PowerPoint Introduction

PowerPoint is Microsoft’s flagship application for creating multi-page presentations, pitch decks, tutorials, and even one-pagers like infographics, flyers and posters. In contrast with MS Word, PowerPoint gives you more control over where images and text appear on each page. Learn to use PowerPoint the right way and you’ll be amazed at how quickly you can put together clean and impactful presentations!

Starting Out. PowerPoint shares the same user interface as other MS Office 365 apps and we’ll show you how to navigate it. You’ll learn about the different ways of looking at your slide deck: normal (slide view), outline, sorter, handouts, notes and a few more. We’ll show you how slides are integrated into an automated outline using title and subtitle text boxes.

Design Features. PowerPoint offers several built-in features to make your presentations look like they’ve been professionally produced. You’ll try out choosing different templates, themes, and layouts to find the style most appropriate for your audience. We’ll also demonstrate PowerPoint Designer, an AI tool that examines the text on each slide and suggests attractive design schemes and relevant accompanying illustrations.

Formatting Text. You won’t get all the options you see in MS Word, but PowerPoint still lets you create bulleted and numbered lists, indented paragraphs, and the usual font, tab and color options. Squeezing text into available spaces on a PowerPoint slide is indeed an art form!

Adding Graphics. You can spice up your slides by inserting pictures, shapes, and clip art. PowerPoint gives you access to millions of clip art illustrations and stock photos. We’ll show you how to resize, crop, and position them exactly where you want them, and order them in front of, or behind, other graphics. You can even import charts and tables from Excel.

Delivery. Most PowerPoint files are presentations meant to be delivered in real-time in front of an audience. Fortunately PowerPoint offers a number of features to perfect your delivery, from slide transitions to handouts to timing practice. We’ll show you how to keep those butterflies in your stomach by using these features to ensure your presentation is well-received.