Creating a Presentation

Here are the recommended steps to creating an effective presentation in PowerPoint:

Start PowerPoint
select <Blank Presentation>
use the Outline View/Pane to create the textual content of your presentation
use the Slide View/Pane to add graphics, charts, etc.
select FormatApply Design to create the “look and feel” of your presentation
switch to Slide Show View to see how it looks
make any necessary changes to refine your presentation
- use the Outline View to move text around on your slides or to edit it
- use the Slide Sorter view to rearrange slides and/or to add special effects
- change templates, backgrounds, etc.
switch to Slide Show View to see how it looks

By following the steps below, you will create a simple presentation; and you will cover all of the elements needed for an effective presentation. Let’s begin!

The First Step

Start PowerPoint
At the “New Presentation” screen
- select <Blank Presentation>
- Click <OK>

What is the New Slide Dialog Box?

The New Slide Dialog Box will appear which permits you to select from the 24 basic slide AutoLayouts in PowerPoint. Each layout represents are different arrangement of items on the template slide. As shown in the picture, use the scroll bar to view all 24 templates. In summary they are:

a Title Slide

a placeholder for a slide title
and one for a subtitle

a Bulleted List slide

a placeholder for a slide title
one for bulleted text

a Two Column Text slide

a placeholder for a slide title
two place holders, side-by-side, each for bulleted text

a Table slide

a placeholder for a slide title
a placeholder for a table

a Text and Chart slide
a Chart and Text slide

a placeholder for a slide title
a placeholder for bulleted text to the left of a placeholder for a chart (aka graph)
or a placeholder for bulleted text to the right of a placeholder for a chart (aka graph)

notice that there are two similar layouts, the only difference being the position of the Chart placeholder relative to the Text placeholder

an Org Chart slide

a placeholder for a slide title
a placeholder for an organization chart

a Chart slide

a placeholder for a slide title
a placeholder for a chart (aka graph)

a Text and Clip Art slide
a Clip Art and Text slide

a placeholder for a slide title
a placeholder for bulleted text to the left of a placeholder for a Clip Art
or a placeholder for bulleted text to the right of a placeholder for a Clip Art

notice that there are two similar layouts, the only difference being the position of the Clip Art placeholder relative to the Text placeholder

a Title Only Slide

a placeholder for a slide title

a Blank Slide

no placeholders, completely blank

a Text and Object slide (PowerPoint 2000)
a Text and Picture slide (PowerPoint 2001)

a placeholder for a slide title
a placeholder for bulleted text to the left of a placeholder for an object/picture
or a placeholder for bulleted text to the right of a placeholder for an object/picture

notice that there are two similar layouts, the only difference being the position of the Object/Picture placeholder relative to the Text placeholder

a Large Object slide (PowerPoint 2000)
a Large Picture slide (PowerPoint 2001)

a placeholder for an object/picture

an Object slide (PowerPoint 2000)
a Picture slide (PowerPoint 2001)

a placeholder for a slide title
a placeholder for an object/picture

a Text and Media Clip slide

a placeholder for a slide title
a placeholder for bulleted text to the left of a placeholder for a media clip
or a placeholder for bulleted text to the right of a placeholder for a media clip

notice that there are two similar layouts, the only difference being the position of the Media Clip placeholder relative to the Text placeholder

a Object Over Text Slide (PowerPoint 2000)
a Picture Over Text slide (PowerPoint 2001)

a placeholder for a slide title
a placeholder for an object/picture on top of a placeholder for bulleted text
or a placeholder for an object/picture below a placeholder for bulleted text

notice that there are two similar layouts, the only difference being the position of the Object/Picture placeholder relative to the Text placeholder

a Text and Two Objects slide (PowerPoint 2000)
a Text and Two Pictures slide (PowerPoint 2001)

a placeholder for a slide title
a placeholder for bulleted text to the left of 2 placeholders for two objects/pictures, one on top of the other
or a placeholder for bulleted text to the right of 2 placeholders for two objects/pictures, one on top of the other

notice that there are two similar layouts, the only difference being the position of the Object/Pictures placeholders relative to the Text placeholder

a Two Objects Over Text slide (PowerPoint 2000)
a Two Pictures Over Text slide (PowerPoint 2001)

a placeholder for a slide title
2 placeholders for two objects/pictures, side-by-side, on top of
a placeholder for bulleted text

a Four Objects Slide (PowerPoint 2000)
a Four Pictures slide (PowerPoint 2001)

a placeholder for a slide title
two placeholders for two side-by-side objects/pictures on top of
two placeholders for two side-by-side objects/pictures

