you can make your presentation more attractive by inserting

17 PowerPoint Presentation Tips From Pro Presenters [+ Templates]

Published: April 26, 2024

PowerPoint presentations can be professional, attractive, and really help your audience remember your message.

If you don’t have much experience, that’s okay — I’m going to arm you with PowerPoint design tips from pro presenters, the steps you need to build an engaging deck, and templates to help you nail great slide design.

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Buckle up for a variety of step-by-step explanations as well as tips and tricks to help you start mastering this program. There are additional resources woven in, and you’ll find expert perspectives from other HubSpotters along the way.

Table of Contents

How to Make a PowerPoint Presentation

Powerpoint presentation tips.

Microsoft PowerPoint is like a test of basic professional skills, and each PowerPoint is basically a presentation made of multiple slides.

Successful PowerPoints depend on three main factors: your command of PowerPoint's design tools, your attention to presentation processes, and being consistent with your style.

Keep those in mind as we jump into PowerPoint's capabilities.

Getting Started

1. open powerpoint and click ‘new.’.

A page with templates will usually open automatically, but if not, go to the top left pane of your screen and click New . If you’ve already created a presentation, select Open and then double-click the icon to open the existing file.

10 Free PowerPoint Templates

Download ten free PowerPoint templates for a better presentation.

• Creative templates.
• Data-driven templates.
• Professional templates.

You're all set!

Click this link to access this resource at any time.

Creating PowerPoint Slides

3. insert a slide..

Insert a new slide by clicking on the Home tab and then the New Slide button. Consider what content you want to put on the slide, including heading, text, and imagery.

• Finally, PowerPoint Live is a new tool that enables you to do more seamless presentations during video calls and may be a better overall match for doing presentations remotely. Check out this video:

11. Try Using GIFs.

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• Microsoft PowerPoint
• Google Slides

15. Embed multimedia.

PowerPoint allows you to either link to video/audio files externally or to embed the media directly in your presentation. For PCs, two great reasons for embedding are:

• Embedding allows you to play media directly in your presentation. It will look much more professional than switching between windows.
• Embedding also means that the file stays within the PowerPoint presentation, so it should play normally without extra work (except on a Mac).

If you use PowerPoint for Mac it gets a bit complicated, but it can be done:

• Always bring the video and/or audio file with you in the same folder as the PowerPoint presentation.
• Only insert video or audio files once the presentation and the containing folder have been saved on a portable drive in their permanent folder.
• If the presentation will be played on a Windows computer, then Mac users need to make sure their multimedia files are in WMV format.
• Consider using the same operating system for designing and presenting, no matter what.

16. Bring your own hardware.

Between operating systems, PowerPoint is still a bit jumpy. Even between differing PPT versions, things can change. The easiest fix? Just bring along your own laptop when you're presenting.

The next easiest fix is to upload your PowerPoint presentation into Google Slides as a backup option — just make sure there is a good internet connection and a browser available where you plan to present.

Google Slides is a cloud-based presentation software that will show up the same way on all operating systems.

To import your PowerPoint presentation into Google Slides:

• Navigate to slides.google.com . Make sure you’re signed in to a Google account (preferably your own).
• Under Start a new presentation , click the empty box with a plus sign. This will open up a blank presentation.
• Go to File , then Import slides .
• A dialog box will come up. Tap Upload.
• Click Select a file from your device .
• Select your presentation and click Open .
• Select the slides you’d like to import. If you want to import all of them, click All in the upper right-hand corner of the dialog box.
• Click Import slides.

When I tested this out, Google Slides imported everything perfectly, including a shape whose points I had manipulated. This is a good backup option to have if you’ll be presenting across different operating systems.

17. Use Presenter View.

In most presentation situations, there will be both a presenter’s screen and the main projected display for your presentation.

PowerPoint has a great tool called Presenter View, which can be found in the Slide Show tab of PowerPoint. Included in the Presenter View is an area for notes, a timer/clock, and a presentation display.

For many presenters, this tool can help unify their spoken presentation and their visual aid. You never want to make the PowerPoint seem like a stack of notes that you’re reading off of.

Use the Presenter View option to help create a more natural presentation.

Pro Tip: At the start of the presentation, you should also hit CTRL + H to make the cursor disappear. Hitting the “A” key will bring it back if you need it.

Your Next Great PowerPoint Presentation Starts Here

Now that you have these style, design, and presentation tips under your belt, you should feel confident to create your PowerPoint presentation.

But if you can explore other resources to make sure your content hits the mark. After all, you need a strong presentation to land your point and make an impression.

With several templates to choose from — both in PowerPoint and available for free download — you can swiftly be on your way to creating presentations that wow your audiences.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in September 2013 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

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12 Easy Steps to Make a Presentation Creative (+ Examples)

Learn how to make a presentation creative without PowerPoint, and draw inspiration from creative presentation examples by industry and use case.

Dominika Krukowska

9 minute read

Short answer

How can I make a presentation more creative?

• Start with captivating cover videos
• Add chapters for smooth navigation
• Weave in personalization using dynamic variables
• Enhance storytelling with animations
• Highlight key points using subtle visual cues
• Engage with interactive elements
• Showcase ideas using vibrant images
• Sprinkle in video narrations
• Wrap up with a smart CTA

Boring presentations can damage your brand’s image

Boring presentations can feel like those endless meetings where one person monopolizes the conversation. You know, the ones where you’re zoning out, doodling on the side of your notes, just waiting for it to end so you could move on to something more engaging.

That's the disconnect your audience experiences when faced with a boring presentation.

What’s even worse is that when your presentation is dull, it doesn't just bore your audience—it subtly suggests that you or your brand might be, well, kind of boring too .

The good thing is that with the right tweaks and insights, every presentation holds the potential to be memorable.

In this post, we're diving deep into the heart of what makes a presentation creative. We'll explore the mistakes that lead to forgettable slides and the strategies to elevate your content.

By the end, you’ll have all it takes to transform your presentation from mundane to magnetic and have your audience engage with it from the first click to the last.

Let’s go!

What makes a presentation boring?

A boring presentation is a mix of repetitive designs and long chunks of text without a human touch. When slides come off as too generic or overly complex, or they swing between being too predictable or hard to grasp, they lose their spark.

Add in a lack of visuals, real stories, or interaction, and you've got a recipe for audience disinterest.

To truly engage, a presentation should blend interaction, emotion, and content that is relevant to the audience.

How to make a presentation creative step-by-step

Modern presentations are more than just slides—they're experiences. Gone are the days of static bullet points; today's audience craves engagement, interactivity, and a touch of the unexpected.

Let's explore how to make your presentation more creative step-by-step:

1) Add videos to break up text

Videos can set the tone, explain complex ideas, or simply entertain. By strategically placing them at key moments where you feel energy might dip, you make sure your audience remains engaged, and your message is reinforced.

Whether it's a real-life testimonial, a product demo, or a fun animation, videos can breathe life into abstract concepts, making them tangible and relatable.

And, there’s science behind it too: presentations with a video on the cover slide see 32% more engagement . But the magic of videos doesn't stop at the cover. Presentations sprinkled with videos throughout held people's attention 37% longer and even boosted the click-through rate on calls-to-action by 17%.

2) Create a non-linear flow

Who said presentations have to be a straight line? Let's mix it up! By linking slides, you're handing the remote to your audience. It's like those 'choose your own adventure' books from our childhood.

Group your slides into themes or create chapters and let them pick what they want to see next. It's a fun, interactive way to keep them on their toes and engaged.

3) Use personalization for creating tailored stories

You know those emails that greet you by name and make you feel all special? Imagine bringing that warmth to your presentations using dynamic variables.

By integrating with your CRM, you can fetch specific data about your audience and weave it into your slides. This simple trick can make your audience feel like the content was crafted specifically for them, creating a deeper connection.

If you’re making a presentation to showcase your product, you can even use dynamic variables to create a mock-up with your prospect’s name and logo on it to make your deck stand out.

4) Use narrated design

Scrollytelling is where the magic of scrolling meets the art of storytelling. It's an interactive content experience that weaves text, images, videos, and animations into a captivating narrative.

Instead of static slides, scrollytelling guides readers through a story, allowing them to control the pace. It breaks down complex content into bite-sized chunks, enhancing engagement and retention.

Our founder, Itai Amoza, wanted everyone to enjoy this dynamic content experience. So, he joined forces with visualization expert Prof. Steven Franconeri to weave scrollytelling into Storydoc.

Thanks to their partnership, we have dedicated storytelling slides in Storydoc, like the narrator slide you can see below , designed to make content both clear and captivating for all.

5) Tell stories with videos

Videos have this unique power to turn complex ideas into simple, engaging stories. A video might break down a tricky process into fun, easy-to-follow narrative, or give us a peek into real-life examples or experiences.

It's all about making your content feel alive, relatable, and super easy to understand. Because, let's face it, everyone's a sucker for a good story.

Here's a great example of a storytelling video:

6) Use roadmap and timeline slides

Ever tried reading a long-winded description of a company's journey or a product's development process? Yawn, right?

Now, imagine swapping that snooze-fest with a vibrant roadmap or timeline. Instead of slogging through paragraphs, you get a fun, visual play-by-play.

Picture a colorful line showing a startup's journey from a garage brainstorm to its first big sale.

Or a playful timeline marking the stages of turning a wild idea into a bestselling product. It's like turning a history lesson into a comic strip—way more fun and a whole lot clearer!

You can see what it looks like below:

7) Direct attention using animations

Ever been to a theater where the spotlight focuses on the main act? That's what animations do for your presentation.

Whether it's a cheeky arrow pointing out a fun fact, a grand entrance animation for a new idea, or using grayed-out content to highlight a key point, animations are your stage directors.

They ensure your audience's eyes are exactly where you want them to be, soaking in all the important bits.

Here's a great example:

8) Add interactive calculators

Who said numbers have to be boring? With interactive calculators, you're turning math into a fun game. Let your audience punch in numbers and see real-time results.

Whether they're calculating potential savings, ROI, or just playing around, it's an engaging and creative way to make your points tangible. It's like turning your presentation into a hands-on workshop.

9) Use AI-generated images

Instead of sifting through countless stock photos, thanks to the magic of AI, you can have an image that's tailor-made for your slide in seconds.

Storydoc presentation maker lets you generate any image directly in your deck - just give the AI assistant a short description and you’re good to go.

What's great is that you always get an image that matches your topic to a tee. No more "that'll do" compromises. Plus, think of all the time you save when you don't have to hunt for the right picture or take it yourself.

Here's a short video showing how it works:

10) Pop into the presentation with video bubble narration

Imagine if, during a presentation, a mini version of you could pop up, share a quick tip, or clarify a point. That's video bubble narration in a nutshell.

It's like having a friendly guide accompanying your audience, ensuring they get the most out of your content. It adds a creative personal touch, making your presentation feel like a cozy chat between friends.

11) Use before-and-after to show transformation

There's something magical about witnessing a transformation. Just think about the buzz online when someone shares a 'before and after' of a design revamp, weight loss journey, or how they helped a client grow their business.

With a before-and-after slide , you're giving your audience that 'aha!' moment. Even if you can't see their reactions in real-time, you can bet they're sliding back and forth, captivated by the change.

Whether it's showcasing a product's impact, a website redesign, or a process improvement, it's a visual treat that makes your message more powerful.

Here's an example of a before-and-after slide:

12) Close with a smart CTA

The grand finale of your presentation deserves a touch of flair. Instead of a simple 'Thank you' slide, imagine ending with an interactive live chat prompt or a calendar invite for a follow-up. It's like the encore at the end of a concert, giving your audience a chance to engage further.

These smart CTAs aren't just functional; they're creative extensions of your narrative. By integrating them, you're not just concluding your presentation; you're opening doors to new conversations and possibilities.

Here's a great example of a smart CTA:

3 presentation opening ideas

Kicking off a presentation with a bang can set the tone for everything that follows. Here are 3 captivating ways to grab your audience's attention right from the get-go:

Dive into a story: Begin with a personal anecdote or a relatable tale. It's like inviting your audience around a campfire, setting the stage for a memorable narrative.

Pose a thought-provoking question: Challenge your viewers with a question that gets their gears turning. It's an instant engagement booster, making them active participants.

Share a startling statistic: Drop a number that makes jaws drop. When you hit them with a fact that's hard to ignore, you've got their undivided attention.

Want more insights on crafting the perfect presentation opener? Check out our article on how to start a presentation people read to the end .

3 presentation closing ideas

Wrapping up a presentation is just as crucial as the opening. It's your final chance to leave a lasting impression. Here are 3 best ways to ensure your audience walks away inspired:

Circle back to the start: Revisit your opening story or statement, bringing your narrative full circle. It's a neat way to tie everything together and reinforce your key message.

End with a Call-to-Action: End with a captivating personal video message or a lively animation. It's a unique way to engage, surprise, and guide your audience on what's next.

Share an inspiring quote: Leave them with words that resonate. A powerful quote can sum up your message and linger in their minds long after.

Here's an example of a presentation with a personal video message at the end:

Hungry for more tips on crafting the perfect presentation finale? Read our blog post on how to end a presentation and get people to act .

