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How to Make a PowerPoint Presentation (Step-by-Step)

  • PowerPoint Tutorials
  • Presentation Design
  • January 22, 2024

In this beginner’s guide, you will learn step-by-step how to make a PowerPoint presentation from scratch.

While PowerPoint is designed to be intuitive and accessible, it can be overwhelming if you’ve never gotten any training on it before. As you progress through this guide, you’ll will learn how to move from blank slides to PowerPoint slides that look like these.

Example of the six slides you'll learn how to create in this tutorial

Table of Contents

Additionally, as you create your presentation, you’ll also learn tricks for working more efficiently in PowerPoint, including how to:

  • Change the slide order
  • Reset your layout
  • Change the slide dimensions
  • Use PowerPoint Designer
  • Format text
  • Format objects
  • Play a presentation (slide show)

With this knowledge under your belt, you’ll be ready to start creating PowerPoint presentations. Moreover, you’ll have taken your skills from beginner to proficient in no time at all. I will also include links to more advanced PowerPoint topics.

Ready to start learning how to make a PowerPoint presentation?

Take your PPT skills to the next level

Start with a blank presentation.

Note: Before you open PowerPoint and start creating your presentation, make sure you’ve collected your thoughts. If you’re going to make your slides compelling, you need to spend some time brainstorming.

For help with this, see our article with tips for nailing your business presentation  here .

The first thing you’ll need to do is to open PowerPoint. When you do, you are shown the Start Menu , with the Home tab open.

This is where you can choose either a blank theme (1) or a pre-built theme (2). You can also choose to open an existing presentation (3).

For now, go ahead and click on the  Blank Presentation (1)  thumbnail.

In the backstage view of PowerPoint you can create a new blank presentation, use a template, or open a recent file

Doing so launches a brand new and blank presentation for you to work with. Before you start adding content to your presentation, let’s first familiarize ourselves with the PowerPoint interface.

The PowerPoint interface

Picture of the different parts of the PowerPoint layout, including the Ribbon, thumbnail view, quick access toolbar, notes pane, etc.

Here is how the program is laid out:

  • The Application Header
  • The Ribbon (including the Ribbon tabs)
  • The Quick Access Toolbar (either above or below the Ribbon)
  • The Slides Pane (slide thumbnails)

The Slide Area

The notes pane.

  • The Status Bar (including the View Buttons)

Each one of these areas has options for viewing certain parts of the PowerPoint environment and formatting your presentation.

Below are the important things to know about certain elements of the PowerPoint interface.

The PowerPoint Ribbon

The PowerPoint Ribbon in the Microsoft Office Suite

The Ribbon is contextual. That means that it will adapt to what you’re doing in the program.

For example, the Font, Paragraph and Drawing options are greyed out until you select something that has text in it, as in the example below (A).

Example of the Shape Format tab in PowerPoint and all of the subsequent commands assoicated with that tab

Furthermore, if you start manipulating certain objects, the Ribbon will display additional tabs, as seen above (B), with more commands and features to help you work with those objects. The following objects have their own additional tabs in the Ribbon which are hidden until you select them:

  • Online Pictures
  • Screenshots
  • Screen Recording

The Slides Pane

The slides pane in PowerPoint is on the left side of your workspace

This is where you can preview and rearrange all the slides in your presentation.

Right-clicking on a slide  in the pane gives you additional options on the slide level that you won’t find on the Ribbon, such as  Duplicate Slide ,  Delete Slide , and  Hide Slide .

Right clicking a PowerPoint slide in the thumbnail view gives you a variety of options like adding new slides, adding sections, changing the layout, etc.

In addition, you can add sections to your presentation by  right-clicking anywhere in this Pane  and selecting  Add Section . Sections are extremely helpful in large presentations, as they allow you to organize your slides into chunks that you can then rearrange, print or display differently from other slides.

Content added to your PowerPoint slides will only display if it's on the slide area, marked here by the letter A

The Slide Area (A) is where you will build out your slides. Anything within the bounds of this area will be visible when you present or print your presentation.

Anything outside of this area (B) will be hidden from view. This means that you can place things here, such as instructions for each slide, without worrying about them being shown to your audience.

The notes pane in PowerPoint is located at the bottom of your screen and is where you can type your speaker notes

The  Notes Pane  is the space beneath the Slide Area where you can type in the speaker notes for each slide. It’s designed as a fast way to add and edit your slides’ talking points.

To expand your knowledge and learn more about adding, printing, and exporting your PowerPoint speaker notes, read our guide here .

Your speaker notes are visible when you print your slides using the Notes Pages option and when you use the Presenter View . To expand your knowledge and learn the ins and outs of using the Presenter View , read our guide here .

You can click and drag to resize the notes pane at the bottom of your PowerPoint screen

You can resize the  Notes Pane  by clicking on its edge and dragging it up or down (A). You can also minimize or reopen it by clicking on the Notes button in the Status Bar (B).

Note:  Not all text formatting displays in the Notes Pane, even though it will show up when printing your speaker notes. To learn more about printing PowerPoint with notes, read our guide here .

Now that you have a basic grasp of the PowerPoint interface at your disposal, it’s time to make your presentation.

Adding Content to Your PowerPoint Presentation

Notice that in the Slide Area , there are two rectangles with dotted outlines. These are called  Placeholders  and they’re set on the template in the Slide Master View .

To expand your knowledge and learn how to create a PowerPoint template of your own (which is no small task), read our guide here .

Click into your content placeholders and start typing text, just as the prompt suggests

As the prompt text suggests, you can click into each placeholder and start typing text. These types of placeholder prompts are customizable too. That means that if you are using a company template, it might say something different, but the functionality is the same.

Example of typing text into a content placeholder in PowerPoint

Note:  For the purposes of this example, I will create a presentation based on the content in the Starbucks 2018 Global Social Impact Report, which is available to the public on their website.

If you type in more text than there is room for, PowerPoint will automatically reduce its font size. You can stop this behavior by clicking on the  Autofit Options  icon to the left of the placeholder and selecting  Stop Fitting Text to this Placeholder .

Next, you can make formatting adjustments to your text by selecting the commands in the Font area and the  Paragraph area  of the  Home  tab of the Ribbon.

Use the formatting options on the Home tab to choose the formatting of your text

The Reset Command:  If you make any changes to your title and decide you want to go back to how it was originally, you can use the Reset button up in the Home tab .

Hitting the reset command on the home tab resets your slide formatting to match your template

Insert More Slides into Your Presentation

Now that you have your title slide filled in, it’s time to add more slides. To do that, simply go up to the  Home tab  and click on  New Slide . This inserts a new slide in your presentation right after the one you were on.

To insert a new slide in PowerPoint, on the home tab click the New Slide command

You can alternatively hit Ctrl+M on your keyboard to insert a new blank slide in PowerPoint. To learn more about this shortcut, see my guide on using Ctrl+M in PowerPoint .

Instead of clicking the New Slide command, you can also open the New Slide dropdown to see all the slide layouts in your PowerPoint template. Depending on who created your template, your layouts in this dropdown can be radically different.

Opening the new slide dropdown you can see all the slide layouts in your PowerPoint template

If you insert a layout and later want to change it to a different layout, you can use the Layout dropdown instead of the New Slide dropdown.

After inserting a few different slide layouts, your presentation might look like the following picture. Don’t worry that it looks blank, next we will start adding content to your presentation.

Example of a number of different blank slide layouts inserting in a PowerPoint presentation

If you want to follow along exactly with me, your five slides should be as follows:

  • Title Slide
  • Title and Content
  • Section Header
  • Two Content
  • Picture with Caption

Adding Content to Your Slides

Now let’s go into each slide and start adding our content. You’ll notice some new types of placeholders.

Use the icons within a content placeholder to insert things like tables, charts, SmartArt, Pictures, etc.

On slide 2 we have a  Content Placeholder , which allows you to add any kind of content. That includes:

  • A SmartArt graphic,
  • A 3D object,
  • A picture from the web,
  • Or an icon.

