PowerPoint Template

Using a creative and bold design in your PowerPoint slideshow is a great way to capture attention and make your presentation stand out. This beautifully designed PowerPoint template will help you achieve that goal. It comes with more than 40 slides that feature a unique design made specifically for marketing presentations. It’s also available in 2 different color themes.

Bara – Free Modern Business PowerPoint Theme

Bara is the perfect free PowerPoint template for creating business presentations. It features a modern design and comes with easily editable slide layouts. In addition, it’s available in Keynote version as well.

Clifton Free Business Presentation Template

This modern and free presentation template comes in multiple formats. You can use it to create a stylish presentation to promote business services, brands, and products as well.

Barnwell Free Business Presentation Template

Barnwell is a simple yet effective presentation template for creating business and agency slideshows. This template comes in multiple formats including PowerPoint, Keynote, and Google Slides.

Free Onboarding Meeting PowerPoint Template

This free PowerPoint template is perfect for creating a presentation for your new hire onboarding meetings. It includes 33 different slide layouts with easily editable designs. The template comes in the Google Slides version as well.

Free Multipurpose PowerPoint Presentation Template

You can use this PowerPoint template to design clean and minimalist presentations for various business meetings. It includes 27 different slide designs you can customize to your preference.

Free Construction & Real Estate PowerPoint Template

If you’re preparing a presentation for a construction project or a real estate property, this PowerPoint template will come in handy. There are 19 unique slides in this template made specifically with construction and real estate businesses in mind.

Future – Free Business PowerPoint Template

A simple and clean PowerPoint template for making professional and business presentations. This template comes with 25 unique slide layouts featuring minimalist designs. Each slide is fully customizable and features master slide layouts as well.

Business Plan Free Powerpoint Presentation

This free PowerPoint template is a great choice for making slideshows for presenting your business plans and strategies in meetings. It includes 20 unique slides. You’ll need to signup for a free account on the website to download the file.

SEO Proposal – Free PowerPoint Template

This creative PowerPoint template is designed specifically for digital markers and agencies. You can use this to craft an effective slideshow that wins over your marketing clients. It’s free to download and use.

Conference Pitch Deck PowerPoint Template

This is a pitch deck PowerPoint template featuring a set of slides made for designing slideshows for business and conference presentations. It includes customizable vectors, diagrams, shapes, and lots more as well.

Annul Report – Free Business PowerPoint Template

A free business PowerPoint template you can use to create annual report presentations for various projects and companies. This template includes 22 unique slides with easily customizable layouts.

Beexey – Free Business PowerPoint Template

Another modern PowerPoint template specially made for businesses and agencies. This template features 20 unique slides with icons, editable graphics, and animations.

Vision – Free Business PowerPoint Template

Vision is a modern PowerPoint template you can use to design business and corporate presentations. The free template comes in multiple styles and color versions, which you can download individually to your preference.

Casper – Free PowerPoint Presentation Template

Casper is a creative and minimalist PowerPoint template you can use to create presentations for startups and personal portfolios. The template includes 60 unique slides featuring transition animations, infographics, and more.

Minta – Business Free PowerPoint Template

Minta is a free PowerPoint template most suitable for making slideshows for presentations related to business and marketing. It comes with 21 unique and customizable slides in widescreen layout.

Business Report Free PowerPoint Template

Business Report is a professional PowerPoint template featuring 40 unique slides. The template is available in 5 color schemes and in both animated and static versions.

Annual Report – Free PowerPoint Template

Another great free PowerPoint template made specifically for making annual report presentations. It’s most suitable for corporate and business presentations. The template is free to use with personal and business projects.

Window – Free PowerPoint Template

Window is a creative and minimalist PowerPoint presentation template most suitable for startups and creative agencies. The template comes with 25 unique slides filled with stylish designs and its available in 5 pre-made color schemes.

Modern Business Free PowerPoint Template

This is a free PowerPoint template you can use to craft a slideshow for a modern small business or a startup. The template features 12 unique slides featuring retina-ready and beautiful designs.

Seattle – Simple PowerPoint Presentation Template

Seattle is a clean and simple PowerPoint presentation template that includes a set of unique slides featuring stylish graphics, shapes, and elements. You can easily customize the template to your preference as well.