Now Pick an Auto Layout for the First Slide

Each presentation should begin with a title slide! One of the nice things about PowerPoint is that the program assumes that you want to start with a title slide (note it is the default selection in the dialog box). Further, PowerPoint assumes that you do not want your next slide to be a title slide; the program automatically selects the next layout in the box, a Bulleted List slide, as soon as you create the second slide.

if you are using PowerPoint 97/98	if you are using PowerPoint 2000/2001
click on the [Title Slide], click<OK>	click on the [Title Slide], click<OK>
a title slide will appear in Slide View	a title slide will appear in Tri-Pane View
Click on the <Outline View> button in the lower left of screen	you may wish to choose ViewToolbarsOutlining

Now Enter the Text for Your Slides as an Outline

To enter the text for the slides in outline view follow these simple steps:

Type Georgetown College for the title of slide one, press <RETURN> or <ENTER>


Outline Arrows PowerPoint 2000	Outline Arrows PowerPoint 2001

Click on the “demote” arrow (arrow points to the right) or press <TAB>
- this “lowers ” the next item and makes it subordinate to the title
- Type A Fine Liberal Arts College, press <RETURN> or <ENTER>
- you just entered a subtitle
Click on the “promote” arrow (arrow pointing to the left) or press <SHIFT-TAB>
- this “raises ” the next item
- you have now started slide 2 (PowerPoint will automatically use the bulleted text slide layout for this slide)
- Type History
- press <RETURN> or <ENTER>
- Click on the “demote” arrow or press <TAB>
- Type Founded in 1829, press <RETURN> or <ENTER>
- Click on the “demote” arrow or press <TAB>
- Type Affiliated with Kentucky Baptist Convention, press <RETURN> or <ENTER>
- Type First College West of the Alleghenies, press <RETURN> or <ENTER>
Click on the “promote” arrow (arrow pointing to the left) twice or press <SHIFT-TAB> twice
- you have created slide 3
- Type Academics
  - since this slide will be used to introduce a new topical section of the presentation we will change its layout (see discussion below about why presentations are often divided into sections)
    - choose FormatSlide Layout
    - select the “Title Only” slide
    - click <Apply>
- Press <RETURN> or <ENTER> to create slide 4
  - PowerPoint will automatically switch back to the bulleted text slide layout for the next slide
Type Natural Sciences, press <RETURN> or <ENTER>
Click on the “demote” arrow or press <TAB>
Type Biology, press <RETURN> or <ENTER>, then Chemistry, press <RETURN> or <ENTER>, then Math, Physics, and Computer Science, press <RETURN> or <ENTER>
Press <SHIFT-TAB> to create slide 5
Type Social Sciences, press <RETURN> or <ENTER>
Press <TAB>
Type Business Administration and Economics, press <RETURN> or <ENTER>, then Psychology, press <RETURN> or <ENTER>, then Sociology, press <RETURN> or <ENTER>
Press <SHIFT-TAB> to create slide 6
Type Extracurricular Activities
- this slide will also be used to introduce a new topical section of the presentation so change its layout to “Title Only”
- press <RETURN> or <ENTER> to create slide 7
Type Athletics, press <RETURN> or <ENTER>
Press <TAB>
Type Intramurals, press <RETURN> or <ENTER>, then Intercollegiate, press <RETURN> or <ENTER>
Press <SHIFT-TAB> to create slide 8
Type Greek Life
- since this slide will have text in two columns, one for sororities and one for fraternities, we need to change the slide layout
  - choose FormatSlide Layout
  - select the “Two Column Text” slide
  - click <Apply>
- press <RETURN> or <ENTER> (you have created slide 9 but this is only temporary!)
- Press <TAB> to return to slide 8
- you will now enter the items in column 1 (note thesymbol in the outline)
  - type Sororities
  - press <RETURN> or <ENTER>
  - press <TAB>
  - type Alpha Gamma Delta, press <RETURN> or <ENTER>, then Kappa Delta, press <RETURN> or <ENTER>, then Phi Mu, press <RETURN> or <ENTER>, then Sigma Kappa
- press <CONTROL-RETURN> (Windows) or <OPTION-RETURN> (Macintosh) to switch to column 2 (note thesymbol in the outline)
- you will now enter the items in column 2
  - type Fraternities
  - press <RETURN> or <ENTER>
  - Press <TAB>
  - type Kappa Alpha, press <RETURN> or <ENTER>, then Lambda Chi Alpha, press <RETURN> or <ENTER>, then Phi Kappa Tau, press <RETURN> or <ENTER>, then Pi Kappa Alpha

