PowerPoint 2016

Building Effective Presentations

Course Reference Handout

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Ribbon: Command buttons in PowerPoint 2016 are organized across the top of your screen within the ribbon. Commands are
organized into categories accessible via command tabs. To switch from one set of commands to another within the ribbon, click on the
a command tab to display a particular set of commands. Additional tabs, known as contextual tabs, will appear with commands specific
to what you are doing when needed. You can customize the ribbon by right-clicking any command tab and then selecting Customize
the Ribbon.
Backstage View: The backstage view, accessible by clicking the File tab in the upper-left corner of the screen, replaces the file menu
from PowerPoint 2003 and the Office button from PowerPoint 2007. The backstage view will provide you with commands that are
relevant to the application as well as the specific file you are working on. To exit the backstage view, either click another tab of the
ribbon or press the Esc key on your keyboard.
The Quick Access Toolbar: The quick access toolbar is the only customizable toolbar in PowerPoint 2016. Add command buttons you
use often to the quick access toolbar when you don’t want to have to select different command tabs to find commonly used commands,
or when the command is not currently available on the ribbon. Click the arrow to the right of the quick access toolbar to customize the
commands available. You can also right-click any existing command button on the ribbon and then add the command to the ribbon.

Quick Access Toolbar Command Tabs

Backstage View
(File Tab)
Ribbon Command
The Ribbon

TIPS FOR BUILDING EFFECTIVE PRESENTATIONS

 Do not use too many colors or different font options on your slides, as this can make your presentation look cluttered and more
difficult for the audience to read.
 Keep bullet points succinct. It’s your job as the presenter to elaborate on the bulleted text. Use PowerPoint only for visual
reinforcement of what you are saying.
 Use graphics, such as digital photos, within a slide or as a slide’s background to have a bigger impact on the audience.
 Do not read text to your audience. Though some think this is a good thing to do, this actually lowers the retention and recall
ability of the audience!

DESIGN THEMES
PowerPoint includes default color schemes and background graphics you can choose from for your
presentation to quickly add consistent slide formatting to all the slides in your presentation. To
select a different design theme for your presentation:
 Select the Design command tab from the ribbon bar and then select from the available themes
provided in the Themes group of the ribbon.
 To change the color scheme and other aspects of the theme you have selected, select from options in
the Variants group.

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USING THE SLIDE MASTER
Slide Master: The slide master is a convenient and efficient way of making changes to all the slides in your
presentation, or slides based on a specific slide layout, at the same time. To access the slide master:
 Select the View command tab from the ribbon. On the View ribbon, select Slide Master from the
Presentation Views group.
 In the slide master view, select the first slide on the left to make general changes to ALL the slides of
the presentation, or select specific types of slide layouts listed below the main master slide to affect
only slides of those types.
 Click the Close Master View button on the far right side of the ribbon, or switch back to the normal slide view using the View
command tab from the Ribbon.
NOTE! Changes you make to the slide master will affect all the slides of your presentation except graphics on your title
slide. If you add a graphic to the slide master, it will not appear on a title slide. Formatting changes you have made manually
will also NOT be overridden by changes to the slide master.

CREATING CUSTOM SLIDE LAYOUTS

Need a slide with specific content in a particular area of the slide not currently available in PowerPoint? Using
the slide master ribbon in PowerPoint 2016, you can create your own custom slide layouts for use in your
presentation. To insert a custom slide layout:
 Activate the slide master ribbon by selecting the View tab and then clicking the Slide Master button.
 On the Slide Master ribbon, click the Insert Layout button.
 Add various PowerPoint content placeholders by clicking the Insert Placeholder button and then adding the placeholder by
dragging in your custom slide layout.

SLIDE BACKGROUND
After applying a design template to a slide, you may want to further customize the slide’s background options. To modify the
background of an individual slide or all the slides of your presentation:
 Select the Design command tab from the ribbon bar, and then select the Format Background button located in the Customize
group of the ribbon. Select from the various options in the Format Background pane.
 Select from Solid Colors, Gradient Colors, and Digital Pictures to use as your background fill.

Using a picture as a slide background:

Try It!  Select the Design command tab from the ribbon bar, and then select the Format Background button located in the
Customize group of the ribbon.
 From the Format Background window, select the Picture or Texture Fill option.
 Under the Insert From label, click on File.
 Browse for the picture file you wish to use, and insert the file.
 Click the Close button to apply the image to the background of the selected slide (or Apply to All to apply the image to all
of your slides.)

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INSERTING PICTURES
We’ve all heard the saying, “A picture can say a thousand words.” So let it. By using digital images in your PowerPoint presentations,
you take advantage of the way the human brain processes pictures rather than text. When you are trying to convey an idea or evoke
emotion in your audience, the perfect picture may achieve your goal in a way written words never
could.
You can insert pictures using options from the Insert tab of the ribbon. To insert pictures or digital
images from your computer or other devices attached your computer (such as a memory stick or
smartphone) click the Insert Pictures button. To search for and insert an image from the web or
Microsoft Clip Gallery, click the Online Pictures button.

