rules for creating a powerpoint presentation

Tips for creating and delivering an effective presentation

In this article.

Creating an effective presentation

Delivering an effective presentation

Tips for creating an effective presentation

Top of Page

Tips for delivering an effective presentation

Need more help?

Want more options.

Explore subscription benefits, browse training courses, learn how to secure your device, and more.

Microsoft 365 subscription benefits

Microsoft 365 training

Microsoft security

Accessibility center

Communities help you ask and answer questions, give feedback, and hear from experts with rich knowledge.

Ask the Microsoft Community

Microsoft Tech Community

Windows Insiders

Microsoft 365 Insiders

Was this information helpful?

Thank you for your feedback.

• Get started with computers
• Learn Microsoft Office
• Apply for a job
• Improve my work skills
• Design nice-looking docs
• Getting Started
• Smartphones & Tablets
• Typing Tutorial
• Online Learning
• Basic Internet Skills
• Online Safety
• Social Media
• Zoom Basics
• Google Docs
• Google Sheets
• Career Planning
• Resume Writing
• Cover Letters
• Job Search and Networking
• Business Communication
• Entrepreneurship 101
• Careers without College
• Job Hunt for Today
• 3D Printing
• Freelancing 101
• Personal Finance
• Sharing Economy
• Decision-Making
• Graphic Design
• Photography
• Image Editing
• Learning WordPress
• Language Learning
• Critical Thinking
• For Educators
• Translations
• Staff Picks
• English expand_more expand_less

PowerPoint Tips  - Simple Rules for Better PowerPoint Presentations

Powerpoint tips  -, simple rules for better powerpoint presentations, powerpoint tips simple rules for better powerpoint presentations.

PowerPoint Tips: Simple Rules for Better PowerPoint Presentations

Lesson 17: simple rules for better powerpoint presentations.

/en/powerpoint-tips/embed-excel-charts-in-a-slide/content/

Simple rules for better PowerPoint presentations

Have you ever given a PowerPoint presentation and noticed that something about it just seemed a little … off? If you’re unfamiliar with basic PowerPoint design principles, it can be difficult to create a slide show that presents your information in the best light.

Poorly designed presentations can leave an audience feeling confused, bored, and even irritated. Review these tips to make your next presentation more engaging.

Don't read your presentation straight from the slides

If your audience can both read and hear, it’s a waste of time for you to simply read your slides aloud. Your audience will zone out and stop listening to what you’re saying, which means they won’t hear any extra information you include.

Instead of typing out your entire presentation, include only main ideas, keywords, and talking points in your slide show text. Engage your audience by sharing the details out loud.

Follow the 5/5/5 rule

To keep your audience from feeling overwhelmed, you should keep the text on each slide short and to the point. Some experts suggest using the 5/5/5 rule : no more than five words per line of text, five lines of text per slide, or five text-heavy slides in a row.

Don't forget your audience

Who will be watching your presentation? The same goofy effects and funny clip art that would entertain a classroom full of middle-school students might make you look unprofessional in front of business colleagues and clients.

Humor can lighten up a presentation, but if you use it inappropriately your audience might think you don’t know what you’re doing. Know your audience, and tailor your presentation to their tastes and expectations.

Choose readable colors and fonts

Your text should be easy to read and pleasant to look at. Large, simple fonts and theme colors are always your best bet. The best fonts and colors can vary depending on your presentation setting. Presenting in a large room? Make your text larger than usual so people in the back can read it. Presenting with the lights on? Dark text on a light background is your best bet for visibility.

Don't overload your presentation with animations

As anyone who’s sat through a presentation while every letter of every paragraph zoomed across the screen can tell you, being inundated with complicated animations and exciting slide transitions can become irritating.

Before including effects like this in your presentation, ask yourself: Would this moment in the presentation be equally strong without an added effect? Does it unnecessarily delay information? If the answer to either question is yes—or even maybe—leave out the effect.

Use animations sparingly to enhance your presentation

Don’t take the last tip to mean you should avoid animations and other effects entirely. When used sparingly, subtle effects and animations can add to your presentation. For example, having bullet points appear as you address them rather than before can help keep your audience’s attention.

Keep these tips in mind the next time you create a presentation—your audience will thank you. For more detailed information on creating a PowerPoint presentation, visit our Office tutorials .

/en/powerpoint-tips/three-tips-for-beautiful-powerpoint-presentations/content/

Critical PowerPoint Shortcuts – Claim Your FREE Training Module and Get Your Time Back!

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.

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.

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

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 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).

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

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 .

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.

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  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 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 .

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.

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.

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 .

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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 .

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 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.

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 .

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.

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.

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)

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.

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.

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.).

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.

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.

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 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:

• 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 .

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

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 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 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.

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.

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.

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

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 .

🔒 Unlock the PowerPoint Shortcuts Trusted by Industry Leaders KKR, American Express, HSBC, and More!

Join over 114,880 professionals from diverse fields including consulting, investment banking, advertising, marketing, sales, and business development who have supercharged their PowerPoint game with our proven methods.

✅ Customize compelling presentations effortlessly.

✅ Master time-saving techniques for faster deck creation.

✅ Boost your career prospects with top-notch PowerPoint skills.

Get FREE access to the Critical PowerPoint Shortcuts module of our premium training course by entering your name and email below.

DISCLAIMER: PC Users Only!

We respect your privacy and will keep your info safe and confidential.

About The Author

Popular Tutorials

• How to Strikethrough Text (l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶) in Word, Excel & PowerPoint
• How to Make Animated Fireworks in PowerPoint (Step-by-Step)
• Strikethrough Shortcut (l̶i̶k̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶) for Word, Excel & PowerPoint
• How to Create a Flash Card Memory Game in PowerPoint (Like Jeopardy)
• Keyboard Shortcuts Not Working: Solved

PowerPoint Tutorial Categories

• Strategies & Opinions
• Shortcuts & Hacks
• Pictures, Icons, Videos, Etc.
• New Features
• Miscellaneous
• Charts & Data Viz

We help busy professionals save hours and gain peace of mind, with corporate workshops, self-paced courses and tutorials for PowerPoint and Word.

Work With Us

• Corporate Training
• Presentation & Template Design
• Courses & Downloads
• PowerPoint Articles
• Word Articles
• Productivity Resources

Find a Tutorial

• Free Training
• For Businesses

We help busy office workers save hours and gain peace of mind, with tips, training and tutorials for Microsoft PowerPoint and Word.

Master Critical PowerPoint Shortcuts – Secure Your FREE Training Module and Save Valuable Time!

⌛ Master time-saving expert techniques.

🔥 Create powerful presentations.

🚀 Propel your career to new heights.

We value your privacy – we keep your info safe.

Discover PowerPoint Hacks Loved by Industry Giants - KKR, AmEx, HSBC!

Over 114,880 professionals in finance, marketing and sales have revolutionized their PPT skills with our proven methods. 

Gain FREE access to a full module of our premium PowerPoint training program – Get started today!

We hate spam too and promise to keep your information safe.

You are currently viewing a placeholder content from Facebook . To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.

25 rules for a highly effective PowerPoint presentation

• Uncategorized

This is an extract from a book called  ‘Don’t say I never told you’.

Create a story  

Deliver the experience

Refine and rehearse

Comments are closed.

Recent Posts

• Choosing the right competing job offer
• Reporting progress to your manager – and why it should be done fortnightly
• The basics of reporting – getting to “YES”​
• How to write a report that people read and leads to a “Yes” #2 of 20
• How to write a report that people read and leads to a “Yes” #1 of 20

Recent Comments

• October 2021
• January 2020
• January 2019
• December 2018
• February 2018
• January 2018
• September 2017
• January 2017
• November 2015
• October 2014
• September 2014
• August 2014
• February 2014
• November 2013
• September 2013
• August 2013
• January 2013
• November 2012
• October 2012
• September 2012
• February 2012
• January 2012
• December 2011
• November 2011
• October 2011
• September 2011
• August 2011
• September 2010
• September 2009
• February 2009
• October 2007
• Finance Team Issues
• KPIs and CSFs
• Management and Leadership
• Official Blog
• Planning and Forecasting
• Testimonial
• Time Management
• Entries RSS
• Comments RSS
• WordPress.org

• Meta Quest 4
• Google Pixel 9
• Google Pixel 8a
• Apple Vision Pro 2
• Nintendo Switch 2
• Samsung Galaxy Ring
• Yellowstone Season 6
• Recall an Email in Outlook
• Stranger Things Season 5

Best practices for making awesome PowerPoint slides

Whether you’re presenting a slideshow to your executives, clients, or peers, you want to convey your message clearly and successfully. Unfortunately, many mistakes can be made when creating PowerPoint presentations .

