PowerPoint for Beginners
Tips to Consider:
1. Help them focus on what you are saying.
• Do not use PowerPoint to replace your own spontaneous conversation and discussion with students.
If the slides are too busy and contain too much information, they may spend more time reading the
slide than listening to you. Putting an emphasis on your presentation will encourage attendance.
• Never dim the lights and make sure to keep eye contact with your audience rather than being
occupied with the screen. Walk completely away from the screen and the presentation once in
awhile, to assure that the focus is on you. NEVER run the presentation automatically.
2. Watch out for linearity.
• Do not read your own slides off of the PowerPoint. Also, do not allow the use of PowerPoint to make
your presentation style too linear. It is recommended to have no more than one slide every two to
three minutes (Some prefer every 5).
3. Visuals are important.
• The format of your PowerPoint will help the students learn in tandem with your words. Watch out for
typos! Think about what bores or engages you, and use that to help you construct your PowerPoint
structure.
4. Do not overdo it.
• If you can’t make it look easy, don’t do it - trying to do things that are fancy may take a lot of time and
not add a lot to your presentation. Too many slides will also sabotage your lecture.
5. PowerPoint is a Tool.
• Be prepared to give your whole lecture without it – it is only an aid, not the centre of your class.
1.0 Starting PowerPoint
1.1 Areas of the PowerPoint window
1.2 Adding and Editing Title Text
1.3 Add New Slides
1.4 Navigate
1.5 Use Indents and Formatting
1.6 Autofitting Text
1.7 Type and View notes
2.0 Design and Layout
2.1 Pick a Design Template
2.2 Adding Media
3.0 Proof, Print, Prep for the show
3.1 Preview the Show on your Computer
3.2 Prepare Handouts and Notes
3.3 Insert Slides from another Show
1.0 Starting PowerPoint
•
Click on the “Start menu”, then “All Programs” to locate the PowerPoint application.
1.1 Areas of the PowerPoint window
In the slide pane, type text directly onto the slide, within
the text box.
On the left is a thumbnail version of the slide you're
working on. This area is the Slides tab, and you can click
the slide thumbnails here to navigate among slides.
The notes pane: Type notes that you'll use when
presenting. You can drag the top border of the notes pane to
make the notes area bigger.
Educational Development Centre
t: 613.520.4433
e: [email protected]
w:edc.carleton.ca
1.2 Adding and Editing title text
1.
Started by typing a title and subtitle: On the slide, click in the top text area (the title
placeholder), which has a dashed border and the text “Click to add title.”
The text disappears.
Type any title you want, such as “Presentation Tips.”
Click in the placeholder below this one (or press CTRL+ENTER on the
keyboard to get to the next placeholder), and type a subtitle, such as
“Simple and effective.”
2.
Look at the slide thumbnail on the Slides tab (pictured right.) While the
text there is small, it shows that text has been typed on the slide; here is
an example image:
1.3 Adding New Slides
1. At the top of the screen, in the Home Ribbon, you will see
a Slides Panel. By clicking on the New Slide button, a new
slide will be added to your presentation. By clicking on the
lower half of this button, a screen will pop up, allowing you
to choose the layout for your next slide.
•
Also, within this panel, take note of the Layout
Button. This will allow you to change the layout of
the slide you are currently working on.
2. Click within the Slides tab. To insert a new slide, press
ENTER.
A new slide thumbnail is added below the title slide on the
Slides tab.
3. Right-click the selected thumbnail, then click New
Slide on the shortcut menu.
1.4 Navigate
1. In order to navigate through your slides, move your cursor to the Slides Tab and
click on the slide you wish to have in the Slide Pane to work on.
2. One may also change the order of the slides in their presentation with the use of
the Slides Tab. First, click (and hold the button down) on the slide you wish to
move, and drag it up or down to the new location you desire (and release the
button).
3. Alternatively, you can view all the slides in your presentation, as
thumbnails, at once by clicking on the Slide Sorter button,
found in the tool bar in the bottom left corner of PowerPoint.
•
Once in this view, you can return to Normal View by double clicking on any slide or by
clicking the Normal View button to the left of the Slide Sorter button.
Educational Development Centre
t: 613.520.4433
e: [email protected]
w:edc.carleton.ca
1.5 Use text indents and formatting
The body text placeholder is usually positioned below a title.