Best tools for making creative presentations

Crafting creative presentations is an art, and like any artist, you need the right tools to bring your vision to life. Here's a curated list of platforms that are pushing the envelope in presentation design:

Storydoc : Beyond traditional slides, Storydoc offers interactive web stories. It's not just about displaying content; it's about creating experiences. With dynamic visuals and interactive elements, your audience is in for a treat.

Pitch : Collaboration is Pitch's forte. Designed for teams, it offers real-time editing, customizable templates, and a sleek interface. It's where ideas transform into visually stunning stories.

Genially : From animated presentations to responsive infographics, Genially provides tools that make your content come alive on the screen.

Beautiful.ai : Automated design assistance is its claim to fame. Feed in your content, and watch as the tool intuitively crafts slides that are both coherent and captivating.

Canva : A versatile design platform, Canva boasts a variety of templates for presentations, graphics, and more. Its drag-and-drop interface ensures even design novices feel like pros.

Visme : Tailored for visual storytelling, Visme offers a rich library of assets. Think dynamic charts, data widgets, and a suite of animations that turn your data into visual narratives.

Creative presentation templates

Ever felt the weight of the cursor blinking on an empty slide, almost taunting you to come up with something creative?

It's like being handed a stage with an eager audience, but the script is yet to be written. That initial step can be the hardest, but what if you had a little nudge in the right direction?

Creative presentation templates can help you shape your story in a way that stands out in a sea of monotony. Think of them as the paint-by-numbers kits, where the structure is set, but the colors and flair? That's all you.

Grab one and see for yourself.

Hi, I'm Dominika, Content Specialist at Storydoc. As a creative professional with experience in fashion, I'm here to show you how to amplify your brand message through the power of storytelling and eye-catching visuals.

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9 Tips for Making Beautiful PowerPoint Presentations

Ready to craft a beautiful powerpoint presentation these nine powerpoint layout ideas will help anyone create effective, compelling slides..

How many times have you sat through a poorly designed business presentation that was dull, cluttered, and distracting? Probably way too many. Even though we all loathe a boring presentation, when it comes time to make our own, do we really do any better?

The good news is you don’t have to be a professional designer to make professional presentations. We’ve put together a few simple guidelines you can follow to create a beautifully assembled deck.

We’ll walk you through some slide design tips, show you some tricks to maximize your PowerPoint skills, and give you everything you need to look really good next time you’re up in front of a crowd.

And, while PowerPoint remains one of the biggest names in presentation software, many of these design elements and principles work in Google Slides as well.

Let’s dive right in and make sure your audience isn’t yawning through your entire presentation.

1. Use Layout to Your Advantage

Layout is one of the most powerful visual elements in design, and it’s a simple, effective way to control the flow and visual hierarchy of information.

For example, most Western languages read left to right, top to bottom. Knowing this natural reading order, you can direct people’s eyes in a deliberate way to certain key parts of a slide that you want to emphasize.

You can also guide your audience with simple tweaks to the layout. Use text size and alternating fonts or colors to distinguish headlines from body text.

Placement also matters. There are many unorthodox ways to structure a slide, but most audience members will have to take a few beats to organize the information in their head—that’s precious time better spent listening to your delivery and retaining information.

Try to structure your slides more like this:

And not like this:

Layout is one of the trickier PowerPoint design concepts to master, which is why we have these free PowerPoint templates already laid out for you. Use them as a jumping off point for your own presentation, or use them wholesale!

Presentation templates can give you a huge leg up as you start working on your design.

2. No Sentences

This is one of the most critical slide design tips. Slides are simplified, visual notecards that capture and reinforce main ideas, not complete thoughts.

As the speaker, you should be delivering most of the content and information, not putting it all on the slides for everyone to read (and probably ignore). If your audience is reading your presentation instead of listening to you deliver it, your message has lost its effectiveness.

Pare down your core message and use keywords to convey it. Try to avoid complete sentences unless you’re quoting someone or something.

Stick with this:

And avoid this:

3. Follow the 6×6 Rule

One of the cardinal sins of a bad PowerPoint is cramming too many details and ideas on one slide, which makes it difficult for people to retain information. Leaving lots of “white space” on a slide helps people focus on your key points.

Try using the 6×6 rule to keep your content concise and clean looking. The 6×6 rule means a maximum of six bullet points per slide and six words per bullet. In fact, some people even say you should never have more than six words per slide!

Just watch out for “orphans” (when the last word of a sentence/phrase spills over to the next line). This looks cluttered. Either fit it onto one line or add another word to the second line.

Slides should never have this much information:

4. Keep the Colors Simple

Stick to simple light and dark colors and a defined color palette for visual consistency. Exceptionally bright text can cause eye fatigue, so use those colors sparingly. Dark text on a light background or light text on a dark background will work well. Also avoid intense gradients, which can make text hard to read.

If you’re presenting on behalf of your brand, check what your company’s brand guidelines are. Companies often have a primary brand color and a secondary brand color , and it’s a good idea to use them in your presentation to align with your company’s brand identity and style.

If you’re looking for color inspiration for your next presentation, check out our 101 Color Combinations , where you can browse tons of eye-catching color palettes curated by a pro. When you find the one you like, just type the corresponding color code into your presentation formatting tools.

Here are more of our favorite free color palettes for presentations:

• 10 Color Palettes to Nail Your Next Presentation
• 10 Energizing Sports Color Palettes for Branding and Marketing
• 10 Vintage Color Palettes Inspired by the Decades

No matter what color palette or combination you choose, you want to keep the colors of your PowerPoint presentation simple and easy to read, like this:

Stay away from color combinations like this:

5. Use Sans-Serif Fonts

Traditionally, serif fonts (Times New Roman, Garamond, Bookman) are best for printed pages, and sans-serif fonts (Helvetica, Tahoma, Verdana) are easier to read on screens.

These are always safe choices, but if you’d like to add some more typographic personality , try exploring our roundup of the internet’s best free fonts . You’ll find everything from classic serifs and sans serifs to sophisticated modern fonts and splashy display fonts. Just keep legibility top of mind when you’re making your pick.

Try to stick with one font, or choose two at the most. Fonts have very different personalities and emotional impacts, so make sure your font matches the tone, purpose, and content of your presentation.

6. Stick to 30pt Font or Larger

Many experts agree that your font size for a PowerPoint presentation should be at least 30pt. Sticking to this guideline ensures your text is readable. It also forces you, due to space limitations, to explain your message efficiently and include only the most important points. .

7. Avoid Overstyling the Text

Three of the easiest and most effective ways to draw attention to text are:

• A change in color

Our eyes are naturally drawn to things that stand out, but use these changes sparingly. Overstyling can make the slide look busy and distracting.

8. Choose the Right Images

The images you choose for your presentation are perhaps as important as the message. You want images that not only support the message, but also elevate it—a rare accomplishment in the often dry world of PowerPoint.

But, what is the right image? We’ll be honest. There’s no direct answer to this conceptual, almost mystical subject, but we can break down some strategies for approaching image selection that will help you curate your next presentation.

The ideal presentation images are:

• Inspirational

These may seem like vague qualities, but the general idea is to go beyond the literal. Think about the symbols in an image and the story they tell. Think about the colors and composition in an image and the distinct mood they set for your presentation.

With this approach, you can get creative in your hunt for relatable, authentic, and inspirational images. Here are some more handy guidelines for choosing great images.

Illustrative, Not Generic

So, the slide in question is about collaborating as a team. Naturally, you look for images of people meeting in a boardroom, right?

While it’s perfectly fine to go super literal, sometimes these images fall flat—what’s literal doesn’t necessarily connect to your audience emotionally. Will they really respond to generic images of people who aren’t them meeting in a boardroom?

In the absence of a photo of your actual team—or any other image that directly illustrates the subject at hand—look for images of convincing realism and humanity that capture the idea of your message.

Doing so connects with viewers, allowing them to connect with your message.

The image above can be interpreted in many ways. But, when we apply it to slide layout ideas about collaboration, the meaning is clear.

It doesn’t hurt that there’s a nice setting and good photography, to boot.

Supportive, Not Distracting

Now that we’ve told you to get creative with your image selection, the next lesson is to rein that in. While there are infinite choices of imagery out there, there’s a limit to what makes sense in your presentation.

Let’s say you’re giving an IT presentation to new employees. You might think that image of two dogs snuggling by a fire is relatable, authentic, and inspirational, but does it really say “data management” to your audience?

To find the best supporting images, try searching terms on the periphery of your actual message. You’ll find images that complement your message rather than distract from it.

In the IT presentation example, instead of “data connections” or another literal term, try the closely related “traffic” or “connectivity.” This will bring up images outside of tech, but relative to the idea of how things move.

Inspiring and Engaging

There’s a widespread misconception that business presentations are just about delivering information. Well, they’re not. In fact, a great presentation is inspirational. We don’t mean that your audience should be itching to paint a masterpiece when they’re done. In this case, inspiration is about engagement.

Is your audience asking themselves questions? Are they coming up with new ideas? Are they remembering key information to tap into later? You’ll drive a lot of this engagement with your actual delivery, but unexpected images can play a role, as well.

When you use more abstract or aspirational images, your audience will have room to make their own connections. This not only means they’re paying attention, but they’re also engaging with and retaining your message.

To find the right abstract or unconventional imagery, search terms related to the tone of the presentation. This may include images with different perspectives like overhead shots and aerials, long exposures taken over a period of time, nature photos , colorful markets , and so on.

The big idea here is akin to including an image of your adorable dog making a goofy face at the end of an earnings meeting. It leaves an audience with a good, human feeling after you just packed their brains with data.

Use that concept of pleasant surprise when you’re selecting images for your presentation.

9. Editing PowerPoint Images

Setting appropriate image resolution in powerpoint.

Though you can drag-and-drop images into PowerPoint, you can control the resolution displayed within the file. All of your PowerPoint slide layout ideas should get the same treatment to be equal in size.

Simply click File > Compress Pictures in the main application menu.

If your presentation file is big and will only be viewed online, you can take it down to On-screen , then check the Apply to: All pictures in this file , and rest assured the quality will be uniform.

This resolution is probably fine for proofing over email, but too low for your presentation layout ideas. For higher res in printed form, try the Print setting, which at 220 PPI is extremely good quality.

For large-screens such as projection, use the HD setting, since enlarging to that scale will show any deficiencies in resolution. Low resolution can not only distract from the message, but it looks low-quality and that reflects on the presenter.

If size is no issue for you, use High Fidelity (maximum PPI), and only reduce if the file size gives your computer problems.

The image quality really begins when you add the images to the presentation file. Use the highest quality images you can, then let PowerPoint scale the resolution down for you, reducing the excess when set to HD or lower.

Resizing, Editing, and Adding Effects to Images in PowerPoint

PowerPoint comes with an arsenal of tools to work with your images. When a picture is selected, the confusingly named Picture Format menu is activated in the top menu bar, and Format Picture is opened on the right side of the app window.

In the Format Picture menu (on the right) are four sections, and each of these sections expand to show their options by clicking the arrows by the name:

• Fill & Line (paint bucket icon): Contains options for the box’s colors, patterns, gradients, and background fills, along with options for its outline.
• Effects (pentagon icon): Contains Shadow, Reflection, Glow, Soft Edges, 3-D Format and Rotation, and Artistic Effects.
• Size & Properties (dimensional icon): Size, Position, and Text Box allow you to control the physical size and placement of the picture or text boxes.
• Picture (mountain icon): Picture Corrections, Colors, and Transparency give you control over how the image looks. Under Crop, you can change the size of the box containing the picture, instead of the entire picture itself as in Size & Properties above.

The menu at the top is more expansive, containing menu presets for Corrections, Color, Effects, Animation, and a lot more. This section is where you can crop more precisely than just choosing the dimensions from the Picture pane on the right.

Cropping Images in PowerPoint

The simple way to crop an image is to use the Picture pane under the Format Picture menu on the right side of the window. Use the Picture Position controls to move the picture inside its box, or use the Crop position controls to manipulate the box’s dimensions.

To exert more advanced control, or use special shapes, select the picture you want to crop, then click the Picture Format in the top menu to activate it.

Hit the Crop button, then use the controls on the picture’s box to size by eye. Or, click the arrow to show more options, including changing the shape of the box (for more creative looks) and using preset aspect ratios for a more uniform presentation of images.

The next time you design a PowerPoint presentation, remember that simplicity is key and less is more. By adopting these simple slide design tips, you’ll deliver a clear, powerful visual message to your audience.

If you want to go with a PowerPoint alternative instead, you can use Shutterstock Create to easily craft convincing, engaging, and informative presentations.

With many presentation template designs, you’ll be sure to find something that is a perfect fit for your next corporate presentation. You can download your designs as a .pdf file and import them into both PowerPoint and Google Slides presentation decks.

Take Your PowerPoint Presentation to the Next Level with Shutterstock Flex

Need authentic, eye-catching photography to form the foundation of your PowerPoint presentation? We’ve got you covered.

With Shutterstock Flex, you’ll have all-in-one access to our massive library, plus the FLEXibility you need to select the perfect mix of assets every time.

License this cover image via F8 studio and Ryan DeBerardinis .

