Microsoft PowerPoint is presentation software. It is very powerful software that allows the user to produce effective presentations in the form of a slide show. A PowerPoint presentation is also called a slide show.

Slide Pane—shows the current slide as it will be seen during a slide show.Notes Pane—this allows the presenter to key notes/speaker notes on concepts the presenter needs to emphasize. The notes pane will not appear on the slide show.Slides Tab—this tab gives a visual representation of slides.Thumbnails—miniature images.Normal View—illustrates the content of the slides. When creating slides it is best to be in the normal view.Slide Sorter View—all slides appear as thumbnails. To rearrange the slides, it is best to be in the slide sorter view.Slide Show View—this view is used to view the entire slide show.Status Bar—this is the light blue area on the bottom of the screen above the taskbar. F5 Key—pressing the F5 key starts the presentation at Slide 1.Slide Transitions—the way in which a slide appears on the screen.Animations—slide movement and sound effects.Progressive disclosure—each element on a slide appears one at a time after the background appears.Footer—a word or phrase that appears at the bottom of each slide.Template-- a gauge, pattern, or mold; something that establishes or serves as a pattern.Placeholder—a location on a slide layout reserved for graphics.Textbox—locations on the slide for the user to add captions or words that help explain the slide.Active Textbox—select the textbox and it becomes active so that text can be added or edited.Sizing Handles—small dots that appear top/bottom and in each corner to resize the box or graphic.

An effective presentation should be planned before creating the first slide. The following points should be considered:

Purpose of the Presentation—All presentations must have a specific purpose. For an example, the purpose may be to raise funds for a charitable organization.Type of Presentation—Is it a business presentation, a classroom presentation, etc.? The format of the presentation will change according to the type of presentation Audience—Any presentation must be directed to the audience whether the audience is a third grade class, business organization or a group of young teenagers.Location of the Presentation—Decide the location. Check the room prior to presentation for any technical problems.Format—Will there be an oral presentation that accompanies the slide show. Remember the slides should not be read to the audience but used as a visual aide.

A template is a file used as a pattern to create a presentation. This file has been previously created and allows the user to change it in order to fit a particular need.

A template file contains colors, background formats, font styles, and accent colors. They can also contain sample text. The following window illustrates the templates available. Click on the Office Button, New, Installed Templates.

Many more templates are available on Microsoft Office Online.

The following illustrates the navigation buttons at the bottom of the screen in the status bar.

The first button is the Normal View button. The second button is the Slide Sorter View. The third button is the Slide Show View.

The normal view is the view in which the user creates the slide show. In the slide sorter view, the slides become thumbnails and are easy to rearrange. The slide show view will run the presentation.

On the PowerPoint ribbon, you will be using the Home Tab, Slides Group. In the slides group the options are: New slide, Layout, Reset, and Delete.

The New Slide button and the Layout button give the same options. The difference between the two slides is that one is for a new slide, and the Layout button is to change the layout of an existing slide.

The reset button resets the slide to the original layout. The delete key, deletes a slide.

The following window illustrates the nine different slide layouts.

Decrease List ButtonIncrease List Level

(Notice in the above illustration that the theme is Office.) There are nine different slide formats to select from. Since this is the first slide, select the title slide format.

The following is the title slide format.

Click in the title text box and key in the title of the presentation. There is a second text box for a subtitle. PowerPoint allows the user to change the font style and size and also change the color. The following font was changed as well as the font color. Create the following title slide use the font style and color of your choice.

Create the seond slide using the layout “Picture with Caption.” The following illustrates the slide layout.

This slide will have a picture included. Click on the placeholder in the middle of the window. Select a picture of your choice. In the textbox at the bottom of the slide key in “Having Fun at School.” The following illustrates the finished slide. Select a picture from your computer.

Notice the three different panes. The slide pane is the location of the picture and text associated with slide. Below the slide pane is the Notes Pane and to the left are the thumbnails of the numbered slides.

For the next slide, select the “Two Content” slide layout and create the following slide.

On this slide in the Notes Pane, key in “Emphasize how much fun school will be!! Remember the notes pane is for the speaker notes. They are to remind the speaker of points to emphasize. The following window illustrates the notes pane.

Create the following slide using the “Content with Caption” layout. Select any appropriate graphic.

Create the following slide using the “Two Content” layout.

Create the following slide. It is the last slide in the presentation. Notice the bulleted list.

A bulleted list is a list of paragraphs. Each time you press the enter key in a Microsoft program, it is considered a paragraph. The paragraphs can be words, phrases, sentences, characters, or even blanks. A bulleted item is one paragraph in a bulleted list.

