How to Create a Powerpoint Presentation

For many professionals, students and managers creating a top notch presentation is a must, especially when their jobs are to sell a product, push and endorse a service, or sponsor an idea or project. In the past, professionals, students, or managers used slide projectors, overhead projectors, and large cardboard cut outs to present data, information, facts, figures, or statistics to potential clients. Some of them still do. But, for those digitally and computer inclined persons, presentation software programs are key. One particular program is Powerpoint.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Preparing the Presentation

1. Prepare the presentation as you would a speech. You must know exactly what you want to say before you say it. You don’t want to offend anyone. You also don’t want to bore anyone. Finally, you don’t want to lose your audience (in this case, the client) because if you do, you may not be able to get him or her back.

2. Do some pre-writing to find out what you want to discuss in your presentation. While pre-writing, concentrate on specific information that you think your client will be looking to see in your presentation.

3. Once you have found a specific idea, develop it through further investigation. Look for nuances and details in the presentation that will catch the client’s attention.

4. Create a few drafts before you develop the Powerpoint presentation. See what your ideas say and whether those statements match the client’s business needs. If it doesn’t, change it; if it does, start insert the information into your Powerpoint presentation.

Designing the Powerpoint Template

5. Designing the presentation template involves careful selection of the right color, text, and graphics to boost your presentation’s overall visual affects.

6. After opening your Powerpoint program, use your mouse to click "Getting Started."

7. Click on "Blank Presentation."

8. Click on "Slide Design" and choose from the number of templates available.

9. Choose the color scheme by following the same steps as above, clicking on "Color Scheme."

10. Choose to add any animation by clicking on "Animation Scheme." If you want no animation, skip this step.

Finalizing the Presentation

11. Go to "Insert" and type in the headings into the opening slide.

12. Indicate the name of the company and the byline of your presentation, which is a title or theme discussing what the presentation is about.

13. Go back to "Insert" every time to insert a new slide once finished with the previous slide.

14. Change the color of the font to add a more vivid, colorful appearance to your Powerpoint presentation.

15. Go to "Slide Show" and click on "Action Buttons" to create an interactive slide presentation?

16. Go to and click on it to insert music, a video, or other items?

17. Proofread, revise, and edit the presentation once more before saving it. Find other persons to show the presentation to before presenting it in class, to staff, or to potential clients.

[aubrebabe]

on 4/30/2008 this is a great step by step technique

[aubrebabe]

on 4/30/2008 this is a great step by step technique