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7 EASY tips that ALWAYS make your PPT presentation attractive (even for beginners)

By: Author Shrot Katewa

Designing a presentation can take a lot of effort, especially if you are a beginner. All the options that software like PowerPoint presents can be overwhelming. Add to that the design skills needed to create a presentation. Not everyone is blessed with the aptitude and the skills to design. Despite this, anyone (including a beginner) can create attractive presentations almost every single time!

We strongly believe that anyone can create a beautiful presentation; even if you are a beginner. In today’s article, we share our mantra for creating absolutely beautiful and attractive presentations almost every single time!

You don’t need to know all the advanced features of PowerPoint. Just keep in mind the steps that we have mentioned below, and you will have a much better-looking presentation than you imagined it to be.

Tip 1 – Create an awesome Title Slide for an awesome first impression

We extensively covered a few methods using which you can easily create an awesome title slide for you PPT (link – https://owlscape.in/how-to-easily-make-an-awesome-first-slide-in-powerpoint )

A title slide is the first slide of your presentation. It mostly contains the title of your presentation and also showcases the topic on which your presentation is based. The title slide is also often the slide that is displayed even before the start of your presentation. Thus, it is important to have an awesome title slide as it can create a good first impression which can lead a subtle positive bias in the mindset of your audience. This can set the tone for the rest of your presentation.

However, creating a title slide can be challenging for some. This can be difficult especially if you are at a beginner level. In one of our previous post, we extensively covered a few methods using which you can easily create an awesome title slide for your PPT (link – https://owlscape.in/how-to-easily-make-an-awesome-first-slide-in-powerpoint )

Tip 2 – When using color, stick to the basics

If you think that simply adding text on a blank PowerPoint file means that you haven’t chosen a color scheme, then you can not be any more wrong! By simply adding text that is black on a default white background of a PPT file in itself creates a contrast and thereby a black and white color scheme! Obviously, that is not enough as that is the most basic color form which helps us read the content.

Colors are an important part of our life. Same is the case with a presentation. Every presentation needs to have colors on it. Using colors on a presentation can bring life to an otherwise lifeless looking presentation. Colors can help differentiate an important piece of information in an overcrowded content mix.

Consider the above image. Do you notice the colors used for the slide? Also, do you notice any issue with the slide? That’s correct! Grey and white text is difficult to read on a similar background in the above image.

Adding colors to your slides can often grab your audiences’ attention. However, this holds true only if the colors are used appropriately! Not knowing or not using the right color choice can equally easily distract or thwart your audiences’ attention. It may also make your presentation a bit distasteful. Not to mention the difficulty that can be caused in reading the text.

Choosing a color scheme can depend on a lot of factors. If you don’t have experience in design, choosing a color scheme can be a daunting task! There are primary colors, secondary colors, tertiary colors. Then there is a hue, tint, tone, shade and other similar terminologies to deal with. Add to that the color combinations such as complementary, split complementary, triads, tetrads etc.. This can all be very confusing!

As a beginner, the easiest way to choose a color combination is to go for a monochromatic color scheme. You CAN NOT go wrong with a monochromatic color scheme.

So what is a monochromatic color scheme? A monochromatic color scheme is a set of colors which are essentially shades of a single color (technically, they can be shades, tints or tones which give multiple variations of a single color).

So how does one use a monochromatic color scheme in PowerPoint? Well, it’s pretty simple! When you choose the color of a particular element on the slide through the “Shape Fill” option, simply choose colors from a single set. For example – in the above image, you may want to select a color of your choice such as blue, and then use variations of just blue throughout your presentation. However, be sure to maintain contrast between the text and the background color. This means, if the background is dark blue, be sure to make the color of the text as white or light shade of blue and vice-versa.

Remember, choosing a color scheme is important, however, maintaining consistency throughout can set your presentation apart and make it look professional. For instance, if you choose a color scheme for the heading of a slide, be sure to stick with it throughout the presentation.

Tip 3 – Introduce Contrast

So now that you have chosen a color scheme, it is important to use the color scheme to create a visual appeal. Using the same colors on every single slide with the same white background can also sometimes create monotony. This is especially true if we are using a monochromatic color scheme. One such way to combat this is to introduce contrast.

Introduce contrast by reversing font color on a slide

In the previous point, we touched upon the importance of maintaining contrast between the text and the background. This not only makes the slide visually appealing, but also makes the text easy to read. Let’s look at an example –

In the above slide design, the designer has very judiciously created contrast on the slide. Use of white fonts on a darker background makes the text stand out. Likewise, using the dark colored font on a white background creates a great balance and an interesting contrast. Introducing such contrast can enhance the visual appeal of the slides.

Also note the consistency in the color of the icons. While having white colored icons on a blue background wouldn’t be wrong, ensuring that the icons look consistent makes the presentation design very professional.

There are multiple ways to create a contrast on a single slide. Using 2 or 3 variations of the same color for different elements can be another method. However, the aforementioned method is the simplest and easiest to follow for beginners while creating a stunning visual appeal.

Introduce contrast using a contrasting slide

Another method of introducing contrast in your presentation is to use a contrasting slide. While, introducing contrast on a slide by reversing font color is important. Even so, having the same background throughout the presentation can make the PPT monotonous. In such a scenario, we can have a complete slide with a contrasting color to that of the other slides in the presentation. Let’s look at an example –

The above slide added in an array of slides with white background can help break the monotony and break the contrast on our presentation. However, choosing the right slide for such a contrast is important. A general rule of thumb could be to pick the slide with just a few words or a single sentence. Such a contrast can also be introduced if we intend to have a quotation in our presentation.

One important point to note here would be to ensure that we use the primary dark color that we chose while selecting our monochromatic color scheme.

Tip 4 – Choose these fonts

One of the most important aspects of your PPT is the content of your presentation. The content that you would like to communicate can be presented using one of thousands of font choices! (Yes, you read it right! There are literally thousands of fonts out there!). So, how do you choose a font?

A simple rule of thumb is to pick fonts that are clear and legible; fonts that won’t tire the eyes of the reader even with extended looks at your slides. This is especially important when we can’t avoid a few content heavy slides.

Font Styles –

There are various font styles. However, the two most common font styles that we should most definitely consider are Serif and Sans Serif.

Serif fonts have little strokes called “serif” attached at the end of each letter. Serif fonts give a more traditional feel. They are classy, literary and high-end. Serif fonts have been used in books and literature for decades. They are highly legible and our eyes are accustomed to it. These fonts are a great choice if you intend to have too much of text on the slides (note – we generally do not recommend having too much of content on the slides)

Sans Serif fonts don’t carry the strokes at the end of each letter. “Sans” has been derived from the French word “Sanz” which literally means “without”. Thus, the name itself means without Serif. These font types are more modern, and give a clean and a sleek look to your slide designs.

So, which font to choose?

If you wish to go with Serif font type , we recommend Times New Roman . If you think your preference is to go with Sans Serif fonts , we would recommend choosing Calibri or Arial . However, there is no right or wrong. At OwlScape, we do not prefer having too much text on the slides which give our presentations a much more modern feel. Therefore, our default font preference ends up being a Sans Serif font.

A common school of thought is to consider these fonts very boring. However, the reason we not just recommend these to others but in fact also use these fonts in our own presentations is because these fonts work. Times New Roman is a serious and a reliable font, and Arial is a professional font. You simply can’t go wrong with these. They are not boring. Rather, they are safe.

However, if you wish to go beyond these fonts, my next best recommendations would be to use Merriweather (Serif), Roboto (Sans Serif) , Montserrat (Sans Serif) or Source Sans Pro (Sans Serif). Each font has its own characteristic, pros and cons. Use of fonts is an art in itself. Thus, for beginners, we always recommend using Times New Roman, Calibri or Arial.

Keep these things in mind while choosing the fonts

It is important to remember a few things while working with the content on your presentation. They are as follows –

• Choose one font – As a beginner, it is easy to fall into the temptation of using multiple fonts. Using multiple fonts is not a crime. But, it does require a good bit of understanding of the science behind it and the complementary layout in which it can be used. Thus, until you’ve mastered the use of one font, I wouldn’t recommend using multiple fonts in your presentation.
• Alignment – A common problem across presentations is the alignment of the text. My recommendation is to keep the text left aligned. Why? Because the most natural way our eyes read text is from left to right, and top to bottom. Thus, text which is left aligned is easier on the eyes.
• Use Bold font selectively – When we use bold version of the fonts, we are simply increasing the weight of the fonts. The purpose of making the fonts bold is often to guide the attention of the audience. Thus, if the words to be made bold are not chosen wisely, it can defeat the very purpose of using bold fonts. As a rule of thumb, using headings and/or sub-headings, features, important words, and numbers are a good choice to be made bold.
•   Font size – Choosing the right font size can be challenging. This may vary significantly based on your audience size, and the manner in which the presentation is delivered (large audience or small screen through email).  A general rule of thumb would be to go no less than a 30 point font size.
• Choose standard fonts – If you choose to go beyond the three fonts that we have recommended above, ensure that the fonts you choose are standard fonts. This means, they are either part of the Google fonts (for online presentations) or the Microsoft Office font family. You can still choose other fonts, however, do remember to share the fonts that you have used when sharing the presentation file with your colleagues or client. Otherwise, in the absence of the fonts you used, PowerPoint will substitute the presentation with alternative fonts and this can greatly alter the design of your presentation.

Tip 5 – Use images in your presentation

Almost everyone will tell you that using images for your presentation is important. Heck, I’m sure you would have seen at least one of those many TEDx presentations that only have pictures on their PPT.

So why is that? Why is using images in your PPT presentation important? Using images in your presentation is important because it enhances the look and feel of your presentation. Images also increase the retention capability of your audience as our human mind can better retain content when it is related with an image. Moreover, using images judiciously helps break the monotony of the presentation. Sometimes, use of images in your presentation also help to explain the concept better.

Images can make a good presentation great. The importance of using images can not be stressed more. But, when should you be using the images on a slide? Should you use an image on every single slide? While some events like the TEDx format may demand that, but obviously, using images on every single slide may not be the right way to go about making a presentation.

When to use images?

You don’t need an image on every single slide. But there are a few areas where you may want to consider using an image. Let’s look at a few of these –

1. Title slide –

In general, title slides don’t have a lot of text. In such a scenario, simply having plain text in an otherwise blank slide can make it boring. This makes it a perfect slide to have an image on.

2. Product slide –

When talking about your product or a feature of your product, it can make a significant impact when your audience sees the product that you are talking about. Again, a great slide to use images on.

3. Team slide –

There are two ways you could use an image on this slide. If you are introducing an individual member of your team, then having small profile pictures of your team members can be a good idea. Alternatively, you could also use a group photo on your presentation for a team slide.

4. Events & exhibitions –

If you want to talk about the events that your company did, then one of the best ways to do that is to showcase a couple of photos from each event.

5. Office/ site locations –

Some organisations have fantastic offices. If you are an employee of one such organisation and want to talk about features of your office or manufacturing site that offer great benefits for the employees, use pictures!

6. Clients/Partners –

When people talk about using images on their PPT, they often forget that using logos of companies that they have worked with also constitute as images. This can be a great way of using images to enhance visuals of your presentation as opposed to just writing a list of client names.

7. Explaining a concept –

(Image source ) Drag the divider to the left or the right to see the complete image

Sometimes, concepts are better explained visually. Simply having a powerful image can easily and quickly convey the concept to your audience.

The above list is not exhaustive. It is only indicative in nature. There are several other ways and slides on which you can use images. Again, there is no right or wrong, and it is not necessary that you use images for each one of the points mentioned above.

How to find images for your presentation?

There are multiple ways to find an image for your presentation. Here are the top 3 methods that I recommend –

• Using Online Images in PowerPoint – Microsoft has this inbuilt feature within PowerPoint that allows you to get royalty free images from the web directly in your presentation . To use this tool, simply click on “Insert”, then click “Pictures” and select the “Online Pictures” option. You can then simply search for the image that you are looking for.
• Using free image websites – While you can buy images from several different websites, there are a few sites that allow you to get high resolution royalty free images for free. My favourite website is Unsplash . It has got some really cool images, many of which I have used in the actual presentations created for clients.
• Using free, legal Google Images –  Is it really free and legal? Our recommendation is to always stick to the paid websites if possible. If that may be difficult, as much as possible, refrain from using Google Images even though some might be license free to use.

Finding the perfect image for your presentation can be time consuming. In one of our earlier posts, we shared detailed insights on where you can find images for your presentation. Be sure to read more on this topic from this link – https://owlscape.in/can-i-use-google-images-for-my-presentation/

Do’s and don’ts when using images for your PPT

Now that we’ve understood why to use images and which slides to use the images in our presentation, it is important for us to remember a few things when we work with images. Let’s have a look at these points –

Do’s –

• Use legal images – We can’t stress this enough. When you use images for your presentation, please ensure you have legal rights to use the images. Ensure that you give credit wherever it is due.
• Use relevant images – Okay, I agree. This is a bit obvious. But, I’ve seen a lot of people making this mistake. Images that are not relevant can simply fail to make an impact on your audience. If you are struggling to identify what image would be relevant, a simple Google search on the topic name can help you understand what kind of image should be used.