To insert text, simply type it in or hit  Ctrl+C to Copy  and Ctrl+V to Paste  from elsewhere. To insert any of the other objects, click on the appropriate icon and follow the steps to insert it.

For my example, I’ll simply type in some text as you can see in the picture below.

Example typing bulleted text in a content placeholder in PowerPoint

Slides 3 and 4 only have text placeholders, so I’ll go ahead and add in my text into each one.

Examples of text typed into a divider slide and a title and content slide in PowerPoint

On slide 5 we have a Picture Placeholder . That means that the only elements that can go into it are:

  • A picture from the web

A picture placeholder in PowerPoint can only take an image or an icon

To insert a picture into the picture placeholder, simply:

  • Click on the  Picture  icon
  • Find  a picture on your computer and select it
  • Click on  Insert

Alternatively, if you already have a picture open somewhere else, you can select the placeholder and paste in (shortcut: Ctrl+V ) the picture. You can also drag the picture in from a file explorer window.

To insert a picture into a picture placeholder, click the picture icon, find your picture on your computer and click insert

If you do not like the background of the picture you inserted onto your slide, you can remove the background here in PowerPoint. To see how to do this, read my guide here .

Placeholders aren’t the only way to add content to your slides. At any point, you can use the Insert tab to add elements to your slides.

You can use either the Title Only  or the  Blank  slide layout to create slides for content that’s different. For example, a three-layout content slide, or a single picture divider slide, as shown below.

Example slides using PowerPoint icons and background pictures

In the first example above, I’ve inserted 6 text boxes, 3 icons, and 3 circles to create this layout. In the second example, I’ve inserted a full-sized picture and then 2 shapes and 2 text boxes.

The Reset Command:  Because these slides are built with shapes and text boxes (and not placeholders), hitting the  Reset button up in the  Home tab  won’t do anything.

That is a good thing if you don’t want your layouts to adjust. However, it does mean that it falls on you to make sure everything is aligned and positioned correctly.

For more on how to add and manipulate the different objects in PowerPoint, check out our step-by-step articles here:

  • Using graphics in PowerPoint
  • Inserting icons onto slides
  • Adding pictures to your PowerPoint
  • How to embed a video in PowerPoint
  • How to add music to your presentation

Using Designer to generate more layouts ideas

If you have Office 365, your version of PowerPoint comes with a new feature called Designer (or Design Ideas). This is a feature that generates slide layout ideas for you. The coolest thing about this feature is that it uses the content you already have.

To use Designer , simply navigate to the  Design tab  in your Ribbon, and click on  Design Ideas .

To use Designer on your slides, click the

NOTE: If the PowerPoint Designer is not working for you (it is grey out), see my troubleshooting guide for Designer .

Change the Overall Design (optional)

When you make a PowerPoint presentation, you’ll want to think about the overall design. Now that you have some content in your presentation, you can use the Design tab to change the look and feel of your slides.

For additional help thinking through the design of your presentation,  read my guide here .

A. Picking your PowerPoint slide size

If you have PowerPoint 2013 or later, when you create a blank document in PowerPoint, you automatically start with a widescreen layout with a 16:9 ratio. These dimensions are suitable for most presentations as they match the screens of most computers and projectors.

However, you do have the option to change the dimensions.

For example, your presentation might not be presented, but instead converted into a PDF or printed and distributed. In that case, you can easily switch to the standard dimensions with a 4:3 ratio by selecting from the dropdown (A).

You can also choose a custom slide size or change the slide orientation from landscape to portrait in the Custom Slide Size dialog box (B).

To change your slide size, click the Design tab, open the slide size dropdown and choose a size or custom slide size

To learn all about the different PowerPoint slide sizes, and some of the issues you will face when changing the slide size of a non-blank presentation,  read my guide here .

 B. Selecting a PowerPoint theme

The next thing you can do is change the theme of your presentation to a pre-built one. For a detailed explanation of what a PowerPoint theme is, and how to best use it,  read my article here .

In the beginning of this tutorial, we started with a blank presentation, which uses the default Office theme as you can see in the picture below.

All PowerPoint presentations start with the default Microsoft Office theme

That gives you the most flexibility because it has a blank background and quite simple layouts that work for most presentations. However, it also means that it’s your responsibility to enhance the design.

If you’re comfortable with this, you can stay with the default theme or create your own custom theme ( read my guide here ). But if you would rather not have to think about design, then you can choose a pre-designed theme.

Microsoft provides 46 other pre-built themes, which include slide layouts, color variants and palettes, and fonts. Each one varies quite significantly, so make sure you look through them carefully.

To select a different theme, go to the  Design tab  in the Ribbon, and click on the  dropdown arrow  in the  Themes section .

On the Design tab you will find all of the default PowerPoint templates that come with the Microsoft Office Suite

For this tutorial, let’s select the  Frame  theme and then choose the third Variant in the theme. Doing so changes the layout, colors, and fonts of your presentation.

Example choosing the Frame PowerPoint theme and the third variant of this powerpoint presentation

Note: The theme dropdown area is also where you can import or save custom themes. To see my favorite places to find professional PowerPoint templates and themes (and recommendations for why I like them), read my guide here .

C. How to change a slide background in PowerPoint

The next thing to decide is how you want your background to look for the entire presentation. In the  Variants area, you can see four background options.

To change the background style of your presentation, on the Design tab, find the Background Styles options and choose a style

For this example, we want our presentation to have a dark background, so let’s select Style 3. When you do so, you’ll notice that:

  • The background color automatically changes across all slides
  • The color of the text on most of the slides automatically changes to white so that it’s visible on the dark background
  • The colors of the objects on slides #6 and #7 also adjust, in a way we may not want (we’ll likely have to make some manual adjustments to these slides)

What our PowerPoint presentation looks like now that we have selected a theme, a variant, and a background style

Note: If you want to change the slide background for just that one slide, don’t left-click the style. Instead, right-click it and select Apply to Selected Slides .

After you change the background for your entire presentation, you can easily adjust the background for an individual slide.

You can either right-click a PowerPoint slide and select format background or navigate to the design tab and click the format background command

Inside the Format Background pane, you can see you have the following options:

  • Gradient fill
  • Picture or texture fill
  • Pattern fill
  • Hide background

You can explore these options to find the PowerPoint background that best fits your presentation.

D. How to change your color palette in PowerPoint

Another thing you may want to adjust in your presentation, is the color scheme. In the picture below you can see the Theme Colors we are currently using for this presentation.

Example of the theme colors we are currently using with this presentation

Each PowerPoint theme comes with its own color palette. By default, the Office theme includes the Office color palette. This affects the colors you are presented with when you format any element within your presentation (text, shapes, SmartArt, etc.).

To change the theme color for your presentation, select the Design tab, open the Colors options and choose the colors you want to use

The good news is that the colors here are easy to change. To switch color palettes, simply:

  • Go to the  Design tab in the Ribbon
  • In the Variants area, click on the  dropdown arrow  and select  Colors
  • Select  the color palette (or theme colors) you want

You can choose among the pre-built color palettes from Office, or you can customize them to create your own.

As you build your presentation, make sure you use the colors from your theme to format objects. That way, changing the color palette adjusts all the colors in your presentation automatically.

E. How to change your fonts in PowerPoint

Just as we changed the color palette, you can do the same for the fonts.

Example of custom theme fonts that might come with a powerpoint template

Each PowerPoint theme comes with its own font combination. By default, the Office theme includes the Office font pairing. This affects the fonts that are automatically assigned to all text in your presentation.

To change the default fonts for your presentation, from the design tab, find the fonts dropdown and select the pair of fonts you want to use

The good news is that the font pairings are easy to change. To switch your Theme Fonts, simply:

  • Go to the  Design tab  in the Ribbon
  • Click on the  dropdown arrow  in the  Variants  area
  • Select  Fonts
  • Select  the font pairing you want

You can choose among the pre-built fonts from Office, or you can customize them to create your own.

