PowerPoint Hints & Tips
This example file gives you some
examples of good and bad practice
plus problem-solving tips
Accessibility
When creating a show, you need to think about
your audience and cater for those sitting at the
back and those who have a visual impairment.
For a good presentation, you need:
• Clear slides – easy to read, for everyone in the room
• Limited information on each slide – use bullet points
to remind you of what you need to say
Choosing Fonts
Choose simple, clear fonts for your presentation
– sans-serif fonts are best.
An Unsuitable Font
A Good Font
The background makes this slide very difficult to
read, especially where light in colour
Try some different themes (on the DESIGN tab) to
see which are and which aren’t suitable
1.
2.
3.
Press <Esc> to stop the show
Go to the DESIGN tab and try out some of the other themes
Resume the show by pressing <Shift F5>
University Templates
For official University presentations (lectures,
conference papers etc) staff should be using the
templates provided by the Design & Print Studio
Bulleted Lists
It’s better not to have everything shown all at
once:
• First point
• Second
• Third
• Fourth
• Fifth
Bulleted Lists
Instead, apply animation so they appear and
then fade:
• First point
• Second
• Third
• Fourth
• Fifth
Or Add Callouts
You can add any
And further
extra
information
information
here
here
Adding Callouts
Try adding your own callout to this slide:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Press <Esc> to stop the show
Go to the INSERT tab and click on [Shapes]
Select one of the callout shapes
Using the mouse, drag out the shape – you can
easily modify this later if necessary
5. Type the text into the callout
6. Move to the ANIMATIONS tab and choose [Appear]
7. Run the slide – press <Shift F5>
Replacing Text
If you have a lot to say, you can replace one
box of text with another. This is also useful
for a question and answer slide:
What is the English translation of the Greek:
Answer:
Whatσεis λένε
Πώς
your name?
Το ονομά
My
name μου
is … είναι …
To achieve this effect, the second text box must have a
solid fill, which blocks out the original text.
Zooming
If you have a lot to say or want to emphasize
something, consider zooming in/out:
This paragraph is about to be
zoomed so that people at the
back of the class can read it
more easily.
Transitions
Can make your presentation look
very professional
Choose what you want from those
provided on the TRANSITIONS tab
Transitions
• That was a sensible transition
Transitions
• That was a bit flashy
Transitions
• That was NOT a sensible transition
Selecting Items
• Click on a placeholder then press <Esc> to
select it
• Press <Tab> to jump between items
Try it yourself on this slide:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Press <Esc> to stop the show
Click inside the slide’s heading
Press <Esc> - note that the placeholder’s handles now appear
Press <Tab> to see what happens
See if you can discover a hidden shape – if you do, go to the FORMAT tab
and click on [Bring Forward] then Bring to Front
6. Press <Shift F5> to resume the show
Guides
Viewing the Ruler and Guides help you place items
precisely. To check whether the blue rectangle below is
properly centred:
1. Press <Esc> then go to the VIEW tab and turn on the Guides
2. Click on the rectangle then use the arrow keys to move it, if
necessary then press <Shift F5> to resume the show
Lining up Objects
When you draw shapes, you may want to space them
evenly or line them up. First you need to select them:
1. Press <Esc> to suspend the show
2. Using the mouse, drag a rectangle over the circles – the
handles appear (you can also <Shift click> to select them)
3. Go to the FORMAT tab and click on [Align]
4. Choose Align Top then click again to Distribute Horizontally
5. Resume the show – press <Shift F5>
Hidden Slides
Sometimes, it’s useful to have extra, hidden,
slides. You can then show them if:
• Someone asks a particular question
• If you find you have time to expand on a
subject
The next slide is hidden. If you press <Enter> or
click with the mouse, you will miss it. To see it
you have to press <h>.
Moving Around
Sometimes, you may be asked to go back a slide
if you moved on too quickly.
To move back press:
<p> or use <left-arrow> or <up-arrow>
To move on, click with the mouse or press:
<Enter> or <n> or <right-arrow> or <down-arrow>
You can also move to a particular slide by typing
in its number then pressing <Enter>. Pressing
<End> moves you to the last slide (<Home> to
the first).
Moving Around
You can also right click on a slide to display a
pop-up menu, including See All Slides but this
isn’t so professional.
Try moving to the hidden slide:
Either:
Or:
Type 20 and press <Enter>
Right click and choose slide 20
Then:
Either:
Or:
Type 22 and press <Enter>
Right click and choose slide 22
Adding Annotations
You can write on slides using a pen or
highlighter. At the end of the show, you can
choose whether or not to keep the annotations.
Try this here:
1. Press <Ctrl p> for a pen and use the mouse to
annotate this slide
2. Press <Ctrl a> to return the mouse to normal
You can also right click to get to these facilities
and also to change the pen colour or choose a
highlighter.
The End
I hope you found this presentation useful and
that you will be encouraged to use some of the
tips in your own presentations.
For further help with PowerPoint:
• Make use of our advanced notes online
• Come to a drop-in session for one-to-one
tuition or help with a particular problem
• Go to the web sites listed in the notes