We’ve all had to sit through lengthy, tedious PowerPoint slideshows. The topic is interesting enough, and the presenter seems to know what they’re talking about. Yet, something doesn’t feel quite right.

If you have a presentation coming up and don’t want the same thing to happen to you, you’re in the right place!

We drew up an easy-to-follow guide to demonstrate the basics of how to create a PowerPoint presentation. You’ll also find tips to help you create captivating and enjoyable slideshows.

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Studies show that slideshows can improve the way audiences understand a specific topic. Plus, they increase the number of information employees can retain after a meeting.

Keep reading for some tips on creating an effective unforgettable presentation.

Venture capitalist Guy Kawasaki has spent a great deal of his life promoting the 10-20-30 rule. He believes it makes PowerPoint presentations better structured and more to the point.

The rule is pretty simple, and it goes like this:

10 slides are optimal to allow the audience to retain a suitable amount of data

20 minutes to state the problem and present a solution in terms of who, when, and how

30 points font is ideal because it’s not too small and it’s not too big

Once you have your slides set up, practice going from one slide to the next, both forward and backward. There's always the chance that someone in the audience could ask to see one of the previous slides again.

Technical difficulties may force you to work on another computer. Having a backup of your file on a CD-ROM or a flash drive is a smart idea. It’s also a good idea to prepare some color transparencies of your main slides.


What Makes a Good PowerPoint Presentation?

The following easy-to-follow tutorial explains how to create a PowerPoint presentation.

Click on the orange icon with the white ‘P’ on it. If a page with templates doesn’t open up, go to ‘File’ at the top left corner of the screen. Click ‘New Presentation.’

Scroll through the various templates. When you see one that feels right for your presentation, click on it. A new presentation will appear with the template design you’ve chosen.

Microsoft has many built-in themes and color variations. They give your presentation a customized look and design.

To select a theme, click on the ‘File’ tab. Then, select ‘New’ and choose from one of the options. Finally, click ‘Create.’

The title page should contain the title and subtitle only. Some people prefer to just add a bold, eye-catching title without anything else on the page.

You can click and drag on the sides of the text box to shrink or enlarge it. You can also change the font and text size by clicking on the ‘Home’ tab.

After designing the title page, it’s time to insert some extra slides. Click on the ‘Home’ tab, then the ‘New Slide’ button.

You’ll get a drop-down menu with several slide types. With most extra slides, you’ll only need the ‘Blank’ slide. This makes adding any kind of content you want much easier.

Now comes the fun part! Your content can’t only be text. Think quality images, colorful charts, maybe even music. That’s the type of content that will keep your audience alert.

To insert any type of content, click on the ‘Home’ tab followed by ‘Insert.’ Once you’ve added your content, drag around each element until you get the layout you want.

On the left of the screen, you should have a slide preview box. This is where you can see the changes you make to any slide. It’s also where you can see the slides in the order they’ll appear in your presentation.

If you want to rearrange the slides, click and drag each slide to where you want it to go. It goes without saying, but the title slide should remain at the top.

Transitions are a dramatic way to move from one slide to the next. To add some flair to your presentation, click on the ‘Transitions’ tab to show all the effects. To get an idea of how each effect works, place the mouse over the transition.

Animations add movement within each individual slide. They help focus on certain data and hone in on the points you want your audience to remember.

To animate a component of a slide, double-click to select it. Then, click on ‘Animations’ to choose an effect from the drop-down menu.

Clicking on an effect will give you a preview of how it works. Likewise, you can customize each effect by selecting ‘Effect Options.’

If you change your mind and want to remove a transition or animation, click ‘None.’

With everything’s in place, it’s time for a test drive. First, click on the ‘Slide Show’ tab. From the ribbon, choose ‘From Beginning’ to run the entire presentation. This will open your presentation in a slide show view.

Use cursor keys to move forward and backward to thoroughly check each slide. Check for any grammatical or spelling mistakes.

Take a look at the font and color theme. Also, make sure that each slide transitions smoothly to the next one. When you’re certain your presentation is perfect, press ‘Esc’ to exit the slide show.

Step 10: Save the PowerPoint Presentation

Finally, save your presentation as a .pptx file. You can open this file on any computer with the installed software.

To save the file on a Windows computer, click ‘File’ then ‘Save.’ Double click ‘This PC’ to save the file on your computer. Select a save location, give your presentation a name, then click ‘Save.’

How to Create a PowerPoint Presentation

Learning how to create a PowerPoint presentation the right way can be tricky. Lucky for you, we’ve gathered all the handy tips and techniques to help you design dynamic content and cool effects to keep your audience engaged.

The point of any slide show is to create a visual aid that will convey your message quickly and efficiently. That’s the key to a successful presentation!

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How to Create a PowerPoint Presentation

What Makes a Good PowerPoint Presentation?

How to Create a PowerPoint Presentation

Wrap Up