Choose the fonts wisely

Select pleasing colors.

• Don’t overuse animations and effects

Use a standard presentation rule

From hard-to-read fonts to colors that hurt the eyes of your audience, here are some best practices to keep in mind for your next PowerPoint slideshow.

Using a fancy, dramatic, or even whimsical font can be tempting. But you must consider the readability of the font. You want your audience to easily see your headings and bullet points. Consider the two basic font styles: serif and sans serif.

• Apple’s Vision Pro to get bespoke Microsoft 365 apps at launch
• PowerPoint will use ChatGPT to create entire slideshows for you
• Use Office? Your PC could be at risk due to this Microsoft change

Serif fonts are more decorative, have a classic appearance, and are frequently used in print publications. Each letter has a stroke that extends from a point in the letter. Popular serif styles include Times New Roman, Garamond, Georgia, and Baskerville.

Sans serif fonts are more precise, have a clean appearance, and are frequently used in digital publications. Each letter is clear-cut without wings or curves at its points. Popular sans serif styles include Arial, Verdana, Tahoma, and Calibri.

Because of the extended strokes, serif fonts can appear a bit blurry on a screen. This makes a sans serif font the favored choice. The bottom line is that you should remain consistent and use the same type, serif or sans serif, for all fonts in the slideshow.

The colors you use in your PowerPoint presentation can be just as important as the content. You want to use those that enhance the appearance of the slideshow, not distract or give your audience a headache.

As Robert Lane explains in his article about combining colors in PowerPoint , mixing red and blue or red and green can cause eye strain. Plus, red and green mixtures are difficult to see for those with color blindness.

The article mentions that warm colors like reds, oranges, and yellows are eye-catching, whereas cool colors like blues, greens, and purples draw less attention. Additionally, lighter colors are more noticeable than dark.

One of the easiest ways to choose the colors for your presentation is to use a built-in theme. Select the Design tab and you’ll see a collection of Themes in the ribbon.

Once you select a theme, you can then use the Variants section to choose a different color scheme. Each scheme includes eight complementing colors. You can also pick the font style you want to use in the Variants drop-down menu.

Tip : You can also check out the Design Ideas if you need help with the layouts for your slides.

Don’t overuse animations and effects

Animations can be attention-grabbing additions to a slideshow. But if you overuse or misuse them, they can be detrimental to your presentation and actually turn off viewers. The best thing to do is consider your audience and slideshow’s purpose.

For instance, if you are presenting the slideshow to a classroom of 8-year-old students, animations can grab and hold their attention more than simple images or words. However, if you’re presenting to your company’s executive team or board of directors, animations can come across as unprofessional.

If you really want to include animations, make them subtle or purposeful. As an example, you may want to expand on each bullet point in your list. You can create an animation to display the bullet points one by one and only when you click.

To do this, select the first bullet point, go to the Animations tab, and choose the Appear effect. Then, in the Timing section of the ribbon, choose On click in the Start drop-down list. Do the same for each bullet point in your list.

This creates a simple animation that benefits your presentation. It doesn’t distract but instead keeps your audience focused on your current talking point.

What is the 10/20/30 rule of PowerPoint? What is the five-by-five rule? What about the 5/5/5 and seven-by-seven rules? Rules, rules, rules. These are different standards that many recommend using when it comes to creating PowerPoint presentations.

• The 10/20/30 rule : Have no more than 10 slides, a presentation no longer than 20 minutes, and a font size no smaller than 30 points.
• The five-by-five rule : Have no more than five words per line and five lines per slide.
• The 5/5/5 rule : Have no more than five words per line, five lines per slide, and five text-heavy slides in a row.
• The seven-by-seven rule : Have no more than seven words per line and seven lines per slide.

What each of these rules basically means is: Keep it simple.

The first rule, 10/20/30, is a good rule to follow for your overall presentation. While it may not always be possible, the more succinct a presentation, the more successful it will be.

The last three rules are helpful ones to follow when you’re adding text to your slides. As you know, presentations are visual. Using too much text means your audience is reading more than watching.

Hopefully, these best practices will help you create a memorable and effective slideshow. For other ways to enhance your presentation, look at how to add audio to the slides or how to  include music in PowerPoint .

Editors' Recommendations

• Best Microsoft Office deals: Get Word, PowerPoint, and Excel for free
• This PowerPoint ploy could help hackers empty your bank account
• Microsoft might put ChatGPT into Outlook, Word, and PowerPoint
• The best PowerPoint templates
• Microsoft is phasing out the default Office font. Here’s what could replace it

Many of the apps from the Microsoft 365 suite now run natively on Apple's new M1-powered MacBooks. Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote are now all able to take full advantage of Apple's custom ARM-based silicon.

These new Microsoft 365 apps for Apple M1 Macs are all universal apps, which means that they will also run on traditional Macs with Intel processors. This also means that the Office apps on Apple's M1 Macs -- like the new MacBook Air, 13-inch MacBook Pro, and Mac mini -- should all feel snappier and faster than when they were previously running under emulation with Rosetta 2.

This holiday season, Microsoft will release a dual-screen smartphone known as the Surface Duo. As a dual-screen device, you can stack your favorite apps side by side, span apps across the screen for a better view of your work, and generally do more while on the go.

That demands software and hardware work hand-in-hand, however, so the new Office app for iOS and Android is paving the way forward. It'll make your phone a bit more useful for work -- in Office apps, at least. One hub for all things Office You can already use the dedicated Word, Excel, and PowerPoint apps on your phone. With the new Office app, however, Microsoft is creating a one-stop hub for all things related to work. Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are all part of the Office app. Yet it's lightweight, coming in at less than 100MB.

Public speaking, including the delivery of PowerPoint presentations, can be a trial. There's the need to pace yourself, as well as to avoid reading your slides word for word. Microsoft gets that.

Leaning on the power of artificial intelligence, the company is now launching a public preview of its PowerPoint Presenter Coach, a tool which can help critique your PowerPoint presentation.

Master productivity and efficiency with interactive think-cell courses.  Get started >

• 7 steps to building a compelling PowerPoint presentation
• Content hub

7 min read — by Amos Wong

How many times have you sat through a PowerPoint presentation that raised more questions than it answered? For instance, just look at the image shown above. Or how often have you seen slides so packed with information that you can’t even read them before the presenter has moved onto the next slide? If you have been in such situations, this blog is for you.

Avoiding these problems isn’t as simple as it seems when you’re creating a presentation from scratch and have a lot of information to present. The trick is to break it down into manageable pieces, starting with the broad overview and then circling in on the details. To help you do it, this article examines a 7-step process for building a compelling PowerPoint presentation, including how to structure it, lay out slides and create charts that support your message.

Learn more about how to build a better slide deck with our free eBook on PowerPoint best practices

1. Determine your presentation type

The first step in building your PowerPoint presentation is determining which type of presentation you’re giving. This helps clarify your overarching goal, while also influencing how you structure your slides.

Presentations typically fall under one or more of the following categories representing a continuum from light to heavy content:

• Key message presentations: This type of presentation is usually lighter in content and tells a persuasive story, such as a TED talk or pitch deck.
• Recurring reports: Recurring reports include more repetitive presentations like monthly reports or slide decks for team meetings. They often include more detail to document results, trends or activities.
• Insights and research outcomes: Presentations such as survey data or market trend reports distill information from large datasets into high-level conclusions.
• Documentation: This type of presentation provides detailed summaries of findings, typically with many charts and limited commentary depending on the audience.

