another term for powerpoint presentation

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• presentation

noun as in performance; something given, displayed

Strongest matches

appearance , delivery , demonstration , display , introduction , offering , production , proposal , reception , show , submission

Strong matches

act , arrangement , award , bestowal , conferral , debut , donation , exhibition , exposition , giving , investiture , knockdown , launch , launching , overture , pitch , present , proposition , remembrance , rendition , representation , spiel , staging

Weak matches

coming out , delivering , dog and pony show , sales pitch

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Example sentences.

Look no further than those execs who have sat through online presentations outlining a more inclusive workplace only to have to go back to working in teams where they’re made to feel different.

The day of the presentation comes, and the ecommerce team gathers around, continuously nodding along with each slide.

In the questions-and-answer presentation on Wednesday, Palantir did not address the issue of voting power.

For repurposing, you can use four different formats, which are – video series, infographics, podcasts, and presentations.

This presentation will explain the ins and outs of the process as well as the need for older children who are looking for a home as well.

We were scoring it like the Olympics: presentation, technique.

Bogucki includes the leaflet in a Powerpoint presentation he has developed.

Her biggest surprise, she said, was realizing how much presentation and technical points mattered.

That may be partially because The Big Lebowski is their most nihilistic presentation.

One of the hottest tickets at the 2014 edition of Comic-Con, the annual nerd mecca in San Diego, was the Marvel presentation.

You were obliging enough to ask me to accept a presentation copy of your verses.

Nor was ever a better presentation made of the essential program of socialism.

After the presentation of the Great Southern case our Bill was heard and all the opposition.

The presentation of the Railway case and the rebutting evidence did not begin till all the public witnesses had been heard.

Furthermore, a note is payable on demand when it is thus stated, or is payable at sight or on presentation.

Related Words

Words related to presentation are not direct synonyms, but are associated with the word presentation . Browse related words to learn more about word associations.

noun as in outward aspect, characteristic

• countenance

noun as in coming into sight

• actualization
• introduction
• manifestation
• materialization
• representation

noun as in prize or reward

• adjudication
• distinction
• feather in cap
• scholarship

noun as in start of an event or action

• commencement
• inauguration
• installation
• origination
• point of departure
• starting point

Viewing 5 / 63 related words

On this page you'll find 100 synonyms, antonyms, and words related to presentation, such as: appearance, delivery, demonstration, display, introduction, and offering.

From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.

Related Words and Phrases

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30 Presentation Terms & What They Mean

Delivering a captivating presentation is an art that requires more than just confidence and oratory skills. From the design of your slides to the way you carry yourself on stage, every little detail contributes to the overall effectiveness of your presentation. For those who wish to master this art, getting familiar with the associated terminology is a great place to start.

In this article, we’ll explore “30 Presentation Terms & What They Mean,” shedding light on the key terms and concepts in the world of presentations. Whether you’re a professional looking to refine your skills, a student aiming to ace your next presentation, or just someone curious about the subject, this guide is sure to provide you with valuable insights.

Dive in as we explore everything from slide decks and speaker notes to body language and Q&A sessions.

Each term is elaborated in depth, giving you a comprehensive understanding of their meanings and applications. This knowledge will not only make you more comfortable with presentations but will also empower you to deliver them more effectively.

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Table of Contents

• Speaker Notes
• White Space
• Aspect Ratio
• Grid System
• Master Slide
• Infographic
• Data Visualization
• Call-to-Action (CTA)
• Color Palette
• Negative Space
• Storyboarding
• Bullet Points
• Eye Contact
• Body Language
• Q&A Session

1. Slide Deck

A slide deck, in its most basic sense, is a collection of slides that are presented in sequence to support a speech or presentation. The slides typically contain key points, graphics, and other visual aids that make the presentation more engaging and easier to understand.

Beyond merely displaying information, a well-crafted slide deck can tell a story, create an emotional connection, or illustrate complex concepts in a digestible way. Its design elements, including the choice of colors, fonts, and images, play a significant role in how the presentation is received by the audience.

2. Speaker Notes

Speaker notes are a feature in presentation software that allows presenters to add notes or cues to their slides. These notes are only visible to the presenter during the presentation. They can include additional information, reminders, prompts, or even the full script of the speech.

While the audience sees the slide deck, the speaker can use these notes as a guide to ensure they cover all necessary points without memorizing the entire speech. It’s essential to use speaker notes strategically – they should aid the presentation, not become a script that hinders natural delivery.

A template is a pre-designed layout for a slide deck. It typically includes a set design, color scheme, typefaces, and placeholders for content like text, images, and graphs. Templates can significantly reduce the time and effort required to create a professional-looking presentation.

While templates can be incredibly helpful, it’s important to choose one that aligns with the theme, purpose, and audience of the presentation. Customizing the template to match your brand or topic can further enhance its effectiveness.

4. Transition

In the realm of presentations, a transition refers to the visual effect that occurs when you move from one slide to the next. Simple transitions include fade-ins and fade-outs, while more complex ones might involve 3D effects, wipes, or spins.

Transitions can add a touch of professionalism and dynamism to a presentation when used correctly. However, overuse or choosing flashy transitions can be distracting and detract from the content. The key is to use transitions that complement the presentation’s tone and pace without overshadowing the message.

5. Animation

Animation is the process of making objects or text in your slide deck appear to move. This can involve anything from making bullet points appear one by one, to having graphics fly in or out, to creating a simulation of a complex process. Animation can add interest, emphasize points, and guide the audience’s attention throughout the presentation.

While animations can make a presentation more engaging, they must be used judiciously. Excessive or overly complex animations can distract the audience, complicate the message, and look unprofessional. As with transitions, animations should support the content, not detract from it.

6. Multimedia

Multimedia refers to the combination of different types of media — such as text, images, audio, video, and animation — within a single presentation. Incorporating multimedia elements can make a presentation more engaging, cater to different learning styles, and aid in explaining complex ideas.

However, it’s important to ensure that multimedia elements are relevant, high-quality, and appropriately scaled for the presentation. Additionally, depending on the presentation venue, technical considerations such as file sizes, internet speed, and audio quality need to be taken into account when using multimedia.

7. White Space

In the context of presentation design, white space (or negative space) refers to the unmarked portions of a slide, which are free of text, images, or other visual elements. Despite its name, white space doesn’t necessarily have to be white — it’s any area of a slide not filled with content.

White space can give a slide a clean, balanced look and can help draw attention to the most important elements. It can also reduce cognitive load, making it easier for the audience to process information. Good use of white space is often a key difference between professional and amateur designs.

8. Aspect Ratio

Aspect ratio is the proportional relationship between a slide’s width and height. It’s typically expressed as two numbers separated by a colon, such as 4:3 or 16:9. The first number represents the width, and the second represents the height.

The choice of aspect ratio can affect how content fits on the screen and how the presentation appears on different displays. For instance, a 16:9 aspect ratio is often used for widescreen displays, while a 4:3 ratio may be more suitable for traditional computer monitors and projectors.

9. Grid System

The grid system is a framework used to align and layout design elements in a slide. It’s comprised of horizontal and vertical lines that divide the slide into equal sections or grids.

The grid system aids in creating visual harmony, balance, and consistency across slides. It can guide the placement of text, images, and other elements, ensuring that they’re evenly spaced and aligned. It’s an important tool for maintaining a professional and organized appearance in a presentation.

10. Readability

Readability refers to how easy it is for an audience to read and understand the text on your slides. It involves factors such as font size, typeface, line length, spacing, and contrast with the background.

Ensuring good readability is crucial in presentations. If your audience can’t easily read and understand your text, they’ll be more likely to disengage. Large fonts, simple language, high-contrast color schemes, and ample white space can enhance readability.

11. Infographic

An infographic is a visual representation of information, data, or knowledge. They’re used in presentations to communicate complex data in a clear, concise, and engaging way. Infographics can include charts, graphs, icons, pictures, and text.

While infographics can effectively communicate complex ideas, they must be designed carefully. Too much information, confusing visuals, or a lack of a clear hierarchy can make an infographic difficult to understand. It’s important to keep the design simple and focus on the key message.

To embed in a presentation context means to incorporate external content, such as a video, a document, or a website, directly into a slide. When an object is embedded, it becomes part of the presentation file and can be viewed or played without leaving the presentation.

Embedding can be a useful tool to incorporate interactive or supplementary content into a presentation. However, it’s important to remember that it can increase the file size of the presentation and may require an internet connection or specific software to function correctly.

13. Palette

A palette, in terms of presentations, refers to the set of colors chosen to be used throughout the slide deck. This can include primary colors for backgrounds and text, as well as secondary colors for accents and highlights.

The right color palette can help convey the mood of a presentation, reinforce branding, and increase visual interest. It’s important to choose colors that work well together and provide enough contrast for readability. Tools like color wheel or color scheme generators can be helpful in choosing a harmonious palette.

14. Vector Graphics

Vector graphics are digital images created using mathematical formulas rather than pixels. This means they can be scaled up or down without losing quality, making them ideal for presentations that may be viewed on different screen sizes.

Vector graphics often have smaller file sizes than their pixel-based counterparts (raster graphics), which can help keep your presentation file manageable. Common types of vector graphics include logos, icons, and illustrations.

15. Mood Board

A mood board is a collection of images, text, colors, and other design elements that serve as visual inspiration for a presentation. It helps establish the aesthetic, mood, or theme of the presentation before the design process begins.

Creating a mood board can be a valuable step in the presentation design process. It can help you visualize how different elements will work together, communicate your design ideas to others, and maintain consistency across your slides.

16. Hierarchy

In design, hierarchy refers to the arrangement of elements in a way that implies importance. In presentations, visual hierarchy helps guide the viewer’s eye to the most important elements first.

Hierarchy can be created through the use of size, color, contrast, alignment, and whitespace. Effective use of hierarchy can make your slides easier to understand and keep your audience focused on the key points.

17. Stock Photos

Stock photos are professionally taken photographs that are bought and sold on a royalty-free basis. They can be used in presentations to add visual interest, convey emotions, or illustrate specific concepts.

While stock photos can enhance a presentation, it’s important to use them judiciously and choose images that align with your presentation’s tone and content. Overuse of generic or irrelevant stock photos can make a presentation feel impersonal or unprofessional.

18. Sans Serif

Sans serif refers to a category of typefaces that do not have small lines or strokes attached to the ends of larger strokes. Sans serif fonts are often used in presentations because they’re typically easier to read on screens than serif fonts, which have these small lines.

Some popular sans serif fonts for presentations include Helvetica, Arial, and Calibri. When choosing a font for your slides, readability should be a primary consideration.

19. Hyperlink

A hyperlink, or link, is a clickable element in a slide that directs the viewer to another slide in the deck, a different document, or a web page. Hyperlinks can be used in presentations to provide additional information or to navigate to specific slides.

While hyperlinks can be useful, they should be used sparingly and appropriately. Links that direct the viewer away from the presentation can be distracting and disrupt the flow of your talk.

PDF stands for Portable Document Format. It’s a file format that preserves the fonts, images, graphics, and layout of any source document, regardless of the computer or software used to create it. Presentations are often saved and shared as PDFs to ensure they look the same on any device.

While a PDF version of your presentation will maintain its appearance, it won’t include interactive elements like animations, transitions, and hyperlinks. Therefore, it’s best used for distributing slide handouts or when the presentation software used to create the deck isn’t available.

21. Raster Graphics

Raster graphics are digital images composed of individual pixels. These pixels, each a single point with its own color, come together to form the full image. Photographs are the most common type of raster graphics.

While raster graphics can provide detailed and vibrant images, they don’t scale well. Enlarging a raster image can lead to pixelation, where the individual pixels become visible and the image appears blurry. For this reason, raster images in presentations should be used at their original size or smaller.

22. Typeface

A typeface, often referred to as a font, is a set of characters with the same design. This includes letters, numbers, punctuation marks, and sometimes symbols. Typefaces can have different styles and weights, such as bold or italic.

The choice of typeface can significantly impact the readability and mood of a presentation. For example, serif typefaces can convey tradition and authority, while sans serif typefaces can appear modern and clean. The key is to choose a typeface that aligns with the purpose and audience of your presentation.

23. Visual Content

Visual content refers to the graphics, images, charts, infographics, animations, and other non-text elements in a presentation. These elements can help capture the audience’s attention, enhance understanding, and make the presentation more memorable.

While visual content can enhance a presentation, it’s important not to overload slides with too many visual elements, as this can confuse or overwhelm the audience. All visual content should be relevant, clear, and support the overall message of the presentation.

24. Call to Action

A call to action (CTA) in a presentation is a prompt that encourages the audience to take a specific action. This could be anything from visiting a website, signing up for a newsletter, participating in a discussion, or implementing a suggested strategy.

A strong CTA aligns with the goals of the presentation and is clear and compelling. It often comes at the end of the presentation, providing the audience with a next step or a way to apply what they’ve learned.

25. Thumbnails

In presentations, thumbnails are small versions of the slides that are used to navigate through the deck during the design process. They provide an overview of the presentation’s flow and can help identify inconsistencies in design.

Thumbnails are typically displayed in the sidebar of presentation software. They allow you to easily move, delete, or duplicate slides, and can provide a visual check for overall consistency and flow.

26. Aspect Ratio

27. interactive elements.

Interactive elements are components in a presentation that the audience can interact with. These could include hyperlinks, embedded quizzes, interactive infographics, or multimedia elements like audio and video.

Interactive elements can make a presentation more engaging and memorable. However, they require careful planning and should always be tested before the presentation to ensure they work as intended.

28. Placeholders

In the context of presentations, placeholders are boxes that are included in a slide layout to hold specific types of content, such as text, images, or charts. They guide the placement of content and can help ensure consistency across slides.