Don’ts –

• Don’t use images that are pixelated – Often, in search of that perfect picture, you may come across images that don’t have a good resolution. As a result, they get pixelated as soon as you put the presentation on a big screen. Ensure that the pixel density is at least 150 dpi for on screen output (ppt viewed on small screen when shared through email) and 300 dpi for a projector output.
• Don’t change the aspect ratio – Don’t change the aspect ratio of the original image. This makes subjects in the image look all weird. The easiest way to avoid this problem would be to lock the aspect ratio. You can do this by selecting the image, and right click, then select “Format Object”. On the format options, click on “Size & Properties” and ensure that there is a check mark for “Lock aspect ratio” option.

Tip 6 – Replace bullets points in your PPT with these

This is a cool tip! I assure you, just by following THIS ONE TIP, your presentation design will  take a jump ahead of a vast majority of the presentations out there. Trust me, this will set you apart.

The problem is that over 65% of the world’s population falls in the age group of 15 – 64 years ( source ). You might be wondering what’s that got to do with bullet points? The thing is that about 90% of this population is responsible for creating presentations, and most of them learned making presentations about 5-10 years ago. This is the period when making bullet points was considered the best way to present the content. So, while the software itself has evolved during this course of time, the skills to present the content hasn’t. While, this is a problem, the cool thing is that just by overcoming this one little challenge, you are ahead of at least a good 50-55% of the presentations that are created every single day!

So what can you do instead of using bullet points? There are broadly 3 ways in which you could get rid of your bullet points. Let’s have a look at them –

Option 1 – Use PowerPoint’s built-in SmartArt function

This is by far the easiest way to replace your bullet points. Microsoft PowerPoint created the SmartArt function with this particular objective in mind. All you need to do is open a blank slide, click on “Insert” tab, then click “SmartArt”, and choose the type of SmartArt that you would like to insert depending on the type of content you have on your slide.

There are a ton of varieties of SmartArt that you would be able pick and choose. You will almost always find an option for the type of content you are having on the slide.

SmartArt is easy and fast. However, while this is great if you are starting out in the world of presentation design, we do not use SmartArt in the designs that we create for our clients at OwlScape. If you have a bit of time at hand, and have a fair idea of working with shapes on PowerPoint, we would strongly recommend using the following methods.

Option 2 – Use Icons as an alternative to bullet points

Icons can easily serve as an alternative to bullet points on PowerPoint. Using icons can be a great way to make your presentation slides visually appealing. The objective of using icons on a PowerPoint slide is really to communicate the point quickly and visually. Thus, it is important to use an icon which is relatable to content.

If you have multiple bullet points, simply identify the key message from each bullet point. Then, identify and search for an icon applicable for that key message. Next, find a simple way to represent it on a slide. The easiest way to do this is to insert a shape, could be rectangle, square, curved square or a circle, and put the icon over the shape. Make sure that the icon is not the same color as that of the shape. I usually recommend using white color icons and changing the color of the shape.

You obviously don’t have to create the icon. You can easily find it in a few quick steps. Simply go to the “Insert” tab, click on “Icons”, and search for the icon you are looking for from the bar that opens up on the right side of the screen.

Option 3 – Use Infographics as an alternative to bullet points

A slightly more advanced method is to use infographics to replace bullet points from your content. Just like icons, infographics add a significant visual appeal to your presentation design. If you have a decent understanding of how to work with shapes, you can easily create infographics for your PPT presentation as well.

In case you are struggling to create your own infographics, you can also buy templates online for a few dollars. There are several websites that can help you find paid infographics.

Tip 7 – Follow the rule of thirds for slide design

This is another great tip that is often missed by most people who create a PowerPoint presentation. The rule of thirds is a concept which has been derived from Photography. Thus, it is obvious that most presentations tend to lack this basic design principle.

Consider the below images –

( Image source ) Drag the divider to the left or the right to see the complete image

Which one looks better? Most of us would find that the content laid out in the image on the left is better of the two. Why? The answer is simple. It is because the design on the slide follows the rule of thirds.

So what is the rule of thirds in PowerPoint? The rule of thirds is a design principle where content is designed and laid out in a way that it follows any combination of a 3 by 3 grid system. Using the rule of thirds in slide design ensures balance to the design of the slide.

To follow the rule of thirds in PowerPoint slide designs, you need to work with guides. Simply open a blank slide, and right click anywhere on the white section of the slide, click on “Grid and Guides”, by clicking the guides option, it will bring up two thin dotted grey lines on your slide. By adding guides, you can create a 3 by 3 grid system.

To help our users understand this important concept, we intend to write a detailed article on how to work with grids and guides on PowerPoint, and we will update the link in this section soon. Be sure to come back to this article and check this section out.

Now that we’ve seen how the 3 by 3 grid looks, let’s go back to the image on the left.

Notice how the image has taken the top ⅔ rd of the slide horizontally. Also note the manner in which the 3 points are laid out in the three grids horizontally. Just by arranging the various elements in the grid system gives a well balanced design to the slide.

We highly recommend learning the grid system using the guides and following the rule of third even if you are a beginner. This will vastly improve your slide designs. The best part is – working with guides is very easy to learn and it only takes a few minutes.

I hope the aforementioned tips will greatly improve the designs of your PowerPoint slides, and help you impress your managers, colleagues and audience. Follow these design tips and you will almost always be able to create an effective presentation.

Our goal on this blog is to create content that helps YOU create fantastic presentations; especially if you have never been a designer. We’ve started our blog with non-designers in mind, and we have got some amazing content on our site to help you design better.

If you have any topics in mind that you would want us to write about, be sure to drop us a comment below. In case you need us to work with you and improve the design of your presentation, write to us on [email protected] . Our team will be happy to help you with your requirements.

Lastly, your contribution can make this world a better place with better presentations. All you have to do is simply share this blog in your network and help other fellow non-designers with their designs!

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Top 10 Hacks On How To Make PowerPoint Presentation Attractive

Per experts, the audience gets hooked and pays more attention to the visual content of your PowerPoint slides than drab-looking, text-heavy content. This article answers the well to know question – ‘how to make PowerPoint presentation attractive’ and offers an array of creative PowerPoint slides and google slide templates that will win you accolades. They will help you think beyond bullet points and unlock the unique visual story waiting to be released from your message.

PowerPoint presentations are essential in business communication, but creating a practical and visually appealing presentation can be challenging. However, here are some tips on how to make good PowerPoint presentation that will engage your audience and effectively convey your message.

How To Make ppt More Attractive Using Visual Bullets?

To separate the content, use an optical element to create business PowerPoint slides with lines, shapes, and spacing. This trick comes in handy if you have a lot of content to be organized.

How To Make An PowerPoint Interesting Using Double-sided text?

With alternate key points on the left and right side of the page, this attractive PowerPoint presentation slide visually separates a lot of text on the presentation slide and is accessible to the target audience’s eye.

As you can see in the PowerPoint slide example above , each piece of text has plenty of white space to breathe. Having adequate white space is key to beautiful presentations.

How To Create Amazing PowerPoint Presentations Using The Chunking Method?

You can also create professional PowerPoint slides based on the chunking method. Chunking refers to organizing your content in groups and showing those chunks horizontally or vertically, depending on how much content you have. To create useful visual chunks, you should group the related elements on the presentation background and contrast the unrelated elements. When the grouping and the contrast are clear, the target audience finds it easy to understand and process the information on your presentation slides.

Tip : Use PowerPoint shapes to separate the text and add numbers, headlines, or PowerPoint icons to each chunk of text depending on the type of content you have on your PowerPoint Slides .

Chunking works brilliantly to showcase how to make presentation more attractive with different ideas on the same PowerPoint slide, as our mind is wired to search for patterns to make sense of the information we find around us.

How To Make A Presentation Attractive Using Picturization?

Another way to build an attractive PowerPoint presentation is to represent your content by using photos and isometrics. Use images for PowerPoint presentations relevant to your content which aids in communicating your business story. 

Images also allow your target audience to immediately associate an idea with the text, increasing the comprehension of your content. Check out the below timeline PowerPoint slides that use pictures to explain each timeline stage clearly.

How To Make PowerPoint Interesting With Icons?

PowerPoint Icons have become another popular option for creating compelling and engaging PowerPoint slides. They occupy less space, visually separate the clutter, and are best for emphasizing certain content. Below are a few examples of PowerPoint Icons presentation slides .

An abundance of free PowerPoint icons libraries is available online to choose icons for your PowerPoint slides.

How To Make A Beautiful ppt With Backgrounding?

Background PowerPoint slides are a great way to set the context of the content; therefore, many professional PowerPoint templates are designed using an image as a background. Below are a few PowerPoint slide designs with a background image that liven up the entire presentation slide.

You can insert a gradient, semi-transparent layer between the text and the photo so that the reader will always be visible whichever image you use.

How To Make A Presentation Attractive Using 3D Designs In PowerPoint?

The chief aim of lining up your elements in 3D format is to create a clean and organized space. Structure and symmetry are naturally pleasing to the eye. Another great benefit of a 3D PowerPoint template is that you can easily integrate pictures, numbers, and text into beautiful PowerPoint Slides . 

You can also alternate the colors in the grid to make them visually appealing. Choose rotating colors wisely to avoid color riots on the PowerPoint slides .

How To Make A Good PowerPoint Presentation Using Central Figures?

Add one visual element that summarizes the main idea of the PowerPoint slide. You can divide the PowerPoint slide into title and text sections with a solid contrast. You may choose any image; however, we recommend using PowerPoint icons due to the simplicity of the illustration and its neat, transparent look.

As you can see in the above templates, we have used different PowerPoint shapes and icons to summarize the slide content neatly.

How To Make A PowerPoint Presentation Interesting With Graphics?

A PowerPoint graphic is another excellent tool for building a PowerPoint slide, especially if the content forms parts of a whole idea or works together cyclically.

This PowerPoint slide layout allows for plenty of active white space on PowerPoint Slides, which increases its consistency and readability.

If there are many parts of a whole and you want to talk about each component separately, you may want to animate all the details so that they appear one at a time and can help your target audience follow along as you talk about each part.

Please ensure consistency of alignment and size in your PowerPoint Slides if you insert PowerPoint images .

How To Make Attractive ppt Using Roadmapping?

Use of PowerPoint roadmap template or path layout to show direction and flow on your Powerpoint Slides.

Consider displaying things on a journey layout if you want to show content in sequential order.  A clear path or roadmap will visually help your target audience to form associations and inferences from direction and flow.

These are some of the ways to build effective PowerPoint slide designs. If all this sounds too much, simply check-out our page and purchase a pre-built professional PowerPoint template (like any slide examples in this article). It will save you tons of time, and your PowerPoint slides will look great. You will also get to know even more diverse PowerPoint backgrounds and formats that could be used to create engaging business presentations.

These PowerPoint templates are instantly downloadable, 100% editable, and easy to use. Using the SlideUpLift library, you can start with templates, make edits, and create presentations in minutes.

Happy Presenting!!

Now you don’t have to scour the web to find out the right templates. Download our PowerPoint Templates from within PowerPoint. See how ?

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Presentation Guru

5 ways to make your presentation more visual and effective.

Visualizing slides (just a fancy word for transforming slides full of text into more visual slides) is a big part of my job, but you don’t need to be a PowerPoint expert to apply some basic visualization techniques to your presentations. Even minimal changes can make your presentations much more effective and can help people understand your messages better.

Listening to someone present, who is just reading a slide full of text, doesn’t add to understanding. It actually distracts, because the audience will end up reading the text on the slides themselves instead of listening to what the presenter is saying.

On the other hand, slides with less text and more visuals, whether it be graphs, pictures or diagrams can help the audience retain more information, because visuals and speech work hand-in-hand rather than compete for attention in the brain.

It’s a proven concept we follow at BrightCarbon, and one that we often preach about on our own blog . So, to get you started, here are 5 simple things that you can do to make your presentations more visual and more effective.

1) Cut down text on slides

Bullet-point filled slides have been plaguing audiences since PowerPoint began. But they aren’t just painfully dull: bullet points are really ineffective for communicating information to an audience.

So, the easiest way you can quickly make your presentation 1000 times better is by simply cutting out some of the text.

The easiest way to cut down text is to first break it down into chunks, then break it into key points – so, one short bullet-point per chunk – and then to get rid of filler words. This will help you take large paragraphs of text and break them into short and snappy phrases that can fit into text boxes or other shapes.

For example, let’s look at the following block of text:

Peonies are my favorite type of flower. They’re pretty to look at because they come in a range of beautiful shades of pink. They also smell amazing and make great perfume. Lastly, they are larger than a lot of other flowers and make a gorgeous, lush bouquet.

Instead of filling an entire paragraph, we could break this text into three key points:

• Peonies come in range of pink shades
• They make great perfume
• They make a gorgeous bouquet

Then, if we get rid of any filler, we are left with:

• Pink shades
• Great perfume
• Gorgeous bouquet

And voila! You have yourself some bullets that are ready to be fit into shapes. By allowing your text to fit into shapes you gain the ability to organize it in a linear way and then you can animate it on clicks, to stagger the flow of information and tell a more compelling story.