2. Build your story

Your next step is to ask what message or story you want the audience to walk away with. With your top-level message in hand, you can then begin to structure your slide deck around it.

This is the essence of the Pyramid Principle , a strategy for creating effective business communications ubiquitous in the consulting world. With the Pyramid Principle, you lead with your most important idea, followed by supporting ideas and facts. If your conclusion is that Acme Company should enter a new market, say it up front. Then go through each supporting argument in order of relative strength.

An important corollary to the above is the MECE Principle , which stands for mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive.

Compared with presenting a laundry list of ideas, MECE is a way to group them in a way that covers all relevant points without overlap. Using MECE to organize and group your ideas ensures a logically sound argument, while making the information easier for your audience to absorb.

3. Write your action titles

Once you have a defined structure for your PowerPoint presentation, you can get down to creating your slides. One of the most important things to remember as you do this is that each slide should present exactly one idea summarized in a single action title. All information presented on the slide must support the action title, including any charts. It is also important to avoid including any visual or textual elements that may convey or imply a different or conflicting message apart from the one in the action title.

One common strategy is to first write action titles for each slide to ensure they tell a complete story on their own. From there, you can go back to each slide and add details such as bullet points and charts.

4. Use a clean layout and formatting

When creating slides, it is crucial to avoid overcrowding them with excessive information or elements that can create visual confusion. One way to approach this is to visualize your slide as a table, laying out elements in columns and rows. Commonly used slide layouts consist of either two to three or four quadrants, depending on the nature of the content and the desired visual representation. You’ll also want to consider:

• The rule of thirds: Placing elements at one-third or two-thirds from the edge of the slide, and particularly where these gridlines intersect, is a universal rule for building a visually appealing slide.
• White space: Resist the temptation to pack too much into your slides. Leaving sufficient white space is essential for readability and helping the audience take in each slide’s main point.
• Presentation type: Key message presentations will have less content on each slide, compared with documentation presentations that include more detail.
• Fonts: Use the same font color and size for titles and body text throughout your slide deck, ideally in a sans serif font like Arial. Titles should be 20 to 24 point size, with body text 12 to 18 point based on the amount of content on the slides.

5. Organize your bullet points

A long list of bullet points is confusing and hard for audiences to digest. Instead, stick to three or five bullets, with a maximum of seven. Again, avoid packing in too much information, and all text should support the action title.

To improve clarity, write bullet points using parallel structure. In other words, if one bullet is a sentence, all of them should be in sentence form. The same goes for using sentence fragments or individual words. Each bullet should start with the same part of speech (e.g., noun, verb, adjective).

6. Choose the right chart

All chart data should be relevant to the slide’s action title. Say It with charts by Gene Zelazny offers a useful approach to choosing your chart in three steps:

• Identify which aspect of the data your chart will highlight
• Determine what you’re comparing, whether it’s components, change over time or correlation
• Select your chart according to the comparison you’re trying to make

7. Format your chart

Once you create a basic chart, you’ll want to format and annotate it in a way that conveys your message without confusion. This means:

• Including a chart title that summarizes the data and aligns with the slide’s action title
• Labeling both the x-axis and the y-axis with measurement units
• Using color sparingly to highlight the chart’s conclusion, for example using muted tones with one key vertical bar highlighted in a bolder color
• Adding trendlines to charts that can visually indicate patterns or trends in the data, for example, CAGRs
• Displaying legends to help viewers understand the meaning of different colors, symbols, or patterns used in the chart

A PowerPoint add-in like think-cell can help you create better slide decks and charts faster. Dynamic charts, process flows, annotations and text boxes all help organize complex information into visually sophisticated presentations, so you can spend less time struggling with formatting and more time on building a compelling story.

Building a PowerPoint presentation from scratch can seem like a tall order. By breaking it down into manageable steps, however, you can streamline the process while ensuring your audience leaves with a clear understanding of your message.

How to apply the MECE principle to PowerPoint presentations

Learn about the MECE principle and examples of how to apply it, plus how to use it to create stronger PowerPoint presentations faster.

May 17, 2023 | 11 min read

Using the Pyramid Principle to build better PowerPoint presentations

Learn how to use the Pyramid Principle to create more effective PowerPoint presentations, including how to organize ideas, present data and clarify your message.

February 07, 2023 | 6 min read

Why you should change the way you think about PowerPoint

Presentations shape the conversations and decisions that move business forward. And by approaching them this way, you can accelerate your growth.

February 07, 2023 | 3 min read

Role of data visualization in business decision-making

Understanding the rapid processing of visual information by the brain has significant implications in the business world, particularly for decision makers. In this blog, we will delve into the pivotal role data visualization plays in business decision-making.

July 25, 2023 | 8 min read

• Why think-cell?
• All features
• Continuous improvement
• Customer references
• New customer
• Renew licenses
• Find a reseller
• Academic program
• Startup program
• Existing customer
• Video tutorials
• Tips and tricks
• User manual
• Knowledge base
• think-cell academy
• C++ Developer (f/m/d)
• C++ Internship (f/m/d)
• All job offers
• Talks and publications
• Developer blog

Home Blog Presentation Ideas Understanding the 10/20/30 Rule of PowerPoint Presentations

Understanding the 10/20/30 Rule of PowerPoint Presentations

Imagine sitting through a seemingly never-ending presentation. The speaker rambled on, reading from text-heavy slides, using a tiny font that strained your eyes, and failing to connect with the audience. As the minutes ticked by, you found yourself daydreaming and eagerly awaiting the end of the ordeal.

If you have been in this situation, then you know what to do if you were in the presenter’s shoes – make your presentations concise. But how do you even start?

You can follow several techniques when preparing your deck and your presentation as a whole. One of them is the 10/20/30 rule of PowerPoint , a presentation rule championed by Guy Kawasaki – a former Apple employee and a marketing specialist.

Table of Contents

What Is the 10/20/30 Rule of PowerPoint Presentations?

Applying guy kawasaki’s 10 slide template in any presentation, the 20 minutes rule, the 30-point font rule, the benefits of using the 10/20/30 rule, tips for applying the 10/20/30 rule to your presentation.

The idea of the 10/20/30 rule is easy to understand, which is summed up in three points.

• Your presentation should consist of no more than 10 slides .
• Your presentation should last no longer than 20 minutes .
• The text on each slide should be no lower than 30 points in size .

Guy Kawasaki’s 10-20-30 rule for slideshows emphasizes brevity, focus, and visual appeal to keep your audience engaged and deliver your message effectively.

Let’s examine each rule and explore how to apply it to your presentations.

The 10 Slides Rule

Kawasaki argues that a typical person can only take 10 concepts in one sitting. Therefore, according to him, a presentation should only consist of 10 slides, each serving a specific purpose and conveying a distinct concept.

This insight underscores the importance of concise, focused presentations that prioritize key messages and avoid overwhelming the audience with too much information.

If you are a business presenter struggling to develop a pitch deck , Kawasaki suggests a 10-slide PowerPoint template that includes what venture capitalists like him care about.

• Title – Includes the business name, the presenter’s name, contacts, etc.
• Problem/Opportunity – Highlights pain points or unmet needs of customers you aim to solve.
• Value Proposition – Articulates the value or benefits of your product or service.
• Underlying Magic – Explains the key technology that goes into your product or service offers.
• Business Model – Describes how you plan to generate revenue.
• Go-to-Market Plan – Outlines your strategy for bringing your product or service to market, e.g., marketing and sales plan .
• Competitive Analysis – Explains how your business is positioned to compete and capture market share.
• Management Team – Highlights your management team’s skills, experience, and expertise that will drive the success of your business.
• Financial Projections and Key Metrics – Highlights your business’s financial viability and potential profitability.
• Current Status, Accomplishments to Date, Timeline, and Use of Funds – Provides an overview of your current business status, any accomplishments or milestones achieved to date, the timeline for future milestones, and how you plan to use the funds you seek.

The 10 rule slide was specifically designed for startup and business presentations , focusing on pitching a business idea or concept to potential investors . However, it can also be a useful framework for other types of presentations that don’t deal with selling a service or product.