Placeholders can be especially useful when working with templates, as they provide a predefined layout to follow. However, they should be used flexibly – not every placeholder needs to be used, and additional elements can be added if necessary.

29. Master Slide

The master slide is the top slide in a hierarchy of slides that stores information about the theme and slide layouts of a presentation. Changes made to the master slide, such as modifying the background, fonts, or color scheme, are applied to all other slides in the presentation.

Master slides can help ensure consistency across a presentation and save time when making global changes. However, it’s important to note that individual slides can still be modified independently if necessary.

In presentations, a layout refers to the arrangement of elements on a slide. This includes the placement of text, images, shapes, and other elements, as well as the use of space and alignment.

Choosing the right layout can make your slides look organized and professional, guide the viewer’s eye, and enhance your message. Most presentation software offers a variety of pre-defined layouts, but these can usually be modified to better suit your content and design preferences.

Wondering why PowerPoint presentations are called decks? (Now you know)

Hrideep barot.

• Presentation , Public Speaking

Why PowerPoint presentations are called decks , a question that lingered in my mind for a long time until I decided to jump on to finding out exactly why! And here I am to share all that I have learned about why PowerPoint presentations are called decks.

But before we dive deeper into understanding PowerPoint decks, it is very important to refresh our knowledge of some of the basics.

What are presentations?

Presentations are a way of conveying some information, idea, or opinion to your audience either with or without the use of visuals, in most cases PPTs .

While most of the time, we are bound to confuse presentations with PowerPoint presentations, they aren’t the same thing.

Presentations are a much wider spectrum that includes PowerPoint presentations as a part of it.

What are PowerPoint presentations?

PowerPoint presentations are slide decks created on the specific software called Microsoft PowerPoint that was released by Microsoft (duh!) in the year 1987 . PowerPoint helps create easy and effective digital slide decks; since it is so widely used, it has become synonymous with presentations at large.

It is similar to how we call photocopies Xerox!

(pst if you don’t understand the analogy, check out what we are trying to say here )

Why are PowerPoint presentations called decks?

Decks in presentations are a collection of slides (individual pages in PowerPoint) . And since PowerPoint presentations are nothing but a collection of well-laid-out slides, they are called decks.

Now to understand it better, let’s begin with the fundamental structure, shall we?

Assuming you go to PowerPoint right now, what is the first thing you’ll see?

A blank template that would prompt you to add text, right? That is a slide. As you keep adding slides to your PowerPoint, the collection of these slides, in the end, is what we call a deck.

But then again,

Why is it called a PowerPoint deck?

A PowerPoint deck is similar to a deck of cards. In a deck of cards, a deck is composed of 52 cards; Similarly, in PowerPoint, a deck or pile of slides is what is known as a PowerPoint deck.

So, does this mean that the presentation is important only in its entirety and not as individual slides?

Absolutely no!

Just like in a game of cards, the ace carries its importance and so does a card of jack; In PowerPoint decks too, each slide carries with it its unique importance . However, when separated the slides would lose their meaning.

Again, what would you do if you find a queen card lying on your room’s floor? slide it under the bed? I mean it would be ideal considering you don’t know where the rest of the cards are!

Similarly, individual slides gain their meaning when they are compiled with other slides.

This means each slide carries its own different set of information that helps in conveying an idea at the end .

When did PowerPoint presentations become decks?

PowerPoint presentations became decks on the day they came into being, that is in 1987.

Presentations had been made using stacks of papers or sheets filled with information even before digital presentations came into being.

As shocking as it may be, presentations already involved the use of decks in some form or the other from the very initial day of the specification building our communication skills.

While we started with rock paintings or carvings, we can include them as a form of presentation but not as decks.

Later came the use of sheets or paper to deliver information. This was done using flip paper cards .

There is evidence that presentations using flip charts became very common during the 1940s. These sheets or posters would be joined together with the help of metal fasteners. The speaker or presenter would then flip from one page to the other to share information.

Sounds very similar to our digital presentations, doesn’t it? Except we don’t have to tire our arms by flipping pages. We can simply click to move on to the next slide. How convenient!

Coming back to the last bit of our history of slide decks, somewhere in the 90s -2010’s PowerPoint as a software gained major attention from the public. The slide decks started to be created on PowerPoint exclusively and that is how we moved from saying slide decks to PowerPoint decks.

Going over it again

What is a slide deck in powerpoint.

A slide deck in PowerPoint is nothing but a collection of slides in Microsoft PowerPoint.

What is a PowerPoint slide deck?

It is just another way of saying Slide decks in PowerPoint!

Why are PowerPoint slides called decks??

Since PowerPoint gives you a collection of slides or a deck of slides, it is known as decks.

What is the purpose of a Slide deck in a presentation?

Slide decks help the presenter present his/her/their topic more effectively. It aids the presenter in giving the speech by providing prompts or hints to maintain a flow in their speech. On the other hand, it helps the audience visualize as they listen to the speaker.

Out of the many purposes that a slide deck can serve a presenter, here are a few that we would like to address in this article:

• To pitch new ideas or products
• To explain or introduce a concept
• To share one’s opinions or views

1. To pitch new ideas or products

Slide decks happen to be a very crucial part of making pitches to attract your clients, or to make them understand what your product/ services are all about and how they can be beneficial to them.

Some of the ways we can try to win over or convince the client/ customer to agree to your terms are by showing charts or graphs of your previous success rates or giving out statistics on the problem that your company or product provides a solution for.

2. To explain or introduce a concept

Slide decks being used to explain a concept is something that I believe we have all experienced in schools or colleges.

With smart classrooms, the blackboards have found their place in restaurants and cafes and presentations have made their way to now be a widely used way of delivering lectures.  

3. To share one’s opinions or views

Be it in conferences or competitions or even in your college when you are presenting on a topic, it is mostly with the purpose of sharing your opinions, views, or findings through slide decks.

How do you create a deck in PowerPoint?

When it comes to creating decks in PowerPoint, there are two things that we need to take a look into, the technical aspects and the aesthetic ones. 

When we talk about the technical aspect of creating a deck in PowerPoint, we mean ensuring that you have the software installed in your system, be it a laptop or even your phone.

Head to AppStore or play store and install it. 

Though we have been taught how to create PowerPoint presentations since very early days, we still suggest you take a minute and understand the various features offered by the software like the layouts, themes, and more. Having an understanding of some of the basic features can help you in creating a basic template easily!

If, however, you are looking for ways to create a slide deck other than on PowerPont, then head to some of the most resourceful sites that provide you with a number of templates!

A few such sites are Canva , Evanto , and more

Now when we talk about the Aesthetics of creating a PowerPoint, we first need to accept and appreciate the fact that the aesthetics or look of your presentation can add extra points to your entire presentation. 

We have a list of 5 tips for the same. And if you follow them, you will surely be able to find an answer to..

Why are PowerPoint presentations effective?

A few tips for creating presentations:

1. Less is more

We have all heard this one a gazillion times and more, especially when it comes to Powerpoint presentations, Less is more!

Provide very precise information in your PowerPoint. To make your points short. You can stick to using the 5 by 5 model . The model suggests that you must not add more than 5 points to a slide. And each point must contain no more than 5 words. 

If you still have no idea what you should add, try adding your headings and subheadings in your PowerPoint to make it more on point.

2. Quality over quantity 

Again, adding less content doesn’t mean that you compromise on the quality of information that you share through your presentation. Add short points that make sense and add value to your audience or help in putting your point across in the best way possible. 

3. Keep the curiosity alive

What does it mean when we say keep the curiosity alive? We mean, try not to share your entire slide to your audience in one go. Add effects or transitions to focus only on the point you are speaking on at that point. 

We can say the same in the case of adding too much information to your PowerPoint. Do not add big paragraphs as you shatter your viewer’s curiosity who thanks to you ar enow more engrossed in reading the slides than listening to your presentation. 

4. Neutralize your PowerPoint

By neutralizing we mean adding complementing slides to your PowerPoint decks. If you have selected a more dark theme, try neutralizing it with light-toned slides even if it is used as a transition slide. 

5. Add visuals as and when possible

Ask yourself, can the information that you have added in your PowerPoint presentation be presented in the form of a graph, a table, or a diagram? If yes, then always choose to do it. Switch to visuals as it not only makes your content crisper but also is more appealing to the viewers.

This brings us to our next point, 

Why PowerPoint presentations are not effective?

There are many reasons why PowerPoint can not be very effective. We have listed down about 3 reasons here. Go over them and try to not make the same blunders if you want to be an effective presenter!

1. Tons of Content

Adding more content to your slide may indeed help you remember the content better but it might bore the audience to death.

So just as we discussed, try to add content to your presentations in the form of short pointers. Or least try to make use of keywords and avoid writing entire paragraphs about your topic on the PowerPoint presentation.

An example of what simply copy-pasting a paragraph from your speech to PowerPoint could look like.

2. Poor color/ theme

The last thing we want is for the audience to struggle reading or seeing what we are trying to show them through the presentation. And this situation can possibly happen when there was little to no thought put into either selecting the right theme or use of overlapping colors.

Check out the example below if you want to take a look at what we are talking about!

3. Poor font choice

Another way of making it difficult for your audience to understand your presentation is by using fonts like the one shown in the picture below. Such fonts may surely be a little different, and to some extent aesthetic but it requires lots of effort from the viewers to actually understand what is written on the slide!

Final words

Let us try to summarize the entire blog for you in a couple of lines.

So essentially call it decks, slide decks, or presentation decks, they all mean the same. It is simply a collection of slides. And when such a collection is made on Microsoft’s PowerPoint, what do we call it?

Yes! you guessed it right (Hopefully?)

It is called PowerPoint decks or slide decks on PowerPoint.

There are tons of ways of making a PowerPoint deck. However, focusing on the template, and theme, and adding precise and quality content can help you go a long way.

That’s about it for now! Check out Frantically Speaking for more information on similar topics.

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The 10 Most Common PowerPoint Terms

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In This Article

Jump to a Section

Slide and Slideshow

Bullet or bulleted list, design template, slide layouts and slide types, slide views.

• Animations and Schemes

PowerPoint Online

Slide master.

Whether you're new to PowerPoint or need a quick refresher, here's a list of the 10 most common PowerPoint terms. Knowing these can make using the program easier and help you create your very best presentations.

Information in this article applies to PowerPoint 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010; PowerPoint for Microsoft 365, PowerPoint for Mac, and PowerPoint Online.

Think back to the days of the old-fashioned slideshow that used a slide projector. PowerPoint produces an updated version of sorts. Slideshows can comprise text and graphics or be completely covered by a single picture, as in a photo album.

Each page of a PowerPoint presentation is called a slide . The default orientation of the slide is landscape. You can change the slide orientation and the slide size. Add text, graphics, and pictures to the slide to enhance its appeal and illustrate your point.

Bullets are small dots, squares, dashes, or graphic objects that begin a short descriptive phrase. Almost every slide type in PowerPoint contains a placeholder text box for a bulleted list. You'll use these bulleted list text boxes to enter key points or statements about your topic. When creating the list, press Enter to add a new bullet for the next point you want to add.

Think of a design template as a coordinated package deal. When you decorate a room, you use colors and patterns that work together. A design template acts in much the same way. Even though different slide types can have different layouts and graphics, the design template ties the whole presentation together in an attractive package.

The terms slide type and slide layout are used interchangeably. PowerPoint has a few types of slide layouts. Depending on the type of presentation you are creating, you may use several different slide layouts or just keep repeating the same few.

Slide types/layouts include, for example:

• Title slides
• Section heading slides
• Picture with caption slides
• Content slides for adding charts, pictures, and tables
• Blank slides

There are several ways to view slides and slideshows. These views are:

• Normal view : Also commonly known as slide view . It is the main working window in the presentation. The slide is shown at its full size on the screen.
• Outline view : Shows all the text of all slides, in a list on the left of the PowerPoint screen. No graphics display in this view. Outline view is useful for editing and can be exported as a Word document to use as a summary handout.
• Slide Sorter view : Displays thumbnail versions of all your slides, arranged in horizontal rows. This view is useful for making global changes to several slides at one time . Rearranging or deleting slides is easy to do in slide sorter view.
• Notes Page view : Shows a smaller version of a slide with an area underneath for notes. Each slide is created on its own notes page. Print these pages to use as a reference while making the presentation. The notes do not show on the screen during the presentation.

Located on the right side of the screen, the task pane changes to show options that are available for the current task that you are working on. For example, when changing the background for a slide, the Format Background task pane appears; when adding animations, you'll set animation options in the Animation pane.

Slide transitions are the visual effects that appear as one slide changes to another. PowerPoint offers several different transitions, such as fade and dissolve.

Animations and Animation Schemes

In Microsoft PowerPoint, animations are visual effects applied to individual items such as graphics, titles, or bullet points, rather than to the slide itself. Apply preset visual effects to paragraphs, bulleted items, and titles from a variety of animation groupings.

PowerPoint Online is the web version of PowerPoint. It allows a PowerPoint presentation to be played on any computer, even one that doesn't have PowerPoint installed. To use PowerPoint Online, you'll need a Microsoft account or an Microsoft 365 work or school account. To view a presentation in a web browser, save the presentation to OneDrive or Dropbox and open it in PowerPoint Online.

The default design template when starting a PowerPoint presentation is a plain, white slide. When you want to design your own template, use the Slide Master . After you update the Slide Master with your design choices, all the slides in your presentation will use the fonts, colors, and graphics in the Slide Master. Each new slide that you create takes on these aspects.

