Microsoft Powerpoint Basics
PowerPoint is a powerful tool for presentations. Its features allow the flexibility for the user to create graphic, interactive and dynamic presentations to keep the audience engaged. The basics of PowerPoint are slides, transitions, graphics and the slide show. Each component is a building block and integral feature of PowerPoint.
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Slides
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The basic component of PowerPoint is a slide. Each slide contributes to the PowerPoint presentation. The layout of the slide can be changed to accommodate text only or text and graphics. There are pre-formatted slide layouts or the user can move the text and graphics around to accommodate his needs. For example, a title slide contains a main title and a subtitle while other slide layouts accommodate graphics only. Also, the user can begin with a blank slide and add various elements as desired.
Transitions
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Transitions are those actions that cause the slide to change from one to another or for the slide itself to change. For example, if there is a slide that contains the picture of an apple but the next slide is that is a flag, the user can insert a fade transition. The apple will fade into the picture of a flag. Within slides, animations can be used. Text or graphics can be animated to fly in from the left or right The user can choose transitions to change from one slide to another or to change the text and graphics within a slide. Transitions are also called animations.
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Graphics
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Word art, clip art, graphs, pictures and videos can be added to a slide. Any graphic added to a slide can be resized to suit the presentation. Videos can play within the PowerPoint presentation; the user will not need to go outside of PowerPoint to present the video.
Slide Show
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The grouping of PowerPoint slides is the slide show. The shows can be timed according to the user's need. Each slide can have a duration of just a few seconds to a minute or more. This timing helps because the presenter will not need to press the keyboard to advance the slides. The timing feature helps the presenter speak more freely. However, the use of timings requires rehearsal and familiarity with the presentation.
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