PowerPoint Presentation is a visual and multimedia tool used for creating and delivering slideshows to convey information, ideas, and messages to an audience. It is a popular software application developed by Microsoft and is part of the Microsoft Office suite.
More About PPT
Microsoft PPT is one of the programs of the Microsoft Office suite. This is used to make presentations for personal and professional purposes. PowerPoint presentation is a combination of different slides that represent a graphical and visual interpretation of data in order to present information in a more creative and interactive manner.
It was actually designed to provide visuals for group presentations within business organizations or companies. However, this is used widely in many other communication situations, both in business and beyond.
History
Microsoft PowerPoint presentation program was created by Robert Gaskins and Dennis Austin in a software company called Forethought. It was released on April 20, 1987 initially for Macintosh computers only and was soon acquired by Microsoft for about $14 million three months after it appeared. This was Microsoft’s first significant acquisition and it set up a new business unit for PowerPoint in Silicon Valley where Forethought was located.
The market share of PowerPoint was very small at first, before it was introduced to Microsoft windows, but it grew very fast with the growth of Windows and of Office. The worldwide market share of presentation software was estimated at 95 percent.
How to Open Microsoft PowerPoint?
Following are the steps to open the Microsoft PowerPoint on a computer –
- Click on the start button
- Then select “All Programs”
- Next select “MS Office”
- Under MS Office, click on the “MS PowerPoint”
As per the requirement, a person can modify the template on the blank screen for a presentation and start using the program.
Slide Show in a PowerPoint Presentation
When the slides of the PowerPoint is all set in series to present to a group of people, each slide appears simultaneously is called PowerPoint slide show.
Elements to Include in a PowerPoint Slide
Following are the elements to be included while presenting a slide –
- Clip Art
- Graphs
- Tables
- Photographs
- Charts
- Media Clips
- Videos
All the above elements are mainly used to increase presentation skills and make the slide show more interactive.
Features of MS PowerPoint
In MS PowerPoint, there are multiple features that are available which can customize and optimize a presentation.
Layout of Slide:
Depending on the presentation to be created, there are various options and layouts available. This option is available under the “Home” section and one can choose from the multiple layout options provided.
Insert – Clipart, Video, Audio etc:
Under the “Insert” category, multiple options are available to choose the required feature that they want to insert in their presentation. Including images, audio, video, header, footer, symbols, shapes etc.
Slide Design:
MS PowerPoint had different themes using which background colour, designs or textures can be added to slide. Due to this the presentation becomes more colourful and attracts the attention of the people who are looking at it. This type of feature can be added using the “Design” category of homepage of MS PowerPoint.
Animation:
During the slide show, the slides appears on the screen one after the other. In case, anyone wants to add some animations to the way in which a slide presents itself, they can choose “Animation” category.
Uses of PowerPoint Presentation
Microsoft PowerPoint presentations are beneficial for both personal and professional usage. Below are some of the major fields where PowerPoint is useful –
- Education: The common mode of today’s education is with e-learning and smart classes which was chosen. The PowerPoint presentations can help students by making education more interactive.
- Marketing: PowerPoint presentation is most important in the filed of marketing. With the help of graphs and charts, the numbers can be shown more clearly which can be ignored by the viewer if being red.
- Business: MS PPT also be used in business to invite investors or to show the increase and decrease in profits.
- Creating Resumes: Digital resumes can be formed with the help of MS PowerPoint. Various patterns, photograph, etc can be added to the resume.
- Represent Growth: The representation growth of a company, business, student’s marks is easier with PowerPoint as both the graphics and text can be added in a presentation.
Guidelines to Design Effective Presentations
One has to make sure that the presentation is engaging and also well designed no matter what kind of presentation it is. Else, the user faces the risk and nobody would like to see a unsuccessful presentation.
To ensure the presentation is effective, there are few PowerPoint presentation planning guidelines that needs to be followed –
- Decide on the goal of the presentation.
- Creating outline
- Think about the slides that we need to include
- Decide on visuals
- Establish call to action
PowerPoint Presentation Design Guidelines
Following are few key points to keep in mind:
Keep the Text to a Minimum
PowerPoint should assist in delivering the presentation. One should stick to main idea per slide and to limit ourself to use not more than three bullets points per slide.
Use Large Fonts
One must ensure to use larger font sizes. Consider using 40pts for headings and going forth not smaller than 28 pts for the content text.
Readable Fonts
When the topic is of fonts, one must avoid using script or decorative fonts as they are hard to read. Try to use sans-serif fonts for body text.
Use Colour Selectively
Colour can make the presentation more visually appealing. However, avoid using light background or clashing colours as they would distract the audiences.
Enhance the Data with Charts and Graphs
One need to decide on the visuals that is used in the presentation. With the help of charts and graphs is a great way to abstract the data which is easy to understand.
Design for Wide Screen Formats
Most of the projector screens are optimized for widescreen in 16:9 ratio and hence one should design the presentation in 4:3 ratio which would still work.
Consistent Style Settings
This guideline will reinforce the brand image along with entire presentation is visually appealing.
Use Animation Selectively
Avoid animating every single word or slide as this will make the presentation look unskillful and unprofessional.
Proofread Everything
Proofread each slide to ensure there are no embarrassing typos. If there are other names mentioned, then ensure their names are spelt correctly to avoid awkward moments.
Consider using Templates
For an effective PowerPoint presentation, one should consider using a premade PowerPoint template which will have a professional design. This will also have all the required fields from section break slides, company and team slides to charts, galleries etc which will save a lot of time at the time of design.
Presentation Guidelines for Delivering the MS PowerPoint
- Do a Practice Run
- Test the Equipment
- Maintain an eye contact
- And also, ask questions during the presentation
- Don’t just read the slides
From the details of MS PowerPoint, it is understood that why PowerPoint is still leading presentation software. There are many things that can be done. Additionally, it makes presentation looks different from one another. Every presentation have higher chance of captivating the audience or even getting one step close to sign a contract with the new clients.
Read Also: What is Template | Types | Benefits | C++ Template | How it Works Excel Row Vs Column – Convert Row to Column, How to Hide & Freeze