Its default formatting is a bulleted list. At the end of a paragraph, press
ENTER and then TAB to get to the next level of indent down.
If you don't want a bulleted list, select the placeholder by clicking its border.
Then click the Bullets button
, which will remove the bullets. Other
buttons in the Paragraph Pane in the Home Ribbon, such as the Center
button , are also helpful for positioning text. The indent buttons, such as Decrease Indent
, help
you position text at the right level of indent.
To Add more text and work with it.
1. Go to a slide, click the big placeholder below the title, in the text that says Click to add text. This
is the body text placeholder. The default text disappears so that you can type your own text.
2. Type something for the first bullet, such as “Put details in notes.” Press ENTER.
A second bullet appears. To indent to a second text level, a sub point, press TAB.
Type “Make notes available” for this sub point (or whatever text you like). Press ENTER again.
This puts the pointer at a new line for a second sub point.
3. Press TAB so that you indent the text to a third level and then type: “Use extra slides.” (Don't
worry about whether this text makes sense here.)
You now have three levels of text, each with a unique bullet style and different text size.
4. But, for the third point, you'd rather put this as a main bullet than at level three. How to you get it
into that top-level text position?
Try this method first: Point to the third-level bullet and look for the four-headed pointer:
Drag this pointer to the left, and a vertical bar marks each text position as you move left. Drag
directly left to the position of the top-level bullet before releasing.
Another method: Use the Decrease Indent
and Increase Indent
buttons on the Formatting toolbar to move text out or in. Keep clicking the button until you reach
the correct indent level.
1.6 Autofitting text
PowerPoint automatically shrinks text to fit into the placeholder if length starts to exceed space. In these
steps, see how AutoFit works.
1. On a slide, type “Point 3,” press ENTER. Type “Point 4,” press ENTER. Type “Point
5,” press ENTER. Keep typing new points until you see the text inside the
placeholder shift and get smaller. After the text shifts, you should see a little
button to the left of the placeholder. When you point to it, its ScreenTip appears.
2. Click the button called AutoFit Options.
3. Click Stop Fitting Text to This Placeholder.
4. Split Text Between Two Slides. On the Slides tab, the new slide 3 thumbnail is
selected and displayed in the slide area. It has the same heading as slide 2, “Limit text on a
slide.”
Educational Development Centre
t: 613.520.4433
e: [email protected]
w:edc.carleton.ca
1.7 Type and view notes
1. Below the slide area is a blank area that says “Click to add notes.” This is the notes pane.
Generally, to work in it comfortably, you should make it larger. To do so, point to the split
bar at the top of the notes area, and then look for the pointer to change to a double-headed
arrow (split bar). Drag the split bar upward to make the notes pane a little bigger.
2. Select the View Ribbon, click Notes Page. Notes page view is an editing view that also shows
you the layout of printed notes. The key point about this view is that you can type notes here, too,
and apply additional text formatting (some formatting doesn't show up in the notes pane in normal
view).
2.0 Design and layout
When you've nailed down the text for your slide show, lift the presentation out of its black-andwhite doldrums by applying a design template. A template provides color, style, and decorative
accents.
2.1 Pick a design template
You get to add color now. In these steps, select the Design Ribbon and pick a template. Note the up
and down arrows to the right of the last thumbnail, click this to see more templates.
1. Simply mouse over (hover over) the various templates to see a preview of what your slide will look
like. When you find a template that you like, click the thumbnail itself (note the arrow that appears
on it).
This applies the template to all your slides. On the Slides tab, you should see each slide thumbnail
assume that design.
2. You've applied a template to all slides. Click through the slide thumbnails on the Slides tab to see
the applied design.
2.2 Adding Media
Media such as images, clip art and video help to create a dynamic and interesting presentation.
1. Select the Insert Ribbon.
2. To insert a picture from a file, select the Picture button then locate the file you wish to incorporate
into you presentation.
Educational Development Centre
t: 613.520.4433
e: [email protected]
w:edc.carleton.ca
3. Repeat this process if you wish to and other kinds of
media such as clipart, movies, sounds, tables, charts,
etc., by clicking the appropriate button.
4. Alternatively, this can be done by selecting the quick
access media button found in the middle of the add text
area of most new slides.