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What is PowerPoint: A Comprehensive Guide for Beginners

What is PowerPoint? This blog provides the essence of PowerPoint, a versatile presentation software by Microsoft. Discover its features, uses, and the art of crafting compelling slideshows. Whether you're a student, professional, or simply curious, explore the power of PowerPoint and learn how to create impactful presentations effortlessly.

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According to Glassdoor , a PowerPoint designer's average salary in the UK is about £37,811 annually. In this blog, you will learn What is PowerPoint, its key features, its benefits, and how to use it, as well as learn some tips for creating effective presentations.   

Table of contents       

1)  What is PowerPoint?  

2)  Understanding the PowerPoint Interface  

3)  Key Features of PowerPoint 

4)  How to use PowerPoint to create a presentation? 

5)  Benefits of PowerPoint  

6)  Tips for Creating Effective PowerPoint Presentations 

7)  Conclusion      

What is PowerPoint?   

PowerPoint is a versatile and popular presentation software developed by Microsoft (MS). It is a part of the Microsoft Office Suite and offers various features and tools to create visually appealing and engaging presentations. MS PowerPoint allows users to combine text, graphics, multimedia elements, and animations to convey information effectively .   

Evolution of PowerPoint   

Understanding the PowerPoint Interface   

The PowerPoint interface provides a user-friendly environment for creating and editing presentations. Familiarising yourself with its essential components will help you navigate the software efficiently. Here's a breakdown of the MS PowerPoint interface:   

1)  Ribbon : The Ribbon is located at the top of the MS PowerPoint window and consists of multiple tabs, such as Home, Insert, Design, Transitions, and more.    

2) Slides pane : The Slides pane is on the left side of the PowerPoint window. It displays thumbnail images of your presentation slides, allowing you to navigate and rearrange them easily. You can add, delete, duplicate, or hide slides from this pane.   

3)   Notes pane : The Notes pane is located below the Slides pane. It provides space for adding speaker notes or additional information related to each slide.    

4)  Slide area : The Slide area occupies the central part of the PowerPoint window. It displays the selected slide, where you can add and arrange content such as text, images, charts, and multimedia elements .    

5)  Task panes : Task panes are additional panels on the PowerPoint window's right side. They offer various functionalities such as formatting options, slide layouts, animations, etc. Task panes can be opened or closed based on your specific needs.   

Understanding the MS PowerPoint interface will help you navigate the software effectively and make the most of its features. Whether you are creating slides, adding content, or applying formatting, having a good grasp of the interface ensures a smooth and productive experience .  

Key Features of PowerPoint  

When it comes to creating captivating and professional presentations, MS PowerPoint stands out as versatile and feature-rich software. Its array of tools and functionalities enables users to bring their imagination and ideas to life. Moreover, it also helps engage their audience effectively .    

1) Slide Templates : PowerPoint provides a collection of pre-designed templates that make it easy to create visually appealing slides.   

2)  Slide Master : The Slide Master feature allows users to define the overall layout, font styles, and colour scheme for the entire presentation .   

3)  Animations and transitions : PowerPoint offers various animation effects and slide transitions to add visual interest and captivate the audience .   

4)  Multimedia integration : Users can embed images, videos, and audio files directly into their presentations, enhancing the overall impact .   

5)   Collaboration tools : MS PowerPoint allows multiple users to work on a presentation simultaneously, making it ideal for team projects and remote collaboration .   

6) Presenter View : The Presenter View feature gives presenters access to speaker notes, a timer, and a preview of upcoming slides, enabling a seamless presentation experience .   

These features collectively contribute to PowerPoint's versatility and make it a powerful tool for developing engaging and impactful presentations.  

How to use PowerPoint to create a presentation?   

Creating a presentation in PowerPoint is a straightforward process. Whether it's simple animations or explainer videos learning H ow to use PowerPoint is an extremely valuable skill. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to create a presentation:   

1)  Launch PowerPoint and choose a template or start with a blank slide. 

2)  Add slides by clicking "New Slide" or using the shortcut key (Ctrl + M). 

3) Customise slide content by entering text and inserting visuals.  

4)  Rearrange slides for a logical flow by dragging them in the slide navigation pane.  

5)  Apply slide transitions for visual effects in the "Transitions" tab.  

6)  Add animations to objects in the "Animations" tab.  

7)  Preview your presentation by clicking "Slide Show".   

8)  Save your presentation and choose a format (.pptx or .pdf).  

9)  Share your presentation via email, cloud storage, or collaboration tools.   

By following these steps, you can create a well-structured and visually appealing presentation in Microsoft PowerPoint. Remember to keep your content concise, use engaging visuals, and practice your presentation skills to deliver an impactful presentation .   

Benefits of PowerPoint   

1) Visual appeal : Microsoft PowerPoint allows you to create visually appealing presentations with its wide range of design tools and features. You can use templates, themes, and customisable layouts to make your slides visually engaging and professional .   

2)  Easy to use : PowerPoint has a user-friendly interface, making it accessible to users of all levels. The intuitive tools and straightforward navigation make it easy to create, edit, and deliver presentations efficiently .   

3)   Flexibility : PowerPoint provides flexibility in terms of content creation. You can include various types of content, such as text, images, charts, graphs, videos, and audio files, to enhance your message and engage your audience effectively.   

4)   Organisation and structure : PowerPoint offers features to help you organise and structure your content. You can create multiple slides, use slide masters for consistent formatting, and arrange the sequence of slides to create a logical flow .   

5)  Presenter tools : PowerPoint includes built-in presenter tools that aid in delivering presentations smoothly. You can use presenter view to see your notes and upcoming slides while your audience sees only the presentation. Additionally, features like slide transitions and animations add visual interest and help you control the flow of information .   

6)  Collaboration and sharing : PowerPoint allows for easy collaboration and sharing of presentations. Several users can simultaneously work on the same presentation, making it convenient for team projects. You can also share your presentations via email, cloud storage, or online platforms, ensuring easy access for viewers .   

7)   Integration with other tools : PowerPoint can seamlessly integrate with other Microsoft Office applications, such as Word and Excel. You can import data and charts from Excel or copy and paste content between different Office applications, saving time and effort .  

8)   Presenter-audience interaction : PowerPoint provides features that facilitate interaction between the presenter and the audience. You can include interactive elements like hyperlinks, buttons, and quizzes to engage your audience and make your presentations more dynamic.   

9)   Portable and accessible : PowerPoint presentations can be saved in various formats, such as .pptx or .pdf, making them easily accessible on different devices. This portability allows you to deliver presentations on laptops, tablets, or even projectors without compatibility issues .   

10)  Time and effort savings : PowerPoint simplifies the process of creating presentations, saving you time and effort. The pre-designed templates, slide layouts, and formatting options enable you to create professional-looking presentations efficiently .   

Unleash your creativity to deliver captivating presentations that leave a lasting impact with our Microsoft PowerPoint Masterclass – Sign up now!   

Tips for Creating Effective PowerPoint Presentations   

1) Simplicity is key : Keep your slides clean and uncluttered. Use concise bullet points and simple visuals to convey your message effectively .   

2)  Visuals matter : Incorporate relevant, high-quality visuals such as images, charts, and diagrams to enhance understanding and engagement .   

3)  Limit text : Avoid overwhelming your audience with excessive text on slides. Use brief phrases or keywords to communicate key points .   

4)  Choose legible fonts : Opt for clear and readable fonts that are easy to read, even from a distance. Maintain consistency in font styles throughout your presentation .   

5)  Consistent design : Maintain a consistent design theme, including colours, fonts, and layout, to create a visually appealing and professional presentation.   

6)  Emphasise important points : Use visual hierarchy techniques, such as font size, colour, and formatting, to draw attention to essential information .   

7)  Use transitions and animations sparingly : Incorporate slide transitions and animations thoughtfully, focusing on enhancing content and transitions without distracting the audience .   

8)  S lide notes for guidance : Utilise the slide notes feature to include additional details, explanations, or reminders for a well-prepared and confident presentation.   

9)  Practice and time yourself : Rehearse your presentation to ensure smooth delivery and stay within the allocated time. Practice helps you refine your content and delivery.   

10)  Engage the audience : Encourage audience participation through interactive elements, questions, or discussions to foster engagement and make your presentation more memorable.   

By implementing these tips, you can create effective MS PowerPoint presentations that capture attention, communicate information clearly, and engage your audience effectively.  

Conclusion      

We hope this blog has helped you understand What is PowerPoint and how it can help you. It offers powerful features with a user-friendly interface for creating visually appealing presentations. With its tools for organising information, incorporating text and visuals, and delivering impactful content, PowerPoint is a valuable tool for beginners to communicate their ideas effectively .   

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The big SlideLizard presentation glossary

Look up definitions & meanings of terms

Impromptu Speech

A speech that is given without any preparation, notes, or cards, is called an impromptu speech. It is often delivered at private events (e.g., weddings or birthdays) or for training presentation skills.

Manuscript Speech

For a manuscript speech, the speaker has an entire manuscript to read from. The benefit is that, as every single word is scripted, no important parts will be missed. However, speeches that are fully written down often seem unnatural and may bore the audience.

Declamation Speech

A declamation speech describes the re-giving of an important speech that has been given in the past. It is usually given with a lot of emotion and passion.

Extemporaneous Speech

An extemporaneous speech is a speech that involves little preparation, as the speaker may use notes or cards to give his talk. It is important that speakers will still use their own words and talk naturally. .

Eulogy Speech

A eulogy speech is given at a funeral. It is given by familiy members or friends of the deceased. The aim is to say goodbye and pay tribute to the person who has passed away.

Valedictory Speech

A valedictory speech is given in order to say goodbye, usually at graduation. It should inspire listeners and functions as a send-off into "real life".

.ppt file extension

A .ppt file is a presentation which was made with PowerPoint, that includes different slides with texts, images and transition effects.

.potx file extension

A .potx file is a file which contains, styles, texts, layouts and formatting of a PowerPoint (.ppt) file. It's like a template and useful if you want to have more than one presentation with the same formatting.

.pot file extension

They are used to create more PowerPoint files with the same formatting and later got replaced by .potx files.

.odp file extension

.odp files are similar to .ppt files. It's a presentation which was created with Impress and contains slides with images, texts, effects and media.

.ppsx file extension

A ppsx file is a presentation file. When you open the file the slide show opens and not the editing mode like in ppt files.

.pps file extension

A .pps file is a slide show. They are similiar to .ppt files but they open as a slide show if you double-klick them. They later got replaced by .ppsx files.

.pptm file extension

A .pptm file is a macro-enabled presentation created by MS PowerPoint which contains slides with layout, images, texts and embedded macros.

.potm file extension

A .potm file is a template for macro-enabled presentations. They are used for creating more .pptm files with the same macro settings and the same formatting.

.ppsm file extension

A .ppsm file includes one or more macro-enabled slides. They are used to show presentations with embedded macros, but not for editing them.

Learning on Demand

Learning on Demand means that the content is available extactly when it's needed by the learner

Microlearning

Microlearning means learning in small quantities. It is especially used in E-Learning.

Learning Chunk

Learning Chunk means, like Microlearning, learning in small quantities. The learning content is really small and can be absorbed quickly.

Massive Open Online Course (MOOC)

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) are digital courses (online) with many participants (massive) that are available for free.

Web-Based-Training (WBT)

Web-Based-Training (WBT) is an older term for learnmethods that can be accessed over the internet.

A webinar is a seminar that takes place in a specific digital location at a specific time. It's a seminar that combines live and online formats.

Hybrid Learning

Hybrid learning means that one group of students are in class at school. Another group of students takes part in class from home at the same time. They both get taught at the same time.

Flipped Classroom

Flipped Classroom means that students work out the subject matter themselves at home through tasks such as reading, videos, etc. Interactive learning activities and exercises then take place in class.

Live Online Training (LOT)

In live online training, participants and teachers are not in the same physical room but in the same virtual room. This is usually possible through an online platform or a software system.

Break-out-Room

In live online training, it is sometimes useful to divide the students into small groups for certain exercises, as it would be impossible to have conversations at the same time. Break-out-rooms are used so that people can talk to each other without disturbing the others. When the exercise is over, they are sent back to the main room.

mLearning means mobile learning, which comes from "Mobile Telephone". You can access the learning material over your mobile phone anywhere, which makes learning mobile.

Asynchronous Learning

Asynchronous Learning means that the learning is time-shifted. The communication between student and teacher are time-delayed.

Tutorials are videos with instructions that show how for example a product or a software works.

A podcast is an audio or video contribution that can be listened to or viewed via the Internet. Podcasts can be used for information on specific topics but also for entertainment.

Computer Based Training (CBT)

Computer Based Traing (CBT) means digital learning programs, which work without internet. Exercises can be downloaded over the internet or can be distributed via storage media like a USB stick or a CD.

Virtual Reality

With Virtual Reality people can practice situations and important processes in a virtual room by putting on special digital glasses. They can influence what happens themselves.

Blended Learning

Blended Learning is a teaching / learning method that includes both in-person and online instruction. The technique has gained a lot of popularity, as it combines the benefits of teaching live and online, which makes it very successful, according to several studies.

Game-based Learning

Game-based learning is a popular approach where the instrument for a learning process is a game. Game-based learning scenarios are often found online - they are often favored because they engage learners in a way that few other learning methods do.

WWTBAM is an acronym for "Who wants to be a Millionaire", which is a famous quiz show that airs in several countries.

An e-lecture is a lecture that is held online. Many schools and universities offer e-lectures as technical opportunities improve.

Open Educational Resources (OER)

Open Educational Resources are free learning and teaching materials provided on the web. They have an open license (e.g., Creative Commons), which allows anyone to use and benefit from these resources.

Learning Management System (LMS)

Learning Management Systems (LMS) are online platforms that provide learning resources and support the organisation of learning processes.

