Whether you ’re a student gear up a course of study grant or a rise up administrator taste to impress your chief operating officer , you ’ll have to go beyond the basics if you want your computing machine - free-base slideshows to stand out . While teaching hoi polloi how to expend presentation software over the years , I ’ve describe nine technique that I think everyone should have in their armoury — but which even some experienced donor often seem to miss . Here ’s how those techniques bring inMicrosoft PowerPoint for Mac 2011,Apple ’s Keynote 6.2 , andGoogle Docs .
1. Use master slides
You ’re on your way to the conference room when you suddenly realize that you used your companionship ’s old logo throughout your 120 - microscope slide presentation . If you were usingslide victor , you ’d be just a few clicks out from fixing them all . Think of masters as templates that apply to as many slides as you wish . Any changes you make to a schoolmaster sloping trough — backgrounds , graphics , text , and more — are inherited by all the slide that are free-base on that master .
Using master slides fix it easy to edit multiple lantern slide at once .
In Google Docs and PowerPoint , mastersdefine the expression for the microscope slide ’s scope and graphics , as well as for proxy such as titles and body text;layoutsspecify the position of those elements on the slide . PowerPoint lets you delimit as many masters as you like , each with its own set of layout , while Google only allows one schoolmaster for each display . Keynote takes a somewhat dissimilar shroud : masters and layout are one and the same .
To view and delete the skipper sliding board in Google , go to View > Master . In PowerPoint , use View > Master > Slide Master , and in Keynote , View > Edit Master Slides . To employ a master layout to raw or live slide in Google or PowerPoint , click the Layout clit ( it ’s in the Home tab in PowerPoint ) and select a layout . To do the same in Keynote , select a master copy in the Slide Layout acid in the Format Inspector .
2. Choreograph motion
Used judiciously , build animations are an effective means to draw your consultation ’s attending to textual matter and other element on the slide . But some event change only the appearance of objects , not their position ; even builds that incorporate action — flying into or out of the frame , for example — give you only partial control by letting you adjust only the speed and direction of movement .
Keynote and PowerPoint ( but not Google ) also support a powerful technique calledpath spiritedness , which lets you precisely specify the track that a locomote objective will follow on the slide . In Keynote , pick out the object you want to move , click Animate in the toolbar to spread the Animate Inspector . Next , fall into place Add an result in the Action tab , and choose Move . Keynote pull in a red line to show the path and displays a ghostwrite duplication of the object in its last position , which you may alter by clicking and dragging it .
Path animation allows you to precisely specify the way of life an objective will be when it make a motion in your presentation .
you could also define the path by draw it flat on the coast . Click Shape , choose Draw With Pen , and take up the complete path . Next , select the objective and the path bod , and select Format > Shapes and Lines > Make Motion Path from Shape . fall into place the shape to make the objective , which make it follow the route that you just drew .
To use the same effect in PowerPoint , select the object that you need to repair and click Motion Paths in the Animations ribbon to exhibit the motion palette . PowerPoint offers three types of spiritedness — basic , simple , and complex — and it also allow you change the motion way of life after you ’ve drawn it . In Keynote , you have to start over again if you edit the itinerary .
3. Edit pictures
Digital pictures are an essential part of almost any slideshow . Importing photographs with any of the presentation apps is as easy as drag and dropping . But what if the painting is pass or has a background signal that take away from the subject ?
If you ’re using Google Docs , you have to edit the shot before you add it , since Google let you change only the size of import images . Both PowerPoint and Keynote offer far more pick than just size changes , cater controls to graze and mask images , as well as to shirk with pic , contrast , color , sharpness , and other preferences . While neither software can compete with Photoshop or iPhoto , they ’re handy when you ’re in a hurry or do n’t have image - processing computer software available .
In PowerPoint , take the image you want to delete to display the Format Picture typewriter ribbon tab , and choose a putz from the Adjust toolbar . In Keynote , choose the image and click Format . You ’ll find accommodation puppet under the Image yellow journalism .
[ 31.06 Office presentations Instant Transparency ]
A feature of speech I rely on often lets you generate backdrop element transparent so that only the objects that you want to appear on a playground slide really do so . PowerPoint ’s Remove Background tool , in which you drag to bespeak which parts of the trope you want to keep or remove , is ripe for images with complex backgrounds . Keynote ’s Instant Alpha feature of speech also work by dragging , but it ’s good beseem for pictures with uniform backgrounds .
4. Add music
euphony might be out of place in a scientific presentment , but it can heighten slideshows that are filled with images whose content does n’t require account .
Adding medicine to your presentation can be a good way to spice up up those with self - explanatory substance .
To summate a soundtrack in Keynote , go to the Audio check in the Document Inspector , dawn the musical - note icon at the bottom right to display your iTunes library , and choose your tracks , one at a time . you may play the entire soundtrack just once or loop it , but you ca n’t align its duration . Alternatively , by clicking Media , you may take an audio data file to toy on the current slide and optionally clip its showtime and end decimal point in the Format Inspector ’s Audio chit .
Unlike Keynote , PowerPoint does n’t let you add music to an entire presentation , but you may obtain the same result with even finer control by specifying how long each tune should last . Use the Media tool in the abode tabloid to pick out the first Sung dynasty in the soundtrack . Next , in the Format Audio medallion tab , select Start > meet Across Slides from the drop - down fare . Finish by clicking Reorder in the Animations toolbar to start the Custom Animation palette , and get into the telephone number of glide you desire the melody to play . Do the same with the next Song dynasty until you ’ve built up the soundtrack , and you ’re done . ( Google Docs does n’t let you add audio , though you’re able to act YouTube videos as a workaround . )
5. Avoid movie catastrophes
Video clip enrich slideshows by letting you show stuff that ca n’t be discover effectively with pic or word . But nothing make a display fizzle faster than a moving-picture show that plays unpredictably or not at all .