So, BEFORE :

and AFTER :

If you want to learn more about how to ditch the bullet points for good, find out more here .

2) Show locations on maps

I’ve worked on quite a few presentations at this point and I think it’s safe to say most of them include a list of locations at some point. This is because it is really common for companies to have a narrative that includes showing their impact on a national, or global, scale by showing their locations. Often, this is just presented as a list of places. But it’s a lot more interesting – and memorable – to show locations on a map.

For example, if a company has opened a couple stores per year, in different locations, they could animate icons representing these stores on a map and have information such as the year, location or size of store in a box next to the icon.

This is a good way to make the slides illustrate a story about the company’s growth, in a way that is easy for the audience to understand.

3) Add color cues

Adding color to slides in an organized way can enable you to manipulate the audience’s attention and increase their understanding of your content.

For example, if every element on your slide is blue and then you color one object yellow, people will understand that the differently colored object is important or different in some way.

The same idea of ‘color coding’ works when you want the audience to get certain ideas from colors e.g. yellow and black mean warning; green is positive; red is negative.

Keep in mind that these associations are partly based on cultural teachings, so they might not apply if the people you are presenting to have a different cultural understanding of color.

You can also use color to set a ‘mood’ for your presentation. For example, if your company is heading a green initiative then using green tones in your presentation will make it feel more environmentally friendly. Most brands already apply this theory in their logos and brand guidelines, so continuing this thought process in your slides can create even more cohesion and understanding.

Find out more about using color effectively here .

4) Use Timelines

A great way to organize text-heavy slides that involve dates and events is to divide them into a timeline.

This is similar to the map idea above, in that it requires a certain type of information to be successful, but if you have dates and information, it’s much more effective to see them organized linearly than in a list of bullet points.

A timeline is a pretty simple element to create on PowerPoint and just involves a line and some evenly aligned and distributed boxes. Create your boxes using the Insert -> Shape functionality, then use the built-in alignment tools to space everything out neatly .

5) Replace text with labelled images

The last, and arguably most important, point is to get rid of text all together, and replace it with images.

For example, if you want to talk about a new product and its features, the best way of doing this is to insert an image of the product and just label it with key words.

You can insert shapes to pin-point areas you’d like to highlight and then animate them in on clicks so you can stagger the rate at which you mention each feature, which can help the audience follow along.

It’s also useful to have images of the product being used by customers so that you can show the audience exactly how it will look and work.

Being complacent and adding tons of text or bullet points to your presentations won’t do you any favors, because people will become instantly bored and disengaged while you’re presenting, and will start reading what’s on the screen instead of listening to the important things you’re saying.

By applying a couple of easy-to-learn tips to your next presentation, you can significantly increase its effectiveness and make it much more visually appealing. Your audience will stay engaged throughout your presentation and will remember more of the content you are sharing.

It’s amazing how much visuals can do to improve communication between a presenter and an audience, so just remember that the next time you’re pasting reams of text into a 25-slide deck: there are better ways.

• Latest Posts

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Craig Hadden (@RemotePoss)

11th April 2017 at 4:05 am

These are great ideas, so thanks for sharing. Recently I’ve tried to use colour in a more systematic way, so I was especially interested to read your thoughts on that.

You might also like this makeover I did on a (real) slide. It was stuffed full of bulleted text, but ended up being far less wordy and much more visual. See what your think. (And any comments or questions are always welcome!)

15th April 2017 at 12:47 pm

Thanks for this. and if you’d like to write that piece for us, to help the thousands of designers and presenters out there, we’d love to publish that piece too. The guru is our community after all!

Abigail Lee

25th June 2019 at 12:11 pm

Great article. Prior to stumbling upon your article on Google, I have found similar another engaging article on this website https://www.slideteam.net/blog . It has a collection of enthusiastic articles on PowerPoint as well as professional slides. Feel free to explore all of them.

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7 Reasons Why Good Visuals Boost Presentation Engagement

February 9, 2023

Are you tired of presenting to a disengaged audience? The solution might be simpler than you think! Adding good visuals to your presentations can significantly increase engagement levels.

In this post, we'll explore seven reasons why adding visuals is a game-changer for your presentations. From enhancing understanding to evoking emotions, you'll discover how visuals can help you connect with your audience and deliver memorable presentations. Read on to answer the following questions:

• How to add clarity to your message using visual aids
• How to simplify the message of your presentation using images
• How to spice up your icebreakers with adorable and funny pictures
• How to increase audience attention and memory with relevant illustrations
• How to evoke an emotional connection using powerful images
• How to make audience engagement more inclusive using images
• How to break the monotone with the help of images

Why visuals enhance audience engagement

We know actions speak louder than words, but do you know what else speaks louder than words? Images—and there’s a very good reason for it too. Our brains naturally process images more easily, taking only 13 milliseconds to process an entire image . Hence, it comes with little surprise that visuals have been found to increase user engagement by as much as 94%!

If you frequently run team meetings, head brainstorming sessions, or large-scale conferences, it’s about time you consider adding images to your audience engagement efforts (if you haven’t already done it).

And for the skeptic in you, here are 7 reasons why adding good visuals in your presentations could do a lot of good for your audience engagement.

1. Visual aids add clarity to your message

Try describing a new color with just words to an audience. You will realize that it puts you in a bit of a pickle.

Communicating complex or visual concepts with words alone can be challenging. Incorporating effective visuals in presentation slides or live polls eliminates the potential for miscommunication, which is particularly important when discussing important decisions that require everyone to be on the same page.

Here are 3 ideas for using images to make your decision-making and brainstorming easier:

1. Picking design choices

Voting on the best design during meetings can be easier when you can look at all the options at once and pick the most suitable one. Add the different designs as answer options and let your team vote. May the best design win! 

2. Brainstorming sessions

Add an image that you need to brainstorm a tagline for into a word cloud poll, and look at the common theme your team brings out. Having an image to look at while entering options makes it easier for your teammates to be creative within the brand guidelines.

3. Picking an event theme

You need to get a consensus on your party themes in office. You can say bohemian, but will everyone know what a bohemian theme is? Send out polls with images of each theme and ask your colleagues to vote on them.

2. Images simplify the message conveyed during your presentation

Do you frequently experience your audience staring at you blankly or frowning at your slides? Dense and complex messaging could be your pitfall. We all have to present difficult concepts sometimes but the key to doing it successfully is by breaking those complex information into digestible bits.

Another trick is to, yes you guessed it, add some good visual aids. Whether it’s flow charts, word clouds, or relevant images, adding these visual aids to your presentation can simplify your message and help retain your audience’s interest.

Even if you are using live polls or quizzes during your presentation to drive engagement, make sure you simplify convoluted sentences and add images where necessary to make your message clear to your audience. If your audience is re-reading your questions or answer options to make out what you are saying, you will probably lose valuable engagement in your polls.

3. Adorable and funny pictures spice up your icebreakers 

Ever been in a situation where you are presenting to a crowd of “not morning people” in the morning? It can be frustrating and demoralizing to try your best to get the energy level up and have your audience remain unenthused.

This is where cats come in handy.

Cats? Yes, cats, dogs, ducks… whatever your idea of adorable. Think about those goofy dog videos on Facebook or BuzzFeed quizzes on cute animals that instantly put you in a better mood during groggy mornings in the office. The idea here is the same.

Sometimes your audience just needs to break the ice before giving you their undivided attention. Instead of immediately opening with serious questions or jumping straight into your presentation, try adding fun polls with attractive or funny images. Conduct a trivia quiz, vote on unpopular food combinations or simply pick your favorite kitten image with your audience. You’d be surprised about what it can do for their energy level, and even yours!

Here are 3 icebreaker game formats you can try:

1. Poll on it!

Create multiple-choice image polls on various topics

a. Which kitten is the cutest?

b. Which topping doesn’t belong on a pizza? (we’re looking at you pineapples)

2. Play would you rather

Put up two images of equally horrible choices and make your audience vote on one. The beauty of adding images to this game is that it can help your audience visualize both horrid choices, making them all the more fun!

3. Create a "mood cloud" together

Get your audience to enter their current mood into a live word cloud platform like Pigeonhole Live to generate a "mood cloud" on the spot.

4. Relevant illustrations increase audience attention and memory

Humans have a shorter attention span than goldfish, which is bad news for presenters!

Capturing the audience's attention is the first step to engaging them but with the myriads of distractions that exist around us (or in our smartphones), it is an increasingly difficult task.

According to this Forbes article , adding shocking statistics or images is a great way to grab your audience's attention before presenting key points. 

Once you’ve succeeded in getting your audience’s attention, you need to ensure they remember the content you presented. I’m guessing engagement for the sake of engagement does not correspond to your KPI.

Pairing a relevant image to information helps us retain 65% of the information three days later, compared to the 10% we retain without the help of an image ( Brain Rules ). Hence, incorporating relevant illustrations can help to build a more memorable presentation. 

To take things up a notch,  set up live polls and quizzes with images used in your presentation to test the audience on the content you delivered to  yield better success rates for your overall presentation.   Use platforms that offer PowerPoint integrations so you can embed live polls within your presentation slides for a seamless presentation.  

5. Powerful images can evoke an emotional connection

Reflect on what great presenters do best – they make you feel emotional about what they are presenting even if you have little knowledge of the topic. The likes of Steve Jobs have found the fundamental secret to captivating their audience—emotional connection. Once you evoke an emotional connection, you get to hold the audience's attention and interest for a longer period and derive a better impact from your engagement.

Images are a shortcut to building an emotional connection. Why?

Firstly, as science has proved, humans are visual creatures. Around 90% of the information transmitted to our brain is visual . Hence, it’s easier for us to connect with images on a deeper level.

Secondly, images can convey more cues than words. This is because images can capture complex and abstract concepts like emotions and color, and convey them effectively to the audience. These additional cues can evoke a deeper connection from the audience, making their engagement more rewarding, both for them and for you.

6. Images make audience engagement more inclusive

If you are hosting a transnational event or need your presentations to cater to a culturally or linguistically diverse audience, audience engagement can be quite a challenge.

To make sure ice-breakers and opinion polls are more inclusive, add images to the mix. Images are universal. Unlike clever jokes, or funny limericks understanding an image requires little context or linguistic expertise. As a result, your activities will appeal to a larger audience and make an impactful connection regardless of the language barriers that might exist.

7. Images help to break the monotone

If you regularly use audience engagement polls, you’d be familiar with the different types of polls: multiple-choice polls, open-text polls, word clouds, and quizzes. Hosting long events would mean that you need to conduct many polls during the sessions, to increase engagement, check to understand, conduct ice-breakers, and even get quick feedback.

While polls are a fun way to get your audience's opinion and increase engagement, overusing the same format of polls can come off as a little boring and repetitive. It’s great to switch between poll formats while also adding images into the mix to keep the sessions fun and engaging from start to end.

Maximizing presentation impact through visuals

Adding good visuals to your presentations is not just about making them look better. It's about engaging your audience and driving better outcomes. By following the tips and best practices outlined in this article, you can take your presentations to the next level and achieve your desired results. So go ahead and experiment with different types of visuals, and see the impact they can have on your audience and your success!

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10 Expert Tips to Make Your PowerPoint Presentations More Engaging and Effective!

• Sathish Shanmugam
• January 8, 2023
• No Comments

PowerPoint presentations are an essential part of many business meetings, conferences, and even online classes. However, while PowerPoint can be a great tool to get your message across, it can also easily become boring and unengaging if not done right. Luckily, you can use plenty of tips and tricks to make your presentations more effective and engaging. 

Here are ten expert tips to help you create powerful and engaging PowerPoint presentations.

Table of Contents

1. Organize your content for maximum impact

Use 10-20-30 rule, use colors, shapes, and images effectively to draw attention, ensure design consistency, use visuals to support the narrative, benefits of using animation, things to consider when using animation, incorporate audio, video, and interactive elements, balance multimedia content with other elements, use charts and graphs to illustrate data points, understand the audience, utilize a logical structure, incorporate design templates and slideshows, prepare a script to help you stay on track, 8. consider using presentation platforms, 9. encourage audience participation, ask for feedback, review the notes, check the presentation, follow up with the audience.

Organizing content for PowerPoint presentations is important as it helps to keep the presentation focused and engaging. When organizing content, it is important to create an introduction, body, and conclusion that flow logically. Additionally, it is important to use visual cues such as headings and images to help the audience follow the presentation. Finally, it is important to use a consistent color palette, font, and style to help create a cohesive presentation that is visually appealing and easy to understand.

2. Choose an engaging visual design

When it comes to making a PowerPoint presentation engaging, visuals are key. Visual designs can help set the tone of your presentation and get your message across. Here are some tips on choosing an engaging visual design for your PowerPoint presentations .

The 10-20-30 rule for slideshows suggests that you should have no more than ten slides, 20 minutes of content, and 30-point font size. This is important because too many words or slides can be overwhelming and distracting. Instead, focus on the most important points and let visual elements do the work.

Consider using abstract shapes, large-high-quality photos, and vibrant colors to ensure that the visuals you choose are appealing and draw attention. Additionally, make sure that the visuals you choose are relevant to your message. For example, use visuals to show off its features if you’re discussing a product. You can also embed attractive QR codes with logos to provide more information on that product by linking to external resources.