3.0 Proof, print, prep for the show
Get ready to present the show by previewing it, seeing options for how to set it up, previewing and
printing handouts and notes, and considering where and how you need to package the presentation.
Important To make working in slide show view easier, print these instructions now so you'll have them
in front of you. To do so, right-click them, and click Print.
3.1 Preview the show on your computer
View your slides as if they were being projected in the slide show. You'll do this by using slide show view.
1. The button that takes you to slide show view is in the bottom right of the window in normal view;
it's the Slide Show button, the third button in the following picture
click it, and read the following:
•
•
. Wait before you
When you open this view, you are out of the normal PowerPoint window, and you need either
to click all the way through the slides or to press ESC to return to normal view.
Before you go into slide show view, be aware of which slide is selected on the Slides tab. If
the thumbnail for slide 3 is selected and you click Slide Show, the show starts on slide 3. To
start the show from the first slide, you can either select slide 1 first, and then click the Slide
Show button; or, you can use the keyboard method and press F5 to always start on slide 1.
2. With the printed instructions in hand, now press F5 and go into slide show view.
After pressing F5, which puts you into slide show view, move the mouse and look for the Slide
Show toolbar to appear in the lower left of the window. It looks like this:
Click the Next arrow to advance to the next slide. Make the toolbar appear again by moving the
mouse, and then click the icons on the toolbar to see their menus.
To get through the rest of the slide show, either click the Next arrow, click the mouse, press PAGE
DOWN, or press the DOWN ARROW key. When you get to the black screen, click it to return to
normal view. At that point, feel free to use the online instructions again.
3. Back in normal view: The preview that you just did approximates the viewing and navigating
experience of the real, projected slide show that you will present. Note, however, that there are
other ways to set up the show.
Educational Development Centre
t: 613.520.4433
e: [email protected]
w:edc.carleton.ca
•
•
•
To see them, select the Slide Show Ribbon in normal view, click Set Up Show. Look at the
options.
Under Show Type, in the upper left. It's set to Presented by a speaker (full screen).
Another option is Browsed by an individual (window). This opens the presentation in a browser
window. To navigate this type of setup, either click the Next Slide navigation arrows at the bottom
of the right scroll bar, or press the PAGE DOWN key or arrow keys, rather than clicking the slide
itself.
4. The third option, Browsed at a kiosk (full screen), relies either on timings that you set up so that
the show will run on its own, or navigation that you provide with linked objects and buttons. That's
for another course.
Click Cancel to close the dialog box.
3.2 Prepare to print handouts and notes
1. Access the main menu by clicking the Microsoft Office Button,
•
, highlight the Print button.
In print preview, you can see what you printed out will look like. If you select quick print,
your presentation will print with whatever settings were last applied. By selecting Print, you
can decided exactly how your presentation will be sent to the printer.
2. Typically, you will want to give the audience handouts that have several slides per page. To do
this, once you have selected Print, go to the drop down menu in the bottom right called “Print
What” and from this menu select “Handouts.” Then in the pane directly to the left, specify how
you would like you handouts to appear.
3. To select a color setting, use the “Color/grayscale:” pull down menu in the bottom left.
These options are very important if you have chosen to use a background or template on your
slides. While templates make you presentations look very nice, if you print them with the
templates, not only will you use a lot of ink, it will be very hard for your audience to make notes.
The best option, if you have included graphs and diagrams in your presentation, is grayscale.
4. If you plan to refer to notes while you present, they can be selected from the Print What pull down
menu.
5.
Finally, ensure “Print Range” is set to All.
3.3 Insert slides from another show
1. With your current presentation open, click the lower half of the New Slide button located in the
Home Ribbon.
2. At the bottom of the window that pops up, you will see “Reuse Slides,” click this.
3. A Reuse Slide pane will open on the right side of PowerPoint.
4. Click Browse to locate slides or entire presentations on your computer.
5. If you have selected an entire presentation, a collection of thumbnails will be presented in the
Reuse Slide pane, here simply select the slide you want to use in your new presentation and it will
be copied over.
6. To keep the slides' current formatting after they're inserted, select the Keep source formatting
check box.
Educational Development Centre
t: 613.520.4433
e: [email protected]
w:edc.carleton.ca