For example, if you are a lecturer, you can emulate Kawasaki’s PowerPoint template layout and reduce your presentation to 10 slides. Some slides might not be relevant to the nature of your topic, so replace them with one that works for your presentation. Using PPT templates helps you focus on the graphical aspect so you can articulate the content to fit into exactly 10 slides (while preserving the same aesthetic).

Let’s say you are a mindfulness expert talking about the benefits of meditation. The first three slides of Kawazaki’s workflow may be applied as you’ll need to establish your audience’s pain points and your solution.

However, you may need to modify the remaining slides as you’re not seeking to make a sale or raise funding. You may use them instead to discuss the main content of your presentation – in this case, the benefits of meditation. The last two slides may contain your conclusions and call to action, respectively.

Now, off to the second part of the 10/20/30 presentation rule.

According to Kawasaki, you only have 20 minutes to present your 10 slides – the time needed before your audience’s attention starts declining. He believes it is long enough to convey a meaningful message but short enough to maintain the audience’s attention span.

This is exactly why most TED Talks or The Big Bang Theory episodes would only last for approximately 18 minutes. 

While giving longer presentations is possible, longer presentations may be more difficult to maintain audience engagement and attention.

Kawasaki’s final rule pertains to the font size that presenters can use. This rule suggests that presenters should use a font size of at least 30 points for all text in their slides , including titles, headings, and body text.

When creating presentations, it is common to jam each slide with text and information. This poses two possible problems:

• First, it may take your audience’s attention from you as they may end up reading your whole presentation and stop listening to you. 
• Second, including too much information can make your presentation overwhelming and difficult to follow.

Using a larger font size, you must include only the key points of your presentation slides. This prevents your audience from getting ahead of you and keeps them listening to you speak. By applying this rule, you are also ensuring your content is understandable for people with visual impairments. We highly recommend you check concepts from W3C.org on how to make events accessible, as some of these rules can benefit your audience.

Presenters often ask themselves whether is worth applying a new framework for their presentation design and delivery. The reality is that the 10/20/30 Rule of PowerPoint Presentations is one of the most effective methods to build your presentation skills . In the list below, we expose the main benefits of this framework for presenters.

Concise and Focused Presentation

With a limited number of slides and a strict time limit, the 10/20/30 encourages you to choose the most relevant content and eliminate unnecessary information carefully. This avoids overwhelming your audience with too much information and ensures your key message is clear and memorable.

Improved Audience Engagement

This rule encourages presenters to focus on delivering a clear message rather than overwhelming the audience with flashy visuals. With fewer slides and a shorter duration, you are likelier to hold your audience’s attention throughout the presentation. This also allows you to address questions from the audience, leading to better interaction and a productive meeting.

Increased Chance of Success

Whether pitching to investors or selling a product, a concise and focused presentation can significantly increase your chances of success. The 10/20/30 rule helps you effectively communicate your value proposition and address potential concerns. This makes your presentation more persuasive and memorable, increasing the likelihood of securing funding or closing a sale.

Time Management

The more senior the person you present to, the lesser time you got to make your case and convey your message. Following the 10/20/30 encourages you to be mindful of the time and deliver your presentation within the allocated timeframe. It also allows you to show respect for your audience’s time.

1. Present One Idea Per Slide

Following Kawasaki’s rule on creating your PowerPoint presentation, identify the key points you want to convey to your audience and allocate one slide for each.

Presenting one idea per slide can help your audience stay focused on the topic at hand.  It makes it easier for them to understand and remember your message, as it reduces the amount of information they have to process at once. When there’s too much information on a slide, it can be overwhelming and distracting, making it difficult for your audience to stay engaged and attentive.

Presenting one idea per slide can also help you control the flow of information and ensure that you cover all of your main points.

2. Keep Your Slides Simple

As mentioned earlier, the 10/20/30 rule emphasizes simplicity. Keep your slides simple and avoid flashy design elements that may distract your audience.

Use a consistent color scheme , font style, and layout throughout your presentation. This will help your audience follow along and focus on your message.

3. Balance Text and Visuals

Visuals like images, charts, graphs, videos, and diagrams can help break up text-heavy slides and make your presentation more interesting and memorable. However, relying solely on images can also be ineffective and lead to confusion or disengagement.

When using visuals in your slides, it’s important to balance text and images. Text can provide important context and details, while images can help illustrate key points and make your presentation visually appealing.

Let’s say you want to inform your audience of your company’s marketing plan . Using a rising spiral template is an excellent choice since it can represent multiple plan stages with increasing intensity.

4. Break Down Your Presentation into Smaller Units and Make it Interactive

Kawasaki’s 10/20/30 rule only gives you 20 minutes to wrap up the whole presentation, but what if you need more than that?

It’s not uncommon to give presentations that last 45 minutes to an hour – for instance, if you are giving a lecture or facilitating a training workshop for employees. The longer your presentation, however, the harder it will be to hold your audience’s attention.

One great way to keep them engaged is to divide your presentation into smaller units and pause in between.

So, before the guy from the third row starts yawning, plan in-between activities to reenergize your audience and reacquire their attention. It can be a simple Q&A session, interactive exercises, or team-building activities.

Don’t forget to time your activities so they won’t disrupt the flow of your presentation.

5. Start Strong

The opening of your presentation is critical in capturing your audience’s attention and setting the tone for the rest of the presentation. Start with a compelling hook, such as a thought-provoking question, a powerful quote, or an engaging story, to grab your audience’s attention. Clearly state the purpose and objectives of your presentation to establish the context and provide a roadmap for what’s to come.

6. End Strong

Your outro is as important as your introduction. So, instead of ending your presentation with a flat Thank you slide , use the opportunity to nudge your audience to action.

Using a summary slide is one of the ways you can end your presentation if your goal is to reinforce your key points. It can be a useful reference for the audience, helping them remember the most important information.

You can also encourage your audience to take action based on what they’ve learned in your presentation. This can be a great way to motivate them to apply the concepts you’ve covered.

The 10/20/30 rule of PowerPoint is a useful framework to emulate in creating your presentation.

There are questions about the practicality of its application outside the business context. However, we can agree that it teaches us valuable insight – keeping presentations concise as possible. Limiting the number of slides, adhering to a strict time limit, and using a larger font size can create a concise presentation that effectively communicates your message.

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to presenting; you don’t have to strictly follow Kawasaki’s rule. Depending on the audience and the topic, modify the template and adapt your presentation to suit the situation.

Like this article? Please share

Presentation Approaches, Presentation Skills Filed under Presentation Ideas

Related Articles

Filed under Design • March 27th, 2024

How to Make a Presentation Graph

Detailed step-by-step instructions to master the art of how to make a presentation graph in PowerPoint and Google Slides. Check it out!

Filed under Presentation Ideas • February 29th, 2024

How to Make a Fundraising Presentation (with Thermometer Templates & Slides)

Meet a new framework to design fundraising presentations by harnessing the power of fundraising thermometer templates. Detailed guide with examples.

Filed under Presentation Ideas • February 15th, 2024

How to Create a 5 Minutes Presentation

Master the art of short-format speeches like the 5 minutes presentation with this article. Insights on content structure, audience engagement and more.

Leave a Reply

< Go back to Login

Forgot Password

Please enter your registered email ID. You will receive an email message with instructions on how to reset your password.

The Golden Rules of holding the audience attention in presentations

There are innumerable ways to structure PowerPoint presentations based on the context and the requirements. However, presentations, not unlike other forms of communication, do have some ground rules that are often considered cardinal regardless of what is being presented. Savvy presenters understand that they cannot take the audience’s attention span for granted and work smartly to get the most out of the time the audience gives them. 

A lot of research has been done on the methods of presentation delivery. SlideUpLift has compiled a list of these rules for you to create an impact when you adopt these practices.

In this blog, you will learn

Importance Of Organizing For Attention Capture

10-20-30 Rule

Single Big Idea

The 15-75-10 Narrative

• SlideUpLift Templates For Business Presentations

Many forms of media and communication take the idea of attention capture very seriously- think about the last time you saw a TV ad the ad was likely a few seconds long and the creators worked very hard to get the message across in those few seconds- every aspect was optimized knowing fully well that precious attention from the audience is likely to wander off if anything goes off tangent in the advertisement. There is more: think of posters, of banner ads on websites- all of these are designed around constraints of space or time- limiting how much time and attention the audience could really give.

Now think of PowerPoint presentations: the audience behavior is likely to not deviate much: In fact, studies have indicated that the average duration of focused attention span is 8 seconds, down from 12 seconds in 2020; there are enough distractions in today’s digital world that drive these trends.

Bottom line is, presenters need to actively think about the topic of holding the attention of their audience. The ease of editing slides in tools like PowerPoint is a proverbial double-edged sword -since it is so easy to add slides, text, graphics, etc that the presenters often can do too much without seeing the slippery slope they are on when that occurs. 

Presentation Rules To Maximize Attention Span

Each of the following rules presents powerful ideas towards capturing and holding the audience’s attention. These can be used in isolation or combined to cater to your specific requirements and objectives for a presentation.

Guy Kawasaki , a venture capitalist well versed in making and assessing presentations, came up with the 10-20-30 Rule. He created this rule in response to hundreds of entrepreneurs pitching their ideas to him using dense 60+ slides PowerPoint presentations to explain something that could have been explained in 10. While he made the rule in the realm of venture capitalism and start-up pitches , the 10-20-30 Rule can be applied pretty much unanimously for every business need.

The rule states that each presentation should have no more than 10 slides each. The total time taken for the presentation should not exceed 20 minutes. And the font size for all the text in the presentation should not be less than 30 px. 

10 Slides – This is in reference to people’s attention spans and the power of retention. For the average human, the information given concisely and carefully is more effective, rather than long-winded explanations and detailed descriptions. Thus, 10 slides are the optimum number of slides to put relevant information that can actually be retained. 

20 Minutes – This is the maximum time an audience is willing to give you after experiencing several bouts of attention loss. So, wrap up your presentation within 20 minutes to keep the audience interested and focused.

30 px font size – The dilemma of putting in more information at the expense of font size is a struggle every presenter’s faces. However, having the bottom line read 30 px for the font size constrains a presenter into making their information short and effective, rather than relying on long-winded explanations crammed onto a page in 10px font size. 

Business Pitch Deck

Source: Business Pitch Deck by SlideUpLift

The 5-5-5 Rule follows the principles of the 10-20-30 Rule, in the sense that it seeks to quantify the structure of a presentation. However, it delves deeper into the details of PowerPoint presentations through the number 5 and talks about structuring information within a single slide.

The three 5s stand for

5 words – There should be no more than 5 words in one sentence (in a slide). This keeps the sentence focused only on the objectives, rather than creating a whole story around it.

5 sentences – There should be no more than 5 sentences or lines of text on a single slide. This makes each slide that much more approachable and readable for the audience. 

5 slides – There should not be 5 text-heavy slides within a presentation in a row. Space them out as much as possible. Having text-heavy slides back to back can cause information overload and fatigue in the audience.

One of our guiding principles is the notion of a “Single Big Idea”. The premise of this idea is two-fold. The overall presentation should be focused on the main vision and goal of the presentation. For instance, if the goal is customer acquisition, the whole presentation, tonality, graphics, story flow, messaging should be focused on customer acquisition. 

Moreover, each slide should also follow the concept of a “single big idea”. Treat each slide with the reverence given to the overall presentation, ensuring that each element, be it visual or textual, aligns with and reinforces the larger idea being presented on that slide.

One of the best tools in a presenter’s toolbox for making presentations is storytelling . We as human beings love stories and absorb messages without even realizing it.

One of the ways to structure your PowerPoint presentations is to narrativize them. The 15-75-10 rule is one way to do it

The 15% Introduction : This should be about 15% of the whole presentation, wherein you introduce yourself if needed, and the larger idea that you intend to convey within the presentation. You can also establish your touchpoints and objectives right at the beginning. 

The 75% Body : Consisting of about 75% of the presentation, the body is where each of your touchpoints is elaborated on using anecdotes, examples, statistics, and information related to them. The body should answer the questions of what, why, and how for the topic.

The 10% Conclusion : The last 10% of your presentation should be the conclusion. A good conclusion is not just a conclusion slide with a thank you note on it. A solid conclusion summarises the presentation, talks about key points of focus, provides contact information, has a call-to-action, and prompts audience engagement to recall and revise everything said during the presentation. Conclusions are brief but powerful parts of a presentation.

Also learn a few tips on effective public speaking .

SlideUpLift Templates for PowerPoint Presentations

SlideUpLift consists of a team of visual design and business experts that are well-versed in both presentation structures, and business foundations for communication. As such, each presentation is made keeping in mind their impact and effectiveness for each topic. 

All SlideUpLift presentations work with the rules of structuring that best fit that particular topic. From project reviews to SWOT analysis , each template is guided by the golden rules of presentation structuring to create a unified and cohesive template that fits all business requirements. Creating impactful, engaging, and effective PowerPoint presentations has never been easier.

Value Proposition PowerPoint

Source: Value Proposition powerPoint by SlideUpLift

Customer Journey Executive Summary

Source: Customer Journey Executive Summary by SlideUpLift

Ladder Diagram

Source: Ladder Diagram by SlideUpLift

Puzzle PowerPoint Template

Source: Puzzle PowerPoint Template by SlideUpLift

Project Kickoff

Source: Project KickOff Presentation by SlideUpLift

It’s a given that a good presentation needs a great structure. But understanding the rules that govern human psychology is extremely important to make an impact when presenting, whether to a group of people or an individual. Using presentation templates that pre-bake such insights and are created specifically to capture the audience’s attention is a smart thing to do.

Now you don’t have to scour the web to find out the right templates. Download our PowerPoint Templates from within PowerPoint. See how ?

Related Articles

Table Of Content

Related posts from the same category.

1 Feb, 2022 | slideuplift

Powerful Words and Statements To Use In Presentations

No matter what industry you work in, you will have to deliver a presentation at some point. At first, this may be quite nerve-racking, if not simply terrifying.  The good

12 May, 2023 | SlideUpLift SlideUpLift

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Using Google Slides In Presentations

Have you been pondering whether to put time into Google Slides? Google Slides is gaining popularity as an alternative to Microsoft PowerPoint because of innovative features offered by Google. Is

3 Feb, 2022 | slideuplift

8 Tips Ahead Of Your Big Day: The Big Presentation Tips

Are you preparing for your next big presentation? Aside from preparing, writing, and practicing your speech, there are certain other actions you should do to ensure you are truly prepared

20 Jun, 2022 | slideuplift

6 Ways to Make the Perfect and Impactful PowerPoint Presentations

Creating a PowerPoint presentation might seem easy. Learning the nuances of sharing content through this medium can reinforce your message correctly. PowerPoint Presentations are a mode of communication where you

20 Aug, 2021 | slideuplift

Storytelling Tips to Change the Way You Present Ideas

A piece of oft-given advice surrounding making presentations is that in order to engage an audience, your presentation and speech need to have a narrative. And we wholeheartedly agree with

28 Oct, 2021 | slideuplift

How Much Time Does It Take To Prepare A Presentation?

How much time does it take to prepare a presentation? It depends Duh! Two big factors decide that- The complexity of your presentation and your familiarity with the topic. Add

8 Jun, 2023 | SlideUpLift SlideUpLift

How To Present Data In The Best Way?

Having accessible means to analyze and understand data is more vital than ever in our increasingly data-driven environment. After all, employers increasingly value people with strong data abilities, and every

4 Oct, 2023 | slideuplift

The Best And Worst PowerPoint Presentation Examples

Engaging presentations are the lifeblood of effective communication in today's information-driven world. Whether you're in a boardroom pitching a new idea, standing in front of a classroom of curious learners,

10 May, 2023 | SlideUpLift SlideUpLift

Advantages and Disadvantages of Using PowerPoint for Presentations

If you want to make visually captivating and professional-looking presentations, understanding PowerPoint and the benefits of PowerPoint is vital for you. Microsoft PowerPoint is a popular presentation tool used by

1 Feb, 2024 | slideuplift

The Best Board Meeting Agenda Guide [With Examples & Sample Agendas]

You might have had a meeting that went completely off. It might be overly prolonged and had numerous off-topic discussions. It has happened with most professionals at some point in

Forgot Password?

