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PowerPoint LayoutA basic PowerPoint presentation should have a title slide, a header and several slides. Begin by choosing a layout. Click on the "Design" tab and pick out a design that would be fitting to the style of the presentation. Choose a formal style for a business presentation. Choose a background color and graphics. Adjust the settings on the format background by choosing any of the following--solid fill, gradient fill, picture and texture fill. Make the presentation playful and colorful for classroom presentations. For entertainment, you can choose a design that would depict the theme, for example, to create a PowerPoint slide for a wedding you can choose the color or theme used for the actual wedding invitation. -
Font and TextsChoose the font, including size, color and style. Type the title and contents. Choose text direction. Choose from horizontal, rotate all texts at 90 degrees, rotate all texts at 270 degrees and stacked. Click "Options" for more choices such as text fill, outline, shadow, 3-D format and 3-D rotate.
Adjust settings for the margins. Choose how the text would align in a paragraph. Align text to the right, to the left, center, justify (align text both left and right margins) or split text into two or more columns. -
ImageInsert images, photos, clip art, charts, videos and sounds as needed. Insert a picture from a file from your computer, CD or flash drive. Insert clip art, such as drawings, movies, sounds or stock photography to illustrate a specific concept. Insert ready-made shapes, such as rectangles, circles, arrows, lines and flowchart symbols. Insert graphics, such as diagrams and charts.
Create or edit a presentation based on a set of pictures. Each picture will appear on its own slide. Choose how your images would appear by clicking on the picture tools format. -
Transition and AnimationAdd transition or animation effects. This controls how you would want the slides to move from one slide to the next. There are several transition effects to choose from to make your presentation more visually appealing. It is important to note that the transition length should coincide with the sound and video lengths; therefore, you would need to adjust the time to accommodate their time frames.
The transition should be smooth from one slide to the next. Add transition sound if desired. Choose the method of advancing the slide, whether manually (at mouse click) or automatically (based on adjusted time per slide). - Save the PowerPoint slide and label it. Test your presentation by playing the slide show. Record narration and rehearse timings. Check your spelling, grammar and make changes as necessary. Protect your presentation by locking it with a password so that nobody else can make changes to it. Make a back-up copy by saving in a CD or flash drive, so that if your computer encounters technical difficulties, you still have another copy to use for your presentation.