Student Response System (SRS)

With Student Response Systems (SRS) it is possible to get live student feedback in the classroom. Questions and answers can usually be asked and given anonymously, which increases participation and engagement. An SRS may be used for any grade, including university.

Classroom Communication System (CCS)

A Classroom Communication System allows students and teachers to communicate efficently online. It improves students' engagement as they are animated to ask questions, give feedback and take notes. There are various companies that offer CCS solutions.

Personal Response System (PRS)

A Personal Response System (PRS) provides lecturers, presenters or teachers with the opportunity to ask a group of students or their audience questions. The questions are usually in a multiple choice format. PRS increase student engagement and provide an opportunity to receive instant feeback.

Informative Presentations

An information presentation is created when no solution is currently available. Facts, data and figures or study results are presented and current processes are described.

Instructive Presentations

Instructive Presentations are similar to informative presentations, but it's more than just giving informations. People attend instructive presentations to learn something new and to understand the topic of the presentation better.

Persuasive Presentations

A persuasive presentation is made, for example, to introduce an amendment. There are usually several options to choose from. It is particularly important to provide good arguments and reasons.

Solution Presentation

A solution has already been found during a solution presentation. The only thing that remains is to find a solution on how to realize the decision.

Concept Presentation

In a concept presentation, you have to give general information as well as try to convince the audience with good arguments and deliver a solution concept.

Motivational Presentation

A motivational presentation is meant to inspire people. In a company, for example, you could tell the company's story in a motivational presentation.

Screen presentation

A screen presentation is a graphic support and accompaniment to a spoken presentation. A popular programme for creating screen presentations is PowerPoint.

TOK Presentation

The Theory of knowledge (TOK) presentation is an essential part of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IB). The TOK presentation assesses a student's ability to apply theoretical thinking to real-life situations.

A pitch is a short presentation that is given with the intention of persuading someone (a person or company) to buy or invest. There are various forms of pitches, depending on the goal and intended outcome.

Audience Demographics

Audience Demographics are the characteristics of listeners like age, gender, cultural backgrounds, group affiliations and educational level. The speaker has to consider all these characteristics when adapting to an audience.

Audience Dynamics

Audience Dynamics means the motivations, attitudes, beliefs and values, which influence the listener's behaviour.

Internal Summary

Internal summary means to remind listeners about the major points which were already presented in a speech before coming to new ideas.

Internal Preview

An Internal Preview is a statement, which is made in the body of the speech, so that the audience knows what the speaker is going to discuss next.

Multimedia Presentation

A multmedia presentation is a speech in which several types of visual and audio aids are combined in the same speech with the help of computer software. .

Hybrid Audience

A mix between in-person and virtual participants for an event or a lecture is called a hybrid audience. Working with a hybrid audience may be challenging, as it requires the presenter to find ways to engage both the live and the virtual audience.

Distributed Audience

A Distributed Audience means that the audience you are trying to reach is spread over long distances.

Virtual Audience

A virtual audience consist of people who join an event / a meeting / a presentation via an electronic device (computer or smartphone) over the Internet. Each member may be located in a different place while an event takes place. Virtual audiences are becoming increasingly important as the amount of events held online is rising.

Co-located Audience

Co-located Audience means that the speaker talks to the audience in person. It is used verbal and non-verbal methods to communicate a message. The speaker makes gestures with their hands, changes their face expression and shows images.

Audience Response System (ARS)

Audience Response Systems (ARS) are technical solutions that are used in presentations in order to increase the interaction between the presenter and the audience. There are various forms of ARS that offer different features.

Glossophobia

Glossophobia means the strong fear of public speaking.

Slide Master

To create your own Template in PowerPoint it is best to use the Slide Master. After updating the Slide Master with your design, all slides (fonts, colours, images, …) adapt to those of the Slide Master.

PowerPoint Online

PowerPoint Online is the web version of PowerPoint. You can present and edit your PowerPoint presentation with it, without having PowerPoint installed on your computer. It's only necessary to have a Microsoft - or a Microsoft 365 account.

Normal view (slide view)

The normal view or slide view is the main working window in your PowerPoint presentation. You can see the slides at their full size on screen.

Outline view

The outline view in PowerPoint shows a list with the whole text of all slides on the left of the screen. There are no images and graphics displayed in this view. It's useful for editing the presentation and can also be saved as a Word document.

Slide Sorter view

The Slide Sorter view in PowerPoint shows thumbnails of all your slides in horizontal rows.The view is useful for applying global changes to several slides at once. Also it's useful for deleting and rearranging slides.

Notes Page view

The Notes Page view in PowerPoint shows a smaller version of the slide with a small area for notes underneath. In the presentation every slide has it's own space for notes. During the presentation the notes do not appear on screen. They are just visible in the presentation mode.

Master view

In the master view in PowerPoint you can edit the Slide Master.

Slide Layouts

PowerPoint has different types of Slide Layouts. Depending on which type of presentation you make, you will use more or less different slide layouts. Some Slide Types are: title slides, section heading slides, picture with caption slides, blank slides.

Slide transitions

Slide transitions are visual effects which appear in PowerPoint when one slide moves to the next. There are many different transitions, like for example fade and dissolve.

Animations in PowerPoint

Animations in PowerPoint are visual effects that are applied to different items like graphics, title or bullet points, instead of the slides. There are many different animations like: Appear, Fade, Fly in.

Effect Options

In the effect options in PowerPoint, further details can be specified for the selected effect.

Display duration

Under display duration in PowerPoint, the start of the animation, the duration, repetition and delay can be controlled.

Keynote is a programme which, like PowerPoint, is used to create digital screen presentations. It is mainly used by Apple users.

SmartArts are diagrams that convey processes, connections or hierarchies. They can also be edited individually and easily be added to your presentations.

Animated GIF

An animated GIF enables images to be played in a specific order. It is created when several individual images are saved in a GIF file.

Title Slide

The title slide is the first slide of a presentation. It usually contains a title and a subtitle.

Verbal Communication

Communication is verbal if it includes talking with other people. This can be face-to-face but also over the telephone or via Skype

Nonverbal Communication

Nonverbal communication means that the communication is based on someone's voice and body instead on the use of words.

Panel Discussion

A panel discussion is a structured conversation in front of an audience on a given topic between several people.

Vocalized pause

A vocalized pause means the pause when the silence between words is filled by the speaker with vocalizations like "um", "uh" and "er".

Vocal distractions

In vocal distractions filler words like um, er, and you know are used during a pause.

Body language

Body language is communication through movements, hand gestures and body posture.

To interview somebody means to ask a person different questions. An interview is often done by journalists.

Face-to-face

If you are talking to someone face-to-face you are directly facing each other.

Interpersonal communication

Interpersonal communication is face-to-face communication. It means that people exchange information and feelings through verbal and non-verbal messages.

Written Communication

The goal of written communication is to spread messages clear and explicit. Written Communication can be: emails, a contract, a memo, a text message or a Facebook Post.

Visual Communication

If there are used images or videos for communication, it is visual communication. Visual Communication is almost used everywhere like on television, posts on social media (Instagram, Facebook), advertisement.

Listening is a very important part of communication. To be good in communication you need to be a good listener. That doesn't mean just hearing what the other person is saying. But you need to listen active, engage your mind and intently focus on what your talking partner is saying.

Formal Communication

formal communication should be used for speeches or at work

Informal Communication

informal communication can be used when talking to your friends or your family

Online Communication

Online communication is communication over the internet. Online communication is often anonymous and over social media platforms you can communicate with people around the world.

Vertical Communication

Vertical communication means that information is passed from one person to the next according to a linear system based on their titles. This type of communication is used when a company follows a hierarchical structure or for important, sensitive information.

Horizontal Communication

Horizontal communication is the exchange of information between people, departments or units within the same level of an organisational hierarchy of a company.

Diagonal Communication

Diagonal communication means that the employees of a company communicate with each other regardless of their function and their level in the organisational hierarchy and regardless of their department within the company.

Internal Communication

Internal communication is particularly important for corporate communication. It communicates important information from leadership to staff so that they can do their jobs in the best possible way and work processes run well.

External Communication

External communication is the exchange of information between two organisations. For example, it can be an exchange with customers, clients or traders. Feedback from a customer also counts as external communication.

Closed Questions

Closed questions are followed by a short, clear answer. There are several answer options from which you can choose one or more.

Open Questions

In contrast to closed questions, the answer to open questions can be more detailed and creative. You can convey more information.

Leading Questions

Leading questions subconsciously make the respondent think in a certain direction.

Recall Questions

With recall questions, you have to remember something or something has to be recalled. Example: A teacher asks his students a question so that they remember the material from the last lesson.

Process Questions

Process questions are similar to recall questions but they need some deeper thoughts and maybe also analysis.

Hybrid Event

When an event consist of both virtual and in-person parts, this is called a hybrid event. This type of event is popular as it combines the benefits of both online and live events.

Virtual Event

Virtual events take place entirely online. They are very convenient as anyone may join from wherever they are via a smartphone or computer.

Corporate Events

A corporate event is an event organised by a company and intended for employees, stakeholders, customers, a charity event or public. The audience depends on the goal of the event.

Social Events

Social events in companys can be to celebrate an anniversary or to bond better as a team. They should address the personal interests of employees and revolve around things like entertainment and food.

Fundraising Events

The aim of fundraising events is to raise funds for a specific organisation. They are often organised by charities and non-profit organisations.

Community Events

Community events are about bringing people together, creating positive change and making new friends.

Pop-up Events

Pop-up events only last for a short period of time, such as only for one night or one month. An example: Another location of a shop is opened for only one month to extend the reach.

B2B means Business to Business. B2B events are between at least two companys. They help to build interpersonal relationships, which are important for a successful company.

B2C means Business to Customer. A B2C event is hosted by a company for its customers. It's important for gaining new customers and for satisfieing regular clients.

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Home Blog Presentation Ideas Powerful Words to Use in Presentations: Ultra Long List 

Powerful Words to Use in Presentations: Ultra Long List 

The power of words is immense and palpable when it comes to sharing ideas with others. The way you frame your sentences and cherry-pick specific words will affect how the audience preserves you. Not just that. Well-selected power words can shape narratives around businesses, distort (positively and negatively) their perception, and impact the listener’s decision to purchase. That’s why top copywriters and public speakers alike spend a great deal of time brainstorming different word combos and obsessing over their selection of action verbs, adjectives, and linking phrases.

Granted, you no longer need to do that. Just grab a PowerPoint template of your choice and start populating it with our big list of power words! 

What are Power Words?

Power words are persuasive words and phrases that evoke a positive or negative emotional response. Our selection of verbs, adjectives, and adverbs can convey different emotions from slight excitement to rightful outrate. That’s why public speakers , authors, and copywriters always carefully choose their words to convey the right idea and sentiment. 

Power words and phrases can make the same idea sound very different. Let’s take Apple’s famous slogan as an example: Think different. 

You can also convey the same idea using other descriptive words: Don’t think like everybody else, think outside the box, be creative 

However, each variation has a somewhat different ring to it. Ultimately, your word choice also impacts how others perceive you based on your speech.

Researchers found that word selection can have a massive impact on people, businesses, and society as a whole. Individual word choices can indicate the speaker’s mental state and impact the outcomes of a negotiation. Business power words shape customer experience with the brand and affect conversions. Action words, chose by the media, influence public perception of a social issue. 

Interestingly a group of researchers from Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada and Wharton in the US also found that word choices impact the song’s popularity. By applying text mining analytics to Billboard charts, the group found that songs with somewhat more unique texts performed better than those with pretty standard lyrics. A 16% differentiation in lyrical topics within a song was enough to propel it higher than songs in similar genres. 

The takeaway:

Our word choices have a profound impact on how others perceive us, as well as the actions they take afterward. Thus, if you want to be a Rockstar presenter , you need to choose your words carefully and prioritize powerful words! 

List of Powerful Words to Use in Presentations 

The English language has about 170,000 words in use . But an average person has an active vocabulary of 20,000 – 30,000 words. Among them is a smaller range of powerful adjectives and action verbs to make your presentations and speeches more impactful. 

Action Verbs to Use in Your PowerPoint Presentation

As the name implies, action verbs denote some dynamics — state, movement, result, etc. We use action verbs in our everyday speech a lot to describe what and how we do things. As author Elwyn Brooks White suggests : 

“Write with nouns and verbs, not with adjectives and adverbs. The adjective hasn’t been built that can pull a weak or inaccurate noun out of a tight place.”

Strong verbs don’t need adverbs to reinforce them. Compare these two statements: 

• I walked quickly towards the door. 
• I rushed out of the door. 

The first sentence merely states the fact. But the second one better conveys the emotion, the urgency of getting out of the room. It adds color to the narrative and sets the right mood.

In business presentations, action verbs help imply action to the user. They are good to use for both throughout the copy and the closing slide when you describe: 

• Main action points 
• Accomplishments
• Next steps 
• Results 

As you proofread your slide deck, look for weaker verbs and then replace them with stronger synonyms. Some common offenders include: 

• State-of-being verbs such as am, does, do, could, might, etc. While they have their merit, oftentimes, you can find a more descriptive alternative, conveying an extra emotion. 
• Verbs ending in -ing : wishing, planning, forgetting. Be bolder. Use present or past tenses instead. 
• Verbs in conjunction with an adjective: walked quickly, talked loudly, etc. Again, these can be replaced with snappier one-word alternatives. 

List of powerful verbs to make your language more persuasive: 

• Accelerate 
• Alter 
• Maintain 
• Regard 
• Convince 
• Boost 
• Ignite 
• Surge 
• Disrupt 
• Rejuvenate 
• Smash 
• Supercharge 
• Report 
• Change 
• Explore 
• Re-define 
• Strategize 
• Maximize 
• Capture 
• Achieve 

Powerful Adjectives to Use In Your Presentation 

The goal of adjectives is to reinforce your nouns and verbs. Use them to convey specific emotions and set the scene for the audience. 