SMARTART
SmartArt is a collection of diagrams you can use to illustrate ideas or concepts in your presentation. SmartArt can be used to insert
conceptual diagrams, such as pyramid or cycle diagrams, and organizational charts to illustrate hierarchical relationships, such as those
that exist between different managers and employees in a
company.

Inserting New SmartArt Diagrams:

 Insert a new slide into your presentation using the lower portion
of the New Slide button, and select any slide layout that
provides for content.

 Click the SmartArt button in the new slide.

 Select a SmartArt category on the left and then double-click
the diagram image you wish to insert.
 After inserting SmartArt you can use the SmartArt Tools tab
(which will appear above your ribbon when SmartArt is
selected) to format your diagram.

Converting Slide Text and Bulleted Lists to SmartArt Graphics:

1. Click the placeholder that contains the text on the slide that you want to convert.
2. On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click the Convert to SmartArt Graphic button.
3. In the gallery, click the layout for the SmartArt graphic that you want.
 The gallery contains layouts for SmartArt graphics that work best with bulleted lists. To view the entire set of layouts, click
More SmartArt Graphics.
 Note that you cannot convert SmartArt to a bulleted list. You also cannot undo the conversion if you close the presentation, but
you can copy and paste all the text from the Text pane into a slide. You will lose any formatting but will retain your information.

ADDING SLIDE TRANSITIONS

PowerPoint 2016 has many new slide transitions. To add effects for the transitions from one slide to another during your slideshow:
 Select the Transitions command tab above the ribbon.
 Select from the various slide transitions provided in the Transition to this Slide group of the ribbon.
 Select any timing options (e.g., automatic versus manual slide advancement) with the options provided at the far right side of the
ribbon.
 To apply your slide transition settings to ALL SLIDES, be sure to click the Apply to All button. Otherwise the options you have
selected will be applied only to the current slide.

ANIMATION EFFECTS
Animation effects make your presentation’s text and graphics come to
life. You can add animations customized to enter, exit, and move about
the slide. To apply animation to text or graphics:
 Select the Animations command tab above the ribbon.
 Select from the various animation options in the Animations
group of the ribbon.
 To add animation effects to a single object, choose additional animations from the Add Animation button.

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  Set additional animation options such as timing and speed on the right.

INSERTING MULTIMEDIA FILES

Within a slide, you may want to insert a sound or video file, also known as a multimedia file. To insert a video file into a slide:
 Insert a new slide into your presentation using the lower portion of the New Slide button, and select any slide layout that provides
for content.
 In the new slide, click the Insert Video button in the content area of the slide.
 Browse your computer or the internet for a video file to insert.
 Use the Custom Animation options to change settings such as timing, number of slides to play, or having the movie or sound
repeat after playing once.
Adding Multimedia without a Slide Placeholder:
Though there are many slide layouts available in PowerPoint that provide an area to insert multimedia files,
you can insert multimedia into any slide, whether it provides a placeholder or not. To insert multimedia files
into any slide:
 Select the Insert ribbon, and click either the Video or Audio button located in the Media group of the
Insert ribbon.

VIDEO EDITING OPTIONS

PowerPoint 2016 includes new options for editing and controlling videos within
a PowerPoint slide. After inserting a video file into a slide, make sure the video
is selected and choose from the options available in the Video Tools
contextual tabs located at the far right of the ribbon.

RUNNING A SLIDESHOW
When it comes time to deliver your presentation, you need to run the presentation
by switching to the slide show view. To switch to the slide show view:
 Select the View command tab from the ribbon and then select the Slide Show button from the Presentation View group of the
ribbon.
 You can also select the Slide Show command tab of the ribbon to access various slide show commands.
 Once your presentation begins to run in the slide show view, the slides will either advance automatically, if you have set timing to
your animations and transitions, or else you will need to advance through the animations and slides manually.
 To advance through your slide show manually, press the [Spacebar] on the keyboard or left-click with your mouse. You can also
use the [Right-arrow] key or the Page Down button on your keyboard.
 If at any point you need to cancel the slide show, press the Esc key on your keyboard.
During a slide show, you can right-click with your mouse to access a number of slide show commands, such as the
Meeting Minder or the Drawing Pen options. For a list of keyboard shortcuts you can use while delivering a
Shortcut! presentation, press the F1 key while working in the slide show mode.

SLIDE SHOW OPTIONS

During a slide show presentation, you can take advantage of some the features PowerPoint offers, such as the pen feature, to highlight
something on a slide for your audience. Here are a few of those features and how to activate them:
 Pen Feature: Allows you to draw on a slide during a slide show. While the slide show is running, right-click with your mouse. From
the shortcut menu that appears, select Pointer Options and then click Pen. Click and drag with your mouse to draw with the pen.
 Laser Pointer: While in the slide show view, hold down the Ctrl button while holding down the left mouse button to activate a
virtual laser pointer.
 Blackout: When you want to temporarily black out the screen so that your audience sees nothing, press the B key on your
keyboard. Press the B key again to reactivate the presentation.
 Start or Stop Automated Timings: If you have set automatic timings in a slide show and find yourself either falling behind or
moving ahead of your slide show during a presentation, press the S key to both stop and start the automated timing.
 For other keyboard shortcuts to use during a slideshow, press the F1 key while in slide show view.

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