Free Animated PowerPoint Templates

Shining – creative animated powerpoint template.

Shining is an animated PowerPoint template that comes with 30 unique slides. The slides are available in 5 different color schemes. It also features master slide layouts, animations, editable graphics, illustrations, and much more as well.

Lookbook – Free Pastel PowerPoint Template

Lookbook is a colorful free PowerPoint template that features a set of creative slides with attractive pastel colors. This template is perfect for showcasing professional and agency portfolios. All the slides can be easily customized to change colors as well.

Voodoo – Free Animated PowerPoint Template

VooDoo is a highly professional PowerPoint template that features more than 10 unique slide designs, which feature transition animations and much more. It’s also available in both light and dark color designs.

Dark Red – Free Elegant Black Powerpoint Template

This professional, yet free, PowerPoint template comes with an elegant color theme that effectively highlights its content. The template is free to download and can be customized to your preference.

Stasia – Free PowerPoint Template

Stasia is a creative and free PowerPoint template you can use with your creative and professional presentations. It comes with 13 unique slides featuring editable graphics, charts, and lots of other elements.

Free Modern PowerPoint Templates

Free modern & minimal powerpoint template.

You can download this PowerPoint template for free to make beautiful slideshows for company profile, portfolio, and various other professional presentations. It includes 30 unique slides with animations and transitions.

Slide Pro – Free Modern Presentation Template

The minimal and clean design of this presentation template makes it an ideal choice for modern brands and design agencies. The template has 30 different slides with editable graphics and image placeholders.

Free Project Proposal PowerPoint Presentation Template

Design professional-looking project proposals that win clients using this free PowerPoint template. It features 85 different slides with fully customizable layouts. The template includes transition animations as well.

UNCO – Simple Modern PowerPoint Template

This modern business PowerPointe presentation template comes with more than 60 unique slides filled with editable vector shapes, graphics, icons, and so much more for making attractive presentations for all kinds of businesses. The template also includes lots of charts and graphs you can use to visualize data and make more compelling arguments.

Pale Dawn – Free Modern Fashion PowerPoint Template

Pale Dawn is a very modern PowerPoint template you can use to craft presentations to promote fashion and lifestyle products. The template comes with lots of customizable slides in PowerPoint and Keynote formats.

Mass Media – Free Agency Presentation Template

This free PowerPoint template is made specifically for marketing and media agencies. The template includes 25 unique slide layouts featuring editable shapes, colors, and fonts. It’s available in Google Slides version as well.

Heimat – Free Modern Business Presentation Template

If you’re looking for a simple PowerPoint design with a minimal content layout, this template will come in handy. It lets you choose from 33 unique slides for crafting attractive presentations for showcasing projects and plans.

Born-Ink – Free Modern Event PowerPoint Template

Featuring 10 unique slide designs, this modern PowerPoint template will allow you to design effective presentations for creative agencies as well as fashion brands. The template is free to use with your personal projects.

XGDragon – Modern Presentation Template

This free template comes with lots of unique slide designs for promoting modern brands through creative design. The template is ideal for creating a lookbook-style presentation and it’s free to use with commercial projects.

Minimalistic – Free Clean PowerPoint Template

A highly minimalist and clean PowerPoint presentation that’s most suitable for making creative and professional slideshows. The template features an easily editable design, changeable colors, and editable vectors as well.

Air – Clean Free PowerPoint Template

Air is a minimal and free PowerPoint template featuring creative slides full of images and icons. It includes 60 different slides in Full HD resolution. All of the graphics and shapes in the template are also editable as well.

Neue Free Minimal PowerPoint Template

Neue is a free PowerPoint template with a minimalist design. This makes it a perfect choice for crafting creative and business presentations. The free versions of the template include multiple slides you can use with your personal projects.

TAHU – Free PowerPoint Presentation Template

This free PowerPoint template comes with a set of creative slides you can use to design professional and business presentations. It includes many different types of slides for crafting effective slideshows, including slides for showcasing services, timelines, portfolio, and more.

