Creating an engaging and professional presentation is an essential skill for any type of professional or leader in effectively conveying information to an audience.
Presentation is used to communicate data and information more effectively with the audience. To create a presentation, we can use basically Microsoft PowerPoint, Google Slides, etc. In presentation, we can use text, images, charts, and videos to make content more engaging and present these things with animation and sound effects.
We can also integrate Excel sheets, excel charts, and YouTube videos. Other than presentation we can also create mp4 videos or reels or presentations as a video.
Now let’s understand the step-by-step process of creating a professional and engaging presentation in PowerPoint.
Presentation process in PowerPoint
1. Concept (Subject) – About What and Why?
Any data, information, outlines, and content that are complex to communicate, teach, educate, and convince the audience in a shorter time (5 to 10 minutes).
We can make that more effective and engaging with a presentation. For that reason, any education, business, or marketing concept that you think is not possible for you to communicate easily and effectively can be addressed by creating a presentation and then delivering it.
2. Contents (text, images, charts, audio, video, infographics)
In presentation creation, this is a very important part—it is akin to storytelling. Content, such as images, charts, diagrams, shapes, videos, audio, clip art, etc., related to the subject or object, is useful to make the presentation engaging.
In simple terms, to make any complicated academic, technical, scientific, and business concept or project plan easy to follow and understand, we can use a variety of content in different slides and organize it according to the sequence of information. This helps make the presentation engaging for the audience and easy for you to deliver at any event.
3. Selection of Presentation Software or Tools
Microsoft PowerPoint has long been popular among teachers, project managers, and marketers for creating presentations. However, alternatives such as Google Slides, Visme, and Haiku Deck also offer good options for presentation creation.
4. Presentation Creation Process in PowerPoint
- Add content to Slide: This involves inserting text, images, charts, diagrams, videos, and other elements onto individual slides.
- Designs, Formatting, and Decoration (Colors/font size, borders): This step includes the visual aspects of the presentation. Choosing appropriate colors, fonts, font sizes, background images or patterns and borders enhances the overall aesthetic appeal, ensuring a cohesive and professional look for the slides.
- Slide Transitional effects – Auto or Manually (mouse click): Slide transition effects refer to the visual movements between one slide and the next during a presentation. Whether set to transition automatically or triggered by a manual mouse click, these effects contribute to the flow and pacing of the presentation. If you want to deliver a lecture in a class or meeting or seminar you can choose manual or mouse click. So that as per slide change you can change or explain the topic to your audience.
- Animation effects to objects (text, images, etc.) – mouse clicks or auto: Animation effects bring individual elements within a slide to life. Whether applied to text, images, or other objects, these effects can be set to occur automatically or in response to a manual mouse click. Using animation effects creatively adds emphasis and engagement to key points of the presentation topic or section.
- F5 – Preview: Pressing F5 is a shortcut to preview the entire presentation. This allows to view the slides as they will appear in the actual presentation, helping to identify any issues with formatting, transitions, or animations before presenting to an audience.
5. Adjust presentation duration
The time it takes to deliver a presentation is important to consider. No matter how engaging the presentation is, if it starts to bore the audience, they will lose interest and be unable to remember. Five to ten minutes are good enough for any type of presentation.
While educational, project-based, or meeting-based presentations vary in time based on the topic or conversation with the audience, only run slides after clarifying the content of the slide.
6. Save (Save as a PowerPoint Presentation, Save as a PDF, Save a Video)
o Default option (File type .pptx): Save as PowerPoint presentation enables saving the presentation in the standard PowerPoint format, making it compatible with Microsoft PowerPoint software.
o Save a Video (File Format – .MPEG-4 Video): The latest version of PowerPoint software offers the option to save the presentation as a video file, which can be useful for sharing or distributing the content in a different format.
o Save as Type PowerPoint Show (.ppsx): You can run a presentation without opening Microsoft PowerPoint Software and pressing f5. Once you double-click on this type of file it will run your presentation automatically on screen.
- Saving your PowerPoint presentation as a PowerPoint Show (.ppsx) is a viable option, and it has its advantages for presenting without the need for PowerPoint software.
- This format is designed for presenting and does not require the recipient to have PowerPoint installed.
- .ppsx files are read-only, meaning they can be viewed and presented, but the viewer cannot edit the original content. This can be beneficial for controlling the presentation experience.
Alternative or quick process
If you’re new to computers or a busy professional with limited time to navigate through each step of the process, consider a quick alternative.
Head to “New,” search for a template matching your presentation topic, and modify the content to suit your needs. With a few adjustments in formatting, you can have your customized presentation ready in just 10 minutes.
Learn basic PowerPoint presentation Skill
Having a foundational understanding of PowerPoint or presentation skills is crucial. If you’re looking to learn or explore PowerPoint software before diving into your presentation creation, we recommend watching our introductory video below.
If want to learn more about PowerPoint and how it can be useful, check out our blog posts for insights and practical tips: