This wikiHow teaches you how to make your own Microsoft PowerPoint presentation. PowerPoint is a program from the Microsoft Office suite, which is available for Windows and Mac computers.
Step
Part 1 of 6: Creating a New PowerPoint File
Step 1. Open PowerPoint
Click or double-click the PowerPoint app icon, which looks like an orange square with a white “P” on it. After that, the PowerPoint template page will be displayed.
Step 2. Review the available template options
Browse the pages until you find the template you want.
The templates cover aspects such as modifiable color schemes, fonts, and general appearance
Step 3. Choose a template
Click the template you want to use. After that, the template window will open.
If you don't want to use a template, click the “ Blank ” in the top-left corner of the page and skip the next two steps.
Step 4. Choose a theme if possible
Many templates offer a variety of different color schemes or themes, which are indicated by the colored boxes in the lower-right corner of the window. Click one of these boxes to change the template's color scheme and/or theme.
Skip this step if the selected template doesn't have a theme
Step 5. Click Create
It's in the lower-right corner of the window. After that, the template will be selected and a PowerPoint presentation file will be created.
Part 2 of 6: Creating a Title Page
Step 1. Determine how your presentation title page will look
Unlike other pages in the presentation, the title page must not have any content other than a title and subtitle. It is considered a professional must when creating PowerPoint presentations.
If you're asked to create a PowerPoint presentation with a more complex title page, skip this step
Step 2. Add a title
Click the large text box in the middle of the first page, then type a title for the presentation.
You can change the font and text size used on the tab " Home ” in the orange ribbon that appears at the top of the program window.
Step 3. Add subtitles
Click the smaller text box below the title box, then type the subtitle you want to use.
You can also empty the box if you want
Step 4. Rearrange the title box
Place the cursor in one corner of the title box, then click and drag the box around the page to change its position.
You can also click and drag one of the corners of the text box in or out to reduce or increase the size of the text box
Step 5. Click the Transitions tab
This tab is at the top of the PowerPoint window. After that, a list of page transition effects will be displayed at the top of the page.
Step 6. Select the transition for the title page
Click the transition you want to use to apply to the page. This step ends the title page creation process. Now, you can add another page for the main content of the presentation.
Place the cursor on the transition options to demonstrate how the transition will look once it has been inserted
Part 3 of 6: Adding a New Page
Step 1. Click the Insert tab
This tab is at the top of the PowerPoint window. After that, a new toolbar will appear at the top of the window.
On a Mac computer, click the “ Home ”.
Step 2. Click the New Slide button
It's at the far left of the toolbar. After that, a drop-down menu will be displayed.
-
On a Mac computer, click the drop-down arrow
to the right of the icon New Slide ” on the toolbar.
- Click the white slide page box above the options to insert a new page of text in the presentation.
Step 3. Select the page type
On the drop-down menu, click one of the following options to add to the presentation:
- “ Title Slide " (title page)
- “ Title and Content ” (page title and content)
- “ Section Headers ” (segment title page)
- “ Two Content ” (page with two contents)
- “ Comparison ” (page with content comparison)
- “ Title Only ” (page with title only)
- “ Blank ” (blank page)
- “ Content with Caption ” (page with content and description)
- “ Picture with Caption ” (page with image and caption)
Step 4. Add other required pages
You can add pages as you work on your presentation, but by adding a few pages from the start, you can get an idea of the layout of the presentation as you work through it.
Step 5. Reposition the pages as needed
Once you have more than one page in your PowerPoint presentation, you can move the pages by clicking and dragging the page preview box up or down in the left column of the PowerPoint window.
The title page should of course be the first page in the presentation. This means that the page should always be in the top position in the left column of the program window
Part 4 of 6: Adding Content to Pages
Step 1. Select the page
In the left column of the page preview, click the page you want to edit. After that, the page will be displayed in the main presentation window.
Step 2. Look for the text box
If you select a page that has a text box, you can add text to the page.
Skip this step and the next two if the selected page uses a template that doesn't have a text box
Step 3. Add text to the page
Click the text box, then type the text as needed.
The text box in PowerPoint will automatically format the text you enter (eg add bullets) based on the context of the content itself
Step 4. Adjust the page text format
If necessary, select the text you want to change, click the tab “ Home ”, 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 name of the currently used font and clicking on the desired font.
- If you want to change the size of the text, click the numbered drop-down box and select a larger or smaller number, based on the desired option (eg enlarge or reduce the text view).
- You can also change the color, bold, italic, underline text, or make other changes at this stage.
Step 5. Add photos to the page
If you want to add photos to the page, click the tab “ Insert, then click Pictures ” on the toolbar and select the desired photo.
Step 6. Re-adjust the page content
As with the title page, you can move content on the page by clicking and dragging.
Photos can be enlarged or reduced by clicking and dragging one of the corners in or out
Step 7. Repeat this step for each presentation page
After creating each page for the presentation, you can move on to the next section.
Remember to keep each page tidy and not have too many distractions. It's a good idea for each page to have 33 words (or less) of text
Part 5 of 6: Adding Transitions
Step 1. Select the page
In the left column of the PowerPoint window, click the page where you want to insert the transition.
Step 2. Click the Transitions tab
This tab is at the top of the PowerPoint window. After that, the toolbar” Transitions ” will be displayed at the top of the window.
Step 3. Review the available transition options
Transitions make the page open in an attractive appearance when you make a presentation. You can see a list of available transitions at the top of the window.
Step 4. Show transition preview
Click the transition at the top of the window to view it on a slide.
Step 5. Select the transition you want to use
After specifying a transition, click an option to make sure it is selected. After that, the current page will use the transition.
Step 6. Add transitions to the page content
You can apply transitions to specific sections of content (e.g. photos or paragraph bullets) by selecting the content, clicking the “ Animations ” at the top of the window, and choose the transition you want to use.
The page content will display the animations in the order you specify. For example, if you use an animation on a photo on a page, and then use it in the title text, the photo animation will appear before the title animation
Part 6 of 6: Testing and Saving Presentations
Step 1. Review the newly created PowerPoint presentation
When you're done adding the rest of the presentation content, check each page to make sure no content hasn't been added.
Step 2. Click the Slide Show tab
It's a tab at the top of the window. After that, the toolbar " Slide Show " will be shown.
Step 3. Click From Beginning
It's in the far-left corner of the toolbar. Now, your PowerPoint presentation will open in a slideshow view.
Step 4. Open each page on the slide
You can use the Left and Right arrow keys to go back or forward to the next page in the presentation.
If you need to exit slide mode, press the Esc key
Step 5. Make the necessary changes before moving on to the next step
When you're done browsing your presentation, add missing details, remove unnecessary content, and make other changes.
Step 6. Save the PowerPoint presentation
The presentation will be saved as a file that can be opened on a Windows or Mac computer that has the PowerPoint program:
- Windows – Click the menu “ File ", choose " Save ", double click " This PC ”, select a file storage location, enter a presentation name, and click “ Save ”.
- Mac – Click the menu “ File ", choose " Save As… ”, enter a presentation name in the "Save As" field, select a save location by clicking the "Where" box and selecting the desired folder, and click " Save ”.
Tips
- If you don't have Microsoft Office, you can still use Apple's Keynote program or Google Slides to create PowerPoint presentations.
- Save work periodically so that you don't lose progress if your computer suddenly shuts down or crashes.
- If you save your PowerPoint presentation in.pps format instead of the default.ppt format, the presentation will open directly in slide view if you double-click the file.
Warning
- To make a good PowerPoint presentation, don't put too much text on one page.
- Your PowerPoint presentation (or some of its features) may not open/view in older versions of PowerPoint.