Clean – Free PowerPoint Presentation Template

Just as the name suggests, this free PowerPoint template features a minimal and clean design with lots of white space. It’s perfect for making professional slideshows with a content-focused design. The template is easily editable as well.

Duotone – Modern Free PowerPoint Template

Duotone is a modern and colorful PowerPoint template that features a set of attractive slides with a creative duotone color effect. This template is most suitable for making presentations for creative brands and professionals. It’s available in both PowerPoint and Keynote versions and includes 18 unique slides.

London – Minimal  Free PowerPoint Template

London is an elegant and a minimalist free PowerPoint template that comes with 21 unique slides with easy to customize drag and drop image placeholders. You can use this template to make all kinds of business and creative presentations.

Modern Minimal Free Powerpoint Template

This free PowerPoint template includes a set of creative slides featuring colorful designs. You can easily customize all the slides in the template however you like to change fonts, colors, and images as well.

Style – PowerPoint Presentation Template

Style is a PowerPoint presentation template designed for making lookbook-style slideshows for showcasing fashion designs. It’s perfect for promoting fashion catalogs. The template is free to use with your personal projects.

Free Creative PowerPoint Templates

Color fun – creative powerpoint template.

Just as the name suggests, this PowerPoint template comes filled with colorful slides that will allow you to design unique and cheerful presentations to showcase your products, designs, and ideas. The template includes 50 unique slides with unlimited color options to customize the design however you want.

FUN Tastic – Free Creative PowerPoint Template

This bright and colorful PowerPoint template offers a great set of slides for you to create more fun and entertaining presentation. It includes lots of creative slide designs in Full HD resolution. And you can customize them to your preference as well.

Free Neomorph PowerPoint Template

If you’re a fan of the Neomorphism design trend, this PowerPoint template is a perfect match for you. It features a bold slide design with shapes, buttons, and icons inspired by Neomorphic design. The free version of the template includes 10 unique slides.

GMTRY – Free Geometric Presentation Template

This free PowerPoint template features one of the most creative slide designs on our list. The creative use of geometric shapes to design its colorful and attractive slides is simply perfect. The template is free to use with personal projects.

Curato – Free Creative Portfolio PowerPoint Template

A bright and colorful PowerPoint template filled with shapes and styles. It’s perfect for showing off your best work in a portfolio. The template includes 37 unique slides with easily editable layouts.

Emotion Flashcard – Free Creative PowerPoint Template

This PowerPoint template comes with a set of creative and fun slides. It uses a lot of emoticons throughout the presentation to help you discuss emotions and mental health in a very creative way.

Kental – Free Minimal PowerPoint Template

Kental is another free PowerPoint template that comes with colorful slide design. All of the slides in this template features pastel colors and comes with master slide layouts as well. This template is most suitable for creative fashion and design presentations.

Free Giant Doodles Newsletter PowerPoint Template

Filled with lots of colorful doodles and illustrations, this PowerPoint template comes with 28 creative slide layouts you can customize however you like. It’s available in Google Slides version as well.

Free Creative PowerPoint Presentation Template

This is a free demo for a premium PowerPoint template. It includes several creative slides you can repurpose to create your own unique presentations.

Free Stylish Botanical PowerPoint Template

The nature-inspired botanical theme gives this presentation template a very unique look and feel. It’s perfect for creating presentations for modern fashion and lifestyle brands.

Colors – Stylish Free PowerPoint Template

Just as the name suggests, this free PowerPoint template comes with a beautiful set of slides filled with lots of colors. It’s ideal for making creative slideshows for event and entertainment related presentations as well as many others. And it includes 60 creative slides.

Happy Holi – Creative Free Powerpoint Template

Happy Holi is a beautiful and creative PowerPoint template that comes with a colorful set of slides. Despite being named after a festival, the slides in the template feature a multipurpose design you can use to craft business, creative, and many other professional presentations.

Every – Clean & Simple PowerPoint Template

Every is an elegant PowerPoint template featuring modern slide designs. It comes in both PowerPoint and Keynote file formats. Each template includes 15 unique slides in Full HD resolution.

Creative – Free Minimal PowerPoint Template

This minimalist PowerPoint template comes with a creative design making it a great choice for presenting your personal portfolios and professional work. The template features drag and drop image placeholders and editable objects.