The only TV Google let you insert on slide are YouTube video , so they ’re guarantee to exploit as long as your Internet connection is active . you could only start and block the movie , scrub up through it , or zoom it to fill the screen .
Keynote and PowerPoint support many additional video format , and you do n’t need an active mesh connexion . Since Keynote runs only on OS X , movies are n’t usually a problem unless you show your presentation on an old Mac that does n’t stick out your moving picture ’s data format . Generally , it ’s best to stick with QuickTime ( .mov ) or MPEG-4 ( .mp4 , .m4v ) files encode with H.264 or MPEG-4 . ( Here ’s a over lean of supported medium data formatting . )
You ’ll also be okay if you utilise these formats in PowerPoint , though MPEG-4 is a safe choice if there ’s any hazard you ’ll have to transfer your presentation to a Windows PC .
To tuck a pic in either app , trail it onto the slide from the Finder . or else , go to Insert > Choose ( Keynote ) or Insert > motion-picture show > Movie from File ( PowerPoint ) , navigate to the picture , and cluck Insert . In PowerPoint , leave Link To lodge uncurbed copies the movie into your demonstration , so you could move it to another computer .
6. Repurpose old slides
When you ’re up against a tight deadline , it ’s often quicker to transfer slides from an subsist presentment and tweak them than it is to plan them from chicken feed .
I prefer to do this in PowerPoint ’s Slide Sorter or Keynote ’s Light Table , view that show your slides in miniature physique , which make it easy to tell where the written matter will go . open up the file you want to imitate from , choice as many slides as you need , and drag and drop them into the slideshow you ’re working on . In Google Docs , you may choose slides in a introduction in one internet browser window or tab and re-create them to another using the usual Command - C and Command - V keyboard crosscut or by selecting Insert > Import Slides .
If you ’re in less of a rushing , PowerPoint also has a command ( Insert > Slides From > Other Presentation ) that rent you navigate to any PowerPoint data file and either grab all of its slides at once or choose specific ones to replicate . The latter method give you the option of settle whether the transferred slide will follow the show of the target demonstration or keep their original design .
7. Place things quickly
All three presentation apps help you on the button set object at the erect or horizontal center of the frame by displaying lines that extend to the playground slide ’s edge ; usher in Keynote and PowerPoint let you know when two object are aligned with each another . In my experience , Keynote ’s guides tend to be a fiddling less particular , so it ’s easy to place shapes , impression , and text quickly . Another time - save Keynote feature can show you when three objects are space equally by displaying arrow between them .
To control usher ’ behaviour in Keynote , get to the preferences window ( Keynote > Preferences ) and click Rulers . In PowerPoint , use View > Guides or Control - click in the slide and choose Guides from the contextual card .
Menu commands in Google Docs , PowerPoint , and Keynote let you coiffure objects by their center , top , bottom , or right / leave margins . Keynote ’s and PowerPoint ’s Arrange carte include additional statement to distribute three or more objects top - to - bottom or side - to - side equally without affecting their positions in the other direction . A convenient option in Keynote 6.2 ( Arrange > Distribute Objects > Evenly ) outer space selected objects uniformly along an fanciful line using the objects closest to the boundary of the slide as final stage points .
8. Leverage groups
After you ’ve draw or imported all of the components on a slide , apply Arrange > Group in Google , Keynote , or PowerPoint to immix them into a individual aim that you could move , resize , or animate . It ’s just as easy to ungroup objects , though you do n’t have to do so to put to work on them individually ; grouped items continue their properties , and you could edit them by doubly - clicking . ( In PowerPoint , you have to pick out the group first . ) Google and PowerPoint even remember objects that were previously aggroup ; select one and use Arrange > Regroup to reorganise them .
Keynote and PowerPoint also allow you save mathematical group as file to habituate in any software . In Keynote , select the mathematical group , copy it , launch Preview and go to File > New from Clipboard . you could then keep the drawing , with transparence integral if you choose PDF , TIFF , or PNG for the export format . To reach the same gist in PowerPoint , Control - tap the group and prize Save as Picture from the contextual menu .
9. Display Data Clearly
Charts and table are an in force direction to display information that ca n’t be neatly summarized with discussion slides . table are well when you require to call attending to specific number in a data set , while chart are skilful for highlighting relationships and trend . ( You ca n’t make charts in Google ’s presentation app , but you’re able to copy them from its spreadsheet faculty . ) But even Nobel - desirable numbers are n’t compelling if your interview ca n’t take them , a mistake I see at scientific meetings with nettlesome geometrical regularity .
This is an good example of whatnotto do in a chart .
When you ’re design a tabular array , verify that the tower and row labels stand up out , and employ a text color that contrast but does n’t collide with the ground . shade substitute rows or column makes it comfortable to read their content . PowerPoint and Keynote both let you apply band with one click : In Keynote , check Alternating Row Color in the Table Format Inspector ; in PowerPoint , click Banded Rows in the Table Layout chit in the medal . ( Google does n’t offer up a banding option , but you may achieve the same essence manually . )
Similar plan rule apply to graph : apply coloring , backgrounds , and text to make them as readable as possible . Resist the temptation to use 3D and other fancy issue if they wo n’t help play up your data . And whether you ’re using table or graph , do n’t seek to stage too much information at once . It ’s better to break the data up across two or more anatomy than to crowd everything in one slide .
