When you were asked to create a PowerPoint presentation, you were very determined to create one that was clear, effective and engaging. However, once you started creating the first few slides, the result seemed unsatisfactory, and now you probably want to start from scratch. The problem, however, is that you fear you will get the same result: an unclear and graphically confusing speech. Being prepared to give an impressive presentation is something that happens sooner or later in your school, college or work life. So why not be bridged to this eventuality and know the basics on how to make a beautiful PowerPoint on PC?
I’ll tell you right now that, to create a good PowerPoint, it isn’t necessary to have a very advanced knowledge of the famous Microsoft program: in fact, it’s enough to have some basic knowledge and follow some simple rules that will make the presentation understandable and aesthetically interesting for the audience. Which ones? If you want, I can briefly illustrate them below. In the course of the tutorial, I’ll also tell you about alternatives to PowerPoint, if you don’t have this software available and/or don’t want to buy it (including some solutions for mobile use).
So carve out a few minutes of quiet time, get comfortable and get ready to discover how to make your presentations look better. I assure you that, with enough practice, you’ll even find it fun to make PowerPoint presentations. Who knows if you won’t impress your friends and colleagues so much that they’ll come to you for advice and suggestions for theirs! So, are you ready to find out how to proceed? I wish you a good read and a lot of fun!
How to make a nice PowerPoint on PC
If you have decided to commit to making a nice PowerPoint to impress your colleagues or classmates, one of the most appropriate choices about what software to use is definitely Microsoft Office PowerPoint: the official program for making presentations in this format, part of the very popular Microsoft Office productivity suite.
You should know that you can get Microsoft Office PowerPoint in three ways: the subscription-based one, called Office 365, starting at 7 euros per month or 69 euros per year; buying the “classic” version Office 365 Home & Student, to be paid once for 149 euros (without the possibility to upgrade for free to the next major releases and to take advantage of all the services related to Office 365); or buying the standalone PowerPoint application for Windows 10 at a cost of 135 euros.
If you want, you can take advantage of a free trial period of the Office 365 subscription, with no obligation to renew: if you are interested in finding out how to use it and also know the download and installation procedure, see my article on how to use Microsoft Office PowerPoint.
Fear not: if the prices of the Microsoft package don’t suit you, in this tutorial I’ll also tell you about some free alternatives to it.
With that said, I can move on to tell you about the points that will help make your presentation engaging and easy to interpret, so concise, clear and uncluttered.
Choose a model
Once you have installed PowerPoint on your Windows PC or Mac, you can proceed to start it up and you’ll be faced with the first important decision in creating a good PowerPoint: the template. This is nothing more than a preset graphic slide format that will save you a lot of time in creating your own (alternatively, if you want, you can start from scratch by choosing the “Blank presentation” option).
My suggestion is to scroll through the available patterns to see if there is one that fits your presentation idea. Think of the pattern selection step as the one you do for a suit: every occasion has the one that fits.
Insert clear and concise information
When approaching the creation of a presentation for work or study, you must always put at the forefront the importance of clarity of the message(s) you want to give.
Being clear also means being concise, i.e. not filling the slides with too much text and graphic frills. Too much text will cause viewers to read instead of listen, or worse, it could discourage attention because the slide is too confusing. Similarly, too many images or colors might produce a graphically original effect, but would distract from the message the slide is trying to convey.
Therefore, the solution lies in measurement. Use an elaborate effect or solution only when it pertains to the topic or when it can better explain a concept. Avoid using effects that are too slow, an excessive number of audio/music, or overly elaborate writing fonts. Instead, create a simple but distinctive graphic style, made of few but obvious color contrasts, but above all keep the style constant between one slide and the next. Changing style in the middle of the presentation does not create continuity, so this choice is indicated only if your purpose is precisely to break the presentation into several phases.
Format text correctly
Formatting a slide is just as important as formatting a text. The main steps to follow when formatting the text of a slide are almost the same as when working on a spreadsheet, so I would suggest you consult my tutorial on how to use Microsoft Word, as PowerPoint offers almost identical text editing tools. You can find these tools in the starting tab called Home.