Mifridix – Free PowerPoint Presentation Template

This free PowerPoint template comes with a beautiful and feminine slide design. Which makes it the perfect choice for crafting presentations for fashion brands, beauty products, and others.

BRONX – Free PowerPoint Presentation Template

Bronx is a creative PowerPoint presentation template that includes a modern and customizable design. You can use this template to create presentations with PowerPoint, Keynote, or even Google Slides.

Free Pitch Deck PowerPoint Templates

Free powerpoint pitch deck template.

You can use this PowerPoint template for making creative pitch deck slideshows. It includes colorful slides with cool illustrations and shapes to give each slide a unique look and feel. There are 19 unique slides and they come in Keynote format as well.

Sales Pitch Deck Free PowerPoint Template

Create a bold and professional pitch deck for your agency using this free PowerPoint template. It has 20 unique slides with free fonts and icon packs. The template is especially suitable for real estate agencies.

Free PowerPoint Pitch Deck Infographics

You can use this free PowerPoint template to showcase stats and data related to your product launches. It includes 32 infographic slides with various styles of layouts. They are all fully customizable.

Free Corporate Pitch Deck PowerPoint Template

This pitch deck presentation is made with corporate brands and agencies in mind. It features a set of professional slides with easily editable layouts. There are 20 unique slides in this template.

Free Business Opportunity PowerPoint Pitch Deck

You can create an attention-grabbing pitch deck to present your business ideas and startups with this free PowerPoint template. It features 12 unique slide layouts with beautiful gradient designs. And the template can be easily customized to your preference.

Pitch Werk Template

Pitch Werk is a creative PowerPoint template featuring a set of stylish slides made for modern startups. It includes more than 100 unique slides which are also available in 5 different premade color schemes. The template also comes with lots of useful elements such as pricing tables, device mockups, maps, and much more.

Sneakers Shop – Free PowerPoint Pitch Deck Template

If you’re working on a pitch deck for a sneaker startup or even an eCommerce store for a fashion product, this template is perfect for creating a winning presentation. It includes 32 unique slides.

Comersa Free Pitch Deck Presentation Template

Comersa PowerPoint template comes with a designed made specifically for crafting slideshows for business-related presentations. The template is available in PowerPoint, Keynote, and Google Slides versions as well.

Pitch Deck – Free PowerPoint Presentation Template

This is the perfect free PowerPoint presentation template you can use to create pitch decks for startups, creatives, and freelancers. The template includes 22 unique slides and it’s available both with and without slide animations.

Free Conference Pitch Deck Powerpoint Template

This free PowerPoint template is perfect for making a pitch deck for speeches and presentations you give at events and conferences. The template features a set of easily editable slide layouts with modern designs.

Free Medical PowerPoint Templates

Free mental health workshop powerpoint template.

You can create an effective presentation to promote good mental health in the workplace with this free template. It includes 22 unique slide layouts you can use to showcase the importance of maintaining good mental health and suggest your ideas in meetings.

Modern Medical PowerPoint Template

This PowerPoint template comes with 30 unique slides featuring clean and modern designs. It also lets you choose from 5 different premade color schemes for designing various styles of slideshows. It’s perfect for making presentations for all kinds of businesses and events.

World After Corona Virus – Free PowerPoint Template

If you’re working on a presentation to talk about the recent global pandemic, this template will help you design a more compelling slideshow. It includes 31 unique slide layouts with editable graphics and icons.

Free Mental Health Thesis Presentation Template

This is the perfect presentation template you can use to talk about mental health topics. It features 23 unique slides with easily editable designs. The template is also available in Google Slides version.

Free Medical Presentation Template

This is a multipurpose PowerPoint template you can use to create different types of presentations related to medicine and medical facilities. The template includes editable graphics and master slide layouts as well.

Medical – Free PowerPoint Template

If you’re working on a presentation for a medical related business or brand, this free PowerPoint presentation template will come in handy. The template includes 30 unique slides filled with plenty of image placeholders and graphics.

Clinical Case – Free Medical PowerPoint Template

This free and creative PowerPoint template comes in both PowerPoint and Google Slides versions. It includes 24 beautiful slide designs filled with colorful illustrations and content formatting.