If you are working with PowerPoint presentations on both Mac and PC computers, make sure you choose a safe PowerPoint font. To see a list of the safest PowerPoint fonts, read our guide here .

If you receive a PowerPoint presentation and the wrong fonts were used, you can use the Replace Fonts dialog box to change the fonts across your entire presentation. For details, read our guide here .

Adding Animations & Transitions (optional)

The final step to make a PowerPoint presentation compelling, is to consider using animations and transitions. These are by no means necessary to a good presentation, but they may be helpful in your situation.

A. Adding PowerPoint animations

PowerPoint has an incredibly robust animations engine designed to power your creativity. That being said, it’s also easy to get started with basic animations.

Animations are movements that you can apply to individual objects on your slide.

To add an animation to an object in PowerPoint, first select the object and then use the Animations tab to select an animation type

To add a PowerPoint animation to an element of your slide, simply:

  • Select the  element
  • Go to the  Animations tab in the Ribbon
  • Click on the  dropdown arrow  to view your options
  • Select the  animation  you want

You can add animations to multiple objects at one time by selecting them all first and then applying the animation.

B. How to preview a PowerPoint animation

There are three ways to preview a PowerPoint animation

There are three ways to preview a PowerPoint animation:

  • Click on the Preview button in the Animations tab
  • Click on the little star  next to the slide
  • Play the slide in Slide Show Mode

To learn other ways to run your slide show, see our guide on presenting a PowerPoint slide show with shortcuts .

To adjust the settings of your animations, explore the options in the  Effect Options ,  Advanced Animation  and the  Timing  areas of the  Animation tab .

The Animations tab allows you to adjust the effects and timings of your animations in PowerPoint

Note:  To see how to make objects appear and disappear in your slides by clicking a button,  read our guide here .

C. How to manage your animations in PowerPoint

You can see the animations applied to your objects by the little numbers in the upper right-hand corner of the objects

The best way to manage lots of animations on your slide is with the Animation Pane . To open it, simply:

  • Navigate to the  Animations tab
  • Select the  Animation Pane

Inside the Animation Pane, you’ll see all of the different animations that have been applied to objects on your slide, with their numbers marked as pictured above.

Note: To see examples of PowerPoint animations that can use in PowerPoint, see our list of PowerPoint animation tutorials here .

D. How to add transitions to your PowerPoint presentation

PowerPoint has an incredibly robust transition engine so that you can dictate how your slides change from one to the other. It is also extremely easy to add transitions to your slides.

In PowerPoint, transitions are the movements (or effects) you see as you move between two slides.

To add a transition to a slide, select the slide, navigate to the transitions tab in PowerPoint and select your transition

To add a transition to a PowerPoint slide, simply:

  • Select the  slide
  • Go to the  Transitions tab in the Ribbon
  • In the Transitions to This Slide area, click on the  dropdown arrow  to view your options
  • Select the  transition  you want

To adjust the settings of the transition, explore the options in the  Timing  area of the Transitions tab.

You can also add the same transition to multiple slides. To do that, select them in the  Slides Pane  and apply the transition.

E. How to preview a transition in PowerPoint

There are three ways to preview a transition in PowerPoint

There are three ways to preview your PowerPoint transitions (just like your animations):

  • Click on the Preview  button in the Transitions tab
  • Click on the little star  beneath the slide number in the thumbnail view

Note:  In 2016, PowerPoint added a cool new transition, called Morph. It operates a bit differently from other transitions. For a detailed tutorial on how to use the cool Morph transition,  see our step-by-step article here .

Save Your PowerPoint Presentation

After you’ve built your presentation and made all the adjustments to your slides, you’ll want to save your presentation. YOu can do this several different ways.

Click the file tab, select Save As, choose where you want to save your presentation and then click save

To save a PowerPoint presentation using your Ribbon, simply:

  • Navigate to the  File tab
  •  Select  Save As  on the left
  • Choose  where you want to save your presentation
  • Name  your presentation and/or adjust your file type settings
  • Click  Save

You can alternatively use the  Ctrl+S keyboard shortcut to save your presentation. I recommend using this shortcut frequently as you build your presentation to make sure you don’t lose any of your work.

The save shortcut is control plus s in PowerPoint

This is the standard way to save a presentation. However, there may be a situation where you want to save your presentation as a different file type.

To learn how to save your presentation as a PDF, see our guide on converting PowerPoint to a PDF .

How to save your PowerPoint presentation as a template

Once you’ve created a presentation that you like, you may want to turn it into a template. The easiest – but not technically correct – way, is to simply create a copy of your current presentation and then change the content.

But be careful! A PowerPoint template is a special type of document and it has its own parameters and behaviors.

If you’re interested in learning about how to create your own PowerPoint template from scratch, see our guide on how to create a PowerPoint template .

Printing Your PowerPoint Presentation

After finishing your PowerPoint presentation, you may want to print it out on paper. Printing your slides is relatively easy.

The print shortcut is control plus P in PowerPoint

To open the Print dialog box, you can either:

  • Hit Ctrl+P on your keyboard
  • Or go to the Ribbon and click on File and then Print

In the Print dialog box, make your selections for how you want to print your PowerPoint presentation, then click print

Inside the Print dialog box, you can choose from the various printing settings:

  • Printer: Select a printer to use (or print to PDF or OneNote)
  • Slides: Choose which slides you want to print
  • Layout: Determine how many slides you want per page (this is where you can print the notes, outline, and handouts)
  • Collated or uncollated (learn what collated printing means here )
  • Color: Choose to print in color, grayscale or black & white

There are many more options for printing your PowerPoint presentations. Here are links to more in-depth articles:

  • How to print multiple slides per page
  • How to print your speaker notes in PowerPoint
  • How to save PowerPoint as a picture presentation

So that’s how to create a PowerPoint presentation if you are brand new to it. We’ve also included a ton of links to helpful resources to boost your PowerPoint skills further.

When you are creating your presentation, it is critical to first focus on the content (what you are trying to say) before getting lost inserting and playing with elements. The clearer you are on what you want to present, the easier it will be to build it out in PowerPoint.

If you enjoyed this article, you can learn more about our PowerPoint training courses and other presentation resources by  visiting us here .

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Simple Steps to Make a PowerPoint Presentation

Last Updated: April 28, 2024 Fact Checked

Creating a New PowerPoint

Creating the title slide, adding a new slide, adding content to slides, adding transitions, testing and saving your presentation.

This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Darlene Antonelli, MA . Darlene Antonelli is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. Darlene has experience teaching college courses, writing technology-related articles, and working hands-on in the technology field. She earned an MA in Writing from Rowan University in 2012 and wrote her thesis on online communities and the personalities curated in such communities. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 4,333,897 times. Learn more...

Do you want to have your data in a slide show? If you have Microsoft 365, you can use PowerPoint! PowerPoint is a program that's part of the Microsoft Office suite (which you have to pay for) and is available for both Windows and Mac computers. This wikiHow teaches you how to create your own Microsoft PowerPoint presentation on a computer.

How to Make a PowerPoint Presentation

  • Open the PowerPoint app, select a template and theme, then like “Create.”
  • Click the text box to add your title and subtitle to create your title slide.
  • Click the “Insert” tab, then “New Slide” to add another slide.
  • Choose the type of slide you want to add, then add text and pictures.
  • Rearrange slides by dragging them up or down in the preview box.

Things You Should Know

  • Templates make it easy to create vibrant presentations no matter your skill level.
  • When adding photos, you can adjust their sizes by clicking and dragging in or out from their corners.
  • You can add animated transitions between slides or to individual elements like bullet points and blocks of text.

Step 1 Open PowerPoint.

  • If you don't have a Microsoft Office 365 subscription, you can use the website instead of the desktop app. Go to https://powerpoint.office.com/ to use the website version.
  • You can also use the mobile app to make presentations, though it's easier to do this on a computer, which has a larger screen, a mouse, and a keyboard.

Step 2 Select a template.

  • If you don't want to use a template, just click the Blank option in the upper-left side of the page and skip to the next part.

Step 3 Select a theme if possible.

  • Skip this step if your selected template has no themes available.

Step 4 Click Create.

  • If you're creating a PowerPoint presentation for which an elaborate title slide has been requested, ignore this step.

Step 2 Add a title.

  • You can change the font and size of text used from the Home tab that's in the orange ribbon at the top of the window.

Step 3 Add the subtitle.

  • You can also just leave this box blank if you like.

Step 4 Rearrange the title text boxes.

  • You can also click and drag in or out one of a text box's corners to shrink or enlarge the text box.

Step 1 Click the Insert tab.

  • On a Mac, you'll click the Home tab instead. [1] X Research source

Step 2 Click New Slide ▼.

  • Clicking the white slide-shaped box above this option will result in a new text slide being inserted.

Step 3 Select a type of slide.

  • Title Slide
  • Title and Content
  • Section Header
  • Two Content
  • Content with Caption
  • Picture with Caption

Step 4 Add any other slides that you think you'll need.

  • Naturally, the title slide should be the first slide in your presentation, meaning that it should be the top slide in the left-hand column.

Step 1 Select a slide.

  • Skip this step and the next two steps if your selected slide uses a template that doesn't have text boxes in it.

Step 3 Add text to the slide.

  • Text boxes in PowerPoint will automatically format the bulk of your text for you (e.g., adding bullet points) based on the context of the content itself.
  • You can add notes that the Presentation will not include (but you'll still be able to see them on your screen) by clicking Notes at the bottom of the slide.

Step 4 Format the slide's text.

  • You can change the font of the selected text by clicking the current font's name and then clicking your preferred font.
  • If you want to change the size of the text, click the numbered drop-down box and then click a larger or smaller number based on whether you want to enlarge or shrink the text.
  • You can also change the color, bolding, italicization, underlining, and so on from here.

Step 5 Add photos to the slide.

  • Photos in particular can be enlarged or shrunk by clicking and dragging out or in one of their corners.

Step 7 Repeat this for each slide in your presentation.

  • Remember to keep slides uncluttered and relatively free of distractions. It's best to keep the amount of text per slide to around 33 words or less. [2] X Research source

Step 1 Select a slide.

  • Slide content will animate in the order in which you assign transitions. For example, if you animate a photo on the slide and then animate the title, the photo will appear before the title.
  • Make your slideshow progress automatically by setting the speed of every transition to align with your speech as well as setting each slide to Advance . [3] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source

Step 1 Review your PowerPoint.

  • If you need to exit the presentation, press Esc .

Step 5 Make any necessary changes before proceeding.

  • Windows - Click File , click Save , double-click This PC , select a save location, enter a name for your presentation, and click Save .
  • Mac - Click File , click Save As... , enter the presentation's name in the "Save As" field, select a save location by clicking the "Where" box and clicking a folder, and click Save .

Community Q&A

Community Answer

  • If you save your PowerPoint presentation in .pps format instead of the default .ppt format, double-clicking your PowerPoint presentation file will prompt the presentation to open directly into the slideshow view. Thanks Helpful 6 Not Helpful 0
  • If you don't have Microsoft Office, you can still use Apple's Keynote program or Google Slides to create a PowerPoint presentation. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

how to create a blank powerpoint presentation

  • Your PowerPoint presentation (or some features in it) may not open in significantly older versions of PowerPoint. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 2
  • Great PowerPoint presentations avoid placing too much text on one slide. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

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  • ↑ https://onedrive.live.com/view.aspx?resid=DBDCE00C929AA5D8!252&ithint=file%2cpptx&app=PowerPoint&authkey=!AH4O9NxcbehqzIg
  • ↑ https://www.virtualsalt.com/powerpoint.htm
  • ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/set-the-timing-and-speed-of-a-transition-c3c3c66f-4cca-4821-b8b9-7de0f3f6ead1#:~:text=To%20make%20the%20slide%20advance,effect%20on%20the%20slide%20finishes .

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Creating a Blank Presentation

When you create a new, blank presentationby choosing Blank Presentation in the New Presentation pane or by clicking the New icon on the Standard toolbarPowerPoint generates a new presentation and displays the Slide Layout task pane (see Figure 4 ).

Figure 4. Use the Slide Layout pane to specify which placeholders will go on a slide and where they will sit.

how to create a blank powerpoint presentation

When you begin with a blank presentation, PowerPoint starts with a single title slide. Although it's a tedious way to work, you can build your presentation from this view, one slide at a time. Aim your mouse pointer at the layout that matches the kind of slide you want to add, click the arrow to the right of the slide layout icon, and choose Insert New Slide from the menu.

In a blank PowerPoint presentation, each new slide you create is completely free of any design elements whatsoever. You get a white background, with text formatted in the Arial font (44-point for slide titles and 32-point for body text) and generic round bullets.

It is hard to imagine a layout more dull than this default design. To replace it with one that contains coordinated colors, fonts, and graphics, click the Design icon on the Formatting toolbar (or choose Slide Design from the drop-down list at the top of the task pane). The Slide Design pane (see Figure 5 ) appears.

Figure 5. Switch to this larger preview to get a better picture of what each design template looks like.

how to create a blank powerpoint presentation

Initially, PowerPoint installs only a limited selection of its design templates. To make the entire collection of templates available, scroll all the way to the bottom of the Slide Design pane and click Additional Design Templates. (If you kept the installation files on your hard drive, you won't need the Office CD.) If that's not enough, a quick search of the Internet will turn up literally thousands of downloadable templates of varying sophistication. You can also create your own templates, either from scratch or by modifying a template you found elsewhere. Don't be afraid to experiment!

When you click the icon for a design template, PowerPoint immediately applies the design to all slides in your presentation. The icons offer a thumbnail-sized preview of the design, but there's no substitute for experimentation. Feel free to apply different designs to the current presentation and then flip through the slides to see what each design looks like; if your presentation includes important content, create a copy first so that you don't have to worry about inadvertently messing up the existing design.

If you regularly prepare presentations for an organization or company that has certain standards for all presentationslogo in a specific location, identification of title slides, and so onyou might want to customize PowerPoint's "blank" presentation so that it reflects those standards. That way, whenever you begin a new presentation you'll have the basic requirements out of the way before you type your first bullet point.

To replace the PowerPoint default blank presentation with one of your own design, follow these steps:

in the File Name box and click Save.

By default, PowerPoint saves your new blank presentation in your personal Templates folder (to view the contents of this folder, click Start, Run, enter ). To make this change for all the users in your organization, you must copy the Blank Presentation design template file into the personal Templates folder for each user.

With a Blank Presentation file in the correct location, all "blank" presentations whether created via the New Presentation task pane or using the New icon on the Standard toolbarwill be based on that file.

how to create a blank powerpoint presentation

How-To Geek

How to create a custom template in powerpoint.

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PowerPoint provides extremely useful resources called templates that automatically construct the foundation and framework of your presentation. If you can’t quite find one that’s just right for you, you can create your own. Here’s how to do it.

To create a custom PowerPoint template, you’ll first need to open a blank presentation. You can do so by clicking the “File” tab and then selecting “New” in the left pane.

Open a new powerpoint presentation

A large library of templates will appear, but since that’s not what we’re looking for, go ahead and select the “Blank Presentation” option.

Select Blank Presentation

Next, you need to choose the slide orientation and size . In the “Customize” group of the “Design” tab, select the “Slide Size” button. A small drop-down menu will appear. Here, click the “Customize Slide Size” option.

custom slide size

The “Slide Size” dialog box will appear. Here, you can (1) adjust the slide height and width or simply select a predefined option from the drop-down menu, and (2) select the slide orientation.

Set slide size and orientation

The rest of the template creation will be done in PowerPoint’s Slide Master . The Slide Master allows you to customize a presentation's fonts, headings, and colors in one place, applying the selections to all of your slides. This allows you to maintain consistency throughout the template, as well as eliminating the need to make changes to each individual slide.

Related: How to Change the Default Font in PowerPoint

To access the slide master, click on the "View" tab and then select “Slide Master” in the “Master Views” group.