But be sparring. You are not writing a novel. Too many adjectives can make your slide deck look cluttered, as you’d have to skim on white space to fit longer sentences. Also, excessive use of adjectives can muddle the main idea behind your key statements.

Below is our quick collection of power adjectives you can use to punch up your presentation: 

Power Words for Motivation

• Awe-inspiring
• Exquisite 
• Blissful 
• Brilliant 
• Dynamic 
• Burgeoning 
• Breathtaking
• Accomplished
• Successful 
• Enterprising 
• Venturesome
• Life-changing
• Encouraging 
• Baffling 
• Sensational 
• Incredible 

Power Words for Sales (Adjectives) 

• Cost-effective 
• Exorbitant 
• Knock-out 
• Science-proofed 
• Limited-time 
• Fully-booked
• Refundable 
• Negotiable 
• Below market average 
• Too-good-to-miss
• Budget-friendly
• Optimal 
• Exclusive 
• Time-sensitive
• Efficacious
• Sensible 
• Stylish 
• Unique 
• Profitable 

Power Adjectives to Persuade

• Verified 
• Risk-free 
• Effective 
• Tested 
• Solution-oriented
• Vetted 
• Non-negotiable
• Quality-controlled 
• Reliable 
• Legitimate 
• Lifetime 
• Market-tested 
• Foolproof 
• Surefire 
• Ingenious 
• Innovative 
• Cutting-edge 
• Exceptional 
• Game-changing
• Ground-breaking
• Flagship 
• Assured 
• Collateralized 
• Painless 
• Diciest 
• Tamperproof
• Immutable 

Coherence Markers 

Coherence markers are conversational words and phrases we use to denote logical connections between different ideas. They are not meaningful standalone words. Yet, they play a huge role in making your presentation copy more compelling.

Take a look at these two versions of Dove ad copy:

• Your skin’s natural oils keep it silky and supple. As you age, it becomes less elastic, and the production of oil slows down. Aging can cause dull, dehydrated skin.
• Your skin’s natural oils keep it silky and supple. But as you age, your skin becomes less elastic, and the production of oil slows down. That is why aging can cause dull, dehydrated skin.

The bolded coherence markers help digest the claims by establishing logical connections between the ideas. Research shows that adding such links to any copy (or speech) improves clarity and boosts persuasion. Therefore, sprinkle some coherence markers in your presentation to help the reader or lister mentally justify what you are saying. 

Coherence Markers to Use in a Presentation 

• Now do it 
• So go ahead
• Due to 
• That’s why 
• Given that 
• Here’s the deal:
• That’s right 
• By contrast 
• Beyond that 
• For starters
• What’s the bottom line?
• You might be wondering
• By now you should 
• Better still…
• The general conclusion is that
• Compound this with 
• What does this mean for you?
• Inferring from above 
• Just imagine
• You’ve tried everything. But
• You start to worry that
• Let me guess 
• What’s the catch?
• I know that’s what you’re thinking, right?
• But one thing’s for sure
• Let me say this straight
• Now consider it this way 
• It gest better (or worse)
• But here’s the kicker
• As if that’s not enough
• Best of all

Metaphors 

A metaphor is a figure of speech used to represent or symbolize another object or concept. For example, time is the greatest gift given to you . 

Writers love using metaphors to act depth and eloquence to their narrative. At the same time, top presenters use these to help the reader picture an intangible concept. 

As research found, metaphors help with persuasion by helping the reader or listener form a concrete mental image of the discussed concept. For example, you can say that your printing equipment works fast. But how fast do you mean? A metaphor can help make it more clear, e.g., “Our printing machines an equivalent of Ferrari in terms of speed.”  

Check our complete guide to using metaphors in presentations for more insights. Or swipe of some of the examples from our list below: 

Metaphors for Professional Presentations 

• Zeus-like 
• Drag-and-drop interfaces 
• To be worth waiting for 
• Glue for the Internet 
• To stay afloat 
• Off the shelf 
• Custom-made 
• To get up to speed
• App-like functionality 
• blue ocean / red ocean 
• Bumps on the road 
• Jump on the bandwagon 
• Tossed its cap
• The veneer on the credenza.
• Moonshot project
• More complicated than one-color puzzles.
• Lion-tamer-sky-diver fun
• Pack a punch 
• At the foothold of new 
• Buckets of questions 
• Going against the grain
• The epitome of something else
• From full throttle to a halt

To Conclude

Positive power words speak straight to the hearts and minds of the audiences. They encourage, inspire, motivate, bring up, and help move on in the right direction. If your goal is to hammer in a clear idea and prompt subsequent desirable action, these words are your best buddies to use all through your presentation slides and during delivery! 

1. 12 Tips List PowerPoint Templates

If you´re searching for a PowerPoint Template that is very flexible and can be used to create lists, the 12 Tips List PowerPoint Template is a great choice. 

Use This Template

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Great article! it helped me ALOT. Thank you.

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Presentations and PowerPoint glossary.

Custom font, embedded font, placeholder, powerpoint live, slide master, system font.

Custom fonts are those that have been sourced from outside of PowerPoint. They need to be installed on your computer to work and may not be compatible with PowerPoint Live.

The terms ‘deck’ and ‘presentation’ are used interchangeably. It is a collection of slides that you present in a slideshow. It may also be supported by a template in the background so you can insert pre-formatted layouts as slides to add extra content.

Embedded fonts are custom fonts that have been saved into a PowerPoint file so they’ll work for anyone accessing the presentation, without having them installed on their device. Embedding fonts can also make them viewable in PowerPoint Live. However, the licensing attached to certain fonts can prevent them from being embeddable. Some may be embeddable for viewing, but will be read-only. Additionally some fonts may be embeddable for use on a PC, but not on a Mac (and vice versa).

Each Slide Master contains a range of layouts. Layouts are pre-formatted blueprints for slides. When you insert a new slide in PowerPoint you are essentially choosing a layout to be brought in to your presentation as a slide to be populated. They contain placeholders for you to easily insert content in a way that adheres to a set design. Layouts are not visible in a presentation until they have been inserted as slides.

Examples of layouts are: Title, Agenda, Divider, Half Text Half Image, Chart with Text etc.

Placeholders come in different forms for different types of content (e.g. title, text, footer, image, chart, table, footer etc.). They will be pre-formatted to match the design so all you need to worry about is inputting your content.

PowerPoint Live uses the online version of PowerPoint to present slideshows in Teams. PowerPoint Online is less powerful than the desktop version of the app. We recommend against using it for presenting anything other than small presentations (<20mb) using system fonts and with minimal animation. Whenever possible, present from the desktop app using the share screen function in Teams.

Each page of your presentation is called a slide. Once a layout is inserted it becomes a slide, constituting part of your presentation. It is the canvas that hosts your content.

Every template (and presentation) contains at least one Slide Master. The Slide Master is essentially the ‘parent’ of the layouts in a template. It dictates the look, feel and behaviour of its layouts including fonts, colours, paragraph spacing, default shape formatting and more. Any changes made to the Slide Master will be applied to all related layouts. Multiple Slide Masters can be used as sub-designs in the template, based on the same central theme and complementary to each other, but with different layouts.

System fonts are those that are included with PowerPoint, meaning they’ll work on any device that has PowerPoint installed and in PowerPoint Online.

A template is a .potx file containing Slide Masters , which in turn contain slide layouts. A pre-designed framework for you to build your presentation with. Opening a template will launch a fresh PowerPoint file for you to put content into, preventing the original template from being altered.

Template design services

Template work example

Slide transitions are visual effects that occur when one slide moves to the next in a slideshow. These may be simple like a fade, or more complex like a morph where objects transform between one slide to match the next.

Critical PowerPoint Shortcuts – Claim Your FREE Training Module and Get Your Time Back!

How to Make a PowerPoint Presentation (Step-by-Step)

• PowerPoint Tutorials
• Presentation Design
• January 22, 2024

In this beginner’s guide, you will learn step-by-step how to make a PowerPoint presentation from scratch.

While PowerPoint is designed to be intuitive and accessible, it can be overwhelming if you’ve never gotten any training on it before. As you progress through this guide, you’ll will learn how to move from blank slides to PowerPoint slides that look like these.

Table of Contents

Additionally, as you create your presentation, you’ll also learn tricks for working more efficiently in PowerPoint, including how to:

• Change the slide order
• Reset your layout
• Change the slide dimensions
• Use PowerPoint Designer
• Format text
• Format objects
• Play a presentation (slide show)

With this knowledge under your belt, you’ll be ready to start creating PowerPoint presentations. Moreover, you’ll have taken your skills from beginner to proficient in no time at all. I will also include links to more advanced PowerPoint topics.

Ready to start learning how to make a PowerPoint presentation?

Take your PPT skills to the next level

Start with a blank presentation.

Note: Before you open PowerPoint and start creating your presentation, make sure you’ve collected your thoughts. If you’re going to make your slides compelling, you need to spend some time brainstorming.

For help with this, see our article with tips for nailing your business presentation  here .

The first thing you’ll need to do is to open PowerPoint. When you do, you are shown the Start Menu , with the Home tab open.

This is where you can choose either a blank theme (1) or a pre-built theme (2). You can also choose to open an existing presentation (3).

For now, go ahead and click on the  Blank Presentation (1)  thumbnail.

Doing so launches a brand new and blank presentation for you to work with. Before you start adding content to your presentation, let’s first familiarize ourselves with the PowerPoint interface.

The PowerPoint interface

Here is how the program is laid out:

• The Application Header
• The Ribbon (including the Ribbon tabs)
• The Quick Access Toolbar (either above or below the Ribbon)
• The Slides Pane (slide thumbnails)

The Slide Area

The notes pane.

• The Status Bar (including the View Buttons)

Each one of these areas has options for viewing certain parts of the PowerPoint environment and formatting your presentation.

Below are the important things to know about certain elements of the PowerPoint interface.

The PowerPoint Ribbon

The Ribbon is contextual. That means that it will adapt to what you’re doing in the program.

For example, the Font, Paragraph and Drawing options are greyed out until you select something that has text in it, as in the example below (A).

Furthermore, if you start manipulating certain objects, the Ribbon will display additional tabs, as seen above (B), with more commands and features to help you work with those objects. The following objects have their own additional tabs in the Ribbon which are hidden until you select them:

• Online Pictures
• Screenshots
• Screen Recording

The Slides Pane

This is where you can preview and rearrange all the slides in your presentation.

Right-clicking on a slide  in the pane gives you additional options on the slide level that you won’t find on the Ribbon, such as  Duplicate Slide ,  Delete Slide , and  Hide Slide .

In addition, you can add sections to your presentation by  right-clicking anywhere in this Pane  and selecting  Add Section . Sections are extremely helpful in large presentations, as they allow you to organize your slides into chunks that you can then rearrange, print or display differently from other slides.

The Slide Area (A) is where you will build out your slides. Anything within the bounds of this area will be visible when you present or print your presentation.

Anything outside of this area (B) will be hidden from view. This means that you can place things here, such as instructions for each slide, without worrying about them being shown to your audience.

The  Notes Pane  is the space beneath the Slide Area where you can type in the speaker notes for each slide. It’s designed as a fast way to add and edit your slides’ talking points.

To expand your knowledge and learn more about adding, printing, and exporting your PowerPoint speaker notes, read our guide here .

Your speaker notes are visible when you print your slides using the Notes Pages option and when you use the Presenter View . To expand your knowledge and learn the ins and outs of using the Presenter View , read our guide here .

You can resize the  Notes Pane  by clicking on its edge and dragging it up or down (A). You can also minimize or reopen it by clicking on the Notes button in the Status Bar (B).

Note:  Not all text formatting displays in the Notes Pane, even though it will show up when printing your speaker notes. To learn more about printing PowerPoint with notes, read our guide here .

Now that you have a basic grasp of the PowerPoint interface at your disposal, it’s time to make your presentation.

Adding Content to Your PowerPoint Presentation

Notice that in the Slide Area , there are two rectangles with dotted outlines. These are called  Placeholders  and they’re set on the template in the Slide Master View .

To expand your knowledge and learn how to create a PowerPoint template of your own (which is no small task), read our guide here .

As the prompt text suggests, you can click into each placeholder and start typing text. These types of placeholder prompts are customizable too. That means that if you are using a company template, it might say something different, but the functionality is the same.

Note:  For the purposes of this example, I will create a presentation based on the content in the Starbucks 2018 Global Social Impact Report, which is available to the public on their website.

If you type in more text than there is room for, PowerPoint will automatically reduce its font size. You can stop this behavior by clicking on the  Autofit Options  icon to the left of the placeholder and selecting  Stop Fitting Text to this Placeholder .

Next, you can make formatting adjustments to your text by selecting the commands in the Font area and the  Paragraph area  of the  Home  tab of the Ribbon.

The Reset Command:  If you make any changes to your title and decide you want to go back to how it was originally, you can use the Reset button up in the Home tab .

Insert More Slides into Your Presentation

Now that you have your title slide filled in, it’s time to add more slides. To do that, simply go up to the  Home tab  and click on  New Slide . This inserts a new slide in your presentation right after the one you were on.

You can alternatively hit Ctrl+M on your keyboard to insert a new blank slide in PowerPoint. To learn more about this shortcut, see my guide on using Ctrl+M in PowerPoint .

Instead of clicking the New Slide command, you can also open the New Slide dropdown to see all the slide layouts in your PowerPoint template. Depending on who created your template, your layouts in this dropdown can be radically different.

