Add Animation to PowerPoint Presentation

To keep your audiences interest, you can add animation to your presentation to catch their eye. There are many options for animating text and images. This demonstration will walk you through the basics.

You will need:

PowerPoint

A presentation previously started

Step 1: Animate Images

If you’d like an image to gradually come onto the screen in your presentation, you simply need to animate the image. To do this, select the image you wish to animate. We’ve chosen to animate the image in slide # 3. You can tell we’ve selected it because the selection box is visible around the image.

Click the animations tab. Here you have several options for how to animate the image. You might want your image to fade in or perhaps you want it to fade out right before the slide changes. Use the scroll bar or click the arrow below the scroll to view all your options.

Click preview to see how each animation will look. Below is a shot of the options if you click the arrow.

 

Here’s a shot of the animation options available by using the scroll.

 

We’ve chosen to have our image split where two pieces come together. In the image below, you can see the two sides coming together.

 

Step 2: Animate Text

You can animate text in the same way. You can choose to animate the entire page or on a paragraph by paragraph basis.  On the animation navigation bar, use the drop down arrow next to Effect Options to select how you want to animate the slide.

We wanted our sentences to zoom in and our bullet points to bounce into place so we chose to sequence by paragraph. Once animation is applied, each paragraph is assigned number. You can click the number to change the animation for that particular paragraph.

 

You can apply more than one animation to an object. To do this, simply click the Add Animation button just as you did with the first one. Animations will play in the order they were applied.

 

Step 3: Animation Pane

Another way to view a list of the animations applied to a slide is to click the Animation Pane. The Animation Pane for the slide will open to the right. You can see that each animation effect has an assigned number to the left. You can change the animation effects, the timing and also play the entire animation to see what it will look like.

                   

 

Step 4: Effect Options

For even greater edititng ability, you can adjust many of the effects available in powerpoint. To see which options are available for an individual effect, simply right-click the effect in the animation page and select effect options. Not all effects will have extra options.

We chose to see what options were available for our 2^nd animation effect. Remember, this is a bullet point that we wanted to bounce. With the effects option, we can enhance our animation by adding sound, a dimming feature, set the timing and more.

Simply make your selections and click OK when you’re finished.

Step 5: Animation Timing

By default, the animation is set to play immediately upon the slide opening. To change when the animation starts, select the effect in the animation pane and then using the drop down arrow next to the Start, choose when it should start – upon click, at the same time as the previous animation or after the last animation.

 

You can edit the duration of the animation as well as set a delay. These are measured in seconds.

In addition, you can change the order in which the animations are applied. Simply click the effect in the animation pane and click the move earlier or later arrow.

 

That’s it! Creating animated text and images is quite simple and can make your presentations really stand out.

 

Create PowerPoint Slides

Video presentations continue to grow in popularity. From marketing businesses to keeping in touch with family and friends, everyone is using it. One of the easiest ways to create presentations is with PowerPoint. This demonstration was made with PowerPoint 2010.

You will need:

• PowerPoint Installed
• An outline of your presentation text

Step 1: Start a New Presentation

When you open PowerPoint, you will be presented with a new title slide. If you are not, you’ll need to click File then click New. This will bring up the first slide in your presentation.

Step 2: Select a Theme

Click the design tab and you should see a screen similar to the one below. This tab allows you to select a theme from several design choices. Using the slider or bottom arrow, you can scroll through the available themes. As you mouse over each theme, you will get a preview on the existing title page. Select the theme based on layout as you can change the colors.

Here’s a shot of some of the themes available.

Step 3: Edit Theme

Once you’ve chosen your theme, it’s time to edit it. You can change the color, fonts and effects by using the drop down arrows as indicated in the design tab image above. Here, we’ve chosen to look at the color options. As you can see, there are many color choices available so try several until you find one that works for your business or personality.

Now that you have your theme and colors, you can change the background if you’d like. On the design tab, using the drop down arrow next to Background Styles, mouse over your options to get a preview of what features each option will give you.

Each theme will come with its own set of background options from plain white, to fades to subtle designs. You can also change the fonts and effects from the design tab as well. Those options are located directly below the colors option.