Privacy Overview

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.

• WordPress Tutorials
• Graphic Design
• Presentations
• Shopify Knowledge Base
• Theme Collections

How to Keep Audience Engaged? 10 Successful PowerPoint Presentation Rules

We live in a fantastic time. The world is changing rapidly and the digital universe will have changed significantly. To cope with such a rapid information flow, you must learn how to structure and present data to your potential audience properly. While you address the audience, it’s vital to not only convey the necessary information but also create a fascinating and inspiring presentation. Such ones will remain in people’s memories for long. To make your audience react to your PowerPoint presentation instead of seeing indifferent yawning faces during your speech, see the following PowerPoint presentation rules .

Rule #1. Get the Audience involved with Your Content

What is the number 1 secret of any successful presentation? You will not believe how transparent it sounds. The secret is to deliver compelling, well-structured and well-presented content.

You know, that kind of content when all the listeners would take out the phones for only one purpose - snapping the presentation slides, and not checking their Facebook or Instagram feed.

They say, “Content is King!”

You want to see the fire in people’s eyes, which shows their desire to create.

But how can you understand if the audience is ready or whether your content is interesting? How would see if the audience is involved enough?

First, keep in mind one truth of life - people are not willing to think and put efforts to do something. And, most likely, they don’t care about your presentation . However, your content and the way of presenting one can change their opinion.

Take advantage of professional design with attractive layouts for images and graphics to help the audience perceive your content more effectively. Have a look at PowerPoint templates from TemplateMonster.

Here is one of many examples - Minimal PowerPoint Template .

Every - Minimal PowerPoint Template

Rule #2. Engage With them!

The more actively your audience participates in the process, the more effectively you’ll be able to deliver the necessary message.

Add as many interactions as possible - games, tests, tricky questions . When people interact with the content (at least somehow), there grows an involvement level. For a perfect ending, ask the audience a question so that they have something to consider about. It doesn’t matter if they respond immediately or leave it for later. They’ll reflect on the topic in any case.

Rule #3. Tell a Story

The human brain reacts automatically to stories. Somehow, this is a part of our survival mechanism ( Stay in the cave! Huge mammoths are out! ). Also, stories are a great way to entertain yourself ( the reason why kids love fairy tales and why people watch movies ). Storytelling made narration to be one of the most critical communication means between people.

We pay more attention when we hear stories rather than when someone lists facts. Storytelling during your PowerPoint presentation helps the audience to understand and memorize the information for a longer time, even after the story’s end.

Instead of concluding a chain of facts (figures, breakdown), which can drive even the most positively-minded person crazy, make a story out of those facts.

I guess, the recently-added Marakesh PowerPoint Template will be perfect as a storytelling base for your PowerPoint.

Infographic Pack

Rule #4. Stop Reading Text from Slides

So, 69% of respondents answered that they couldn’t stand a speaker reading text from the presentation slides. You must convey the information in your own words without even looking at the slide.

Yes, I mean you have to memorize it. Otherwise, you risk having your audience fall asleep.

Rule #5. Keep the Reasonable Font Size

48% of people hate when the font size is too small. Like who cares about your genius text in each slide when people are not able to read a single thing? Goodbye to all your creative text, useful statistics, meaningful remarks, etc.

The More Bundle Presentation PowerPoint Template

Rule #6. Do Not Be Afraid to Joke

Even during the most serious TED talks, Will Stephen does not forget to laugh at himself. He knows - humor rules the world . Even in the business world.

If you are getting ready for a serious presentation in front of your client or investor, don’t think that using humor for the presentation will be inappropriate. You do not need to joke around all the time. This instead means staying cheerful and appealing. The audience will appreciate your ease of communication and simplicity of speech.

Although it might be tough to find the right humor vibe, I still recommend you take a risk. The effect is amazing! People get more open to the ideas you want to share during your presentation.

Rule #7. Choose the Right Fonts

In 2012, The New York Times had an experiment called " Are you an optimist or a pessimist? ". The participants had to read a piece from a book and answer " yes " or " no " to several questions. The purpose of the experiment was to determine whether different fonts can influence the reader's confidence in that text.

40K of participated ones were shown the same paragraph typed in different fonts: Comic Sans, Computer Modern, Georgia, Trebuchet, Baskerville, Helvetica.

The results state: text written in Comic Sans and Helvetica are least “trustworthy” among readers, while Baskerville font, on the contrary, gained the most of trust . According to psychologists, it has to do with the more formal outer look of the font.

Timeline Infographics PowerPoint Template

Rule #8. Visualize

People perceive information differently. So, you tell somebody: make a beautiful presentation. In your head, you are drawing a particular picture of how a beautiful presentation should look. But you don’t even think that the other person’s thoughts about a beautiful presentation are far more different from yours.

Thus, it is better to show five images than to explain everything in words. You need more visuals. Graphics, charts and visual metaphors - everything that supports and demonstrates your argument. Speaking of visual metaphors, it’s the way of using images to illustrate your ideas or separate important statements. Such visual metaphors are likely to stay in people’s minds longer.

And don’t stop on traditional visuals because 1998 has gone for 20 years already. Stylish and modern PowerPoint presentation ideas look far different from what we used to see 10 or 15 years ago. Make sure you keep up with the latest trends, including moving graphics, videos, emojis and gif animations.

For example, Inertia Template has an incredible set of layouts with modern-looking infographics and charts. I haven’t seen anything better so far!

Inertia PowerPoint Template

Rule #9. Simplify the Design

Once PowerPoint let us experiment with colors and slide designs, people started to believe that leaving plain white background is dull and unprofessional. It’s like if you change the background color, some magic will make your client accept the order.

Who still believes in this kind of a delusion? Why do we keep embellishing slides with many objects when you can explain your thought in 1 word or picture?

Unnecessarily details, elaborate design, and unreadable fonts only distract the audience from the idea you intend to convey. Using illustrations and a minimum of text is enough to deliver your thoughts to listeners and grab their attention.

Remember that less is not boring . Look at this minimal PowerPoint template, and you’ll make sure!

Philosophy - Minimal PowerPoint Template

Rule #10. Use Personal Examples

One more way to reach your audience is giving examples and reflect the issue of the listeners . It doesn’t necessarily mean providing examples from your own life. Once you know your target audience, whether it’s a speech at a conference or in front of your potential investor, think of how your topics can relate to them directly.

Use examples to help support your solutions to the presented issue. People might not care how your solution can be useful to someone else, but once you show how it might affect them, people will start listening attentively. Psychology is so basic.

Remember those listing facts out loud is not a presentation. If you want to make an impression, convince the audience and urge them to act. You got to work on your presentation structure and add some enthusiasm.

All the above-described rules work. Use and implement them in your presentation.

Get better every day!

How to Insert a YouTube Video into a PowerPoint Presentation (Using Different PowerPoint Versions)

Design in PowerPoint: Step-by-Step Instructions on How to Create Awesome Slides

Get Pitch Pro – A Free PowerPoint Template for Business

Why You Should Use PowerPoint for Business Reporting

35 Keynote Templates to Create Professional Presentations in Minutes [Lots of Freebies of Premium Quality Inside]

Meet the girl who writes better than she talks. Spent 5 years on master's degree in modern German communications and on content writing. Web trends hunter, passionate traveler, Reese's lover. Facebook

Get more to your email

Subscribe to our newsletter and access exclusive content and offers available only to MonsterPost subscribers.

Related Posts

Best digital products award 2023 – honored by templatemonster, making a successful presentation: how to print google slides with notes, 15 clever color combinations that make your presentation professional, leave a reply cancel reply.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

WHITNEY D. WALTER

PowerPoint Made Easy with the 5 5 5 Rule

Whitney D. Walter

Looking for an easy way to create a more compelling PowerPoint presentation? Look no further than the 5 5 5 rule! This simple guideline makes it easy to lay out your slides in a clear, organized way that draws attention to the most important information.