If you insert a layout and later want to change it to a different layout, you can use the Layout dropdown instead of the New Slide dropdown.

After inserting a few different slide layouts, your presentation might look like the following picture. Don’t worry that it looks blank, next we will start adding content to your presentation.

If you want to follow along exactly with me, your five slides should be as follows:

• Title Slide
• Title and Content
• Section Header
• Two Content
• Picture with Caption

Adding Content to Your Slides

Now let’s go into each slide and start adding our content. You’ll notice some new types of placeholders.

On slide 2 we have a  Content Placeholder , which allows you to add any kind of content. That includes:

• A SmartArt graphic,
• A 3D object,
• A picture from the web,
• Or an icon.

To insert text, simply type it in or hit  Ctrl+C to Copy  and Ctrl+V to Paste  from elsewhere. To insert any of the other objects, click on the appropriate icon and follow the steps to insert it.

For my example, I’ll simply type in some text as you can see in the picture below.

Slides 3 and 4 only have text placeholders, so I’ll go ahead and add in my text into each one.

On slide 5 we have a Picture Placeholder . That means that the only elements that can go into it are:

• A picture from the web

To insert a picture into the picture placeholder, simply:

• Click on the  Picture  icon
• Find  a picture on your computer and select it
• Click on  Insert

Alternatively, if you already have a picture open somewhere else, you can select the placeholder and paste in (shortcut: Ctrl+V ) the picture. You can also drag the picture in from a file explorer window.

If you do not like the background of the picture you inserted onto your slide, you can remove the background here in PowerPoint. To see how to do this, read my guide here .

Placeholders aren’t the only way to add content to your slides. At any point, you can use the Insert tab to add elements to your slides.

You can use either the Title Only  or the  Blank  slide layout to create slides for content that’s different. For example, a three-layout content slide, or a single picture divider slide, as shown below.

In the first example above, I’ve inserted 6 text boxes, 3 icons, and 3 circles to create this layout. In the second example, I’ve inserted a full-sized picture and then 2 shapes and 2 text boxes.

The Reset Command:  Because these slides are built with shapes and text boxes (and not placeholders), hitting the  Reset button up in the  Home tab  won’t do anything.

That is a good thing if you don’t want your layouts to adjust. However, it does mean that it falls on you to make sure everything is aligned and positioned correctly.

For more on how to add and manipulate the different objects in PowerPoint, check out our step-by-step articles here:

• Using graphics in PowerPoint
• Inserting icons onto slides
• Adding pictures to your PowerPoint
• How to embed a video in PowerPoint
• How to add music to your presentation

Using Designer to generate more layouts ideas

If you have Office 365, your version of PowerPoint comes with a new feature called Designer (or Design Ideas). This is a feature that generates slide layout ideas for you. The coolest thing about this feature is that it uses the content you already have.

To use Designer , simply navigate to the  Design tab  in your Ribbon, and click on  Design Ideas .

NOTE: If the PowerPoint Designer is not working for you (it is grey out), see my troubleshooting guide for Designer .

Change the Overall Design (optional)

When you make a PowerPoint presentation, you’ll want to think about the overall design. Now that you have some content in your presentation, you can use the Design tab to change the look and feel of your slides.

For additional help thinking through the design of your presentation,  read my guide here .

A. Picking your PowerPoint slide size

If you have PowerPoint 2013 or later, when you create a blank document in PowerPoint, you automatically start with a widescreen layout with a 16:9 ratio. These dimensions are suitable for most presentations as they match the screens of most computers and projectors.

However, you do have the option to change the dimensions.

For example, your presentation might not be presented, but instead converted into a PDF or printed and distributed. In that case, you can easily switch to the standard dimensions with a 4:3 ratio by selecting from the dropdown (A).

You can also choose a custom slide size or change the slide orientation from landscape to portrait in the Custom Slide Size dialog box (B).

To learn all about the different PowerPoint slide sizes, and some of the issues you will face when changing the slide size of a non-blank presentation,  read my guide here .

 B. Selecting a PowerPoint theme

The next thing you can do is change the theme of your presentation to a pre-built one. For a detailed explanation of what a PowerPoint theme is, and how to best use it,  read my article here .

In the beginning of this tutorial, we started with a blank presentation, which uses the default Office theme as you can see in the picture below.

That gives you the most flexibility because it has a blank background and quite simple layouts that work for most presentations. However, it also means that it’s your responsibility to enhance the design.

If you’re comfortable with this, you can stay with the default theme or create your own custom theme ( read my guide here ). But if you would rather not have to think about design, then you can choose a pre-designed theme.

Microsoft provides 46 other pre-built themes, which include slide layouts, color variants and palettes, and fonts. Each one varies quite significantly, so make sure you look through them carefully.

To select a different theme, go to the  Design tab  in the Ribbon, and click on the  dropdown arrow  in the  Themes section .

For this tutorial, let’s select the  Frame  theme and then choose the third Variant in the theme. Doing so changes the layout, colors, and fonts of your presentation.

Note: The theme dropdown area is also where you can import or save custom themes. To see my favorite places to find professional PowerPoint templates and themes (and recommendations for why I like them), read my guide here .

C. How to change a slide background in PowerPoint

The next thing to decide is how you want your background to look for the entire presentation. In the  Variants area, you can see four background options.

For this example, we want our presentation to have a dark background, so let’s select Style 3. When you do so, you’ll notice that:

• The background color automatically changes across all slides
• The color of the text on most of the slides automatically changes to white so that it’s visible on the dark background
• The colors of the objects on slides #6 and #7 also adjust, in a way we may not want (we’ll likely have to make some manual adjustments to these slides)

Note: If you want to change the slide background for just that one slide, don’t left-click the style. Instead, right-click it and select Apply to Selected Slides .

After you change the background for your entire presentation, you can easily adjust the background for an individual slide.

Inside the Format Background pane, you can see you have the following options:

• Gradient fill
• Picture or texture fill
• Pattern fill
• Hide background

You can explore these options to find the PowerPoint background that best fits your presentation.

D. How to change your color palette in PowerPoint

Another thing you may want to adjust in your presentation, is the color scheme. In the picture below you can see the Theme Colors we are currently using for this presentation.

Each PowerPoint theme comes with its own color palette. By default, the Office theme includes the Office color palette. This affects the colors you are presented with when you format any element within your presentation (text, shapes, SmartArt, etc.).

The good news is that the colors here are easy to change. To switch color palettes, simply:

• Go to the  Design tab in the Ribbon
• In the Variants area, click on the  dropdown arrow  and select  Colors
• Select  the color palette (or theme colors) you want

You can choose among the pre-built color palettes from Office, or you can customize them to create your own.

As you build your presentation, make sure you use the colors from your theme to format objects. That way, changing the color palette adjusts all the colors in your presentation automatically.

E. How to change your fonts in PowerPoint

Just as we changed the color palette, you can do the same for the fonts.

Each PowerPoint theme comes with its own font combination. By default, the Office theme includes the Office font pairing. This affects the fonts that are automatically assigned to all text in your presentation.

The good news is that the font pairings are easy to change. To switch your Theme Fonts, simply:

• Go to the  Design tab  in the Ribbon
• Click on the  dropdown arrow  in the  Variants  area
• Select  Fonts
• Select  the font pairing you want

You can choose among the pre-built fonts from Office, or you can customize them to create your own.

If you are working with PowerPoint presentations on both Mac and PC computers, make sure you choose a safe PowerPoint font. To see a list of the safest PowerPoint fonts, read our guide here .

If you receive a PowerPoint presentation and the wrong fonts were used, you can use the Replace Fonts dialog box to change the fonts across your entire presentation. For details, read our guide here .

Adding Animations & Transitions (optional)

The final step to make a PowerPoint presentation compelling, is to consider using animations and transitions. These are by no means necessary to a good presentation, but they may be helpful in your situation.

A. Adding PowerPoint animations

PowerPoint has an incredibly robust animations engine designed to power your creativity. That being said, it’s also easy to get started with basic animations.

Animations are movements that you can apply to individual objects on your slide.

To add a PowerPoint animation to an element of your slide, simply:

• Select the  element
• Go to the  Animations tab in the Ribbon
• Click on the  dropdown arrow  to view your options
• Select the  animation  you want

You can add animations to multiple objects at one time by selecting them all first and then applying the animation.

B. How to preview a PowerPoint animation

There are three ways to preview a PowerPoint animation:

• Click on the Preview button in the Animations tab
• Click on the little star  next to the slide
• Play the slide in Slide Show Mode

To learn other ways to run your slide show, see our guide on presenting a PowerPoint slide show with shortcuts .

To adjust the settings of your animations, explore the options in the  Effect Options ,  Advanced Animation  and the  Timing  areas of the  Animation tab .

Note:  To see how to make objects appear and disappear in your slides by clicking a button,  read our guide here .

C. How to manage your animations in PowerPoint

The best way to manage lots of animations on your slide is with the Animation Pane . To open it, simply:

• Navigate to the  Animations tab
• Select the  Animation Pane

Inside the Animation Pane, you’ll see all of the different animations that have been applied to objects on your slide, with their numbers marked as pictured above.

Note: To see examples of PowerPoint animations that can use in PowerPoint, see our list of PowerPoint animation tutorials here .

D. How to add transitions to your PowerPoint presentation

PowerPoint has an incredibly robust transition engine so that you can dictate how your slides change from one to the other. It is also extremely easy to add transitions to your slides.

In PowerPoint, transitions are the movements (or effects) you see as you move between two slides.

To add a transition to a PowerPoint slide, simply:

• Select the  slide
• Go to the  Transitions tab in the Ribbon
• In the Transitions to This Slide area, click on the  dropdown arrow  to view your options
• Select the  transition  you want

To adjust the settings of the transition, explore the options in the  Timing  area of the Transitions tab.

You can also add the same transition to multiple slides. To do that, select them in the  Slides Pane  and apply the transition.

E. How to preview a transition in PowerPoint

There are three ways to preview your PowerPoint transitions (just like your animations):

• Click on the Preview  button in the Transitions tab
• Click on the little star  beneath the slide number in the thumbnail view

Note:  In 2016, PowerPoint added a cool new transition, called Morph. It operates a bit differently from other transitions. For a detailed tutorial on how to use the cool Morph transition,  see our step-by-step article here .

Save Your PowerPoint Presentation

After you’ve built your presentation and made all the adjustments to your slides, you’ll want to save your presentation. YOu can do this several different ways.

To save a PowerPoint presentation using your Ribbon, simply:

• Navigate to the  File tab
•  Select  Save As  on the left
• Choose  where you want to save your presentation
• Name  your presentation and/or adjust your file type settings
• Click  Save

You can alternatively use the  Ctrl+S keyboard shortcut to save your presentation. I recommend using this shortcut frequently as you build your presentation to make sure you don’t lose any of your work.

This is the standard way to save a presentation. However, there may be a situation where you want to save your presentation as a different file type.

To learn how to save your presentation as a PDF, see our guide on converting PowerPoint to a PDF .

How to save your PowerPoint presentation as a template

Once you’ve created a presentation that you like, you may want to turn it into a template. The easiest – but not technically correct – way, is to simply create a copy of your current presentation and then change the content.

But be careful! A PowerPoint template is a special type of document and it has its own parameters and behaviors.

If you’re interested in learning about how to create your own PowerPoint template from scratch, see our guide on how to create a PowerPoint template .

Printing Your PowerPoint Presentation

After finishing your PowerPoint presentation, you may want to print it out on paper. Printing your slides is relatively easy.

To open the Print dialog box, you can either:

• Hit Ctrl+P on your keyboard
• Or go to the Ribbon and click on File and then Print

Inside the Print dialog box, you can choose from the various printing settings:

• Printer: Select a printer to use (or print to PDF or OneNote)
• Slides: Choose which slides you want to print
• Layout: Determine how many slides you want per page (this is where you can print the notes, outline, and handouts)
• Collated or uncollated (learn what collated printing means here )
• Color: Choose to print in color, grayscale or black & white

There are many more options for printing your PowerPoint presentations. Here are links to more in-depth articles:

• How to print multiple slides per page
• How to print your speaker notes in PowerPoint
• How to save PowerPoint as a picture presentation

So that’s how to create a PowerPoint presentation if you are brand new to it. We’ve also included a ton of links to helpful resources to boost your PowerPoint skills further.

When you are creating your presentation, it is critical to first focus on the content (what you are trying to say) before getting lost inserting and playing with elements. The clearer you are on what you want to present, the easier it will be to build it out in PowerPoint.

If you enjoyed this article, you can learn more about our PowerPoint training courses and other presentation resources by  visiting us here .

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Microsoft Office/PowerPoint Terminology

• Ask A Question Box - Provides quick access to help.
• AutoContent Wizard - A wizard that produces a presentation with a general structure and suggested topics based on options you choose regarding the presentation output.
• AutoCorrect - Corrects capitalization, grammar, and spelling errors automatically as you type.
• AutoShapes - Ready-made shapes you can draw on the slides in your presentation by choosing a shape from the AutoShapes drop-down menu.
• Clip Art - Professionally designed images that you can add to documents. You can change the size, appearance, and location of clip art after it has been inserted into a document.
• Design Template - The background, fonts, bullets, formatting, and color scheme that you can apply to define the look of your presentation.
• Expanded Menu - A menu that displays both common and less-common commands after you pause the mouse pointer over it.
• Floating Toolbars - Toolbars that are not attached to the edge of the program window.
• Indents - Used to align bullets and text on a slide.
• Line Spacing - The vertical distance between lines of text.
• Normal View - The view you use to create and edit your presentation. It consists of three working areas: the Outline and Slides tabs, the Slide pane, and the Notes pane.
• Notes Pane - In Normal view, the Notes Pane is used to create notes for each slide in your presentation.
• Outline and Slides Tabs - One of the panes in Normal view, you use the Outline and Slides tabs to toggle between an outline of the text in your presentation and a thumbnail view of each slide.
• Presentation - An interaction between a speaker and an audience. A presentation usually includes one or more visual aids: in the case of PowerPoint, these are slides.
• Sizing Handles - Small circles or squares that appear along the border of a selected slide or object.
• Slide Pane - In Normal view, the area in the center of the application window where you create and format your slide content. It displays the current slide.
• Slide Sorter View - All slides in the presentation are displayed at once on the screen. In this view, you can rearrange, copy, and delete slides.
• Task Pane - Provides quick access to commands related to your current task.
• Transition Effects - In a slide show, a transition determines how the display changes as you move from one slide to the next.
• WordArt - A tool you can use to create unique text effects. Text objects you create with read-made effects to which you can apply additional formatting options.

