How to Back Up a Bullet Point on a PowerPoint Slide

Bullet points are so named for the dot to the left of each point that looks, somewhat, like a bullet hole in the screen. Each bullet point gives a separate idea within the topic area. So on a slide with a title about bullets, you might have points for hollow point, full metal jacket, armor piercing and slug. Then under one of the points, you would use subpoints, which are indented farther to the right, to display further information. Under armor piercing you could have points for military use, civilian illegality and history. But when you want to type the next main point, you need to back the bullet point up to the original level of indentation.

Instructions

1. Open a PowerPoint presentation. Click on the "New Slide" button on the "Home" tab. Type a title for the slide in the box at the top of the screen in the box that says "Click to Add Title."

2. Click on the text that says "Click to Add Text." Type your first bullet point. Press "Enter." A new bullet point of the same level is created. Press the "Tab" button to create a bullet point on a sublevel. This is called demoting the text, sometimes. Alternatively, you can click the "Increase List Level" button in the "Paragraph" section of the "Home" tab.

3. Press "Enter" again, and a new bullet point of the sublevel is created. You can back up the indentation of the bullet point to create a higher level bullet by pressing "Shift"+"Tab" on the keyboard or by clicking the "Decrease List Level" button in the "Paragraph" section. This is sometimes called promoting the text.

4. Click on the "Outline" tab in the pane to the left of the slide to see an outline for your entire PowerPoint presentation. You can use the same keyboard or menu actions there to create titles and text for slides. When using this view, the slide title is the first-level point, then each bullet points goes under that. Each time you press "Tab" or "Shift"+"Tab" -- or use the menu buttons -- the bullet will demote or promote one level until you reach the maximum level. Six bullet styles and seven levels are defined in PowerPoint, with the last two levels using the same style.

Tips & Warnings

• Avoid using bullet points in a PowerPoint that you will use as you are speaking. Bullet points are good for handouts and written communication, but when used by a public speaker, actually distract from the message.

References

• Microsoft Office: Type Titles and Bullet Points in the Outline

Resources

• Beyond Bullet Points: About