Engage your audience with animation
Using this guide
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Contents
Before you animate… .............................................................................................................................. 2
Built in Animation Effects........................................................................................................................ 2
Add an animation................................................................................................................................ 2
Apply additional animations ............................................................................................................... 2
Remove an effect ................................................................................................................................ 2
Replace an effect ................................................................................................................................ 2
Repeat an effect .................................................................................................................................. 2
Custom Animation .................................................................................................................................. 2
Apply a custom animation: ................................................................................................................. 3
Remove an effect ................................................................................................................................ 3
Apply a start setting (With Previous, After Previous, and so on) ....................................................... 3
Set timings........................................................................................................................................... 3
Control the effect .................................................................................................................................... 3
Add sound; dim or hide an item ......................................................................................................... 3
Tips for interspersing pictures within a list ......................................................................................... 3
Use the selection pane to organise objects ........................................................................................ 4
Motion paths........................................................................................................................................... 4
Apply a motion path ........................................................................................................................... 4
Draw a custom path ............................................................................................................................ 4
Move, size, rotate a path .................................................................................................................... 4
To move the item with its path ........................................................................................................... 5
Further resources.................................................................................................................................... 5
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Before you animate…
Ask yourself ‘how does this animation help engage my audience?’.
Once you know how to add animation to your presentations in PowerPoint, it can be tempting to
have objects whizz onto the slide from the left, fly in from the right or swivel in the centre followed
by a 'subtle' shimmer. But does it really help you to get your message across?
PowerPoint animation should help you to steer audience focus and emphasise important points. If
you think your PowerPoint is a bit boring, think of other ways to add impact (for example good,
strong images, charts etc) rather than adding meaningless animations which will distract your
audience.
Built in Animation Effects
The most popular animation effects that you can use in your presentations include entrance and
exit, applied to individual bullets of text, and motion paths applied to objects
Add an animation
1. Select the item to animate
2. Select the Animations tab on the ribbon
3. Click on the drop-down arrow on the Animate gallery and select your preferred animation
Apply additional animations
1. Select the item
2. Click Add Animation and select from the gallery
Remove an effect
Same logic as above except you click None in the list of schemes.
Replace an effect
Just click a different scheme; you don't need to remove the original one first.
Repeat an effect
1. Select the item with the effect you want to repeat
2. Click the Animation painter (double click to apply to multiple items)
3. Click the item you want to apply the animation(s) to
Custom Animation
If you want more control over the animation of the objects on your slide, then you can use Custom
Animation. The custom animation effects are divided into four types that reflect the point at which
you want the animation to occur:
Entrance
The Entrance effects are designed to control the way that your slide, or the text
on your slide, appears on the screen.
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Emphasis
These effects control how the audience’s eye is drawn to each line on the slide in
turn.
Exit
Exit effects determine how the contents of the slide will leave the screen.
Motion Paths
Motion paths control the movement of your text or objects around the slide.
Apply a custom animation:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Select the object to animate
Click on the Animations tab
Click the Animation Pane button to display the Custom Animation task pane
Click the relevant item on the slide and add the effect of your choice
To select more than one item, press CTRL as you click.
Remove an effect
1. Select the effect (or effects) in the task pane effects list
2. Press Delete on your keyboard
Apply a start setting (With Previous, After Previous, and so on)
1. Select the effect (or effects) in the task pane effects list or select the item
on the slide
2. In the Start box in the task pane, click the type of start you want
Set timings
1. Select the effect (or effects) in the task pane effects list or select the item on the slide
2. Change the duration and/or delay as required
Control the effect
Depending on the animation you have chosen, you will have different effect options to choose
e.g. the direction of the animation.
1. Select the item in the task pane or in the slide
2. Click Effect Options in the Animation group
Add sound; dim or hide an item
1. Click the effect in the effects list, display its drop-down menu, right click and choose Effect
Options, and make a selection.
Tips for interspersing pictures within a list




Apply the text entrance effect to the list first (click the list and add the effect)
For each picture: Insert the picture, add an entrance effect and then an exit effect, and then
drag these effects to the correct order in the effects list
Give the picture effects the correct start settings
To select a hidden picture on the slide, select the top one you can see and press TAB to cycle
through everything on the slide, OR press SHIFT + TAB to cycle through in the reverse
direction
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Use the selection pane to organise objects
The selection and Visibility task pane that keeps track of all components (shapes, objects, and
placeholders) that might reside on a slide. Sometimes when slide components are stacked on top of
each other, it is difficult to select each one, or to know which item you are working with when you’re
applying animations.
1. To open the Selection and Visibility pane, on the Home tab, in the Editing group, click
Select, and then click Selection Pane.
2. In the Selection and Visibility pane, under Shapes on this Slide, click the object or
placeholder that you want to select.
 Click the eye icon to hid an object on the slide
 Double click an item (e.g. picture 6) to rename it – the new name will also appear in
the animation pane
Motion paths
Motion paths can be good when you want to build a picture on a slide, for example you might have a
variety of objects on a slide which need to be placed in order – maybe as part of a discussion with
your audience.
Apply a motion path
1. Select the item on the slide that should get the motion path
2. On the Animation ribbon, click choose More Motion Paths from the Animation gallery
3. On the slide, point to where you want the path to start (generally, the centre of the item it's
moving), and look for the cross-hairs pointer, or the pen pointer in the case of a Scribble,
and draw.
Draw a custom path
1. On the Animation ribbon, open the Animation gallery
2. In the Motion paths section, choose Custom Path

Line

Curve
end it

Scribble
: Drag to draw a straight path
: Drag for a line and click at points where you want a curve. Double-click to
: Drag for a completely freehand shape
Move, size, rotate a path


To position the path: Point to the path and look for the four-headed arrow
, and then
drag the path
To size the path: Point to the path, see the four-headed arrow, and then click. This selects

the path. You'll see sizing handles. Point to a handle and look for the two-headed arrow
; drag to resize
To rotate the path: Once the path is selected, point to the top of the rotator handle and
drag the circular arrow
to rotate the path. (Straight-line paths don't have this handle.
Also, sometimes you need to zoom the slide pane to a higher percentage to see the handle.)
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To move the item with its path
Click the item (whatever the path's applied to) to select it, and then drag the item. The path
(assuming it's unlocked) will move with the item.
Video – Adding animation to objects and text
Video – Animating SmartArt
Video – Creating custom animations
Further resources
If you'd like to take your skills further with PowerPoint, you can complete the entire lynda.com
courses:
PowerPoint 2016 Essential Training
PowerPoint Builds, animations, transitions and effects
Once you've completed a course, you'll receive a certificate of completion which you can share with
others or upload directly to your LinkedIn profile.
You can also complete a Microsoft Office Specialist Certification in PowerPoint. MOS
certifications are completely free whilst you're a student at UCLan - you'll find more information on
our certifications web page.
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