Healthcare Center – Free Medical PowerPoint Template

Healthcare Center is a professional and free PowerPoint template designed for medical centers and healthcare businesses. The template includes 23 unique slide design you can use to create an effective presentation.

Free Teachers & Education PowerPoint Templates

Free social studies for elementary powerpoint template.

This educational PowerPoint template is designed for making presentations for educating social studies subjects. The template includes 35 different slides with colorful designs that will easily attract the attention of your students.

Free Elementary School PowerPoint Template

This PowerPoint template features the perfect design for making fun educational presentations for kids. It’s designed for showcasing different types of stones and it comes with lots of colorful illustrations. There are 35 different slides in this template.

Free Chinese Language Day PowerPoint Template

Use this free PowerPoint template to teach the Chinese languages to kids. It features a beautiful slide design filled with adorable illustrations and colorful shapes. There are 35 unique slides included in the template with fully editable layouts.

School Bundle – Free Education PowerPoint Template

If you’re looking for a creative PowerPoint template to grab the attention of your students during presentations, this free template is for you. It features a creative design across 15 different useful slide layouts.

Daniel’s Thesis – Free Education PowerPoint Template

This colorful and creative PowerPoint template is perfect for creating attractive presentations to showcase your thesis, assignments, projects, and much more. The template features 24 unique slides filled with colorful graphics, shapes, and elements.

Academy at the City – Free Education PowerPoint Template

A professional PowerPoint template for promoting your school, academy, and institutions. While the template is designed with education establishments in mind, you can use it to create business presentations as well. The template includes 24 unique slides.

Education – Simple PowerPoint template

This is a professional PowerPoint template that includes 30 unique slide designs. Each slide is also available in 5 different color schemes. It also features editable vector graphics, image placeholders, and icons for crafting entertaining presentations more easily.

Math Lesson – Free PowerPoint Presentation Template

This free and creative PowerPoint template is designed for teachers for making their lessons look more engaging and fun for students. The template comes packed with creative illustrations and graphics as well.

E-Learning – Free Teachers PowerPoint Template

Another free PowerPoint template that’s most suitable for making presentations to promote your online learning programs and courses. The template comes with 17 unique slide layouts that you can easily customize to your preference.

Master’s Thesis – Free Education PowerPoint Template

This free PowerPoint template comes with 12 unique and editable slides you can use to effectively showcase and present your thesis projects to an audience. The template is also available in Google Slides version as well.

Free Interactive Education PPT for Teachers

This PowerPoint template is designed with teachers in mind. It features 44 different slides you can use to create various educational presentations for classes. The slides are fully customizable and include graphs, charts, and infographics as well.

Online Notebook – Free Education PowerPoint Template

A free PowerPoint template you can use to create a notebook-style presentation. Both teachers and students can use this template to create notes for classes and subjects. There are 30 slide layouts in this template.

Free English Language Grammar Rules PPT

Grammar can be a boring subject to talk about. But with this colorful PowerPoint template, you can present your lessons in a more entertaining way. It includes 41 unique slides filled with adorable illustrations.

Colorful Light Bulbs Free Education PowerPoint Template

This colorful PowerPoint template has lightbulbs all over the slides. You can use it to create presentations to teach various subjects and topics. There are 39 slides in this template. And it’s available in the Google Slides version as well.

Free Church PowerPoint Templates

Free christian church powerpoint template.

A beautiful presentation template made with churches in mind. It has 20 unique slide layouts with colorful and minimal designs. The template is ideal for showcasing your Christian Church projects.

Free Church Conference Powerpoint Template

A modern and elegant PowerPoint template designed specifically for making presentations for church events and conferences. The template comes with 23 slide layouts with easily editable designs and image placeholders.

Religion Lesson – Free PowerPoint Presentation

A free PowerPoint template designed for educating students and audiences on various religious topics. It can also be used to deliver religious speeches and presentations as well. It includes 17 unique slides. Even though the template features slide designs with multiple religions, you can easily replace the images of your choice as well.

Free Infographic PowerPoint Templates

8 free charts powerpoint templates.