Experts suggest that using this method – one of the many similar ones out there – will result in a better experience for your audience and better results for you as a presenter.

It can keep you from feeling overwhelmed.

Use images or icons to tell the story., what exactly is the 5 5 5 rule.

Simply put, the 5 5 5 rule (often written as the 5/5/5 or 5-5-5 rule) means that on each slide you should have no more than 5 lines of text. Within each line, there should be no more than 5 words. And finally, there should be no more than 5 text-heavy slides in a row.

5/5/5 Rule Powerpoint Example

Benefits of Using This Rule

Using this simple rule allows you to limit the amount of text on your slides which can be beneficial for many reasons.

You can focus on the main points.

Instead of putting all of your detailed ideas on each slide, this rule reminds you to focus on the main ideas and stops you from committing a major PowerPoint faux pas – reading directly from the screen.

Why shouldn’t you read from the slide?

First, directly from your presentation creates an extremely boring experience for your audience. They came to see you, not to read along with a slide.

Second, it’s often very difficult to read from a slide anyway, so you’re likely to make mistakes or lose your place.

Third, and most importantly, it takes away your chance to make eye contact with the audience and connect with them on a personal level.

So next time you’re giving a presentation, remember not to read directly from the PowerPoint slide – it’ll be better for both you and your audience.

And an added bonus? When you aren’t reading directly from the slide, you are encouraged to explain your ideas through storytelling which is a much better way to relay information.

In fact, studies have shown that our brains naturally look for stories and patterns to help us understand information.

Your audience will be more engaged.

Since your audience won’t be busy reading all of the text on your slide while you’re presenting, they will be more inclined to actually listen to what you’re saying.

Better yet, they will have the opportunity to be more engaged by responding to the things you’re saying or asking questions.

Remember, more than five text-heavy slides in a row will simply be a distraction for your audience and a guaranteed way to lose their interest.

You’ll end up with more professional-looking presentations.

If you’re looking for a quick and simple way to make your presentation look more professional the first thing you should do is evaluate whether you are using an unnecessary amount of text.

Professional presentations typically use clean and easy-to-skim designs. This means taking advantage of negative space (aka purposely leaving empty space on the slide).

If you’ve ever had to create a presentation in rush you know how stressful it can be.

The same is true for those who are new to using PowerPoint and those who are simply not comfortable with its capabilities.

Using this rule can make creating a presentation much less stressful because it gives you a guideline to work off of.

It also minimizes how much time you’ll spend on adding content to the slide because you know that each slide will have no more than 25 total words. (5 lines of text with 5 words each=25 total words.)

If you’re not sure where to start, add your thoughts for each slide to the Notes pane first and then copy/paste only the most necessary information to the actual slide.

How to Use This Rule Effectively

Include high-level, key data points..

Not sure what to include for the “main points” mentioned above? Think about the 5Ws; who, what, where, when, and why.

Try to avoid including information that doesn’t answer one of these questions.

Use headings, short phrases, and common abbreviations.

Using a heading is a great way to summarize the information that will be shown on a particular slide.

Within the slide, locate any complete sentences and determine whether they can be summarized with a short phrase instead.

Here’s an example.

Full Sentence: Our annual earnings were up 10% compared to last year.

Summarized: Annual Earnings: +10% YOY

(In this example, YOY means “year-over-year” which is a frequently used abbreviation in business.)

As you can see, the summarized version allows you to use less text. It also makes it easier for the audience to retain information and recall it later.

You can also remove text from your slide altogether by replacing it with images, icons, or easily recognizable symbols.

There have been numerous studies that show audiences remember information supported by images at a far higher rate than those told with text alone. Use this to your advantage!

Similarly, icons and symbols can easily replace text in many situations.

For example, text that says “this is important” can be replaced with a caution symbol. Text that says “key dates” can be replaced by a calendar icon.

Other Related Questions

What is the 2 4 8 rule in PowerPoint?

The 2 4 8 (also seen as 2/4/8 or 2x4x8) rule is another similar technique used by presenters to organize their slides.

This rule states that you shouldn’t spend more than 2 minutes presenting each slide. Each slide should contain no more than 4 main ideas or bullet points. Each idea or bullet should have 8 words or less.

This approach helps presenters to stay focused on their key points and avoid getting lost in too much detail or extraneous information.

By prioritizing the most important messages, you can ensure that their audiences will take away from the presentation only the most essential information.

What is the 10 20 30 slideshow rule?

The 10 20 30 (or 10/20/30) rule is another set of guidelines for creating effective presentations.

This rule means that your presentation should contain 10 slides total slides, last no more than 20 minutes, and use a font size of no less than 30 points.

The 10/20/30 rule was created by Guy Kawasaki, a venture capitalist and it has since been adopted by many business professionals.

While it’s not a hard-and-fast rule, it is a good general guideline to follow when creating presentations.

What is the rule of 7 in PowerPoint?

Also called the 7×7 rule, it means that for every slide, there should be no more than 7 lines of text or bullet points and no more than 7 words per line.

What is the 6 by 6 rule?

It is nearly identical to the 7×7 rule mentioned above. The 6 by 6 rule (or 6×6) means that for every slide, there should be no more than 6 lines of text or bullet points and no more than 6 words per line.

How many slides is a 5-minute presentation?

Generally speaking, a 5-minute PowerPoint presentation should have somewhere around 5 to 7 slides . This is an ideal number because it strikes the right balance between being concise and providing enough information to engage your audience.

Ultimately, how many slides you need in your presentation will depend on a variety of factors, including the nature of your topic and the specific goals of your presentation.

But with careful planning and clear communication, you can create an effective 5-minute PowerPoint that will help you achieve your objectives and “wow” your audience.

How do you plan a 5-minute presentation?

Planning a 5-minute presentation can be daunting and you might be wondering “how many slides should a 5-minute presentation be?”.

Here are a few steps you can take to make sure you make the most of your time.

First, determine the purpose of your presentation . Are you trying to educate, entertain, or persuade your audience?

Once you know the purpose of your talk, you can begin to plan what to include.

It is important to be concise and clear in your presentations, so plan to focus on just one to three main points . Make sure that you can provide a quick but impactful story (or any supporting evidence) to drive each point home.

Finally, practice your presentation several times before delivering it . This will help you ensure that you stay within the time limit and that your talk flows smoothly while also making sure you don’t forget any important details.

By following these tips, you can plan an effective 5-minute presentation that is sure to engage your audience.

Time to clap it up because you’ve just added some serious productivity-boosting info into your PowerPoint toolkit. Want to dive into even more tips for reducing text? Download the full, free cheatsheet here.

The 5/5/5 rule is a powerful tool for creating effective PowerPoint presentations. It can help you to summarize your ideas, makes your slides more visually appealing, and can even result in increased audience engagement during your presentation.

So when it’s time to draft your next presentation, keep the 5/5/5 rule in mind. It may take a bit of patience to get the process down but, once you do, you’ll see what a significant difference it can make.

Have you used this rule – or similar rules – when creating presentations? Do you know of any other rules that help with efficiency and design? Drop a comment below and let’s talk about it!

Whitney is a recognized Professional Development Expert, professional speaker, and the founder of Harness Your Power. She holds a Master’s in Business Administration from Florida State University and a Microsoft PowerPoint Specialist certification. She has been featured in Yahoo Finance, AOL, Authority Magazine, Business Insider, Fox and more. Read more.

Similar Posts

3 Things You Should be Pinning to Your PowerPoint Menu

This week we’re talking about 3 things you should be pinning to your PowerPoint File (or Home for my Mac friends) menu. But before we jump into that, I just have to say… I. Am. So. Excited. This week marks a very special change to the blog going forward thanks to feedback from YOU. From…

3 Quick Ways to Embed an Excel File in PowerPoint

When I talk to other PowerPoint users, one of the common statements I hear is “I know there’s an easier way to do it but this is the only way I know”. Whether we’re talking about creating templates, adding video, or exporting to PDFs – this statement is likely to make its way into the conversation. The…

How to Reuse Slides in PowerPoint & Save Time

In this article, you’ll learn how to reuse slides in PowerPoint, as well as the benefits, and pros/cons of doing so.

