How to create a presentation with Power Point

This wikiHow teaches you how to create your own Microsoft PowerPoint presentation. PowerPoint is a program that is part of the Microsoft Office suite, which is available for both Windows and Mac systems.

Steps

Part 1 of 6: Create a new PowerPoint

Step 1. Open PowerPoint

Click or double-click the PowerPoint application icon, which is an orange box with a white "P". Doing so will open the PowerPoint templates page.

Step 2. Review the available templates

Scroll down the templates page until you find one you like.

The templates include features such as custom color schemes, fonts, and layouts that modify the overall appearance

Step 3. Select a template

Click on the template you want to use. The window for that template will open.

• If you don't want to use a template, just click the option Blank presentation at the top left of the page and skip the next two steps.

Step 4. Select a topic if possible

Many templates have different color schemes or themes represented by colored boxes at the bottom right of the window. Clicking on any of these boxes will change the color scheme or theme of the template.

If the template you chose doesn't have themes available, skip this step

Step 5. Click Create

It's in the upper-right corner of the window. Doing so will select the template and create a PowerPoint presentation.

Part 2 of 6: Create the title slide

Step 1. Understand what the title slide should look like

Unlike the rest of the PowerPoint presentation, the title slide should be free of any content, except for the title and subtitle. This is considered good practice when creating PowerPoint.

If you've been asked for a PowerPoint presentation that has a well-crafted title slide, skip this step

Step 2. Add the title

Click on the large text box in the middle of the first slide and type the title.

• You can change the font and size of the text from the tab Beginning, which is on the orange ribbon at the top of the window.

Step 3. Add the subtitle

Click on the smaller text box below the title box. Write the subtitle you want to add.

If you want, you can leave this box blank

Step 4. Rearrange the title text boxes

Hover your mouse cursor over the edges of any of the title boxes, and then drag the box around the slide to move it to another location.

You can also click on any corner of the text box and drag it in or out to make it smaller or larger

Step 5. Click on the Transitions tab

It's at the top of the PowerPoint window. Doing so will open a list of possible transition effects at the top of the page.

Step 6. Select a transition for the title slide

Click on the transition you want to use to apply it to the slide. This completes the title slide creation process. Now you can proceed to the next step, which is to add a new slide for the main content of your presentation.

If you hover the mouse pointer over the transition, a demonstration of what the transition effect looks like in practice will appear

Part 3 of 6: Add a new slide

Step 1. Click the Insert tab

It's at the top of the PowerPoint window. A new toolbar will open near the top of the window.

• If you're using a Mac, click the tab Beginning.

Step 2. Click New Slide ▼

It's on the far left of the toolbar. Doing so will bring up a drop-down menu of the toolbar. Doing so prompts a drop-down menu to appear.

• If you're using a Mac, click the down arrow

  

  which is to the right of the icon New slide on the toolbar.

• If you click on the white slide box above this option, a new text slide will be inserted.

Step 3. Select a slide type

In the drop-down menu, click one of the following options to add it to your presentation:

• Title slide
• Title and objects
• Section header
• Two objects
• Comparison
• Just the title
• In white
• Title content
• Image with title

Step 4. Add the other slides that you think you will need

Sure, you can add slides as you need them, but adding a few will now give you a better idea of the presentation layout as you work on it.

Step 5. Relocate the slides when necessary

Once you have created more than one slide in your PowerPoint presentation, you can reposition your slides by clicking one of them in the preview box and dragging it up or down in the left column of the PowerPoint window.

Naturally, the title slide should be the first slide in the presentation, so it should be the topmost slide in the left column

Part 4 of 6: Add content to your slides

Step 1. Select a slide

In the left column, where the slide previews are, click the slide you want to edit. Once you do, that slide will open in the main presentation window.

Step 2. Find a text box

If you selected a slide with a text box, you can add any text to it.

If you selected a slide with a template that doesn't have text boxes, skip this step and the next two

Step 3. Add some text to the slide

Click in the text box and type what you want.

PowerPoint text boxes automatically format most of the text (for example, add bullets) based on the content itself

Step 4. Format the text on the slides

If necessary, select the text you want to change, then click the tab Beginning and review the text formatting options in the "Font" section of the toolbar.

• You can change the font of the selected text by clicking on the current font name and choosing the font you like best.
• If you want to change the size of the text, click the number drop-down box and choose a larger or smaller number depending on whether you want to make the text larger or smaller.
• From here you can also change the color, make it bold, italic, underline, and more.

Step 5. Add photos to the slide

If you want to add a photo to the slide, click the tab Insert, click Images on the toolbar and select an image.

Step 6. Relocate the slide content

Similar to the title slide, you can move objects around the slide by clicking and dragging.

Photos in particular can be enlarged or reduced by clicking on one of the corners and dragging it in or out

Step 7. Repeat these steps for each of the presentation slides

Once you have created your presentation slides, you can proceed to the next stage.

Remember to keep your slides clear and relatively free from distractions. The amount of text on each slide is best kept below 33 words

Part 5 of 6: Add transitions

Step 1. Select a slide

In the left column of the PowerPoint window, click the slide to which you want to apply the transition effect.

Step 2. Click on the Transitions tab

It's at the top of the PowerPoint window. Doing so will open the toolbar Transitions near the top of the window.

Step 3. Review the available transitions

Transitions make the slide appear exciting and visually appealing during the current presentation. At the top of the window you will see the available transitions.

Step 4. Preview the transition

Click on a transition at the top of the window to see what that transition looks like on the slide.

Step 5. Select the transition you want to use

Once you've chosen a transition, click on it to select it. The current slide will use that transition.

Step 6. Add a transition to the slide content

You can apply transitions to a specific object (for example, a photo or a vignette) by selecting the object, by clicking the tab Animations at the top of the window and selecting the transition you want to apply to that object.

The objects on the slide will animate in the order in which you assign the transitions. For example, if you animate a photo on the slide and then animate the caption, then the photo will appear before the caption

Part 6 of 6: Test and save the presentation

Step 1. Check your PowerPoint

Once you've finished creating most of your presentation content, take a look at the slides to make sure you haven't forgotten anything.

Step 2. Click the Slide Show tab

This tab is at the top of the window. Doing so will open the Slide show.

Step 3. Click From Start

It's on the far left of the toolbar. Your PowerPoint will start as a slide show.

Step 4. View the presentation

You can use the left and right arrow keys to go forward or backward in the presentation.

If you need to exit the presentation, you can press Esc

Step 5. Make any necessary changes before continuing

Once you're done viewing the presentation, add any details you forgot, delete the content you want to remove, and more.

Step 6. Save your PowerPoint

Once you do, your presentation will be saved as a file that can be opened on any Windows or Mac computer with PowerPoint installed:

• Windows: click File, click Keep, double click This team, choose the location where you want to save the presentation, enter a name, and click Keep.
• Mac: click File, click Save as…, enter a name for the presentation in the "Save As" field, select a location to save it by clicking the "Where" box, click a folder, and select Keep.

Advice

• If you don't have Microsoft Office, you can still create a PowerPoint presentation using Apple's Keynote or Google Slides.
• Save your work frequently to avoid losing progress in the event your computer shuts down or stops responding.
• If you save your PowerPoint presentation in.pps format instead of the default.ppt format, double-clicking the PowerPoint presentation file will directly start playing the slides.

Warnings

• The best PowerPoint presentations are those that don't have a lot of text on your slides.
• You may not be able to open your PowerPoint presentation (or some of its features) if you try to use too old a version of the program.