Beginning a New Presentation

Because we created a new presentation, PowerPoint automatically assigned the Title Slide layout to the first slide. A layout is the template that specifies how the elements of a slide are arranged. PowerPoint includes many standard layouts, or we can create custom layouts to meet our specific needs.

Using Placeholders

Layouts usually include placeholders to guide the placement of text and graphics. Placeholders also control the size of text and graphics and may adjust according to slide content. Using the placeholders also makes creating an accessible presentation more simple to perform.

Let's see how placeholders work.

Step 1. To select the Title placeholder,

Click the "Click to add title" placeholder

The text disappears and we see our cursor in the placeholder.

Step 2. To enter a title, type:

Creating a Presentation

Now let's enter a subtitle.

Step 3. To select the subtitle placeholder,

Click the "Click to add subtitle" placeholder

NOTE: Alternatively, we can use a keyboard shortcutto move the cursor from one placeholder to another placeholder. To do so, press:Control key+Enter.

Step 4. To enter a subtitle, type:

Using PowerPoint

Step 5. To deselect the placeholder,

Click outside of the placeholder

The slide titles are in place.

Adding Slides

Let's say that we want to create this presentation as quickly and effortlessly as possible. Another teacher in our school uses a similar PowerPoint presentation with his students, and he has offered to let us use his slide show. We decide this is a good option. We can start with his presentation and customize it to suit our needs.

We can easily reuse slides from another presentation, but first we will add a slide of our own.

Step 1. To create a new slide, on the Home tab of the Ribbon, in the Slides group,

Click

NOTE for MacOS Users: In PowerPoint 2016 for Mac, there are no group names on the Ribbon, but the groups or tools are often clustered similarly.

A new slide appears in the slide thumbnail list, and the slide contains a Title and Content layout. Because our previous slide was a title slide, PowerPoint assumes our second slide will contain content.

While most new PowerPoint users don't give a lot of thought to the layouts they use, layouts play an important role in a presentation, especially when we are concerned about creating presentations that incorporate Universal Design. Universal Design refers to the creation of products that can be used by all people. Many governments and industries around the world are now implementing policies requiring that electronic documents be accessible to all, including individuals with disabilities.

Use of PowerPoint layouts will ensure that slides are correctly structured (titles, subtitles, lists, reading order, etc.), and this is important when screen readers are being used. By many accounts, the correct use of slide layouts is the most significant thing that can be done to ensure accessibility of a presentation.

Step 2. To select the Title placeholder,

Click the "Click to add title" placeholder

The text disappears and we see the cursor inside the placeholder.

Step 3. To enter a title, type:

Planning a Presentation

Now let's enter the first bullet point.

Step 4. To place the cursor to begin entering the first point,

Click the "Click to add text" placeholder

Step 5. To enter the first bullet, type:

Determine the purpose of the presentation

Step 6. To move to the next line, press:

Enter

A new bullet appears on the slide, and our cursor is positioned immediately after it.

Step 7. To enter the second bullet, type:

Determine the audience

Step 8. To move to the next line, press:

Enter

The cursor moves to the next line.

Step 9. To enter the third bullet, type:

Decide on the content

The beginning text is in place.

Step 10. To deselect the placeholder,

Click a blank area of the slide

Our second slide is now complete.

Adding Presenter Notes

Have you ever attended an event where the presenter read word-for-word from his PowerPoint slides? If so, you probably know that this is not an effective way to deliver a presentation.

Microsoft integrated the use of bullet points into slide layouts for a reason. Developers at Microsoft knew that good PowerPoint presentations do not include all the content that will be covered during a presentation. Therefore, the text is meant to serve as an outline, so a speaker can remember what he or she is going to say.

But what if a presenter doesn't have much time to prepare for a presentation? Experts at Microsoft made provisions for this scenario. Speaker notes can be added to a presentation and displayed for the presenter if he or she has access to double monitors during the presentation. However, these notes are not visible to the audience. Notes can also be useful for practicing a presentation or for providing printed notes to those who cannot attend a presentation. Let's add speaker notes to one of our slides now.

Step 1. To move to the View tab, on the Ribbon,

Click the View tab

Step 2. To open the Notes pane, in the Show group,

Click

The Notes pane opens beneath the Slide pane.

Step 3. To begin to add notes to this slide, in the Notes pane,

Click "Click to add notes"

Now let's enter a note.

Step 4. To enter a note, type:

Tell story about a presentation that included so many bells and whistles that the audience completely missed the point that was being made.

NOTE: While the Notes pane appears to be small, it will hold unlimited amounts of text.

Step 5. To deselect the text in the Notes pane, in the slide thumbnail list,

Click on slide 2

The note is complete.

Before we go on, let's save this file.

Saving the File

When working with PowerPoint, it is a good idea to save our work often. PowerPoint provides a number of different ways to do this. The first time we save, we will use the Quick Access toolbar, but as we go through this workshop, we will explore other ways to save as well.

Step 1. To save the file, on the Quick Access Toolbar,

Click

The Backstage view appears, and since this is the first time we have saved the document, we must specify where we will save it. Notice that we can save to OneDrive, our computer, or we can add a new place.

The default storage location is This PC. Since this is where we want to store our presentation today, we will continue with this selection.

Step 2. To browse for the Save in location, in the second column,

Click

You see the Save As dialog box.

We need to specify where to save the file and what to call it.

Setting the Location and Filename

NOTE for MacOS Users: On a Macintosh, the Save in field is above the list of visible folders and files, and is labeled "Where:". To move to the desktop, press the key combination Command key+D. From there, you can move into the epclass folder.

We want to save this document in the PPT_Basics subfolder of the epclass folder.

Step 1. To open the correct subfolder, if necessary,

Double-Click the PPT_Basics folder

Now that we have specified the Save in location, we need to specify the filename.

Let's make sure that the filename is highlighted first.

Step 2. If the filename is not highlighted,

Press & Drag across the default filename

The PowerPoint extension pptx is shown as the type of file being saved. This is the filename extension used for newer PowerPoint presentations.

Now we need to look at the file name. We want our file to have a meaningful name. This will give us, and any other users, an idea of what the presentation is about before opening it. A detailed file name will also aid with accessibility.

By default, PowerPoint pulls the title from the title slide of the presentation and inputs this text into the File name field. While this title would work well for today's project, let's change it slightly, just so we can see how to rename a presentation. Let's replace the blank spaces with underscores.

Step 3. To rename and save the PowerPoint file, in the File name field, type:

Creating_a_Presentation, Click

The file is saved as a PowerPoint 2016 file.