This template includes 8 customizable charts infographics for you to use in your presentations. The template includes pie charts, bar charts, and infographics too. It’s also available in Excel format.

12 Free Infographics Slides for PowerPoint

There are 12 different infographic slides to choose from in this PowerPoint template. They are ideal for both business and research presentations. The template is free to use.

Free Internal Motivation Infographics PowerPoint Template

This free PowerPoint template includes 31 unique slide designs with infographics. They are designed for visualizing stats and information for motivating your teams and employees.

The Power of Feminism Infographics PowerPoint Template

You can use this free PowerPoint template to create attractive infographic slides to promote the power of feminism. It includes more than 30 unique slide designs. And you can customize them in Google Slides as well.

PPTx Infographics

This Powerpoint presentation template also includes 50 unique infographic slides. The slides are also available in light and dark themes as well as unlimited color options for customizing the shapes, text, and icons of the slides.

Epsilon – Free Business PowerPoint Template

Epsilon is a free PowerPoint template made for small businesses. You can use it to create powerful business presentations using its slides full of charts and graphs. The template can be easily customized with multiple color options and icons.

Free Business Infographics PowerPoint Template

This free PowerPoint template comes with lots of editable infographics you can use to visualize your data. The template includes 8 unique slide designs that are easily customizable. It’s also available in Google Slides version as well.

How-To Geek

6 ways to create more interactive powerpoint presentations.

Engage your audience with cool, actionable features.

Quick Links

• Add a QR code
• Embed Microsoft Forms (Education or Business Only)
• Embed a Live Web Page
• Add Links and Menus
• Add Clickable Images to Give More Info
• Add a Countdown Timer

We've all been to a presentation where the speaker bores you to death with a mundane PowerPoint presentation. Actually, the speaker could have kept you much more engaged by adding some interactive features to their slideshow. Let's look into some of these options.

1. Add a QR code

Adding a QR code can be particularly useful if you want to direct your audience to an online form, website, or video.

Some websites have in-built ways to create a QR code. For example, on Microsoft Forms , when you click "Collect Responses," you'll see the QR code option via the icon highlighted in the screenshot below. You can either right-click the QR code to copy and paste it into your presentation, or click "Download" to add it to your device gallery to insert the QR code as a picture.

In fact, you can easily add a QR code to take your viewer to any website. On Microsoft Edge, right-click anywhere on a web page where there isn't already a link, and left-click "Create QR Code For This Page."

You can also create QR codes in other browsers, such as Chrome.

You can then copy or download the QR code to use wherever you like in your presentation.

2. Embed Microsoft Forms (Education or Business Only)

If you plan to send your PPT presentation to others—for example, if you're a trainer sending step-by-step instruction presentation, a teacher sending an independent learning task to your students, or a campaigner for your local councilor sending a persuasive PPT to constituents—you might want to embed a quiz, questionnaire, pole, or feedback survey in your presentation.

In PowerPoint, open the "Insert" tab on the ribbon, and in the Forms group, click "Forms". If you cannot see this option, you can add new buttons to the ribbon .

As at April 2024, this feature is only available for those using their work or school account. We're using a Microsoft 365 Personal account in the screenshot below, which is why the Forms icon is grayed out.

Then, a sidebar will appear on the right-hand side of your screen, where you can either choose a form you have already created or opt to craft a new form.

Now, you can share your PPT presentation with others , who can click the fields and submit their responses when they view the presentation.

3. Embed a Live Web Page

You could always screenshot a web page and paste that into your PPT, but that's not a very interactive addition to your presentation. Instead, you can embed a live web page into your PPT so that people with access to your presentation can interact actively with its contents.

To do this, we will need to add an add-in to our PPT account .

Add-ins are not always reliable or secure. Before installing an add-in to your Microsoft account, check that the author is a reputable company, and type the add-in's name into a search engine to read reviews and other users' experiences.

To embed a web page, add the Web Viewer add-in ( this is an add-in created by Microsoft ).

Go to the relevant slide and open the Web Viewer add-in. Then, copy and paste the secure URL into the field box, and remove https:// from the start of the address. In our example, we will add a selector wheel to our slide. Click "Preview" to see a sample of the web page's appearance in your presentation.

