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Microsoft PowerPoint

Design Considerations

16 April 2010

When it comes to giving a presentation, keep in mind the age old saying “failing to prepare is preparing to fail”! Planning ahead is vital to the overall success of your presentation. You need to consider presenting the right information, in the right layout, to the right audience in the right amount of time.

Concentrate on the purpose of your presentation. Think about the audience, who they are, what they already know and what they want to know. Find out about the venue for your presentation or how people will view your presentation if you are emailing it to them. Think about ways of communicating your message, while keeping the flow steady and interesting. Spending the right amount of time in the planning phase for your presentation will help to ensure that your message is well-received.

Before you start any presentation, it is essential to consider the audience and the environment in which the presentation will take place. While you may be a subject matter expert and you may have included the most appropriate information, if you don’t plan around the audience and the environment, the message you are trying to convey may be completely lost.

To review the complete Microsoft PowerPoint workshop Outline containing Design Considerations for 2003: Click here.

To review the complete Microsoft PowerPoint workshop Outline containing Design Considerations for 2007: Click here.

Using Effects

15 April 2010

PowerPoint provides an almost unlimited range of special effects that you can use to give the best visual impact to your presentations. Remember, when giving a presentation, less is best. However, once you know the range of effects available within PowerPoint, you can select a few of the most appropriate ones for each presentation you create

You can apply 3D effects to any drawn object on a slide. The 3D effects can give depth and perspective to drawn objects by changing their angle, lighting, colour and the amount of depth that is displayed. You must select an object before you apply a 3D setting. Thereafter you can use the buttons on the 3-D Settings toolbar to further enhance the 3D elements of the object.

Handy to Know… • The 3D effects only work with AutoShape objects and not pictures. However, if you draw a shape, such as a rectangle, and then fill it with a picture, you can then apply the 3D effects • The 3D effects give depth and perspective to drawn objects

For Your Reference… To apply 3D effects to a drawn object: 1. Select the drawn object 2. Click on the 3-D Style button on the Drawing toolbar 3. Select a 3-D Style

To review the complete Microsoft PowerPoint workshop Outline containing Using Effects for 2003: Click here.

To review the complete Microsoft PowerPoint workshop Outline containing Using Effects for 2007: Click here.

Inserting A Movie Clip

14 April 2010

The Clip Gallery in PowerPoint includes clip art, photographs, movies and sounds. You can insert movies and sounds using the Insert > Picture > Clip Art command, which displays the Clip Art task pane. Alternatively, you can use the Insert > Movies and Sounds command to display various insert options. You can access movies from the Clip Organiser or locate your own movie file.

Handy to Know… Movies can be used to demonstrate a product, grab the attention of a passer-by, or to provide a video of a speaker that can be matched with a sound track. If you are producing a presentation suitable for a trade show, the movie will need to start automatically

For Your Reference… To insert a movie clip from a file: 1. Display the slide, then select Insert > Movies and Sounds > Movie from File 2. Locate the clip and click on [OK] 3. Click on [Automatically] to have the movie play automatically or [When Clicked] for it to start when you click on the movie

To review the complete Microsoft PowerPoint workshop Outline containing Inserting A Movie Clip for 2003: Click here.

To review the complete Microsoft PowerPoint workshop Outline containing Inserting A Movie Clip for 2007: Click here.

Master Slides

13 April 2010

The Slide Master is used to control the format, layout and appearance of the slides in your presentation. It lets you make global changes to a presentation. The Slide Master is usually divided into two parts: the Slide Master controls the appearance of all slides to which it is attached, and the Title Master controls the appearance of all title slides.

Master Slide Placeholders
Title Area for AutoLayouts
To control the formatting and appearance of the title that appears at the top of the slide. Subtitle Area for AutoLayouts
To control the text that appears as the subtitle on the slide. (Title Master only.) Object Area for AutoLayouts To control the objects, text and bullets that appear in the main body of the slide. (Slide Master only.)

Date Area
To control the placement and format of the date and time on the slide (if activated).

Footer Area
To control the formatting and appearance of the footer (if activated).

Number Area
To control the formatting and appearance of the page number (if activated).

To review the complete Microsoft PowerPoint workshop Outline containing Master Slides for 2003: Click here.

To review the complete Microsoft PowerPoint workshop Outline containing Master Slides for 2007: Click here.

Working with Presentations

12 April 2010

Whenever you create anything in PowerPoint you are creating a presentation. A presentation can be used on-screen directly, or projected on to a wall; it can be a handout, a series of web pages, overhead transparencies, or even 35mm slides. A presenter can use it during their speech, or it can stand alone as a repeated series of slides on a computer kiosk.

Presentations that you wish to retain and use again later must be saved to a file. Whenever you start PowerPoint you can open any presentations that have previously been saved. Once a presentation has been opened you can modify the contents, add, move or delete slides, practise your presentation and add animation, and a range of other features.

Presentations can vary significantly in length – a simple presentation may have 5 to 6 slides, while longer presentations will have many more slides. PowerPoint provides a number of techniques for navigating these presentations and various views providing you with different ways in which to check the content.

PowerPoint also has special task panes that provide settings and help for specific operations.

A typical presentation is made up of one or more pages, or slides, as they are known in PowerPoint.

To be able to use PowerPoint effectively you must know how to move between the various slides of a presentation. How you do so depends on the view that you are in. The Normal, Outline and Slide views all have an outline down the left that helps switch between slides.

For Your Reference… To move around a PowerPoint presentation, use:  The vertical scroll bar  The Next Slide or Previous Slide buttons  [Page Up] or [Page Down]  The slide title in the Outline pane or the thumbnail in the Slides pane

To review the complete Microsoft PowerPoint workshop Outline containing Working with Presentations for 2003: Click here.

To review the complete Microsoft PowerPoint workshop Outline containing Working with Presentations for 2007: Click here.