Your presentation is now finished! Save it and we will continue.

Why the “Title Only” Slides?

Just like books are divided into chapters, it is a common practice to divide presentations into topical sections to help your audience follow your thoughts. Consider the example presentation you just completed about Georgetown College. The first slide is the main title slide for the entire presentation; it contains a subtitle. The next slide is a general information slide about the college. The next section of the presentation discusses the academic departments so slide three is a “Title Only” that introduces this section. After the slides on the academic departments, the topic shifts to student life, so a “Title Only” was inserted to introduce that section. A well-designed presentation does not require “Title Only” slides to divide it into sections. However, they do help your audience follow your theme by acting as a signal that you have completed one thought and are about to start another.

Viewing Your Presentation

click in the outline anywhere in slide one
click on the <Slide Show> button to view your presentation.
to advance slides in the Slide Show
- click the mouse button
- press <RETURN> / <ENTER>
- or press <SPACEBAR>
after the last slide as be displayed
- in PowerPoint 97/98/2001, the show will end and you will be returned to whatever view you were in when you started the slide show
- in PowerPoint 2000, the screen will “go black” and “End of slide show, click to exit” will be displayed; click the mouse button to return to whatever view you were in when you started the slide show
to learn more about the viewing your presentation, see also More About Slide Shows

rule of thumb:

When you switch to the Slide Show view, the first slide to be shown depends upon “where you are”

	if you switch to Slide Show from the Outline view, the presentation will begin with the same slide that your cursor was on in Outline View
	if you switch to Slide Show from the Slide View, the presentation will begin with the same slide that you are viewing
	if you want to view a Slide Show starting from the first slide be sure to position you cursor anywhere in the outline of slide one in the Outline View or view slide one in Slide View

Now that you have viewed your presentation ask yourself “What is missing?” and “What do you need to do finish the job”?

Adding the “Look-and-Feel” to Your Presentation

if you are using PowerPoint 97/98

if you are using PowerPoint 2000/2001

click on the <Apply Design> button

click on the <Apply Design Template> button

or select FormatApply Design

or select FormatApply Design Template

the Apply Design Dialog Box will appear

the Apply Design Template Dialog Box (PowerPoint 2000) or the Choose a File Dialog Box (PowerPoint 2001) will appear

PowerPoint 97 Apply Design Dialog Box

Apply Design 98

PowerPoint 98 Apply Design Dialog Box

Apply Design 2000

PowerPoint 2000 Apply Design Dialog Box

PowerPoint 2001 Apply Design Dialog Box

Once the dialog box appears:

select a design template for your presentation from the list by clicking on the name once; note that this is a scrollable list
note the preview of the design in the box on the right
click the <Apply> button

Now view your presentation again!

if you are using PowerPoint 97/98	if you are using PowerPoint 2000/2001
click on the <Apply Design> button	click on the <Apply Design Template> button
or select FormatApply Design	or select FormatApply Design Template
the Apply Design Dialog Box will appear	the Apply Design Template Dialog Box (PowerPoint 2000) or the Choose a File Dialog Box (PowerPoint 2001) will appear