MS PowerPoint
Basics Tutorial

Description and Instructions
A PowerPoint is a multimedia presentation tool software application by Microsoft. While there are other slideshow presentation tools (such as OpenOffice.org’s free Impress application),
PowerPoint is the most commonly-used application for creating colorful, interactive shows.

Guidelines for Creating Effective PowerPoint Presentations
Effective PowerPoint presentations should follow these rules:
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Use as few slides as possible to convey presentation and serve as an effective visual aid, while meeting minimum assignment requirements
Use a consistent style throughout
No more than two font styles and two font colors
Limited and appropriate use of images, sounds and animation
A consistent color/design scheme and proper text-to-background contrast for ease of viewing and reading
List key points; avoid complete sentences
6 x 6 rule – for bulleted slides, no more than 6 bulleted lines of text with no more than 6 words per line
Avoid using all capital letters
Use the Spell and Grammar tool to ensure proper spelling and grammar
Compress images for ease of Web upload/download

See Resource Web sites for more tips and tutorials.

Step 1: Create a storyboard
1. Using the blank storyboard template at the bottom of this tutorial, hand-draw a rough layout of your presentation, including:
a. Title slide
b. Main discussion/presentation points

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Step 2: Open PowerPoint and Save File
1. Open PowerPoint from your computer’s Programs menu.
2. Save your new PowerPoint presentation by selecting File > Save As > [file name] >
Save.

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Step 3: Set your slide design and color scheme
1. Select Format > Slide Design.

2. Choose a template and select Apply to All Slides from the dropdown menu.

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3. Select Color scheme from the Slide Design panel.
4. Choose color scheme and select Apply to All Slides from the dropdown menu.

5. Save your presentation.

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Step 4: Create a title slide
1. Use the provided title slide layout, or select a new slide layout: Format > Slide Layout >
Apply New Slide Layout.
2. Click in the provided text box and enter your presentation title. Add more text as needed.

3. Save your presentation.

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Step 5: Create body of presentation slides
1. Select Insert > New Slide.

2. Select slide layout: Format > Slide Layout > Apply New Slide Layout. For the purposes of this tutorial, choose a slide layout called Title and Text, with a title on top and one box of bulleted text, as shown below.

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3. Enter and format text, if needed.
4. Save your presentation.
5. Repeat these procedures to create all your remaining slides.
Tip: To save time, add an identical slide by selecting Insert > Duplicate Slide, then edit the duplicate. 7

Step 6: Add an image, chart, or other content
1. Select Insert > New Slide.
2. Select slide layout: Format > Slide Layout > Apply to Selected Slides. For the purposes of this tutorial, choose a slide layout that includes a multimedia box, or what
PowerPoint calls a “Content” item. It is recommended to use a Text and Content Layout slide format, such as the one shown below.

3. Enter and format text in the text boxes.
4. Select the content type. The example screenshot below shows the selection of the Insert
Picture icon.

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5. Locate and select an image file (or other type of content – table, chart, video, etc.) from your computer and click Insert.

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6. PowerPoint will automatically resize your image to fit the space appropriately. However, it will not automatically compress your image, or other content type, size.
To compress images: Once you have inserted all images in your PowerPoint, it is a good idea to compress the images in