To ensure that you keep your design consistent throughout the presentation, you must use similar colors and font sizes throughout. To make this easier, you can use dynamic presentation software or a template with hundreds of example slides that all follow the same design theme.

Visual design is an incredibly powerful tool for enhancing the narrative of a PowerPoint presentation. With the right elements, visuals can help to make a presentation more interesting and memorable for the audience. Visuals should be used strategically to support the narrative. Using visuals that reflect the presentation’s theme will help create a cohesive story that resonates with the audience.

Check out the video to learn about the core prinicple of visual design:

3. Enhance the presentation with animation

Animation can enhance a PowerPoint presentation by making it more visually engaging and helping control information flow.

•   Animation can add energy to static images and text and can also be used to add surprise elements that help make the content more memorable.
• Animations can help to draw your audience’s attention, making it easier for them to stay focused and remember the key points of your presentation. 
• It is important to use animations sparingly, as too many animations can detract from the main message of your presentation. So, make sure to use animation to control the presentation’s pace and keep the audience engaged.
• When adding animations, wait until you have added all the information and objects to the slides.
• Ensure that animations are visible and clear in a PowerPoint presentation to help the audience follow the content.
• Animations should also be used to keep the audience on track and help them to jump back into the topic at any time.

How to make animated powerpoint slide?

4. Include multimedia components

Including multimedia components in PowerPoint presentations is an effective way to make them more engaging. Multimedia combines different types of media, such as audio, video, animation, and images, which can help capture and maintain your audience’s attention.

Including multimedia components in Powerpoint presentations is quite easy. For example, you can crop images to fit shapes, play music in the background, embed YouTube videos , insert screenshots or screen clippings, remove background from pictures, combine shapes to create a custom shape, add sound effects to animations, etc.

Multimedia content can be a great way to bring your presentation to life, but it should not be the only element you use. While multimedia content can be eye-catching, too much of it can distract from the message you are trying to convey.

 Instead, try to use a mix of multimedia content, text, images, and diagrams that will help ensure that your presentation is visually appealing and informative. For example, if you have a video clip, don’t just rely on it to convey the message, but rather provide some additional information in the form of a text block or image that summarises the key points of the clip. This will provide context and help support the message you are trying to get across.

 Additionally, consider using multimedia content and other elements such as text, images, and diagrams to create a more interactive presentation. This will help keep the audience engaged and allow them to better understand the message you are trying to communicate.

5. Utilize data visualization and infographics

Utilizing data visualization and infographics in PowerPoint presentations can be beneficial for a few reasons. First, data visualization and infographics can help to illustrate complex concepts in an easy-to-understand way. Additionally, data visualization and infographics can help to make the content more engaging and visually appealing. Furthermore, data visualization and infographics can help ensure the audience can retain the information presented. Finally, data visualization and infographics can help to add a professional look to the presentation.

Charts and graphs are powerful tools to make your PowerPoint presentations more engaging and effective. Not only do they help to break up the presentation to make it easier for the viewers to digest, but they also allow you to provide a visual representation of complex data that is easy to understand.

Here are some tips on how to use charts and graphs effectively in your PowerPoint presentations:

• Choose the right type of chart or graph: You have to choose the right charts or graphs depending on your data. For example, bar graphs are better suited for categorical data, while pie charts are better for numerical data.
• Keep it simple: Avoid overloading your charts and graphs with too much information, as this can make them difficult to read. Stick to just one or two key points you want to illustrate, and choose colors and fonts that are easy to read.
• Label your axes: Make sure your x and y axes are clearly labeled so audiences can easily follow the data points.
• Make sure your data is accurate: Before you present it, double-check to ensure it is accurate and up-to-date. This will ensure that your conclusions are reliable.
• Use the right scale: When creating your chart or graph, make sure that the scale is appropriate. If the scale is too large or small, it can be difficult to interpret the data.

How to make good infographic?

 6. Create an effective structure and flow

Creating an effective structure and flow to make your PowerPoint presentation more engaging is key to captivating your audience. Here are a few ways to create a flow and structure for your PowerPoint presentation .

The first step is understanding your audience and what their needs are. Knowing your audience’s interests can help you tailor your presentation to be more engaging and interactive. Once you have a good idea of who you’re speaking to, create an outline that will focus on the important points of your presentation. You can use the best AI presentation maker to help you with this.

A logical structure helps to organize the information clearly and logically, making it easier for the audience to follow and understand. It also helps to keep the presentation focused and on track, preventing it from becoming disorganized or tangential. A logical structure can be achieved through the use of clear headings and subheadings and visual aids such as charts and diagrams to illustrate key points.

Use design templates and slideshows to keep the look of your presentation consistent and visually appealing. Ensure to align all objects with the grid to ensure your visuals are perfectly in line.

7. Rehearse and practice

Preparing and rehearsing your presentation allows you to get comfortable with the material and will help you convey your message in a more confident and engaging way.

Having a script for your PowerPoint presentation can be an invaluable tool to ensure that you stay on track and keep to the main points you want to make. In addition, by preparing a script, you can ensure that your presentation runs smoothly and is more engaging and effective.

Here are some tips to help you write an effective script:

• Start with an outline of your presentation. This will help you organize your thoughts and ensure you don’t forget any important points.
• Write down the main points you want to make. Think about what information you want to convey in each section and decide how to present it.
• Include visuals. Think about how visuals or diagrams can help illustrate your points.
• Make sure your language is clear and concise. Avoid jargon and long sentences.
• Keep it conversational. Speak to your audience as if you are having a conversation with them.
• Become familiar with it and make sure you don’t forget any important points
• Timing yourself is an important factor in creating a good PowerPoint presentation. It is important to allocate enough time to cover all the necessary information but not so much time that the presentation becomes tedious for the audience. When practicing, note how long it takes to go through each slide. This will allow you to adjust the length of the presentation as needed and ensure that it flows smoothly.

Presentation platforms offer a wide range of features to help you create an interactive, visually appealing experience for your viewers. Many of these platforms have built-in templates and tools that make it easy to customize the look and feel of your slides. They also provide interactive elements such as quizzes, videos, audio clips, and animations that can add life to your presentation and keep your viewers engaged.

Encouraging audience participation is key to making a PowerPoint presentation more engaging. There are several techniques that can be used to foster engagement with the audience during a PowerPoint presentation.

• Firstly, maintaining eye contact, smiling, and using dynamic gestures and facial expressions will help make your message more memorable and engaging.
• Secondly, hosting an expert discussion panel or inviting guest appearances on stage can add an extra layer of engagement for the audience.
• Thirdly, you can use props or tangible objects to demonstrate ideas and allow the audience to engage with them.
• You can ask questions to keep your audience engaged with your PowerPoint presentations. Questions help to build suspense for the next slide, engage the audience in real time, and make people pay closer attention. It also causes people to reflect rather than merely take in the information one way.
• You can use live polling tools to get real-time feedback.

Effective methods to engage an audience in a presentation

10. Follow-up and review

Following up and reviewing a PowerPoint presentation is important in ensuring that the presentation is effective and that the audience understands the main points. There are several ways to follow up and review a presentation:

Ask the audience for feedback on the presentation, including what they found most useful or interesting and what they would like to see more of in the future.

Go over the notes you made during the presentation to see if there are any areas you may have missed or could have explained more clearly.

Review the presentation and make any necessary edits or updates based on the feedback you received.

Follow up with the audience after the presentation to see if they have any additional questions or concerns and to address any issues that may have come up during the presentation.

Creating engaging and powerful presentations with PowerPoint doesn’t have to be daunting. With the right tips and tricks, you can create presentations that will grab and hold your audience’s attention. Try out some expert tips to take your PowerPoint presentations from boring to brilliant! You can also take the help of professional designers to help you out with the visual aspect of  your presentation.

At Graphically.io , we are your go-to for all your creative needs! Our global network of customers can enjoy unlimited, custom-designed graphics and illustrations for one flat rate. We are committed to delivering exceptional and affordable designs, always ready for when you need them, no matter how soon. We also offer video creation in our standard package at no extra cost that can capture and captivate the attention of your clients and potential customers.

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14 effective presentation tips to impress your audience

Get your team on prezi – watch this on demand video.

Anete Ezera July 15, 2022

An effective presentation can communicate key ideas and opinions, save time, and contribute to your overall success as a business, but good presentation skills don’t come naturally to everyone. In this blog post, you’ll find 14 effective presentation tips you can implement in your next presentation to make it a success. 

Whether you’re preparing for an important presentation at work or school, or you’re looking for ways to generally improve your presentation skills, you’ll find these presentation tips useful. We’ve gathered a list to help you impress your audience from the get-go. You’ll find tips for creating and presenting your slides, talking in front of an audience, and other effective presentation techniques to help you stand out. 

Most common presentation mistakes

Before we list our top effective presentation tips, let’s explore the most common presentation mistakes. If you’ve made one or more mistakes in this list, you’re not alone. Most people have made at least one mistake. However, what’s important is to be aware of these errors and try avoiding them next time.

#1 A poor start

One of the most common mistakes people make is undermining the importance of the first few minutes or seconds of their presentation. 

Let’s say you’ve practiced your key talking points meticulously and gone over your slides a million times, but when you’re in the spotlight and need to say your first line, do you know exactly what to say to wow the audience? 

The start of your presentation is crucial. Not only because how you start sets the tone for the rest of your presentation, but also because people generally require around 8 seconds to decide whether they find the subject interesting enough to keep listening. Starting your presentation with a captivating intro is even more important than you think. To ensure you start off right, read our guide on how to start your presentation . 

#2 Lack of preparation

Yes, even though it’s clear that you should prepare before giving a presentation, it’s still a common mistake amongst presenters. Preparing content and talking points is an obvious start, but there are other steps that you might be overlooking.

Before you even join a meeting or walk into a room where you’re going to present, consider the technical requirements and get familiar with the equipment. If you’re presenting online, make sure to test-run your presentation and the visual aids you’re going to use. The last thing you want is a broken video link, poor audio, or a weak connection when you’re presenting. 

Also, consider the questions your audience might want to ask you about the topic. Think about how you’d answer those questions, or do even further research to really impress the audience with your answers. 

Explore other ways to prepare for a presentation to feel even more confident when presenting.

#3 Losing track of time

It’s great to feel passionate about your topic. However, you’ll have to consider your audience’s level of interest and knowledge. Some details might seem fascinating to you, and you’d like to talk about them for hours, but for your audience, too much information will drain their energy and lose their attention. 

Therefore, make sure to keep track of time. Also, consider your audience’s interests. A concise presentation is always better than a long one with a ton of information. Plus, you’ll have a higher chance of keeping your audience’s attention throughout the presentation. 

Effective presentation tips

Now that we’ve looked at some of the most common presentation mistakes – let’s dive into effective presentation tips that’ll help you excel in future presentations. 

#1 Tell a story

Stories connect, inspire, and empower people. Telling a story can entice action, help understand an idea, and make people feel connected to the storyteller. It’s also one of the most effective presentation tips. A study by organizational psychologist Peg Neuhauser found that a well-told story is easier to remember than facts, which makes it a highly effective learning technique. 

With that in mind, telling a story when you’re presenting can engage your audience and make it a more memorable experience. You can either share a personal story or a historical event, just make sure to have a clear connection between the story and the topic you’re presenting. 

#2 Work on your body language

Body language can make a huge difference in how your presentation is perceived. It’s one of the presentation tips you definitely shouldn’t overlook. 

Body language says a lot about a person’s confidence level, emotions, state of mind, and even credibility. For the audience, it’s a way to understand what the person is saying and how interested they are in the topic. 

Therefore, work on your body language to better convey the message you’re trying to communicate. Practice in front of a mirror before your presentation and be conscious of your hand gestures and facial expressions. 

#3 Understand your audience

Before crafting your presentation, you must know who you’re speaking to. Understanding the interests, demographics, professional background, and other valuable information of your audience is crucial in making your speech successful. 

If you’re speaking at an event, contact the organizers to get more information about other speakers and the audience. If you’re presenting at work, you may already know your audience fairly well. Use this information to your advantage and create content you know they’ll resonate with.

#4 Use high-quality visuals

What’s one of the most effective presentation techniques? Use of visuals. They play a crucial role in your presentation. However, only high-quality visuals will make a good impression and effectively communicate your message. Use high-quality visuals like images, videos, graphs, maps, and others to really land your point. 

Using visuals is a great way to convey your ideas as they’re easier to process than text. If you’re not sure where to find great visuals, check out our blog post on presentation visuals for five free resources.

P.S. the Prezi library holds a variety of images, videos, GIFs, stickers, and other visuals, including different charts and maps to spice up your presentation. It’s all available in your dashboard .

#5 Use data visualizations

Do you want to showcase statistics or other datasets in your presentation? Use data visualizations to make your data stand out and impress your audience. 

There’s nothing more boring than a bunch of data presented in a flat way. If you want to tell a story with your data, use interactive infographics or slides enriched with eye-catching visuals. Showcasing data will make your ideas appear more trustworthy and credible. 

