Quick tips for power-point presentations
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Resize an image |
· Click the image, · place your mouse over the bottom right corner of the image, · wait till the mouse cursor turns into a two-headed arrow, · hold the left mouse button and drag the corner. |
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Move an image |
· Place your mouse over the image, · wait till the mouse cursor turns into a four-headed arrow, · hold the left mouse button and drag the image. |
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Delete an image |
· Click it to highlight it · and press the Delete key on your keyboard. |
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Create a text box You can resize, move and delete a text box as you would an image. |
You may label pictures by using text boxes. Click the Text Box icon (with an A and lines of text) on the Drawing toolbar at the bottom of the screen. · Click and drag to create the text box. There are also icons for creating lines and arrows (click the relevant icon next to AutoShapes bottom left and click at each end of the line/arrow). |
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Insert links |
· Create a new slide (with the basic layout with a heading and a list of bullets). · Go to the page you want to link to in your browser. Select the Web address of the page in the Address bar at the top and copy it by going to Edit | Copy or pressing Ctrl-C. · Click the PowerPoint icon on your task bar (bottom of the screen) to return to PowerPoint. · Click in the bullet where you want it to go and paste in the Web address by going to Edit | Paste or pressing Ctrl-V. · If you press the spacebar after the address, it should turn into a hyperlink. You can also make your presentation more interactive by including links to other slides in the presentation: · Type the text e.g. First Slide and highlight it. Go to Insert | Hyperlink. Select Place in This Document in the left pane and then the slide to which you want to link. |
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Insert sound files |
Your file should ideally be in .mp3 format, as e.g. .wav files are large and may slow PowerPoint down. Go to Insert | Movies and Sounds and select Sound from File. |
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Start the show |
Either go to the View menu and click Slide Show or press F5. Press the spacebar or click the left mouse button to move to the next slide. Press B to display a black slide. Press B again to return to your presentation. You may want to do this to attract the audience’s attention or to use the screen for some other purpose. Return to Normal View, by pressing the Esc key. |
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Sort slides |
Go to the View menu and click Slide Sorter. You can move a slide with the mouse by clicking the slide, holding down the left mouse button and releasing it where you want the slide to go. A | should appear. To delete a slide, click on it and press Delete. To copy a slide, click on it and press Ctrl-C. Go to where you want the copy. Press Ctrl-V to paste it. |
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Animations Remember that the eye reads from left to right. This means that Appear under More Effects tends to be the most useful one. |
‘Animations’ allow the content of a slide to appear an element at a time after you click the left mouse button. This is useful, as it prevents your audience from reading ahead. Go to View | Normal and select the slide to which you want to apply the animation. Click the down-arrow on the left of the X that closes the task pane (right) and select the Custom Animation task pane. Use the Slide Design — Animation Schemes task pane instead if you want to apply the animation to all slides. Click the part of the slide to which you want to apply the effect (usually the lower part where the bullets are) and click the Add Effect button in the task pane. Click Entrance and click the effect you want to apply. |
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Setting the look and feel |
To apply a co-ordinated colour scheme to your presentation, click the down-arrow on the left of the X that closes the task pane (right) and select Slide-Design – Color Schemes. Chose a colour scheme with a pastel background and dark text. If you want to modify one of the schemes, click the Edit Color Schemes button at the bottom of the task pane. Use the Slide Master on the View | Master menu to add anything, e.g. a footer or image, which is to appear on every slide. It can also be used to set the fonts to be used in the presentation. |
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Handouts |
Go to the File menu and select Print. In the Print what box, select Handouts. Slides per page should be set to 6 (3 if you want space on the right for them to take notes). |
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Connecting your computer to the projector |
· Connect the lead from the projector to the Monitor socket on the back of your computer. (If you have an Apple laptop, you need a display adapter. There are several sorts, so it’s best to ask in the shop.) · Your computer may have a key to switch the presentation alternately between your computer, your computer and the projector, and just the projector: · Some remote controls have a choice between Video (i.e. VHS or DVD) and RGB (which actually means computer, i.e. the option you need). |
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Tips |
· If you make a mistake, press Ctrl-Z immediately. That should undo it. · Keep the text on your slides to a minimum · Use upper case letters sparingly – they are difficult to read. · If you need manually to break a line in the middle of a bullet point, use Shift-Enter (NOT Enter which would create another bullet point). · Keep slide titles as short as possible. · Make headings between 36-48pt*. |
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Why some presentations fail *This is not an issue, unless you change the font size defaults. |
· more than three fonts or colours in a presentation · a point size less than 28pt (they wouldn’t be able to read it!)* · more than six bullet points on a slide · more than three images on a slide · too much sound (you could use it once for comic effect…) |
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