Slide Master View

The Slide Master will appear in the left pane. The Slide Master is the top thumbnail that appears in the pane. Each sub-thumbnail represents each slide layout available in your theme. Edits you make to the Slide Master will affect each slide layout.

slide master

This is where the magic happens. First, you can select a unique theme for what will be your PowerPoint template. To do so, select “Themes” in the “Edit Theme” group of the “Slide Master” tab.

A drop-down menu will appear, presenting a large library of themes to choose from. Each theme comes with its own fonts and effects. Browse through the collection and select the one you like.

theme library

You can also choose a background style for the theme you chose. Select “Background Styles” in the “Background” group and then select the style you like from the drop-down menu.

Background styles

If you want to customize the placeholders in the slides, you can do so by selecting one of the options from the “Insert Placeholder” menu. You can find this option in the “Master Layout” group.

inserting a placeholder

Once you’ve selected the slide where you want to insert a placeholder from the pane on left and the type of placeholder you want to insert from the menu, click and drag your cursor to draw the placeholder box.

Repeat this process until you’re happy with the placeholders in your template. Once you’re finished with this, all that’s left to do is save your custom template.

To save the PowerPoint presentation (.pptx) as a template (.potx), click the “File” tab and then the "Save As" button.

Save as

In the “Other Locations” group, select the “Browse" option.

browse

The “Save As” dialog box will then appear. Select the box next to “Save as Type” and then choose “PowerPoint Template” from the list of options.

When you select the PowerPoint Template file type, PowerPoint redirects you to the “Custom Office Templates” folder. This is where you’ll want to save your template. Click the “Save” button.

save

Your template will now be saved and is ready to be used. To find your template next time you open PowerPoint, click the “File” tab and select the “New” button. Next, select the “Custom” tab and then select the “Custom Office Templates" option.

use custom template

You’ll now see your custom template. Select it to start using your custom PowerPoint template.

select new template

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PowerPoint  - Creating and Opening Presentations

Powerpoint  -, creating and opening presentations, powerpoint creating and opening presentations.

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PowerPoint: Creating and Opening Presentations

Lesson 3: creating and opening presentations.

/en/powerpoint/understanding-onedrive/content/

Introduction

PowerPoint files are called presentations . Whenever you start a new project in PowerPoint, you'll need to create a new presentation , which can either be blank or from a template . You'll also need to know how to open an existing presentation .

Watch the video below to learn more about creating and opening presentations in PowerPoint.

To create a new presentation:

When beginning a new project in PowerPoint, you'll often want to start with a new blank presentation.

Clicking the File tab

  • A new presentation will appear.

To create a new presentation from a template:

A template is a predesigned presentation you can use to create a new slide show quickly. Templates often include custom formatting and designs , so they can save you a lot of time and effort when starting a new project.

  • Click the File tab to access Backstage view , then select New .

Searching for templates

  • A preview of the template will appear, along with additional information on how the template can be used.

Creating a new presentation with a template

  • A new presentation will appear with the selected template .

It's important to note that not all templates are created by Microsoft. Many are created by third-party providers and even individual users, so some templates may work better than others.

To open an existing presentation:

In addition to creating new presentations, you'll often need to open a presentation that was previously saved. To learn more about saving presentations, review our lesson on Saving Presentations .

Clicking Open

Most features in Microsoft Office, including PowerPoint, are geared toward saving and sharing documents online . This is done with OneDrive , which is an online storage space for your documents and files. If you want to use OneDrive, make sure you’re signed in to PowerPoint with your Microsoft account. Review our lesson on Understanding OneDrive to learn more.

To pin a presentation:

If you frequently work with the same presentation , you can pin it to Backstage view for easy access.

  • Select the File tab to go to Backstage view , then click Open . Your Recent Presentations will appear.

Pinning a presentation

Compatibility Mode

Sometimes you may need to work with presentations that were created in earlier versions of PowerPoint, like PowerPoint 2003 or PowerPoint 2000. When you open these types of presentations, they will appear in Compatibility Mode .

Compatibility Mode disables certain features, so you'll only be able to access commands found in the program that was used to create the presentation. For example, if you open a presentation created in PowerPoint 2003, you can only use tabs and commands found in PowerPoint 2003.

In the image below, you can see at the top of the window that the presentation is in Compatibility Mode. This will disable some current PowerPoint features, including newer types of slide transitions.

Compatibility mode

To exit Compatibility Mode, you'll need to convert the presentation to the current version type. However, if you're collaborating with others who only have access to an earlier version of PowerPoint, it's best to leave the presentation in Compatibility Mode so the format will not change.

You can review this support page from Microsoft to learn more about which features are disabled in Compatibility Mode.

To convert a presentation:

If you want access to the newer features, you can convert the presentation to the current file format.

Note that converting a file may cause some changes to the original layout of the presentation.

Clicking the File tab

  • The presentation will be converted to the newest file type.
  • Open our practice presentation .
  • Notice that the presentation opens in Compatibility Mode . Convert it to the current file format. If a dialog box appears asking if you would like to close and reopen the file in order to see the new features, choose Yes .
  • In Backstage view, pin a file or folder.

previous

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Find the perfect PowerPoint presentation template

Bring your next presentation to life with customizable powerpoint design templates. whether you're wowing with stats via charts and graphs or putting your latest and greatest ideas on display, you'll find a powerpoint presentation template to make your ideas pop., presentations.

Help your data, insights, and recommendations make a statement with beautiful and easily customizable presentation templates.

how to create a blank powerpoint presentation

Certificates

Celebrate accomplishments big and small with customizable certificate templates. From gift certificates to awards for finishing a course or training, find a template that highlights their accolades.

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Boost visibility for your show, project, or business with easily customizable poster templates. Find templates for all your promotion needs and make them uniquely yours in a flash.

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Keep track of whatever you need to in style. From personal planning to promotional calendars, find templates for every kind of project and aesthetic.

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Infographics

Say more with less using helpful and easily customizable infographic templates. Add clarity to business presentations, school projects, and more with these helpful templates.

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Start with the best PowerPoint templates

Light sales pitch presentation white modern-simple

Elevate your storytelling

Tips, tricks, and insider advice from our business and design experts

A quick way to create beautiful, powerful PowerPoint presentations

Create captivating, informative content for PowerPoint in just a few minutes—no graphic design experience needed. Here's how:

how to create a blank powerpoint presentation

1. Find the perfect PowerPoint template

how to create a blank powerpoint presentation

2. Customize your creation

how to create a blank powerpoint presentation

3. Show it off

Let's create a powerpoint design, frequently asked questions, where can i find slide templates and themes that i can customize.

To find customizable slide templates and themes, you can explore the business presentations templates or search by PowerPoint templates . Once you find a template that resonates with you, customize it by changing its color scheme, add in your own photos, and swap out the font.

How do I use pre-made PowerPoint templates?

After you've chosen a PowerPoint template to use, customize it. Explore [design tips] on how to customize a deck that resonates with your brand while putting emphasis on the topic at hand. Play with other design elements, like photo shapes, to make each slide unique.

How can I make or edit my own custom PowerPoint templates?

Start from scratch by creating your own PowerPoint template . Follow tips for designs and business presentations so that your unique template is cohesive and relevant to your brand. Incorporate your brand's color scheme and graphics so that all your slides aren't text only.

What kinds templates can I get online for PowerPoint?

You can get PowerPoint templates that have modern designs, animated ones, or even hand-drawn art in each slide. The color schemes range from bold to subtle. Each template's slides are also organized based on what you may want to include in your presentation . You can use the template as a starting point and customize its specific details from theme.

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How to Create New Presentations in PowerPoint 2019

Powerpoint 2019 for dummies.