Step 4: Edit Title Page

Now that you have the presentation design you want, it’s time to start editing the slides and adding more. As indicated in the slide image below, you simply need to click the area in the slide to add text.

Switching back to the home tab will give you editing features as in Word where you can add underlines, bolding, change the font, add bullets and more.

Each slide will have a place at the bottom to add notes.

Step 5: Add Slide # 2

To add another slide, you simply navigate to the home tab and click new slide to bring up a blank slide.

Click the drop down arrow below the New Slide icon to bring up other types of slide options.

As you did with the first slide, simply click the slide and enter your text. Repeat step 5 for each additional slide you wish to add. To move between slides, simply click the slide in the sidebar that you wish to view and/or edit.

 

Insert Media into Presentation Slides

Adding media to your PowerPoint presentations can give them a more sophisticated style. It will capture the viewer’s attention and help drive home your message.

You will need:

PowerPoint presentation in the works

Images, videos, etc to insert

 

Step 1: Insert Pictures

There are two ways to insert media into your slides. The first is when a new slide opens, before you add any text, you can click the appropriate icon in the middle of the slide.

The second way is of course, by using the insert tab. Here you have the option of inserting all types of images, shapes, tables, charts, text boxes, video, equations and more into your slides.

 

We’ve chosen to add a picture to our 3nd slide. To do this, click the picture icon on the insert tab.

This will bring up your pictures library on your computer. If the image you want to use is not located in this folder, simply navigate to the location of the image. Select the image and click the open button as shown below.

 

This will insert the image into your slide as shown below. If you click the image, you’ll see it brings up a selection box around it.

Drag the side or corner of the selection box to make the image larger or smaller.

Click the image once and hold the left mouse button down to drag and drop the image where you’d like it to be placed in the slide.

Clicking the image will also open a Picture Tools tab where you can edit the image further.

 

Here we’ve moved our image to the left side and inserted a text box (from the insert tab) so we can make our point to the side of the image.

 

Step 2: Insert Video

You can insert video into your PowerPoint presentations as well. To do this, navigate to the Insert tab and click Video.

 

Navigate to the location of the video you want to insert. Select the video and click the Insert button.

Note:  If the video is online, use the drop down arrow on the Insert button and select Link to File, then enter the URL of the video file.

 

 

Your video will be inserted into the slide. You can move it around as you did the image in step 1.

 

 

You can also click the Video Tools tab to edit the video shape, give it a border, add other effects and so forth.

 

 

Step 3: Insert Charts

If you have a chart you’d like to add, you can do so by clicking the Insert tab then selecting Charts.

Select the type of chart you’d like to insert and click OK

 

Once the chart is inserted, you can click it to open the Chart Tools. Here’ you’ll be able to change the chart colors, edit the data and more.

 

 

Step 4: Insert Tables

To insert a table, click the Insert tab, and then click Table. Using your mouse, highlight to select how many rows and columns you want the table to include.

 

 

Move the table as you did the image and video. To edit the table, simply click each cell and type the data. Clicking the table once will also bring up the Table Tools where you can change the layout, colors, borders, shading and more.

 

 

Again, you can add many things to your slides to make them as fancy or sleek as you’d like.  Simply follow the steps as outlined above and play around with a few options to see what you like.

 

 

PowerPoint Timings, Narration & Publishing

This demonstration was made with PowerPoint 2010 which has the ability to publish a presentation as a movie file. This allows anyone to view it whether they have PowerPoint or not.

Before we publish our presentation, we first want to set the slide timing and add some narration to it. Here’s how.

You will need:

PowerPoint

Pre-created presentation

Microphone

Speakers

 

Step 1: Set Slide Transition &Timing

PowerPoint will automatically record your slide timings when you add narration. However, you can also manually adjust the timings if you prefer.

To manually set these, when viewing your presentation, you’ll see your slides along the left side of the screen. Click the slide you want to set the transition and timing for.

 

 

Click the transitions tab. This will give you options for how you want to transition from one slide to the next. Choose the transition type you want to use from the options on the transition tab.

Under the Advanced Slide section, select the box next to the word After. Set the number of seconds you want the slide to appear on the screen. Here, we want it to show for 6 seconds.

