Have you been tasked with presenting a slideshow? If you have Microsoft PowerPoint and are ready to get started, we’ll walk you through how to create a PowerPoint presentation.
With two different methods, one for using Plus AI with PowerPoint and another for using PowerPoint alone, you have terrific options for building the slideshow.
Build a presentation with Plus AI for PowerPoint
If you’re looking for the simplest and quickest way to create a PowerPoint presentation, look no further than Plus AI. Using Plus AI for PowerPoint, you just pick a template, provide a description, and receive your slideshow in a snap.
- Open PowerPoint, select New on the left, and pick Blank Presentation on the right.
- Go to the Home tab, select Plus AI in the ribbon, and choose New presentation in the sidebar.
- You can then start with a template or the content per your preference.
Because Plus AI offers an attractive collection of templates, so we’ll choose the Metro design to get started.
- To add the content, pick Use a prompt, Upload a file, or Slide by slide. For our example, we choose Use a prompt to show you the power of Plus AI’s content generation.
- With the prompt option, you then simply pick the presentation type, enter a description, and let artificial intelligence create an outline for you. Optionally, pick the language, number of slides, and include Plus tips.
- Click Generate Outline to review the slides.
- When the outline displays, you can edit, rearrange, or remove slides or use the Regenerate Outline option for a fresh outline. Click Generate Slides when you’re ready.
You’ll see your new PowerPoint presentation pop right up, complete with text, images, colors, and formatting!
From there, you can change anything you like and take advantage of Plus AI’s edit features. Insert a slide, rewrite content, or remix to get a new slide layout.
Don’t forget to save your new slideshow! Go to File > Save As, pick a location, enter a filename, and hit Save.
Creating a PowerPoint presentation with Plus AI is not just a huge time-saver but can perform research to obtain the content you need, offer suggestions for expanding the slides, and add useful items like timelines and charts. Plus, you get a visually pleasing slideshow with slides that look good!
Check out Plus AI on the web for a complete list of features, to view the template gallery, and to start your free trial!
Build a presentation in the PowerPoint application
Maybe you’re new to PowerPoint and would like instructions for creating a presentation from scratch in the application instead. While it can take much longer than using Plus AI, it does give you an opportunity to learn about PowerPoint’s basic setup steps.
Open PowerPoint and move through the following sections to create your slideshow. Keep in mind that verbiage and features may vary slightly depending on your platform and PowerPoint version.
1. Create a presentation
To start a new slideshow in PowerPoint, you can begin with a blank presentation or choose a built-in Microsoft template.
Select New on the left side and pick the option you want to the right:
- Blank presentation: With a blank presentation, you start with a completely empty canvas. This allows you to pick the designs, formatting, colors, and other elements from yourself.
- Microsoft template: Using a template, you’ll receive a theme that includes slides, styles, formatting, colors, and other design elements that can give you a jumpstart on your slideshow. However, you can edit or change anything you like.
Once you have your presentation in view, it’s time to start adding the slides. For the purposes of this tutorial, we’ll use the Blank Presentation.
2. Add a slide
Regardless of the presentation type you select; you’ll receive a title slide. Add your slideshow title and optionally a subtitle. Next, you’ll add more slides.
- Go to either the Home or Insert tab and open the New Slide menu in the ribbon.
- Choose the layout you want to use for the slide. You’ll see many options that include titles, headers, content, and more. You can also pick a Blank layout to add the content yourself.
- When the slide displays, you can start inserting or adding your slide elements.
Note: When you add a new slide, it’s placed after the currently selected slide by default. But you can rearrange the slide order per your preference at any time.
3. Insert and format text
Even though a slideshow is a visual tool, you’ll almost certainly want to include text. Whether a title or subtitle, bullet or number list, or paragraphs, you can add it easily using a text box.
- To add a text box to your slide, go to the Insert tab and select Text Box in the ribbon.
- Use your cursor to draw the text box, but keep in mind that you can resize and move the box as you like.
- Enter your text inside the text box. You can use the Font section of the ribbon on the Home tab to change the font style, size, color, and format.
Tip: Check out how to apply superscript or subscript in PowerPoint!
- To format the text box itself, select it and go to the Shape Format tab to do one of the following:some text
- Shape Styles: Choose a design, pick the fill or outline color, or add an effect like a shadow or reflection.
- Arrange: Send the text box forward or back in relation to other elements, align or distribute the box, or rotate it.
- Size: Change the size of the box. Alternatively, you can drag a corner or edge of the box in or out to resize it.
You can also use the WordArt Styles section of the ribbon to spruce up the font as an alternative to the tools on the Home tab.
4. Include and format image
Another slide element you’ll likely include is an image. Whether a photo, illustration, or logo, you can add and format an image easily in PowerPoint.
- To add an image to your slide, go to the Insert tab and open the Pictures menu.
- Choose This Device, Stock Images, or Online Pictures and then follow the prompts to locate, select, and insert the image.
- To format the image, select it and go to the Picture Format tab to do one of the following:some text
- Adjust: Remove the background, add an artistic effect, apply transparency, or use a correction tool.
- Picture Styles: Choose a design, pick a border, add an effect, or select a layout.
- Arrange: Send the image forward or back in relation to other elements, align or distribute the image, or rotate it.
- Size: Change the size of the image. Alternatively, you can drag a corner or edge of the image in or out to resize it.
5. Add other types of slide elements
If you want to insert other types of media or slide elements, you have many options in PowerPoint. You can add things like shapes, charts, spreadsheets, tables, videos, screen clippings, and audio.
One way to add an item is to insert a New Slide and pick a layout containing a Content box. Then, click the type of content inside that box that you want to add.
The other way to add a slide element is to use the Insert tab. You’ll see all sorts of items you can insert including those mentioned above. Simply open the corresponding menu for the item and follow the prompts.
Again, remember to save your new presentation by going to File > Save As, picking a location, entering a filename, and selecting Save.
Conclusion
Setting up a PowerPoint presentation isn’t necessarily difficult but does take time. So, be sure to check out the extensive and robust feature set that Plus AI has to offer for creating your presentation.
And, review some of our additional articles on giving a great presentation along with how to end a presentation so that you’re prepared when your slideshow is ready to go.
FAQs
How do I begin a PowerPoint presentation?
You can start your slideshow by heading to the Slide Show tab. Pick From Beginning to start at Slide 1 or From Current Slide to start with the current active slide.
Look at our tips for how to start a presentation when the time comes!
What should be the first slide of a presentation?
Normally, the first slide is a title or cover slide. It should include the presentation topic or title and optionally a subtitle. But, you can also include an image, the company name, a brief description, or a welcome message.
How do you create a PowerPoint presentation from a Word document?
While there are common ways to transform a Word document into a PowerPoint slideshow, you can take advantage of Plus AI’s file upload tool for a quick start. On the Home tab, select Plus AI and pick New presentation in the sidebar. Pick Upload a file > Choose file and select your Word document.
Alternatively, you can use Plus AI’s free converter. Open the Convert Word to PPT page in your browser and follow the simple steps to transform your Word document.
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