• Book:Microsoft Office

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101 Must-Know Transition Phrases for Engaging Presentations Online

By Paola Pascual on Jan 17, 2024 1:43:00 PM

Giving presentations is often feared by many professionals, but if the presentation is online  and you're not a native speaker, things get even trickier. One tip to make things easier? Learn useful phrases to help you navigate your presentation. In this article, you will find lots of helpful resources to give remarkable presentations . Listen to the episode above, download the checklist below, and learn some of the phrases we present. If we missed any, tell us in the comments below.

General vocabulary for presentations

Sometimes, the smallest changes in your presentations can make the biggest differences. One of them is to learn a few phrases that give you confidence during your speech. Here are some important verbs to get you started:

• To highlight
• To emphasize
• To walk you through (*very common in business presentations!)
• To send around
• To carry on (similar to  continue)
• To get carried away
• To sum up (similar to  summarize )
• To focus on

Vocabulary to start your presentation

Learn how to powerfully start your presentation with these 4 simple steps. Here's some vocabulary you can use:

Welcome your audience

• Good morning/afternoon/evening everyone. Thank you for joining us today, and welcome to today's webinar.
• Hello everyone, I’m very happy to be speaking with you today.

Introduce yourself

• My name is Susan, and I’m part of the design team here at Globex Corporation.
• First of all, a little bit about my background - I am the Team Lead  at [Company], and I've been in charge of [your main responsibility] for [X] years.
• I'd like to tell you a bit about myself - my name is  Eve  I'm the Operations Manager here at [Company].

Introduce the topic and goal of the presentation

• Today, I'd like to talk about…
• This presentation will take about [X] minutes, and we will discuss...
• We've allocated [X] minutes to this presentation. and I'll talk about...
• I'd like to give you a brief breakdown of...
• I'd like to take this opportunity to talk about...
• The main goal of this presentation is…
• The purpose of this presentation is...
• My objective today is...

Read these 5 tricks the best public speakers use to  captivate their audience .

Addressing questions from the audience

• If you have any questions about anything, feel free to interrupt.
• If anything isn't clear, please click on the 'raise hand' button and I'll do my best to answer your question.
• I'd be happy to answer your questions at the end of the presentation.
• If you have any questions, please kindly wait until the end to ask them. We will have [X] minutes for a Q&A session at the end.
• Since today's audience is considerably large, we will not have time for questions, but please email me at [email protected]

Learning new English words is not easy, but you can achieve effective communication through practice and repetition. If you are a Talaera student, visit the Library to practice your vocabulary for presentations. If are not part of the Talaera community yet, learn how we can help you here .

Clear out technical issues

• Can everyone hear me well? Let me know if you encounter any technical difficulties throughout the presentation.
• If you are not speaking, please put yourselves on mute.
• If you feel that the sound quality is poor throughout the presentation, please let me know.

Transition to the main topic of the presentation

• Hi everyone, I think we might still be missing a few people but I’m going to kick things off now so we have time to get through everything.
• All right, let’s dive right in!
• All right, let’s jump right in!
• Let’s get started.
• Let’s kick things off.
• I’m going to talk about
• The purpose/subject of this presentation is
• I’ve divided the presentation into 3 parts: In the first part, ... / Then in the second part, ... / Finally, I’ll go on to talk about...
• Let me begin by looking at...
• Let me start with some general information on...

Vocabulary for the main body of your presentation

Introduce a topic or section.

• Now let’s move to the first part of the presentation,
• We can see 4 advantages and two disadvantages. First,
• On the one hand… On the other hand…
• There are two steps involved. The first step is… The second step is…
• There are four stages to the project.

Transition to a new section

• All right, let’s turn to...
• Now we come to the next point, which is
• Okay so that’s [topic 1], but what about [topic 2]?
• There’s a lot more to talk about, but since we’re pushed for time , let’s move on to [topic 2].
• This leads me to my next point, which is...

Give examples and details

• For example...
• A good example of this is...
• To illustrate this point...
• This reminds me of...
• To give you an example...
• Let me elaborate further on...

Describe visual aids

• As you can see [from this infographic]
• This chart shows
• If you look at this graph, you will see
• From this chart, we can understand how
• Let me show you this [image, graph, diagram]
• On the right/left
• In the middle of
• At the top/bottom of the picture

Emphasize an idea

• This is important because
• I’d like to emphasize that
• We have to remember that

Repeat the same message with different words

• In other words
• To put it more simply
• So, what I’m saying is that
• Let me say that again.

It's easy to get stuck in the middle of a presentation, especially if English is not your mother tongue. Here are +20 Top Tips You Need To Know if you're learning business English .

Finish your presentation and summarize

The end of a presentation, together with the opening, is one of the most important parts of your speech. Read these 5 effective strategies to close your presentation and use the vocabulary below.

• That’s all I want to say for now about [topic].
• To sum up, ...
• This sums up [topic].
• So in a nutshell, ...
• So to recap, ...
• In brief, ...
• To conclude, ...
• I’d like to conclude by emphasizing the main points...
• That's it on [topic] for today. In short, we've covered...
• So, now I’d be very interested to hear your comments.
• And this brings us to the end of this presentation. I hope [topic] is a little clear after today.
• So to draw all that together, ...

Start and navigate the Q&A session

• Thank you for your attention. I hope you found this presentation useful, and I'd be happy to answer any questions.
• Thank you for listening. We now have [X] minutes left. Do you have any questions?
• Thank you for your question, [Name].
• I'm glad you asked.
• That's an interesting question.
• That's a great question, I must say. I'm not 100% sure, but off the top of my head, I can tell you that...
• Are you asking about [topic 1] or [topic 2]?
• Can you please clarify what exactly you mean by [question]? I'm not sure I fully understand.
• I'm afraid I don't have the exact figures at hand, but if you give me your email address at the end, I can follow up with you later.
• Does that answer your question?
• I hope that makes sense. Is that the kind of answer you were looking for?

Take your presentation skills to the next level. 

Keep reading about presentation skills:

• 21 Helpful Tips For Remarkable and Outstanding Presentation Skills
• How To Start a Presentation: Follow These 4 Easy Steps
• How To Bring Across Your Main Idea In A Presentation Effectively
• 5 Effective Strategies To End A Presentation
• 6 Public Speaking Tricks To Captivate Your Audience
• How To Do Effective Business Storytelling According To Former Prosecutor
• 8 Little Changes That'll Make A Big Difference With Your Presentations
• 3 Quick Public Speaking Tips For Your Next Presentation
• Your Body Language May Shape Who You Are [TED Talk Lesson]

Talaera Talks - Transcript Episode 5

• Topic : Deliver impactful presentations
• Listen : Spotify , Apple Podcasts , Google Podcasts
• Duration : 22 min.

Intro Welcome to Talaera Talks , the business English communication podcast for non-native professionals. My name is Paola and I am co-hosting this show with Simon. In this podcast, we're going to be covering communication advice and tips to help express yourself with confidence in English in professional settings. So we hope you enjoy the show!

Okay, welcome back for our third episode of Talaera Talks. This is Simon, and I'm joined with Paola. Paola, how are you doing? 0:37 Hi, Simon. I'm great. Happy to do another episode. 0:41 Yeah, absolutely. And Happy Friday. 0:44 Happy Friday! 0:49 So today, our topic: Presenting in English. I'd like to start this episode with a quote I found on Harvard Business Review that I thought was really interesting. It says, "Even native English speakers often anticipate disaster when making presentations. By but for non-native speakers, the anticipatory and situational anxiety associated with their unique challenges (these challenges - being understandable, choosing the right words, speaking spontaneously), can be overwhelming. Moreover, if these concerns interfere with your willingness or ability to make business presentations, the impact can be career-limiting." So yeah, that's a pretty kind of heavy quote to start. But it is something that we see from a lot of our clients, right? 1:52 Yeah, it's super interesting. It was super interesting to read. It's something we know, but it's important to remind it that it is presentations, the topic we have today is something that is not pleasurable for anyone, not for non-native speakers, but also for native speakers. So that's something to point out. And today, we talked about that... We said that we wanted to start with those challenges or fears that we see from our clients, our learners. 2:25 Yeah, and it's usually around the same things, you know, we, at least for me, I come into contact with so many of these, so many of our students who are so competent in their, in their daily lives, what they're doing in their professional lives. And they come to me with these with these fears, like this just general lack of confidence, or imposter syndrome, right? This I don't know if I really deserve to be speaking and, you know, kind of explaining this concept to all these people. 3:05 Mm-hmm. Yes. And also the fear of not being understood, well, they know what I'm saying, well, they understand my accent. There's a lot of worries and concern around accent and our pronunciation expert, Lisa hosted a webinar, actually last week, where she explained that accent matters. But as long as people understand you, it's fine. You don't need to be perfect. Everyone has an accent. So that's also totally fine. 3:37 And this being Yeah, this being one of I think, at least for me, in my experience, one of the most frequently asked for aspects from students. So you know, and just to like, again, just say that this is a challenge for everyone, not just, you know, non-native English speakers. You know, I think all of us have a tough experience or somebody that we think of when we think about public speaking, it's, it's like this, yeah, really anxiety-riddled thing. I mean, I don't have any, you know, funny personal stories, but uh, do you, Paola? 4:20 You want me to tell my embarrassing story, don't you? 4:22 Please, you must. 4:25 So I used to teach at a university in Vietnam when I lived there, and the classes where it rains, you know, from perhaps 50 students to up to what 300 there's was a class with, you know, 2-300 students and there was a little stage it wasn't too high, but there was a little stage and I fell off. 4:46 You fell off the stage. This was during or after the presentation, or...? 4:56 It was around the beginning of the presentation. So... 5:01 During! Oh, I thought it was it was like after like you were walking off? 5:06 No, I move a lot. I use my body language quite a lot. And that was one of the moments where I overdid it, probably, and fell off. 5:17 Wow. Well, I'm glad that you're still here with us. 5:21 Yeah, you know, but that's the story that I sometimes not always tell it. But I sometimes tell it when my students say, Oh, I'm nervous, and I assume that it can happen, you know, I thought it was going to be a disaster. And then I actually ended up making friends with the students that turned out okay. 5:39 Right. Well, yeah, I mean, today, we're not necessarily going to go into the physical dimensions of how to avoid falling off the stage. But we do have some, some good tips, right? 5:54 Yes. And to provide some advice on how to deliver presentations, and lose that fear, we've divided it into three main blocks. And those are what to do before the presentation, tips for during the presentation. And then even after there's things you can do to, to get better. 6:18 Right, let's start with the first, right, what can we do before the presentation in terms of getting ready, preparing? 6:30 So preparing, it's a very general term, but one of the tips that we like to give is, think of the WHAT, WHY and NEXT. So WHAT is your presentation about? WHY should they listen to you and not look it up online (or listen to a podcast, like ours)? And in what NEXT means - what is supposed to happen next? Do they need to do anything, go on a website, send you feedback? Are you going to send them the materials? So what why our next is so straightforward and simple. But when I asked this question to our clients that are so thrown off, and they don't know what to answer sometimes, 7:10 Yeah, I think that's one of those things. And I struggle with this all the time is, when I get an idea or something like that. It's so easy to just jump over those most basic things of, you know, what, why and index, those are so, so basic, but it's such it's, they're so foundational, right? And in terms of creating something that people will understand and be able to, to really attach to. 7:41 Yep. And do you have any tips around how much you should learn? Should you write the whole thing? Or should you memorize? 7:52 Yeah, that, you know, this is a good question as well, that a lot of our learners ask in terms of, yeah, you know, I'm just going to go and write it all out. And then I'll have an idea. And I'll feel better because I can write it and change it so that it sounds more professional. It sounds like I know what I'm talking about. And I always tell people, please don't try to prepare a presentation where you're reading a script, it is just the most unnatural thing ever. And, and it, you won't end up sounding more professional, if anything, your audience is going to detach, because they're going to sense that something's not really right here, it doesn't seem genuine, right doesn't seem real, it just seems like this person is doing what he's doing, which is reading off of a script. And even still a lot of times with a lot of our learners where they know that, okay, I know this material. But I'm going to put all of my effort into making this perfect slide this perfect presentation. So I would say, focus on actually knowing the material itself really well. More than focusing on how the presentation looks, you know, these kinds of things. Because once you're in that situation where you're on the stage, and people are looking at you, at least you'll be able to Windows like kind of red Sirens of you know, panic and anxiety show up. You'll have learned the material itself so well that you can roll with that. 9:29 Yes. And you also have room for improvisation because your brain is so used to the content and you know, so well what you want to say that that's when your brain starts to come up with anecdotes and that's the fun thing that gets you hooked. And that's the main Why should people listen to you instead of reading an article online? 9:49 Exactly. Because for most of our students, you know what you're talking about. That's why you're up there. That's why you have the opportunities to speak there is because someone thinks you're qualified enough to speak to all these people. So trust in that and go with that. So yeah, so we have right not, not over learning. Don't script it right? What else can we do? 10:14 Practice, practice, practice, practice, practice in your mind, but more importantly verbalize it, say it out loud. And recording yourself is uncomfortable for everyone. But it works. I have never tried it. I always told my students should record yourself, you should record yourself and they were like, Huh. And just a few of them did it. And when we started with the webinars, I haven't done something like it before. And I said, Okay, I'll use my own tip. And it was one I'm comfortable. And two, super helpful. So if you get to go over the sound of your own voice, I would say do it. 10:54 Yeah. You know, this is one thing that I have to be totally honest here. Doing these podcasts is the first time I've actually recorded myself for a long time. And I've learned a lot about, you know, not saying the word Absolutely. 500 times, yeah, within the span of 20 minutes. So those are good learning lessons. Definitely. Okay, and then so we have that. And then the last little tip is, I would say get an English mindset before 30 minutes to an hour before the presentation. And that could be listening to a podcast, you know, like Talaera Talks, or, you know, watching a show on Netflix that's, that's in English, whatever you can do to get your kind of English mind, you know, in the zone before you go up and actually speak English. So So those are all of our kind of pre presentation tips, what you can do before, so what about during, 11:58 so for during, there's a lot of things that you can you can do to improve your presentations. But the first tip is to learn how to start to have a mind map of what am I going to do at the beginning. So you start confident already. So welcome, everyone, introduce the people introduce the topic and go to the main point, those four parts will help you have a nice start. Welcome, everyone. For example. Hi, everyone. Welcome to today's presentation. Today, we'll be talking about business events, introduce the people, you can introduce yourself , like, Hi, my name is Paula and I'm a business English instructor at Telstra, and perhaps even the audience. Today we have with us students from all different nationalities and levels, or, you know, whatever the audiences, that's also helpful for everyone to understand, introduce the topic, or give you some best practices for business emails , and a few templates, and then go to the main point. So a simple sentence like Alright, let's get down to business. So having those welcome introducing people introducing the topic and going to the main point will help you have a nice start. 13:16 Yeah, and I like that concept of that the mind map is so good. Because it's it's not the scripting, like we were talking about before, it's having a kind of a little mental checklist. So that when those first few minutes, were you're up there on the on stage, and you're like, oh god, oh, god, here we go. Here we go. You have that little checklist that I created. Okay, so I welcomed introduced the people the topic, and now to the main point, and that can get you in the zone and going I really liked that. Yeah, so so having that, that starting template. And then another thing would be, I would say slowing down, slowing it down. And this is really I think it touches on a lot of aspects. The first would be just the general anxiety, we tend to speak a lot faster when we're really anxious, you know, but by slowing down, it really helps with non native English speakers because it helps with the accent. And it helps with giving you some time to really think through your next thoughts. Now, I'm not saying that you should, while you're speaking, try to think steps three, four or five ahead of you. But giving yourself a little bit of time to Okay, I'm going through this pattern now. Now I can go to the next one, right. And doing that, you know, another with the slowing down a tip if you're really nervous to go in is prefacing your speech. So before you really get into everything, maybe after the welcome part is just to say, Hey, you know, I'm going to try to speak as clearly as possible, as English as myself. first language and really smile and maybe make a little joke about that. And I think that's a good way to open it out for the audience to show some vulnerability and and help. I mean, what do you think about that? 15:13 Yeah, I mean, we see that with, sometimes with celebrities, when they're not native speakers, and they admitted, and they, they kind of put yourself put themselves, as you said, in that vulnerable position, and that makes them even cuter. 15:28 Mm hmm. 15:29 So it's making yourself human, I think it's always a good tip. And you were saying that slowing down helps with your accent and also for yourself to gain time to really know what you're going to say. But also for the for the audience. We don't mind people making some little pulses, so that they also have time to collect their thoughts. 15:50 Right, right. Yeah. Yeah, definitely. Those are, those are two really good aspects, starting, you know, the template and then slowing down, right. Yeah, kind of diffusing the anxiety by saying, Hey, you know, this isn't my first language. And that really gets the audience on your side, right. And then another would be not reading off of your slides. I mean, this is kind of the basic, you know, what you learn in school, but it's also something that a lot of people get, yeah, get, get hooked on, just because it's like a safety net. And I would say that's where the overlearning the material that we talked about beforehand comes into play. Anything else in this? 16:42 Oh, recap for sure. After every section, do a little recap, and at the end to recap where you summarize the main points of the whole presentation? 16:54 Yeah, yeah. Good. Good. So So summarize. Yeah, yeah. And that's a that's a good, you know, I would say three aspects, four aspects that during the presentation, if you keep these in, in your mind, it's, it's, I would say, it's going to help a lot. And so now we're going to move to what can we do after the presentation? We've done it, we've walked off the stage. Whoo, I'm so glad that's over. Now, is all of our work done? No. 17:27 No, not really. That's now it's your chance to actually learn from, from everything you did. So one of the tips we suggest is try to ask for feedback. But that's not so easy, right, Simon? 17:42 Yeah, it's, I think, a big question. And that is, who do you get the feedback from? Right?