You’ll also notice we’ve selected the “on mouse click” option as well. This means the next slide will appear after 6 seconds or when the mouse is clicked – whichever comes first. You do not have to select the mouse click option; it’s entirely up to you.

If you want these same settings for all the slides, simply click Apply to All. Alternately, you can set each one individually.

You can turn these timings off by going to the Slide Show tab, clicking Set Up Slide Show under the Set Up section. Then click Advance slides and select Manual.

Note: This will NOT delete the timings; it simply turns them off so you have to manually advance the slides.

To turn the timings back on, just navigate back to this area and click “use timings if present”.

 

Step 2: Add Narration

There are two ways to add narration to your slide show. The first is to record the narration when you create the slide show – before the live event. The second way is to record it during a live presentation. Recording during the live presentation will allow you to include comments from your viewers in the recording. However, you may want to test this out a few times before your live event to ensure you are comfortable with how it works.

For this demonstration, we’ll be narrating when we create the slide show, not at a live event.

PowerPoint will prompt you to record just the slide timings, just the narration or both at the same time. If you are creating a presentation to play automatically on demand, perhaps as a message on your website, you will most likely want to record the narration and set the timing at the same time. This will ensure everything is in sync.

To start recording, on the Slide Show tab. Then click the arrow next to Record Slide Show.

 

This will give you the option to record from beginning (the first slide) or record from current slide.

Once you make your selection, a dialog box will open. Select the narrations and laser pointer box. If you want it to automatically set the timings, select the slide and animation timings box as well. Otherwise, leave that box empty.

Click Start Recording

To pause during narration, click Pause and then to resume, click Resume Recording.

When you’re finished with the narration, right-click the slide and choose End Show.

Your recording and timings will automatically be saved and the slide show will be visible in the slide sorter view with the timings listed below each slide.

To preview your new recording, click the From Beginning play button at the top left of the navigation bar as indicated above. Alternately, you can press F5 on your keyboard.

As you’re previewing, in the bottom left corner of the show, you’ll have some navigation buttons and other buttons to edit the slides with.

 

Step 3: Publish

When you are satisfied with your presentation it’s time to publish it.

Click the File tab, then Info. Here you can set your permissions, optimize the video and more. These are optional, so you can skip this if you’d like, but here are the options you have.

Optimize Media Compatibility: Because we’ve included a video in our slide show, PowerPoint needs to embed the video. You can view the link and change the link location if necessary to have it linked to a file you already have stored online.

Media Size and Performance: This allows you to set the quality of your video. You can choose presentation quality, internet quality or low quality which would compress your files to save disk space, though as the name suggests would lower the quality of the video.

Permissions: If this file is meant only to be viewed by one person or a special group of people, you can set up permissions so that only those with the right information can access the video.

Prepare for Sharing: This will check for any issues with your video. It also gives you the ability to change the properties on your presentation and notes as well as adjust it for those with disabilities so that they too can view the information.

 

 

Once you’ve made your selections, choose Save and Send. Click Create Video.

 

To the right, you’ll have some options for setting the video displays. Use the drop down to make your selections.

 

Here are the options when you open the drop downs.

How it will be displayed:

By default, the quality is set to Computer & HD Displays which creates a movie at a 960×720 resolution and meant for viewing on a computer or burning to a DVD.

If you set the quality to Internet & DVD, it will be of medium quality with a resolution of 640×480.

The Portable Devices option is the lowest quality and has a 320×240 resolution.

Confirming the Timings:

This is a last minute option to change the timings on the video. Most of the time you would choose to use timings and narration you have already set up.

If you haven’t set the timings up or want to make changes to the ones you have set up, turn this option off and enter the number of seconds you want to spend on each slide.

 

Once you’ve made your selections, click the Create Video button and the save as dialog will pop up where you can name and save your video.

The video will be saved as a windows media video (WMV) – a format that can be viewed by most people without needing PowerPoint.

Now that your video is ready to go, you simply need to upload it to your website, YouTube, Facebook or wherever you want it displayed.

If you need the video in another format, you will need a video converter. There are several free ones online, just do a quick search of Google to find them.