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After PowerPoint is started, you can also create a new presentation by clicking the File tab to switch to Backstage View and then clicking the New command. This action brings up the screen shown here, which offers several ways to create a new presentation:

  • Choose Blank Presentation: Double-click Blank Presentation to start a new presentation from scratch.
  • Choose a template: You can select one of the displayed templates to create a new presentation based on the template’s design. Several templates are displayed on the New screen.
  • Search for a template: You can type a search phrase into the Search text box and then click the magnifying glass icon. Doing this opens a list of templates that match your search criteria. Double-click one of these templates to create a presentation based on it.

powerpoint-backstage-view

How to edit text in a PowerPoint presentation

Most slides contain two text objects: one for the slide’s title and the other for its body text. However, you can add more text objects if you want, and you can remove the body text or title text object. You can even remove both to create a slide that contains no text.

Whenever you move the cursor over a text object, the cursor changes from an arrow to the I-beam, which you can use to support bridges or build aircraft carriers. Seriously, when the cursor changes to an I-beam, you can click the mouse button and start typing text.

When a text object contains no text, a placeholder message appears in the object. For example, a title text object displays the message Click to add title. Other placeholders display similar messages. The placeholder message magically vanishes when you click the object and begin typing text.

If you start typing without clicking anywhere, the text that you type is entered into the title text object — assuming that the title text object doesn’t already have text of its own. If the title object is not empty, any text that you type (with no text object selected) is simply ignored.

How to add a new slide to a PowerPoint presentation

  • On the Home tab, click the New Slide button in the Slides group, as shown.
  • Press Ctrl+M.
  • Right-click in the Slides pane on the left and then choose New Slide.

powerpoint-new-slide

In all three cases, PowerPoint adds a blank slide with a standard layout that includes a title and content area, as shown. If you want to choose a different layout, click the Layout button in the Home tab to display the gallery of slide layouts. This pane enables you to pick from several types of slide layouts. Just click the one that you want to use, and PowerPoint sets the new slide to the layout of your choosing.

Each slide layout has a name. For example, the Title and Content layout includes a text object in addition to the title area . This is probably the layout you’ll use most. It’s the best format for presenting a topic along with several supporting points. For example, this figure shows a typical bulleted list slide.

powerpoint-text-slide

The bit about Psalm 46 secretly containing the name Shakespeare is true, and indeed worthy of a Dan Brown novel. It only works with the 1611 edition of the King James Bible, though. If you have a copy lying around, check it out!

Moving from slide to slide

  • Click one of the double-headed arrows at the bottom of the vertical scroll bar. Doing so moves you through the presentation one slide at a time.
  • Press the Page Up and Page Down keys. Using these keys also moves one slide at a time.
  • Use the scroll bar. When you drag the box in the scroll bar, a tooltip appears to display the number and title of the current slide. Dragging the scroll bar is the quickest way to move directly to any slide in your presentation.
  • In the list of slides on the left side of the window, click the thumbnail for the slide that you want to display. If the thumbnails are not visible, click the Slides tab above the outline.

Choosing a design

powerpoint-slide-theme

Because of space constraints, PowerPoint doesn’t display all the available themes on the Ribbon at the same time. But just to the right of the themes is a scroll bar that you can use to scroll through the themes. And the button at the bottom of the scroll bar brings up a gallery that displays all the themes that come with Office 2019.

A new design feature for PowerPoint 2019 is the Design Ideas task pane, which you can activate by clicking Design Ideas in the Design ribbon tab. It lets you apply fancy design features to your otherwise plain slides. The following figure shows a slide after the Design Ideas features has had its way. The Design Ideas tab is smart enough to suggest designs that relate to what it deduces to be the slide’s topic. For example, PowerPoint noticed the word Shakespeare in the slide, so it offered to include the classic dramatic comedy and tragedy masks.

powerpoint-design-ideas

About This Article

This article is from the book:.

  • PowerPoint 2019 For Dummies ,

About the book author:

Doug Lowe is a master at demystifying technology. The 50+ technology books he's written include more than 30 For Dummies books, including Networking All-in-One For Dummies. Doug has been managing networks at publishing companies and nonprofit organizations for more than 20 years and is presently IT director for a civil engineering firm.

This article can be found in the category:

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Insert a new slide in powerpoint- instructions, how to insert a new slide in powerpoint: video.

            This video lesson, titled “ Inserting New Slides ,” shows how to insert a new slide in PowerPoint. This video lesson on how to add a new slide in PowerPoint is from our complete PowerPoint tutorial , titled “ Mastering PowerPoint Made Easy v.2019 and 365 .”

Overview of How to Insert a New Slide in PowerPoint:

            This tutorial shows you how to insert a new slide in PowerPoint. When you create a new blank presentation in PowerPoint, one default slide that contains a “Title Slide” layout appears. You can click into the placeholders shown in the title slide and type the text you want to have appear as the title and subtitle of your presentation.

            To add another slide to your presentation, you must then insert a new slide and determine which placeholders appear in the slide. The slide layout you select for the inserted slide determines which placeholders appear within it. You can, however, also change the layout applied to a slide after you insert it to change its placeholders.

            To insert a new slide in PowerPoint with a “Title and Content” slide layout, click the “Home” tab in the Ribbon. Then click the “New Slide” button in the “Slides” button group. Alternatively, to insert a new slide with a different slide layout, click the “Home” tab in the Ribbon. Then click the drop-down part of the “New Slide” button in the “Slides” button group. The drop-down menu that then appears shows the other available slide layouts. Click the name of the desired slide layout in the drop-down menu to insert a new slide with the selected layout.

A picture that shows how to insert a new slide in PowerPoint by selecting a slide layout to insert into the presentation.

A picture that shows how to insert a new slide in PowerPoint by selecting a slide layout to insert into the presentation.

Instructions on how to add a new slide in powerpoint:.

  • To add a new slide with a “Title and Content” slide layout in PowerPoint , click the “Home” tab in the Ribbon.
  • Then click the “New Slide” button in the “Slides” button group.
  • Alternatively, to add a new slide with a different slide layout , click the “Home” tab in the Ribbon.
  • Then click the drop-down part of the “New Slide” button in the “Slides” button group to show a drop-down menu that shows the other available slide layouts.
  • Then click the name of the desired slide layout in the drop-down menu to insert a new slide with the selected layout.

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17 PowerPoint Presentation Tips From Pro Presenters [+ Templates]

Jamie Cartwright

Published: April 26, 2024

PowerPoint presentations can be professional, attractive, and really help your audience remember your message.

powerpoint tricks

If you don’t have much experience, that’s okay — I’m going to arm you with PowerPoint design tips from pro presenters, the steps you need to build an engaging deck, and templates to help you nail great slide design.

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Buckle up for a variety of step-by-step explanations as well as tips and tricks to help you start mastering this program. There are additional resources woven in, and you’ll find expert perspectives from other HubSpotters along the way.

Table of Contents

How to Make a PowerPoint Presentation

Powerpoint presentation tips.

Microsoft PowerPoint is like a test of basic professional skills, and each PowerPoint is basically a presentation made of multiple slides.

Successful PowerPoints depend on three main factors: your command of PowerPoint's design tools, your attention to presentation processes, and being consistent with your style.

Keep those in mind as we jump into PowerPoint's capabilities.

Getting Started

1. open powerpoint and click ‘new.’.

A page with templates will usually open automatically, but if not, go to the top left pane of your screen and click New . If you’ve already created a presentation, select Open and then double-click the icon to open the existing file.

how to create a blank powerpoint presentation

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Creating PowerPoint Slides

3. insert a slide..

Insert a new slide by clicking on the Home tab and then the New Slide button. Consider what content you want to put on the slide, including heading, text, and imagery.

how to create a blank powerpoint presentation

  • Finally, PowerPoint Live is a new tool that enables you to do more seamless presentations during video calls and may be a better overall match for doing presentations remotely. Check out this video:

11. Try Using GIFs.

how to create a blank powerpoint presentation

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15. Embed multimedia.

PowerPoint allows you to either link to video/audio files externally or to embed the media directly in your presentation. For PCs, two great reasons for embedding are:

  • Embedding allows you to play media directly in your presentation. It will look much more professional than switching between windows.
  • Embedding also means that the file stays within the PowerPoint presentation, so it should play normally without extra work (except on a Mac).