A first-level bullet is a main paragraph; a second-level bullet sometimes called a sub-bullet is a bullet beneath the first-level bullet. Instead of using bullets, the user can use a numbered list. However when using a numbered list, remember that the audience may logically think that Number 1 is the most important concept and Number 2 is the next important concept.

When using any type of bullet on a slide never use more than 6 bullets to a slide. Keep each bulleted item to no more than six words. However, some authors suggest that only 6 words should be put on one slide.

To promote an item means to raise the outline level of that item. In the Outline Tab, select the bullet that needs to be promoted and click on Decrease List Level as the following illustrates.

The cell pointer is before “Don’t Create a Boring Presentation.” The Decrease List Level is shown above.

The following illustration shows what happens after the promotion.

You have promoted “Don’t Create a Boring Presentation” to a new slide. The slide layout may not be correct, but you have a new slide.

To demote an item means to decrease the outline level. The above example, a bullet item was promoted to a slide. Now we will demote the same bullet putting it back on the original slide.

Place the cell pointer on the slide in the outline view and click the Increase List Level as the following illustrates.

After clicking the “Increase List Level” button the following illustrates that this slide will no longer exist and the information will become part of the bulleted list on the second slide.

Remember: Increase List Level means to increase the bullets or to DEMOTE, and Decrease List Level means to remove a bulleted item or to PROMOTE.

The Slide Sorter View allows the author to view all the slides as thumbnail images. It also allows for rearrangement of the slides. The following illustrates the presentation created in this lesson in the slide sorter view.

Six slides were created and are displayed as Slide 1, Slide, 2, etc. The slides can be rearranged as the following illustrates.

To move slide 5 and locate it between slides 2 and 3 do the following: select slide 5 press the mouse button (a small box will appear) move the small box to the new location (a red vertical line will appear at the new location) insert the slide by releasing the mouse

The following illustrates the result of moving slide 5 to a new location.

The research task pane allows you to search on-line sites for more information and also allows you to use a thesaurus. A thesaurus lists synonyms, anonyms, and other related words. This option helps you to use a variety of words. The following illustrates the research task pane.

These options are located on the Review Tab, Proofing group.

Speaker notes are notes that only the speaker can see. These notes appear in the notes pane below the slide pane in the normal view. These notes do not appear in the presentation. Notes help cue the presenter to emphasize concepts, facts, statements, etc.

There are two types of spell checking available in PowerPoint. The first way is the regular spell check which checks words against a built-in dictionary. When PowerPoint finds a word not in the built-in dictionary, a red wavy line will appear under the word.

The second spell check is called contextual spelling. This checks the context in which a word is used. For an example, it may underline with a red wavy line the word “to” for the user to check the context to make sure the word shouldn’t be “too.”

To enable the contextual spelling option, you must first turn it on. Home Button PowerPoint Options (bottom, middle of the drop-down menu) Select “Proofing” in the left pane Checkmark in “Use Contextual Spelling”

The following illustrates selecting Contextual Spelling Option.

Keep phrases parallel on a slide. For example: Organizing, Displaying, Editing—these are all parallel words.

Printing Options Available:

Print in ColorPrint in grayscalePrint in pure black and whitePrint speaker notesPrint Handouts with 1,2, 3, 4, 6, 9 slides per page

In the above print dialog box in the lower left corner it asks: PRINT WHAT: You will select from a drop-down menu either Slides, Handouts, Notes Pages, Outline View. If you select the option “Handouts”, you will be given the option of how many slides per page to print and the order either vertical or horizontal.

There is much discussion on the best way to create presentations. Some authors believe that there should never be over 6 words on a slide while others believe that there should not be over 6 words per bullet and only 6 to 8 bullets to a slide.

Most authors believe that there should be little or no progressive disclosures (each element on a slide appears one at a time after the background appears.)

All authors agree that the presenter should never read the slides. If you read the slides to the audience, there is no need for a presentation—just send them a copy.

Use professional images even if you have to pay for them.

If you need sound effects, don’t use the built-in sounds. Use music from CDs. Select music that will complement the presentation.

Don’t give out your presentations. It is a presentation not a report. If people want a copy of the presentation for their co-workers, tell them that you will need to present it. If you want to give the audience a “leave-behind” document, create a written document with as many details as necessary. Reading a copy of a presentation will not invoke the enthusiasm that a presenter can give to a presentation.

Don’t hand out papers at the beginning of the presentation. The audience will read the papers and not listen to the presentation.

When creating a presentation, remember it should not be just a collection of data. The presentation has a purpose. Don‘t bore the audience with fact after fact and word after word. Remember a picture is worth a thousand words.