Formatting the text in a slide, however, also means treating the text according to the background. If you want to choose colors, patterns and adjust effects such as transparency, then I refer you to my dedicated tutorial, but always remember to check and make sure that this stylistic choice is compatible with the color of the text. By compatible I mean that it is visible, clear and contrasts well with the background.
Maintain a consistent style of text formatting, paying attention to the titles as well, because like the rest they must maintain the same color, size and font, plus it would be better if they were always in the same position and with the same graphic effects.
Adding animations
The importance of animations in a PowerPoint lies precisely in their ability to make the text and images presented less banal and more dynamic. Animations should always be included when integrating elements into a slide, because thanks to them it is also possible to insert more information in a single solution; for example, you can show and hide several images in the same device. If you don’t remember, to access the menu dedicated also to animations, you can click on the Animations tab.
Make good use of incoming and outgoing animations: if you don’t remember how to animate, you can consult my guide to review the procedures.
However, you have to keep in mind that animations in PowerPoint are also used to move, display and hide text as well. You can check out my tutorial on how to animate text on PowerPoint if you want more details.
Insert quality clipart and photos
In your presentation, don’t forget the potential that clipart and images have (provided they are of good quality). The presence of these elements makes the concepts you want to expose more fun and will give the presentation the gift of synthesis: a picture can say what words would say in much more space.
Do you understand how clipart works and what it is? They are stylized images that express a concept, state or situation clearly and concisely, and are one of the highlights of presentations. You can access the clipart menu by clicking on the Insert tab and then clicking Clipart. You can then choose from the available clipart and use the keyword search bar to more quickly find the one that might be right for you.
In case you just can’t find suitable clipart, I invite you to check out the different methods I mentioned in this article so that you can download new ones for free.
The importance of using good quality images should not be underestimated either. I remind you that images should be inserted into a presentation from the Insert tab, then clicking on the logo with the word Image. You can also insert a screenshot by clicking on the button next to the ** button to take a snapshot of what you see on the screen, a section of it or what is displayed in one of the open programs.
Inserting images into a presentation can make a difference, especially if you intend to report particular results of a test/experiment or survey, but it is also important to use only good quality images. To ensure that the images you insert are of good quality, make sure they have a high resolution and avoid enlarging them too much: unlike clipart, which is in vector graphics, images may be distorted and become grainy, especially if enlarged or shrunk too much.
In case you need to enlarge a non-vector image, consider if you can convert it following my instructions.
Add background music
In addition to the visual aspect, a good presentation could also aim to impress a sense that is often very underrated and not used in PowerPoint, namely the audio one. The idea of adding background music could contribute more than anything else to creating a less mundane presentation.
PowerPoint offers the possibility of loading an audio file already present on the PC or recording one using an external microphone. This type of solution could be useful, for example, if you want to create a presentation that repeats itself, slide by slide.
You can proceed to insert a song or an audio effect by clicking on the Insert tab, then clicking on the last icon representing a yellow speaker. This will open a window for selecting audio files, so choose the audio you prefer and double-click to import it: by doing so, you have inserted audio into your presentation, but remember that you can still make customizations.
For example, you can hide the audio button, or let it start automatically with the slide, or have it start when you click it. There are many possibilities for inserting audio into a presentation, which is why I bring you this article where I talk about it in depth.
Add a video
As with adding music, inserting a video can be unexpected for viewers of your presentation. Inserting a video into a PowerPoint is something I’ve already told you about in this guide, however I think it’s important to briefly reiterate here as well how simple it is to import one.
To get started, go to the Insert tab and click on Videos, to find out that Office PowerPoint gives you the option of inserting either a Personal PC Video (a video on your computer), or an Online Video (a movie you found on the Internet and would like to include).