If you use PowerPoint for Mac it gets a bit complicated, but it can be done:

  • Always bring the video and/or audio file with you in the same folder as the PowerPoint presentation.
  • Only insert video or audio files once the presentation and the containing folder have been saved on a portable drive in their permanent folder.
  • If the presentation will be played on a Windows computer, then Mac users need to make sure their multimedia files are in WMV format.
  • Consider using the same operating system for designing and presenting, no matter what.

16. Bring your own hardware.

Between operating systems, PowerPoint is still a bit jumpy. Even between differing PPT versions, things can change. The easiest fix? Just bring along your own laptop when you're presenting.

The next easiest fix is to upload your PowerPoint presentation into Google Slides as a backup option — just make sure there is a good internet connection and a browser available where you plan to present.

Google Slides is a cloud-based presentation software that will show up the same way on all operating systems.

To import your PowerPoint presentation into Google Slides:

  • Navigate to slides.google.com . Make sure you’re signed in to a Google account (preferably your own).
  • Under Start a new presentation , click the empty box with a plus sign. This will open up a blank presentation.
  • Go to File , then Import slides .
  • A dialog box will come up. Tap Upload.
  • Click Select a file from your device .
  • Select your presentation and click Open .
  • Select the slides you’d like to import. If you want to import all of them, click All in the upper right-hand corner of the dialog box.
  • Click Import slides.

When I tested this out, Google Slides imported everything perfectly, including a shape whose points I had manipulated. This is a good backup option to have if you’ll be presenting across different operating systems.

17. Use Presenter View.

In most presentation situations, there will be both a presenter’s screen and the main projected display for your presentation.

PowerPoint has a great tool called Presenter View, which can be found in the Slide Show tab of PowerPoint. Included in the Presenter View is an area for notes, a timer/clock, and a presentation display.

For many presenters, this tool can help unify their spoken presentation and their visual aid. You never want to make the PowerPoint seem like a stack of notes that you’re reading off of.

Use the Presenter View option to help create a more natural presentation.

Pro Tip: At the start of the presentation, you should also hit CTRL + H to make the cursor disappear. Hitting the “A” key will bring it back if you need it.

Your Next Great PowerPoint Presentation Starts Here

Now that you have these style, design, and presentation tips under your belt, you should feel confident to create your PowerPoint presentation.

But if you can explore other resources to make sure your content hits the mark. After all, you need a strong presentation to land your point and make an impression.

With several templates to choose from — both in PowerPoint and available for free download — you can swiftly be on your way to creating presentations that wow your audiences.

Editor's note: This post was originally published in September 2013 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.

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Microsoft 365 Life Hacks > Organization > How to turn your paper into a presentation

How to turn your paper into a presentation

To make your information and findings more accessible, you might need to transform an academic or white paper into a slideshow presentation. Whether you’re a student presenting your research, a professional conveying a proposal, or someone simply looking to share ideas, turning a paper into a presentation is much easier than it seems. See how you can seamlessly transition from written content to a captivating presentation.

Man giving a virtual presentation

Why turn your paper into a presentation?

How can you turn pages of dense text into an easily digestible PowerPoint ? By knowing your audience and the key points of your work, you can easily create a compelling way to convey your research and findings.

Academic and corporate papers are dense, usually written in jargon, and might be dozens of pages long—which can be a detriment in conveying your information, research, and findings to a widespread audience. If you need to make a presentation in front of a class or company meeting, it can be effective to distill your work into slides that merely touch upon the key points onscreen, while giving you enough room to further delve into detail before moving on to the next slide. See more ways you can create successful presentations .

Tell your story with captivating presentations Banner

Tell your story with captivating presentations

Powerpoint empowers you to develop well-designed content across all your devices

Tips for turning your paper into a presentation

  • Understand your audience: Whether the people you’re presenting to come from a technical background, or you’re introducing a new subject to an audience that might be unfamiliar with your topic, knowing who you are speaking to will guide your content choices, tone, and overall approach to your presentation.
  • Know what to read aloud: The key difference between a paper and a presentation is that you’ll be reading the latter out loud, usually in a natural and conversational tone. This means that you’ll need to pay attention to what you need to say out loud, which can entail rewriting major passages, condensing text into talking points, and eliminating jargon so you won’t stumble over your words.
  • Summarize key points : Understanding the gist and overall point of each section of your paper is key to knowing how to divide your paper into different slides. Start with the headers for each section of your paper, which is an easy shortcut to summarizing your topics per slide.
  • Develop a structure: A paper and a presentation have different ways of conveying information, and a presentation needs to capture attention in more direct ways—especially if your audience is unfamiliar with your subject. Begin with an introduction that grabs your audience’s attention, followed by the main body containing your key points, and conclude with a summary or call to action.
  • Use speaker notes: In PowerPoint, you can add speaker notes to the bottom of a slide that can help you remember what you need to cover. These will show up on your device or monitor, but they won’t appear to your audience. Therefore, they can be immensely helpful to store talking points that you might otherwise forget. You can put elements of your paper in here that might be too unwieldy to mention out loud here, which can also demonstrate how well-versed in the subject you are.
  • Add visuals and interactive elements: One of the most effective ways to captivate your audience is through compelling visuals. Create slides that complement your key points with images, graphs, and charts. These might be taken from your paper itself, or you can take the chance to reinterpret your data into graphs that can illustrate your point more effectively than in your text.
  • Seek feedback: Unlike turning in a paper, when you deliver a presentation, you have the unique opportunity to seek feedback from your peers and audience. Take constructive criticism with valuable insights that can generate feedback to iterate and refine your presentations.

Turning a paper into a presentation allows you to summarize key points, add visuals that enhance your work, and allow you to reach a wider audience. Presenting takes a wide variety of skills, so it’s worth checking out presentation tips on how to handle public speaking , design captivating presentations , or use common guidelines to create a compelling presenting session .

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Create or change a presentation’s handout

You can use the Handout Master tab to edit the appearance of presentation handouts, including the layout, headers and footers, and background. Changes made to the handout master appear on all pages of the printed handout.

To see the handout options, click the View tab, and then click Handout Master in the Master Views group.

Shows View Handout master in PowerPoint

This opens the Handout Master view.

Shows the handout master ribbon in PowerPoint

Change the layout

In the Page Setup group, you can specify the number and layout of slides to print on each page, change the orientation of handouts, and set the slide size. You can use settings on all three menus— Handout Orientation , Slide Size , and Slides Per Page —to customize your layout exactly how you want it.

Page Setup group

Set the slides per page

Click Slides Per Page .

Slides Per Page options

Choose a layout option from the thumbnail images.

Tip:  The 3 Slides option includes lines that your audience can use to take notes.

Set the orientation

Click Handout Orientation , and then choose Portrait or Landscape .

Handout Orientation menu

Set the slide size

Click Slide Size , and then choose one of the options.

how to create a blank powerpoint presentation

When PowerPoint is unable to automatically scale your content, it will prompt you with a message. Select Maximize to increase the size of your slide content when you are scaling to a larger slide size. (Choosing this option could result in your content not fitting on the slide. ) Select Ensure Fit to decrease the size of your content. (This could make your content appear smaller, but you’ll be able to see all content on your slide.)

Slide size scaling message

To set a custom size, including width, height, slide numbering, and orientation of slides and notes, click Custom Slide Size on the Slide Size menu.

To make sure your slides will print the way you want, preview your handouts before printing.

Change headers and footers

You can adjust headers and footers in the Placeholders group. By default, the placeholders appear in the top and bottom corners of the Handout Master page.

Shows the PowerPoint Handout Master

Click in a text placeholder (Header, Footer, Date, or Page Number) to make changes to it. You can do things like:

Edit or add content in the text placeholders : In addition to text changes, you can use commands on the Insert tab to add graphics or other content types.

Format text shape and appearance : Select the text and use the options on the Format tab to make changes.