17:50 So we, we would always suggest to try and find someone you can trust someone who is honest, and who can give you objective feedback. So in some cases, that can be your manager, but sometimes it's a colleague that understands the topic, and can really provide some feedback on how you did. 18:13 Yeah. And that's, I think, in terms of learning, this is one of the most crucial thing is reflecting back on what you did, and seeing what worked, what didn't work, and how can I take that and move forward? Because especially with presenting, it's a skill, and it takes practice, practice, practice. And, and I think, for a lot of people, you should jump at the chance to do this. So that you can continue to learn and continue to grow. But be sure to reflect by Yeah, by asking for feedback and seeing what worked, 18:47 for sure. And ideally, that would be someone, perhaps from work that can see how you did and like the actual show, if not Talaera teachers also do that. So you can present your own presentation, pretending it's the actual one. And that's how we can provide feedback on the structure, the vocabulary, the language in general. 19:08 Yeah, absolutely. I do that. Oh, there you go. Absolutely. Definitely. See, I'm reflecting back and learning as we go. I'm working. I'm learning that. Yeah. But I've done that recently with a couple of students where we've gone through their deck and looked at what are their plans in terms of presenting and we've kind of gone through in detail that together. So So yeah, so that was kind of I would say the biggest thing in terms of afterward. 19:40 So we have the pre-presentation, just as a quick recap for the pre-presentation and before your presentation, always remember the what why next, what is your presentation about? Why should people listen to you and what should happen next overnight Learn the content. be super confident about what you want to talk about. But don't script it. Don't write everything down. Otherwise, it would sound like you're just reading. 20:11 Write and practice through verbalization. record yourself, even though it may be awkward, but it's a great learning technique. And then get in that English mindset beforehand by Yeah, listening to a podcast or what have you. And then during the presentation, right, starting with the template, Paolo was discussing the welcome introducing the people the topic, and then going to the main point, 20:37 slowing down a little bit. It's not necessary to go super fast. It's not only not necessary, but people will understand you better if you take your time and make some pauses. Of course, don't read off their slides. Tell them the story. 20:54 Right, right. And remember 20:56 to recap, just like we're doing now. Send them or tell them a quick summary and the main points, 21:03 right, and don't fall off the stage as well. That's ideally we forgot. Ideally, it's final for then, as the final point, right, asking for feedback, finding that person that can get you that feedback that's so important to you. Finding what worked and moving forward. 21:21 That's right. All right. Do we have it for today? 21:25 I think that is it for today. Yeah. I had a lot of Thanks. Yeah, I had a blast. And thanks for meeting up. And we have a lot of good stuff coming up with Talaera. Right. 21:38 We have webinars, our blog is busier than ever. So go on the http://blog.talaera.com/ , check out the resources. And what else? 21:51 Find us on LinkedIn. And yeah, please ask any questions, we'd be glad to get back to you. So that is it for today. And thank you to all of our listeners. So far, we're excited to keep growing this. And as always, keep learning! 22:11 And that's all we have for you today. We hope you enjoyed it, and remember to  subscribe to Talaera Talks . We'll be back soon with more! And visit our website at  https://talaera.com  for more valuable content on business English. You can also  request a free consultation  on the best ways for you and your team to improve your communication skills. So have a great day and keep learning!

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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.

Synonyms of presentation

• as in present
• More from M-W
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Thesaurus Definition of presentation

Synonyms & Similar Words

• contribution
• benefaction
• care package
• philanthropy
• benevolence
• beneficence
• remembrance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• peace offering

Thesaurus Entries Near presentation

presentable

presentation

presentations

Cite this Entry

“Presentation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/presentation. Accessed 30 Apr. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on presentation

Nglish: Translation of presentation for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of presentation for Arabic Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about presentation

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PowerPoint Glossary Of Terms

Like most programs, Microsoft PowerPoint has certain terms and phrases that are specific to it. We have attempted to list as many of the terms you are likely to come across below. If you come across a word or phrase that you either don’t understand, or that you think should be in this glossary, please let us know and we will add it.

• Action Buttons : predefined navigation buttons, such as Home, Help, Back, Next, and End, that help you navigate to a particular part of a presentation or a file.
• Adjustable Objects : objects with an adjustment handle, looking like a small yellow diamond, that allows the user to alter the appearance of the object.
• Animation Scheme : a set of professionally designed animations divided into three categories: Subtle, Moderate, and Exciting.
• Arc : a curved line whose angle you can change by dragging an adjustment handle.
• AutoContent Wizard : a wizard that takes you through a step-by- step process to create a presentation, prompting you for presentation information as you go.
• Automatic Layout Behaviour : a feature that recognizes when you insert an object onto a slide and changes the layout to fit the objects on the slide.
• Background : the underlying colours, shading, texture, and style of the colour scheme.
• Bullet Text : a list of items in which each item is preceded by a symbol.
• Colour Menu : the colour palette associated with Drawing toolbar buttons, such as Fill Colour, Line Colour, or Font Colour.
• Colour Scheme : the basic set of eight colours provided for any slide.
• Connection Pointer : a small box pointer that allows you to drag a connection line between two connection sites. .
• Connection Sites : small blue handles on each side of an object that allow you to add a connection line between two objects.
• Control Boxes : headings in a datasheet that correspond to the different data series.
• Design Template : a presentation with a designed format and colour scheme.
• Digital Signature : an electronic, secure stamp of authentication document.
• Dotted Selection Box : the border of a selected object that indicates you can manipulate the entire object.
• Embedded Object : an object created with another program but PowerPoint. You can update an embedded object in PowerPoint.
• Export : the process of converting and saving a file to a different format.
• Greyscale : a black and white image that displays shades of grey.
• Insertion Point : a blinking bar that indicates where text will be entered or edited as you type.
• Landscape Format : horizontal orientation of an image or output media where the object is wider than it is high.
• Legend : a list that identifies each data series in the datasheet.
• Linked Object : an object created in another program that maintains it connection to its source. A linked object will automatically updated if you alter the original.
• Margin Markers : small squares on the ruler that move both the upper and lower indent markers.
• Master Slides : special slides that control the properties of all other slides in a presentation.
• Normal View : a view that contains all three view panes: Slides, Outline/Slides and Notes.
• Notes Page View : a view where you can add notes and graphics that aid the speaker but are not displayed.
• Notes Pane : an area in Normal view where you can add speaker notes.
• Object : any entity in PowerPoint that you can manipulate such as a graphic, text box, sound etc.
• Offset : the direction and distance in which a shadow falls from an object.
• Outline/Slides Pane : an area in Normal view where you can organize and develop presentation content in text or slide miniature form.
• Paragraph : text that begins and end when you press Enter.
• Portrait : vertical orientation of an image or output media where the object is higher than it is wide.
• PowerPoint Viewer : a program that allows you to show a slide show on a computer that does not have PowerPoint installed.
• Pure Black and White : a black and white image that displays only black and white without any shades of gray.
• Resize Handle : a white circle on each corner and side of an object that you can drag to change the objects size.
• Scaling : resizing an entire object by a set percentage.
• ScreenTip : a yellow box that tells you the name of or more information about a button, icon, or other item on the screen when you place the pointer over the item.
• Selection Box : A grey slanted line or dotted outline around an object.
• Slide Master : see Master Slide.
• Slide Pane : an area in the Normal view where you can view a slide and add text, graphics, and other items to the slide.
• Slide Show View : a view where you can preview the presentation.
• Slide Sorter View : a view where you can see all the slides in a presentation as thumbnails.
• Slide Timing : the period of time that a slide appears on the screen.
• Status Bar : the bar at the bottom of the presentation window that displays messages about the current state of PowerPoint.
• Task Pane : a pane that allows you to quickly access commands related to a specific task without having to use menus and toolbars.
• Template : a presentation whose format and colour scheme is used as the basis for other presentations.
• Text Animation Slide : a slide with text that you set to appear incrementally.
• Text Label : a text object used primarily for short phrases or notes.
• Text Object : a box that contains text in a slide.
• Text Placeholder : a dotted-lined box that you can click to add text.
• Title Master : a master slide that contains placeholders that are similar to those of the Slide Master but that affect the title slide only.
• Title Slide : the first slide in a presentation.
• Title Text : text that identifies the name or purpose of a slide.
• Toolbar : a graphical bar in the presentation window with buttons that perform some of the common commands in PowerPoint.
• Window : an area of the screen used to display a PowerPoint program or presentation window.
• Word Processing Box : a text object used primarily for longer text.
• Word Wrap : a feature that automatically moves the insertion point to the next line within an object as you type.

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