Prezi Design offers a range of templates to choose from. You can start creating data visualizations from scratch or choose a template and edit the data there. 

#6 Make it engaging with interactive elements

It’s not easy to deliver an engaging presentation. People can easily get distracted or try to multitask, especially in the virtual environment. Sometimes, it’s difficult to focus on the speaker and the written text. Other times, the content just isn’t impressive enough to hold the audience’s attention. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

You can make your presentation more engaging for everyone by including interactive content like graphs and charts. With interactive data visualizations, you’ll make the data discovery process more engaging and exciting for your audience. 

Your audience will be able to hover over data points and click on certain icons or datasets to discover information on their own. Interactive visualizations will make the presentation more memorable and impressive. 

As you can see in the example below, you can discover different data by engaging with the infographic. 

#7 Stay consistent with fonts and color styles

You want your presentation to look visually appealing and highlight essential information. To make that happen, stay consistent with font styles and color schemes throughout your presentation. 

Use one or two fonts max to make the text easy to read and understand. Also, use a carefully selected color scheme that’s not too distracting. If you’re using Prezi Design, you can easily copy and paste styles by right-clicking on your data visualizations and selecting “copy styles.” This makes it easier to stay consistent and saves time when picking matching colors. 

#8 Structure your presentation properly

Before creating your presentation, think about its structure. What’s the main idea you want to convey? Use that as your starting point, and only include information that adds value to the narrative. 

Plan out the first topics carefully to properly introduce your argument. Add the essential information in the middle part of your presentation. Lastly, close your presentation with a summary of the main points and leave your audience with an afterthought. Also, plan when you’re taking questions and for how long. 

For more insight, watch this tutorial on how to structure your presentation:

#9 Practice your public speaking skills

Public speaking may not be your forte, but you can get better with practice. Don’t decline a great opportunity to share your ideas with a larger audience just because you feel nervous speaking in front of a group of people. 

One of the best ways to improve your public speaking skills is to practice in front of your family or friends – people you feel comfortable with. Also, focus on the topic you’re presenting and get excited about the idea you want to convey. This way you’ll appear more confident and feel less nervous about public speaking. 

Explore other public speaking tips from Jessica Chen, the founder, and CEO of Soulcast Media: 

#10 Show your slides next to you on-screen

If you’re presenting on Zoom or in a virtual meeting , think twice before you share your screen. The days of hiding behind slides are over. People want to see and connect with other people, not sit through another run-of-the-mill screen share. To do that, use Prezi Video to showcase all your content right next to you in your video feed. 

As a result, your presentation will look more engaging than a traditional virtual presentation . Also, your audience will have the chance to read your body language and follow along with what you’re saying even better. 

If you already have your slides prepared, don’t worry – you can easily integrate them into Prezi. 

See Prezi Video in action and check out our video templates to get started.

#11 Calm down before presenting

Being in front of an audience can feel nerve-racking. However, there are ways to calm down before presenting that will make you feel more centered and confident. The last thing you want is all your hard work to go to waste just because of stress. 

Try breathing exercises or a five-minute guided meditation before presenting. The trick is to remove all distractions and focus on the present moment so you’re not overthinking right before starting your presentation. Also, be fully prepared and know exactly what to say and when which will help you feel more collected. If you want to discover other ways to feel and look more confident, read how not to be nervous before a presentation . 

#12 Use transitions and animations 

Add movement to your slides with transitions and animations. You’ll make your presentation more visually appealing and engaging. However, be careful not to overwhelm your audience with your choice of transitions and animations. 

Choose a transition that matches your presentation visually and use it throughout your presentation. Consider what animations will be relevant to your audience and select a few to add to your slides. Don’t overdo it. Keep the focus on the message you’re trying to convey, and use animations to only support that message. 

#13 Be enthusiastic 

When you’re in a room with a positive and enthusiastic person, you can’t help but feel uplifted as well. High-energy people have this effect on others. Most importantly, a lot of people tend to mimic people’s behavior and mirror their energy when they feel a connection or relate to them. That’s called the chameleon effect . 

When you’re presenting, you want your audience to feel curious about what you’re presenting. You may also want to leave your audience feeling uplifted, interested to know more, or inspired. To have that effect on others, try to convey those emotions when presenting. Practice your speech, slow down your narration at times, or take a pause after you’ve delivered a statement, and use different presentation techniques to present your project and really drive your points home. 

#14 End your presentation in a memorable way

The first few minutes of your presentation are crucial for captivating your audience’s attention. However, don’t underestimate the importance of ending your presentation as powerfully as you started it. 

The way you end your presentation will play a crucial part in how your audience will remember it. You want to make a memorable impression by closing your presentation with a summarizing statement, a rhetorical question, a call to action, or another impactful way. Discover 10 ways you can end your presentation in our guide.  

There are a lot of factors to consider when creating and delivering a presentation. You want your slides to look professional and visually appealing while conveying your main points. You also want to look and sound confident even if you’re nervous about public speaking. Whatever your concerns may be, remember that preparation is essential. Practice and dedication are the keys to giving a successful presentation . Make sure to follow these effective presentation tips to excel in your future presentations. If you’re interested in creating a captivating presentation with Prezi, contact us to learn more or try it for free . 

Elevating presentations with Prezi AI

Embrace the innovation of Prezi to bring your presentations to life. With its unique platform, Prezi AI offers more than just visually appealing templates; it provides an immersive narrative experience, engaging your audience with a story-driven approach. By integrating Prezi AI , our platform’s capabilities are further enhanced, offering intelligent design suggestions and optimizing content layouts to ensure your presentations are not only beautiful but impactful. This integration is a perfect example of effective presentation techniques in action, using technology to create a more engaging presentation.

Interactive elements: transforming passive listening into active engagement

Prezi revolutionizes the way information is presented by incorporating interactive elements that invite audience participation. With Prezi AI, these features become even more accessible, suggesting ways to make your presentation more engaging through clickable areas, zoomable images, and dynamic visualizations. This level of interaction encourages exploration, making your message more memorable and transforming a standard presentation into an effective presentation.

Adding a personal touch in digital presentation with video

Prezi Video stands out by seamlessly integrating your content alongside your video feed, bridging the gap between traditional presentations and personal engagement. This feature is crucial for those looking to follow presentation tips that emphasize the importance of connecting with your audience on a more personal level. Prezi AI enhances this experience, ensuring your content is displayed in the most effective way possible, making your virtual presentations feel as though you’re directly conversing with your audience.

Mastering presentation artistry with Prezi

The journey to becoming a skilled presenter involves continuously refining your approach and embracing tools that elevate your ability to communicate effectively. Prezi, enriched with Prezi AI, is one such tool that transforms ordinary presentations into captivating experiences. By leveraging these advanced features, you can deliver presentations that are successful, memorable, and truly unforgettable, embodying the essence of tips for presentation mastery.

Whether you’re an experienced speaker or preparing for your first presentation, Prezi equips you with the tools to succeed. Engage your audience, tell compelling stories, and deliver your message with confidence and creativity. Following effective presentation tips and exploring how Prezi AI can transform your next presentation is a step towards mastering the art of impactful communication. Delve into the features and begin your journey to presentation mastery today.

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How to make your PowerPoint Presentations more appealing

Lets face it,  PowerPoint presentations tend to have the notorious reputation of being boring,  predictable, monotonous etc. especially within office & boardroom culture.   Is this common “boring” view of PowerPoint presentations actually accurate or is this view simply the fault of so many presenters having no idea how to properly deliver an entertaining & attention holding PowerPoint presentation?  Today we will touch on some easy tips to help you make your slides much more interesting so your audience doesn’t fall asleep on your next presentation.

Today we’re going to help you out with a few simple tips that will not only make your presentations stand out and look more attractive, but also help you hold the attention of your audience and ultimately make your presentation better with a few tweaks.

Keep your slides neat and clutter free

We’ve all heard the saying “sometimes less is more” and when it comes to presentation slides this definitely holds true.  A cluttered slide takes away from your presentation in a multitude of ways,  they’re distracting, often un legible, and ultimately they will cause your audience to tune out and lose interest in your overall presentation.   Keep it simple and sweet, and although we realize we often suggest using templates if your not a professional we cant stress that enough if you don’t have the skillset yet to craft advanced presentations from scratch.  We have a wide selection of both free and premium templates available to help you on your next project but no matter where you get your template from we highly suggest you start with one because they will greatly improve your presentation quality and ultimately make your life allot easier.   When starting with a proper template your already getting the right guidelines within each slide concerning balance, color management,  graphics placement, many even have dummy text so you can easily gauge how much of your own text content you should be using to maintain the slides appearance without overdoing it.

Be mindful of your color pallet

One great feature of PowerPoint is the ease of which it allows you to change up your slide colors.   Color is a major aspect of creating an interesting and visually appealing PowerPoint slide and can easily be changed by navigating to the design tab on the navigation ribbon.   After navigating over to the variants dropdown tab you should see an assortment of different colors you can experiment with.

If your looking to make a presentation or pitch deck for a business that incorporates allot of colors ie fashion, fitness , food etc. there are many templates that specialize in colorful, contrasting pallets that pop right out of the box like the example below.

Take advantage of properly placed images

One of if not the best thing you can do to make your presentations more interesting is adding images.   Slides without images or graphics tend to get boring pretty fast.   Most presentation templates will provide place holder images that you can then click on to replace with your own content, in many cases you may decide to just leave the place holding images if they are attractive and relevant to your own content, which is fine but we suggest using your own content whenever possible.

Some additional tips:

• Make sure to use pictures that are relevant to your content & message.
• Always use your own images when possible, if not check royalty free repositories like Envato Elements or Photo Dune .
• Always use HD images when you can, remember your presentation will be blown up larger via projection or large screen and poor images will look even worse.

Try out custom fonts

Custom fonts are also a great & easy way to spice things up and add value to your  presentations.   Adding custom fonts is super easy as PowerPoint actually includes a variety of built in options you can access by going to the home tab on the navigation ribbon, if you don’t see any you like you can also find many more on Envato or search google for both free and premium options.

Use WordArt

Using WordArt is another easy way to make your slides pop by using large text captions for titles and areas you want to draw your audiences attention to.   Try experimenting with some WordArt choices by going to the Insert menu and clicking the WordArt dropdown tab.

Animations are a great way to create a flow

Using animations within some slides in your presentation are a great way to add a little fun to your presentation and also set a pace and flow to your presentation by introducing new slide elements at certain times.

Most premium PowerPoint templates have a readily available selection of impressive built-in animations that you can chose from so you don’t need to worry about building them yourself if your not experienced, however you can also find some stock options by navigating to the animations tab on the nav ribbon.

Animations will appear when you command them and introduce new content, again this can add some entertainment and take away from the monotony of a boring presentation but can also be gaudy or distracting if overdone so use them wisely.   You can also control the style of the animation, timing and other details and controls when setting them up.

Proper slide alignment

Whenever your using different types of content on the same slide you want to insure that everything is properly aligned in relation to one another.   The Alignments feature within PowerPoint will insure your content blocks are visually appealing and enhance the overall professional look of your slides.

If you need additional alignment options you can navigate to the Format menu from the nav ribbon where you should see more specific options under the align tab.

Add in some attractive transitions

Transitions for the most part are exactly what they sound like, they transition new slide into the presentation and like animations can add a little extra detail in to break up the monotony but also like animations you can go overboard with transitions so don’t over do it.

Transitions also have they’re own menu within PowerPoint and are very easy to add in, simply find the drop down tab on the nav-bar and experiment to find the effect your looking for.

Spice up your information with Infographics

A super attractive feature of PowerPoint is infographic slides.  Not only are infographics a great way to add some imagery and graphics to a otherwise boring slide they also help the audience more clearly follow the breakdown of data in a much easier way to digest which is why they are so popular.

Modifying pre made slide templates with beautiful infographics is one of the easiest ways to add amazing infographics, this is a great way to add visual value to your overall presentation with relative ease especially for data and chart heavy presentations.

Be efficient with Slide Masters

If you want to optimize your time and efficiently make changes and edits in bulk make sure to take advantage of the Slide Master view.   Slide Masters is great because you don’t have to repeat tedious edits over and over for every slide and many changes you wish to be applied across your entire presentation can be done very easily, such as logos, company graphics etc. that you want to be displayed in the corner or footer of every slide.

You can easily access slide master from the views tab on the nav ribbon, you will then see all your slides via thumbnails on the left side bar on the screen.  Just remember the large slide is the master and the smaller ones underneath are the slides that will be changed by the master.

A few additional tips to remember

Take note of the fundamentals above and you should be able to improve just about any presentation easily without much effort.  Remember a great PowerPoint presentation is not just about the slides but also your performance as a presenter,  here are some extra tips to help you better deliver your presentation.

Spend your time on content not tech .  As we touched on before, finding a solid template that most closely matches your vision means you can spend your time on content and not crafting graphics, finding fonts, and learning the ins and out of the program.  The closer the template is to your vision the less tweaks you will need to make and in the optimal situation you can simply swap out place holder content with your own and your good to go.

Factor questions and interruptions in your time slot .  Remember you don’t need to find worthless filler to add so that you will take up your entire allotted time slot, count on interruptions and questions during and after your presentation.