For all the details, I refer you to the aforementioned tutorial, but you should also know that customizing the inserted video is allowed to a great extent by this powerful program. For example, you can decide the size of the player, the volume, when the movie should start (on click, at the beginning of a slide, following an animation, etc.), whether to play in full screen and much more.
Aligning content
In order to better appreciate the graphics you have worked hard to create in your presentation, it is practically essential to align all the contents of a slide with a precise criterion. A slide full of haphazardly placed information will give the idea of a confused and badly organized speech! Don’t allow your audience to think this, and use the little “tricks” I’ll talk about to align the elements well.
When inserting the elements of a slide, always proceed by placing the title of each slide in the same position, creating bulleted lists and justifying the text. Remember not to overlap images and to carefully adjust the timing of animations. When you are finished putting all the content on a slide, always do a quick full-screen preview because it is not uncommon for elements to stick out from the edges.
The topic I’m talking about is a big one, made up of little tricks, so when you need to align content, keep my tutorial handy so you don’t have any doubts about how to do the alignment!
How to make a nice PowerPoint on smartphones and tablets
If you prefer to use your mobile devices, you’re probably looking for a solution to make beautiful PowerPoint directly from them, without the need to have a computer. The advantage of working from smarphones and tablets is undoubtedly that you always have powerful tools at your disposal, and the good news is that a PowerPoint version for Android and iOS exists.
The app I’m talking about is Microsoft Office PowerPoint (the name is the same as the Windows/MacOS version), which is available for free on all devices with a screen size of 10.1 inches or less. Keep in mind, however, that this version lacks some features such as speaker notes, effects for images and adding custom shapes and colors. As for devices with larger screens, Office 365 is available on a subscription basis, which enables the use of the mobile app.
This version overcomes the limitations I mentioned and is perfectly capable of creating presentations with tools worthy of the desktop version. If you feel that this is what you need, then you need look no further: all the advice I’ve given you so far on how to make a good PowerPoint remains valid.
How to make a nice PowerPoint online
Are you looking for a convenient and flexible tool that is always accessible and allows you to share and access your presentations as if they were available directly on all your computers and devices at once?
The answer to this need is the powerful tool of the cloud and online services that allow you to create presentations in such a way that they can be shared instantly and without needing to remember to transfer files from one device to another. The solutions I’m talking about are PowerPoint Online and Google Presentations (Google Slides).
Using PowerPoint Online is very simple: just connect to the official Microsoft Office site, then click on the Sign In button and enter the login credentials for your Microsoft account (if you don’t have one, you can always create one on the spot). This will open a page where you can use PowerPoint, but remember that its functions are fewer than those of the original version (for example, the animations and transitions are much less).
A similar thing can be done for the Google Presentations tool. To access it, all you need is a Gmail account, which you can create in no time by following this article. Once you’ve logged in with your credentials, you’ll be redirected to the presentation creation tool.
Clearly this solution doesn’t have all the features of the Office PowerPoint version I told you about earlier, however, despite its limitations, you can follow the same directions I gave you in this guide to create a beautiful presentation.
Alternatives to PowerPoint
Having reached this point in the tutorial, you may be wondering whether the only effective software available for creating a presentation is Microsoft PowerPoint. The answer is no, because in addition to the online tools mentioned above, there are also alternative programs for Windows, macOS and Linux that are very good for creating beautiful presentations: here are some of the best ones.
LibreOffice Impress (Windows/MacOS/Linux) – is the presentation creation software included in LibreOffice, the popular free and open source productivity suite that is a spin-off of OpenOffice, another similar suite. It fully supports PowerPoint file formats and includes almost all PowerPoint features. More info here.
Keynote (macOS) – is the presentation creation software from Apple and is included “standard” in all Macs. Alternatively, you can download it at no cost from the Mac App Store. It supports PowerPoint format files and is extremely easy to use. More info here.
As I’m sure you’ve noticed, there are a lot of tools and possibilities for creating beautiful presentations. With a little creativity, and never forgetting the tips in this guide, you’ll find it practically natural to create beautiful and impressive presentations. Have fun with it!