Change text placeholders : Drag a text placeholder to move it, and use the text box sizing handles to change its size.

Turn placeholders on or off : Clear the check box of the placeholder (Header, Date, Footer, or Page Number) that you want to turn off.

Change the background

You can change the background of your handouts (but not the background of your slides) in the Background group. You can also quickly change the font for all for your handout text at once, and you can apply special borders and visual effects.

Background options

Colors : Choose a color theme for your handout background. You may have to click Background Styles and choose an option to see it applied.

Background Styles : Choose a style option from the list. The colors displayed depend on your choice in the Colors list.

Tip:  Click Format Background at the bottom of the Background Styles list to open the Format pane and choose from more background options, such as advanced fill settings, artistic effects, and color and image settings.

Fonts : Choose a font from the list to quickly apply it to all headers and footers.

Effects : Choose an effect from the list to apply a theme effects, with features including shadows, reflections, lines, fills, and more.

Preview your handouts

To preview the way your handout will look when printed:

Click File > Print .

Go to Settings > Full Page Slides , and then under Handouts , select the layout you want and look at the preview pane. Click the File tab again to return to your previous view.

For more information about working with PowerPoint handouts, see:

Work with handout masters

Print your handouts, notes, or slides

Create your own theme in PowerPoint

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How to Make a “Good” Presentation “Great”

  • Guy Kawasaki

how to create a blank powerpoint presentation

Remember: Less is more.

A strong presentation is so much more than information pasted onto a series of slides with fancy backgrounds. Whether you’re pitching an idea, reporting market research, or sharing something else, a great presentation can give you a competitive advantage, and be a powerful tool when aiming to persuade, educate, or inspire others. Here are some unique elements that make a presentation stand out.

  • Fonts: Sans Serif fonts such as Helvetica or Arial are preferred for their clean lines, which make them easy to digest at various sizes and distances. Limit the number of font styles to two: one for headings and another for body text, to avoid visual confusion or distractions.
  • Colors: Colors can evoke emotions and highlight critical points, but their overuse can lead to a cluttered and confusing presentation. A limited palette of two to three main colors, complemented by a simple background, can help you draw attention to key elements without overwhelming the audience.
  • Pictures: Pictures can communicate complex ideas quickly and memorably but choosing the right images is key. Images or pictures should be big (perhaps 20-25% of the page), bold, and have a clear purpose that complements the slide’s text.
  • Layout: Don’t overcrowd your slides with too much information. When in doubt, adhere to the principle of simplicity, and aim for a clean and uncluttered layout with plenty of white space around text and images. Think phrases and bullets, not sentences.

As an intern or early career professional, chances are that you’ll be tasked with making or giving a presentation in the near future. Whether you’re pitching an idea, reporting market research, or sharing something else, a great presentation can give you a competitive advantage, and be a powerful tool when aiming to persuade, educate, or inspire others.

how to create a blank powerpoint presentation

  • Guy Kawasaki is the chief evangelist at Canva and was the former chief evangelist at Apple. Guy is the author of 16 books including Think Remarkable : 9 Paths to Transform Your Life and Make a Difference.

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Change default slide layout in Powerpoint

How can I change the default layout for a new slide in Powerpoint?

When I go to View -> Slide Master , I can edit and add new layouts (sometimes I can also delete a layout, but not always, which is odd), but I don't see an option to make a particular layout the default one.

The version I am using is Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010

  • microsoft-office
  • microsoft-powerpoint

Amelio Vazquez-Reina's user avatar

4 Answers 4

I've found a solution that works for me on PowerPoint 2013:

  • Go to Slide Master View . You should see a master layout and several dependent layouts (indented).
  • Find the slide layout that you want to use as default layout for new slides.
  • Move it so that it is the third item overall counting the master layout (i.e. the second indented layout underneath the master layout)
  • Close Slide Master View .
  • Try to add a new slide. It should be in the layout you need.

Please let me know if this works for you.

zoagli's user avatar

  • 20 This works but it is super unintuitive. Why the heck would they make it the third item? –  Andrew Mao Commented Dec 9, 2013 at 18:12
  • 7 This works because the first is the current theme (the base for all slides), the second (which is the first in the theme) is the "Title" slide, (you can test this by deleting all slides and adding a new slide and the second in the list is the default for the first slide). This makes the third (The second in the theme) the first non-title slide. –  James Commented Jun 29, 2015 at 14:47
  • 5 Power point for the win in regards to usability here –  mist Commented May 16, 2016 at 17:38
  • 4 Unintuitive and illogical but also works on PowerPoint 2016 on the Mac. –  pvillela Commented Aug 19, 2016 at 10:41
  • 1 @AndrewMao if you have to ask that, then I guess you don't use Microsoft products. You may have heard the phrase, the customer is always right, or make the customer happy. This is true for most companies, but apparently not a good strategy if you have a monopoly ( or apparent monopoly), in this case you should treat them as badly as possible. I can not remember where I read this, but it seems to be what works. –  ctrl-alt-delor Commented May 23, 2017 at 17:19

PowerPoint has Slide Masters and Layouts.

The "default" Layout (i.e., what you get when you add a New Slide [Ctrl+M]) is set by what was taken as the layout last time. Thus to change:

  • Add a New Slide
  • Right click on the slide (in the slide outline [to the left]), select Layout>
  • Click on the Layout you want as default

When you add a new slide (Ctrl+M), it should will be in this format.

user45907's user avatar

Save the layout you want as a PP template. When you open PP you should see the template under the recent tab. Click on the pin icon to pin the template so that it will always be available as a pinned template. Click on it and it will open to your desired layout.

Menu's user avatar

I could have sworn there was an easy way to do this in Powerpoint, but I don't use it anymore and Googling the issue seems to indicate that there isn't a proper in-program way to do it. This Powerpoint add-in ought to be the solution.

Note: I didn't actually test that, I run LibreOffice now. But it does appear to have a good rep on teh interwebz.

Marcus Chan's user avatar

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how to create a blank powerpoint presentation

IMAGES

  1. How to Create a Blank PowerPoint Presentation

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  2. How to Add a New Blank Slide in PowerPoint

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  3. How to Add a New Blank Slide In PowerPoint 365

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  4. Creating a Blank Presentation : MS PowerPoint

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  15. Insert a New Slide in PowerPoint- Instructions

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  16. Insert a blank slide when using a formatted template in PPT

    Perhaps best off just creating a blank template and then pasting in the elements but and efficient methods most welcome! Insert a slide, then right-click on the slide background and choose Format Background. In the Format Background task pane, check the option Hide background graphics. Any logos and graphics from the slide master or layout will ...

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  18. Use a personal template to create a new PowerPoint presentation

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  19. How to turn your paper into a presentation

    Why turn your paper into a presentation? How can you turn pages of dense text into an easily digestible PowerPoint?By knowing your audience and the key points of your work, you can easily create a compelling way to convey your research and findings.

  20. How can I make new slides in powerpoint blank by default?

    I tried making a template but that only makes the first slide blank with no place holders, when I make a new slide within the presentation, the place holders appear. I use powerpoint to manage projects, not to make slideshows. So although they aren't visible during slideshows, the fact that they are during the main editor screen causes me an inconveinence in deleting them.

  21. How to add an empty slide in microsoft powerpoint while presenting?

    I like the way PowerPoint gives features to the teacher to teach. I use it to teach my students. Currently, I add as many empty slides I may need to use it as a blackboard. But, suppose, I want to insert an empty slide in between, while presenting, is there a way to do it?

  22. Is there a way to insert a blank slide during a powerpoint presentation?

    Unfortunately, you are not able to insert a blank slide while presenting. However, you can blank your slide by pressing 'b' if you want it black or 'w' if you want it white.

  23. Create or change a presentation's handout

    Set the slides per page. Click Slides Per Page. Choose a layout option from the thumbnail images. Tip: The 3 Slides option includes lines that your audience can use to take notes. Set the orientation. Click Handout Orientation, and then choose Portrait or Landscape. Set the slide size. Click Slide Size, and then choose one of the options.

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