This is how ours will look.

When you or someone with access to your presentation views the slideshow, this web page will be live and interactive.

4. Add Links and Menus

As well as moving from one slide to the next through a keyboard action or mouse click, you can create links within your presentation to direct the audience to specific locations.

To create a link, right-click the outline of the clickable object, and click "Link."

In the Insert Hyperlink dialog box, click "Place In This Document," choose the landing destination, and click "OK."

What's more, to make it clear that an object is clickable, you can use action buttons. Open the "Insert" tab on the ribbon, click "Shape," and then choose an appropriate action button. Usefully, PPT will automatically prompt you to add a link to these shapes.

You might also want a menu that displays on every slide. Once you have created the menu, add the links using the method outlined above. Then, select all the items, press Ctrl+C (copy), and then use Ctrl+V to paste them in your other slides.

5. Add Clickable Images to Give More Info

Through PowerPoint's animations, you can give your viewer the power to choose what they see and when they see it. This works nicely whether you're planning to send your presentation to others to run through independently or whether you're presenting in front of a group and want your audience to decide which action they want to take.

Start by creating the objects that will be clickable (trigger) and the items that will appear (pop-up).

Then, select all the pop-ups together. When you click "Animations" on the ribbon and choose an appropriate animation for the effect you want to achieve, this will be applied to all objects you have selected.

The next step is to rename the triggers in your presentation. To do this, open the "Home" tab, and in the Editing group, click "Select", and then "Selection Pane."

With the Selection Pane open, select each trigger on your slide individually, and rename them in the Selection Pane, so that they can be easily linked to in the next step.

Finally, go back to the first pop-up. Open the "Animations" tab, and in the Advanced Animation group, click the "Trigger" drop-down arrow. Then, you can set the item to appear when a trigger is clicked in your presentation.

If you want your item to disappear when the trigger is clicked again, select the pop-up, click "Add Animation" in the Advanced Animation group, choose an Exit animation, and follow the same step to link that animation to the trigger button.

6. Add a Countdown Timer

A great way to get your audience to engage with your PPT presentation is to keep them on edge by adding a countdown timer. Whether you're leading a presentation and want to let your audience stop to discuss a topic, or running an online quiz with time-limit questions, having a countdown timer means your audience will keep their eye on your slide throughout.

To do this, you need to animate text boxes or shapes containing your countdown numbers. Choose and format a shape and type the highest number that your countdown clock will need. In our case, we're creating a 10-second timer.

Now, with your shape selected, open the "Animations" tab on the ribbon and click the animation drop-down arrow. Then, in the Exit menu, click "Disappear."

Open the Animation Pane, and click the drop-down arrow next to the animation you've just added. From there, choose "Timing."

Make sure "On Click" is selected in the Start menu, and change the Delay option to "1 second," before clicking "OK."

Then, with this shape still selected, press Ctrl+C (copy), and then Ctrl+V (paste). In the second box, type 9 . With the Animation Pane still open and this second shape selected, click the drop-down arrow and choose "Timing" again. Change the Start option to "After Previous," and make sure the Delay option is 1 second. Then, click "OK."

We can now use this second shape as our template, as when we copy and paste it again, the animations will also duplicate. With this second shape selected, press Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V, type 8 into the box, and continue to do the same until you get to 0 .

Next, remove the animations from the "0" box, as you don't want this to disappear. To do this, click the shape, and in the Animation Pane drop-down, click "Remove."

You now need to layer them in order. Right-click the box containing number 1, and click "Bring To Front." You will now see that box on the top. Do the same with the other numbers in ascending order.

Finally, you need to align the objects together. Click anywhere on your slide and press Ctrl+A. Then, in the Home tab on the ribbon, click "Arrange." First click "Align Center," and then bring the menu up again, so that you can click "Align Middle."

Press Ctrl+A again to select your timer, and you can then move your timer or copy and paste it elsewhere.

Press F5 to see the presentation in action, and when you get to the slide containing the timer, click anywhere on the slide to see your countdown timer in action!

Now that your PPT presentation is more interactive, make sure you've avoided these eight common presentational mistakes before you present your slides.