Don’t slack on visuals. Graphics, images and charts are the most useful and attractive ways to show your audience information and concepts.  Remember large walls of text are boring, you don’t want to put your audience to sleep.

Finish Strong .  You don’t want to just start strong you want to finish strong as well.   After your conclusion give clear and precise steps that should be taken and supporting facts and information that backup why, be sure to do your homework so you can answer any questions on and around the topic so that you project knowledge, confidence & competence.  Provide help in the form of information, contacts or guides as to how to implement your suggested steps.

Magnolia October 22, 2023

Game-changer for me! I’ve struggled with making my PowerPoint presentations stand out, but these tips are both practical and easy to implement. I especially loved the advice on using consistent fonts and the importance of visual hierarchy. Just applied some of these suggestions to a presentation I’m working on, and I can already see a huge difference. Thanks for sharing these golden nuggets! Looking forward to more insights from your blog

Micaela October 22, 2023

Hey I know this is off topic but I was wondering if you knew of any widgets I could add to my blog that automatically tweet my newest twitter updates. I was hoping maybe you would have some experience with something like this.

Please let me know if you run into anything. I truly enjoy reading your blog and I look forward to your new updates.

JeffT71 October 23, 2023

Morphing animations are by far one of the biggest single features I cant believe I wasn’t using, really cool effect!

Esmeralda October 23, 2023

+1 “Videos + Gifs properly used on the right slides”

Alexandra November 1, 2023

Just stumbled upon this post while I was stressing over an upcoming presentation. 😅 Great tips! I’ve always been a bit unsure about animations and transitions though. Like, do they still have a place in today’s presentations, or do they just make things look cheesy? What’s your take?

Also, bit of a random ask, but any font and color combos you swear by? I’ve spent way too many late nights playing around with different looks, and sometimes they just don’t turn out right.

Cheers for the tips! Definitely gonna put them to use.

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PowerPoint 2016  - Inserting Videos

Powerpoint 2016  -, inserting videos, powerpoint 2016 inserting videos.

PowerPoint 2016: Inserting Videos

Lesson 20: inserting videos.

/en/powerpoint2016/animating-text-and-objects/content/

Introduction

PowerPoint allows you to insert a video onto a slide and play it during your presentation. This is a great way to make your presentation more engaging for your audience.

You can even edit the video within PowerPoint and customize its appearance. For example, you can trim the video's length, add a fade in , and much more.

Optional: Download our practice presentation .

Watch the video below to learn more about inserting videos in PowerPoint.

To insert a video from a file:

In our example, we'll insert a video from a file saved locally on our computer. If you'd like to work along with our example, right-click this link to our example video and save it to your computer.

With the Screen Recording feature on the Insert tab, you can create a video of anything you are doing on your computer and insert it into a slide.

To insert an online video:

Some websites—like YouTube—allow you to embed videos into your slides. An embedded video will still be hosted on its original website, meaning the video itself won't be added to your file. Embedding can be a convenient way to reduce the file size of your presentation, but you'll also need to be connected to the Internet for the video to play.

Working with videos

To preview a video:.

• Click a video to select it.

To resize a video:

The corner sizing handles will resize a video while preserving its original aspect ratio . If you use the side sizing handles, the video will become distorted .

To move a video:

To delete a video:

• Select the video you want to delete, then press the Backspace or Delete key on your keyboard.

Editing and formatting videos

The Playback tab has several options you can use to edit your video. For example, you can trim your video to play an excerpt from the original, add a fade in and fade out , and add bookmarks that allow you to jump to specific points in the video.

Most of the features on the Playback tab can only be used with videos that are inserted from a file . They will not work with embedded videos.

To trim a video:

• Select the video, then click the Playback tab on the Ribbon.

• When you're done trimming the video, click OK .

To add a fade in and fade out:

• On the Playback tab, locate the Fade In: and Fade Out: fields.

To add a bookmark:

Video options

There are other options you can set to control how your video will play. These are found in the Video Options group on the Playback tab.

• Volume : Changes the audio volume for the video
• Start : Controls whether the video starts automatically or when the mouse is clicked
• Play Full Screen : Lets the video fill the entire screen while playing
• Hide While Not Playing : Hides the video when not playing
• Loop until Stopped : Replays the video until stopped
• Rewind after Playing : Returns the video to the beginning when it is finished playing

Formatting the appearance of a video

Like pictures , PowerPoint allows you to format the appearance of a video by applying a video style , adding a border , changing the shape , and applying various effects .

To create a poster frame:

You can add a poster frame to a video, which is the placeholder image your audience will see before the video starts playing. The poster frame is usually just a frame taken from the video itself.

• Click the timeline to locate the desired part of the video.

If you want to use a picture from your computer, select Image from file .

To apply a video style:

• Select the video, then click the Format tab on the Ribbon.

To learn more about corrections , color adjustments , borders , shapes and effects , see our Formatting Pictures lesson.

• Open our practice presentation . Also, right-click this link to our example video and save it to your computer. If you have already downloaded our practice presentation to follow along with the lesson, be sure to download a fresh copy.
• On slide 2, Insert our example video file.
• Resize the video so it fits next to the text box.
• Apply a video style of your choice.
• Trim the video so the start time is around 00:17.5 and the end time is around 00:25.
• Add a bookmark somewhere in the middle of your video.

/en/powerpoint2016/inserting-audio/content/

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.

4 Free PowerPoint Add-Ins to Make Your Presentations More Interactive

Use these free add-ins to interact with your audience and make your presentation engaging.

PowerPoint has been part of almost every presentation since its inception. Slides can make your presentations more interesting, but it is still a one-way communication medium.

In the end, you won't hear what the audience has to say, so you may seem to have a bored audience whenever you are presenting. You can change that by interacting with your audience and receiving their feedback.

By following this approach, you can keep your presentation unique and collect info from your audience. In this article, we are going to detail some PowerPoint Add-ins that can help you do that.

1. Microsoft Forms

Microsoft Forms is an online service that allows you to create surveys, polls, and quizzes. You can export the acquired data to Microsoft Excel and even better, you can display these in your PowerPoint presentation.

When users complete the Microsoft Forms content you embed in your presentation, the answers are stored, and you can view them in the Microsoft Forms web application.

After installing the Microsoft Forms add-in and including it in your PowerPoint presentation, all you have to do is provide the link from your survey, poll, or quiz to the add-in.

Microsoft Forms lets your audience interact with the elements you show; they can type in their data and see the results.

Remember that you have to make a poll in the Microsoft Forms web app and then feed that link to the PowerPoint add-in. The Microsoft Forms web app is part of Office 365 and is free to use.

WooClap is a collaborative platform that makes your presentation interactive using quizzes, polls, open questions, word clouds, and more. WooClap's main advantage is that your audience can give you live feedback on your presentation as you deliver it.

WooClap allows users to respond to the questions and polls you embed in your slides. These responses will then appear in your presentation—all in real-time.

Like other add-ins on this list, you'll need to sign in to use WooClap. Once you create content in WooClap's web application, it will appear in the PowerPoint add-in, where you can easily embed them in your slides.

WooClap has a free plan for up to three questions per event, but if you want unlimited questions, you'll need to upgrade. WooClap also has a free plan for K-12 teachers.

Related: PowerPoint Add-Ins and Sites to Make Beautiful Presentations

3. Lucidchart

PowerPoint offers a wide variety of charts for you to demonstrate data with, but if you still cannot find the most suitable chart or diagram, you can always draw your own with Lucidchart .

LucidChart provides you with a variety of tools that make your charts exactly the way you want. You can use different shapes and lines in different layers and collaborate on charts as a team.

You can use Lucidchart by installing the add-in and signing in. Then you can design diagrams and charts right on the Lucidchart website, which shows up in your PowerPoint slide.

You can access the webspace in a browser and then embed the presentation in PowerPoint. Lucidchart is free. However, there are three paid plans available if you want more features.

Related: How To Add Live Web Pages To A PowerPoint Slide

4. Swift Polling

Swift Polling offers more than just polls. With Swift Polling, you can create surveys, word clouds, multiple-choice questions, Q&As, and you can embed all these into your PowerPoint presentation.

One feature that sets Swift Polling apart is the ability to receive feedback from your audience via SMS. That way, your audience will still be able to participate and interact, even without internet access.

Like the other add-ins in this list, you'll have to create your content in the web application before you can embed it in PowerPoint.

Swift Polling is free to use, and you can have up to 150 participants in the free plan. You can upgrade to a paid plan for more participants.

Use These Add-Ins to Increase Audience Interaction

With these add-ins, you can create interactive PowerPoint presentations that will engage your audience. However, just creating interactive elements in your presentation will not make it professional. There's still much more to master.

• Draft and add content
• Rewrite text
• Chat with Copilot
• Create a summary
• Copilot in Word on mobile devices
• Frequently asked questions
• Create a new presentation
• Add a slide or image
• Summarize your presentation
• Organize your presentation
• Use your organization's branding
• Copilot in PowerPoint for mobile devices
• Draft an Outlook email message
• Summarize an email thread
• Suggested drafts in Outlook
• Email coaching
• Get started with Copilot in Excel
• Identify insights
• Highlight, sort, and filter your data
• Generate formula columns
• Summarize your OneNote notes
• Create a to-do list and tasks
• Create project plans in OneNote

Create a new presentation with Copilot in PowerPoint

Note:  This feature is available to customers with a Copilot for Microsoft 365 license or Copilot Pro license.

Create a new presentation in PowerPoint.

Select Send . Copilot will draft a presentation for you!

Edit the presentation to suit your needs, ask Copilot to add a slide , or start over with a new presentation and refine your prompt to include more specifics. For example, "Create a presentation about hybrid meeting best practices that includes examples for team building.”

Create a presentation with a template

Note:  This feature is only available to customers with a Copilot for Microsoft 365 (work) license. It is not currently available to customers with a Copilot Pro (home) license.

Copilot can use your existing themes and templates to create a presentation. Learn more about making your presentations look great with Copilot in PowerPoint .

Enter your prompt or select Create presentation from file to create a first draft of your presentation using your theme or template.

Edit the presentation to suit your needs, ask Copilot to add a slide , organize your presentation, or add images.

Create a presentation from a file with Copilot

Note:  This feature is only available to customers with a Copilot for Microsoft 365 (work) license. It is not currently available to customers with a Copilot Pro (home) license.

With Copilot in PowerPoint, you can create a presentation from an existing Word document. Point Copilot in PowerPoint to your Word document, and it will generate slides, apply layouts, create speaker notes, and choose a theme for you.

Select the Word document you want from the picker that appears. If you don't see the document you want, start typing any part of the filename to search for it.

Note:  If the file picker doesn't appear type a front slash (/) to cause it to pop up.

Best practices when creating a presentation from a Word document

Leverage word styles to help copilot understand the structure of your document.

By using Styles in Word to organize your document, Copilot will better understand your document structure and how to break it up into slides of a presentation. Structure your content under Titles and Headers when appropriate and Copilot will do its best to generate a presentation for you.

Include images that are relevant to your presentation

When creating a presentation, Copilot will try to incorporate the images in your Word document. If you have images that you would like to be brought over to your presentation, be sure to include them in your Word document.

Start with your organization’s template

If your organization uses a standard template, start with this file before creating a presentation with Copilot. Starting with a template will let Copilot know that you would like to retain the presentation’s theme and design. Copilot will use existing layouts to build a presentation for you. Learn more about Making your presentations look great with Copilot in PowerPoint .

Tip:  Copilot works best with Word documents that are less than 24 MB.

Welcome to Copilot in PowerPoint

Frequently Asked Questions about Copilot in PowerPoint

Where can I get Microsoft Copilot?

Copilot Lab - Start your Copilot journey

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How to Present to an Audience That Knows More Than You

• Deborah Grayson Riegel

Lean into being a facilitator — not an expert.

What happens when you have to give a presentation to an audience that might have some professionals who have more expertise on the topic than you do? While it can be intimidating, it can also be an opportunity to leverage their deep and diverse expertise in service of the group’s learning. And it’s an opportunity to exercise some intellectual humility, which includes having respect for other viewpoints, not being intellectually overconfident, separating your ego from your intellect, and being willing to revise your own viewpoint — especially in the face of new information. This article offers several tips for how you might approach a roomful of experts, including how to invite them into the discussion without allowing them to completely take over, as well as how to pivot on the proposed topic when necessary.

I was five years into my executive coaching practice when I was invited to lead a workshop on “Coaching Skills for Human Resource Leaders” at a global conference. As the room filled up with participants, I identified a few colleagues who had already been coaching professionally for more than a decade. I felt self-doubt start to kick in: Why were they even here? What did they come to learn? Why do they want to hear from me?

• Deborah Grayson Riegel is a professional speaker and facilitator, as well as a communication and presentation skills coach. She teaches leadership communication at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and has taught for Wharton Business School, Columbia Business School’s Women in Leadership Program, and Peking University’s International MBA Program. She is the author of Overcoming Overthinking: 36 Ways to Tame Anxiety for Work, School, and Life and the best-selling Go To Help: 31 Strategies to Offer, Ask for, and Accept Help .

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