Using PowerPoint’s Compare Feature

When I was a kid, there were two things I loved about doctor’s visits. One- the endless supply of free lollipops. (Obviously.) And two- the Highlights magazines in the waiting room. Do you remember those? Sure they were old and most of the word searches and other puzzles had already been solved but they were…

Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Best Video Format for PowerPoint

When it comes to creating powerful and persuasive presentations, including video is a no-brainer and choosing the best video format for PowerPoint is essential. The wrong format can lead to compatibility issues, choppy playback, and low-quality visuals. Fortunately, the best video format for PowerPoint is relatively straightforward to choose. MP4 is the best option in…

Boost Your Efficiency: How to Track Changes in PowerPoint

If you know how to track changes in a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation you’re well aware that it is a great way to work collaboratively with others, share feedback, and make revisions with just a couple of quick mouse clicks. This can all be done by taking advantage of a few easy-to-use features in PowerPoint. How…

Privacy Overview

How-To Geek

6 ways to create more interactive powerpoint presentations.

Engage your audience with cool, actionable features.

Quick Links

• Add a QR code
• Embed Microsoft Forms (Education or Business Only)
• Embed a Live Web Page
• Add Links and Menus
• Add Clickable Images to Give More Info
• Add a Countdown Timer

We've all been to a presentation where the speaker bores you to death with a mundane PowerPoint presentation. Actually, the speaker could have kept you much more engaged by adding some interactive features to their slideshow. Let's look into some of these options.

1. Add a QR code

Adding a QR code can be particularly useful if you want to direct your audience to an online form, website, or video.

Some websites have in-built ways to create a QR code. For example, on Microsoft Forms , when you click "Collect Responses," you'll see the QR code option via the icon highlighted in the screenshot below. You can either right-click the QR code to copy and paste it into your presentation, or click "Download" to add it to your device gallery to insert the QR code as a picture.

In fact, you can easily add a QR code to take your viewer to any website. On Microsoft Edge, right-click anywhere on a web page where there isn't already a link, and left-click "Create QR Code For This Page."

You can also create QR codes in other browsers, such as Chrome.

You can then copy or download the QR code to use wherever you like in your presentation.

2. Embed Microsoft Forms (Education or Business Only)

If you plan to send your PPT presentation to others—for example, if you're a trainer sending step-by-step instruction presentation, a teacher sending an independent learning task to your students, or a campaigner for your local councilor sending a persuasive PPT to constituents—you might want to embed a quiz, questionnaire, pole, or feedback survey in your presentation.

In PowerPoint, open the "Insert" tab on the ribbon, and in the Forms group, click "Forms". If you cannot see this option, you can add new buttons to the ribbon .

As at April 2024, this feature is only available for those using their work or school account. We're using a Microsoft 365 Personal account in the screenshot below, which is why the Forms icon is grayed out.

Then, a sidebar will appear on the right-hand side of your screen, where you can either choose a form you have already created or opt to craft a new form.

Now, you can share your PPT presentation with others , who can click the fields and submit their responses when they view the presentation.

3. Embed a Live Web Page

You could always screenshot a web page and paste that into your PPT, but that's not a very interactive addition to your presentation. Instead, you can embed a live web page into your PPT so that people with access to your presentation can interact actively with its contents.

To do this, we will need to add an add-in to our PPT account .

Add-ins are not always reliable or secure. Before installing an add-in to your Microsoft account, check that the author is a reputable company, and type the add-in's name into a search engine to read reviews and other users' experiences.

To embed a web page, add the Web Viewer add-in ( this is an add-in created by Microsoft ).

Go to the relevant slide and open the Web Viewer add-in. Then, copy and paste the secure URL into the field box, and remove https:// from the start of the address. In our example, we will add a selector wheel to our slide. Click "Preview" to see a sample of the web page's appearance in your presentation.

This is how ours will look.

When you or someone with access to your presentation views the slideshow, this web page will be live and interactive.

4. Add Links and Menus

As well as moving from one slide to the next through a keyboard action or mouse click, you can create links within your presentation to direct the audience to specific locations.

To create a link, right-click the outline of the clickable object, and click "Link."

In the Insert Hyperlink dialog box, click "Place In This Document," choose the landing destination, and click "OK."

What's more, to make it clear that an object is clickable, you can use action buttons. Open the "Insert" tab on the ribbon, click "Shape," and then choose an appropriate action button. Usefully, PPT will automatically prompt you to add a link to these shapes.

You might also want a menu that displays on every slide. Once you have created the menu, add the links using the method outlined above. Then, select all the items, press Ctrl+C (copy), and then use Ctrl+V to paste them in your other slides.

5. Add Clickable Images to Give More Info

Through PowerPoint's animations, you can give your viewer the power to choose what they see and when they see it. This works nicely whether you're planning to send your presentation to others to run through independently or whether you're presenting in front of a group and want your audience to decide which action they want to take.

Start by creating the objects that will be clickable (trigger) and the items that will appear (pop-up).

Then, select all the pop-ups together. When you click "Animations" on the ribbon and choose an appropriate animation for the effect you want to achieve, this will be applied to all objects you have selected.

The next step is to rename the triggers in your presentation. To do this, open the "Home" tab, and in the Editing group, click "Select", and then "Selection Pane."

With the Selection Pane open, select each trigger on your slide individually, and rename them in the Selection Pane, so that they can be easily linked to in the next step.

Finally, go back to the first pop-up. Open the "Animations" tab, and in the Advanced Animation group, click the "Trigger" drop-down arrow. Then, you can set the item to appear when a trigger is clicked in your presentation.

If you want your item to disappear when the trigger is clicked again, select the pop-up, click "Add Animation" in the Advanced Animation group, choose an Exit animation, and follow the same step to link that animation to the trigger button.

6. Add a Countdown Timer

A great way to get your audience to engage with your PPT presentation is to keep them on edge by adding a countdown timer. Whether you're leading a presentation and want to let your audience stop to discuss a topic, or running an online quiz with time-limit questions, having a countdown timer means your audience will keep their eye on your slide throughout.

To do this, you need to animate text boxes or shapes containing your countdown numbers. Choose and format a shape and type the highest number that your countdown clock will need. In our case, we're creating a 10-second timer.

Now, with your shape selected, open the "Animations" tab on the ribbon and click the animation drop-down arrow. Then, in the Exit menu, click "Disappear."

Open the Animation Pane, and click the drop-down arrow next to the animation you've just added. From there, choose "Timing."

Make sure "On Click" is selected in the Start menu, and change the Delay option to "1 second," before clicking "OK."

Then, with this shape still selected, press Ctrl+C (copy), and then Ctrl+V (paste). In the second box, type 9 . With the Animation Pane still open and this second shape selected, click the drop-down arrow and choose "Timing" again. Change the Start option to "After Previous," and make sure the Delay option is 1 second. Then, click "OK."

We can now use this second shape as our template, as when we copy and paste it again, the animations will also duplicate. With this second shape selected, press Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V, type 8 into the box, and continue to do the same until you get to 0 .

Next, remove the animations from the "0" box, as you don't want this to disappear. To do this, click the shape, and in the Animation Pane drop-down, click "Remove."

You now need to layer them in order. Right-click the box containing number 1, and click "Bring To Front." You will now see that box on the top. Do the same with the other numbers in ascending order.

Finally, you need to align the objects together. Click anywhere on your slide and press Ctrl+A. Then, in the Home tab on the ribbon, click "Arrange." First click "Align Center," and then bring the menu up again, so that you can click "Align Middle."

Press Ctrl+A again to select your timer, and you can then move your timer or copy and paste it elsewhere.

Press F5 to see the presentation in action, and when you get to the slide containing the timer, click anywhere on the slide to see your countdown timer in action!

Now that your PPT presentation is more interactive, make sure you've avoided these eight common presentational mistakes before you present your slides.