Creating a Presentation Using PowerPoint XP

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

• Start PowerPoint
• select <Blank Presentation> in the New section of the Task Pane
• use the Outline View/Pane to create the textual content of your presentation
• use the Slide View/Pane to add graphics, charts, etc.
• select FormatSlide 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

What follows now is a detailed explanation of each step, and a few more. By following these steps, 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
• Click on the Outline tab so that the Outline pane is visible

  The Outline/Slide tabs the Outline tab selected

• Since you are already have a Blank Presentation open, you are almost ready to begin

Choosing a Slide Layout

• The Task Pane should be displayed along the right of the screen; if it is not, choose ViewTask Pane
• Click on thebutton in the title bar of the task pane and select Slide Layout from the drop-down list. Or, if you prefer, you may choose FormatSlide Layout

Select Slide Layout from the drop-down menu
The Task Pane will now display the Apply Slide Layout choices. A portion of the Task Pane is shown on the right.

The Apply Slide Layout choices are a scrolling list of the 27 basic slide AutoLayouts in PowerPoint XP. Each layout represents are different arrangement of items on the template slide. Again, use the scroll bar to view all 24 templates. The AutoLayouts are grouped by the general type of layout. These groups are

•  Text Layouts (there are 4, click for description of each below)
• Content Layouts (there are 7, click for description of each below)
• Text and Content Layouts (there are 7, click for description of each below)
• Other Layouts (there are 9, click for description of each below)

The name of any specific layout is displayed as a “tool tip” when you hover the mouse pointer over it.

To apply a slide layout: click on the selected layout to change the layout of the current slide alternatively, you can click on theto open a mini menu if you have more than one slide selected, you can use Apply to Selected Slides to change the AutoLayout of all of the slides if you choose Insert New Slide you will create a new slide with the selected AutoLayout

Summary of the AutoLayouts

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 Task Pane). 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 Task Pane, a Bulleted List slide, as soon as you create the second slide.

• The Task Pane should be displayed along the right of the screen; if it is not, choose ViewTask Pane.
• Click on thebutton in the title bar of the task pane and select Slide Layout from the drop-down list. Or, if you prefer, you may choose FormatSlide Layout.
• The Title Slide layout should already be selected
  • choose another layout if desired for you title slide

Now Enter the Text for Your Slides as an Outline

Enter the text for the slides in the Outline pane (if necessary, click on the Outline tab to make the Outline pane visible). Using the Outline pane instead of typing directly on the slide is a more efficient way to create your content. The only thing that you need to remember is how an outline works:

	Pressing <RETURN> or <ENTER> creates a new item at the same outline level
	Pressing <TAB> before entering new text demotes the item, that is, the item is now at the next lower outline level
	Pressing <SHIFT-TAB> before entering new text promotes the item, that is, the item is now at the next higher outline level

We are going to create a simple presentation about Georgetown College.

• Type Georgetown College for the title of slide one, press <RETURN> or <ENTER>
• Press <TAB>
  • this “demotes ” 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
• Press <SHIFT-TAB>
  • this “promotes ” 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>
  • Press <TAB> to demote
  • Type Founded in 1829, press <RETURN> or <ENTER>
  • Press <TAB>
  • Type Affiliated with Kentucky Baptist Convention, press <RETURN> or <ENTER>
  • Type First College West of the Alleghenies, press <RETURN> or <ENTER>
• 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)
      • The Task Pane should be displayed along the right of the screen; if it is not, choose ViewTask Pane.
      • If necessary, click on thebutton in the title bar of the task pane and select Slide Layout from the drop-down list. Or, if you prefer, you may choose FormatSlide Layout
      • select the “Title Only” slide
  • 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>
• 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
  • change the slide layout for this slide 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
    • The Task Pane should be displayed along the right of the screen; if it is not, choose ViewTask Pane.
    • If necessary, click on thebutton in the title bar of the task pane and select Slide Layout from the drop-down list. Or, if you prefer, you may choose FormatSlide Layout
    • select the “Title and Two Column Text” slide
  • 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) 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
  • 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

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

Now that your content is close to perfect, it is time to apply a design template to your presentation.

• The Task Pane should be displayed along the right of the screen; if it is not, choose ViewTask Pane.
• Click on thebutton in the title bar of the task pane and select Slide Design - Design Templates from the drop-down list. Or, if you prefer, you may choose FormatSlide Design

  Select Slide Design - Design Templates from the drop-down menu
  The Task Pane will now display the Slide Design choices. A portion of the Task Pane is shown on the right.

• At the top you will see
  • Design Templates is black since that is the information currently displayed in the Task Pane
  • Color Schemes and Animations Schemes are blue, and act as buttons
    • Click on Color Schemes to display Slide Design Color Schemes
      • this is the same as clicking on thebutton in the title bar of the task pane and select Slide Design - Color Schemes from the drop-down list.
    • Click on Animation Schemes to display Slide Design Animation Schemes
      • this is the same as clicking on thebutton in the title bar of the task pane and select Slide Design - Animation Schemes from the drop-down list.
• Next you will see Apply a design template: followed by a scrolling list of design templates
  • there are in excess of 40 different design templates divided into three sections
    • Used in This Presentation is the design template currently in use
    • Recently Used is a list of the four most recently used designs
    • Available for Use are all of the others (the recently used designs will be listed here also)
  • scroll through the list to find a design template that you like, that suits your presentation
    • click on it
    • examine how it looks in your presentation
    • if necessary, find another and click on it
    • repeat selecting and viewing as often as necessary until you have the “Look-and-Feel” that you like!

Now view your presentation again by clicking on

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Copyright © 2003
last updated August 13, 2003