Powerpoint Presentations Essay Example

Powerpoint Presentations Essay Axia College Material Appendix C Microsoft ® PowerPoint ® Tutorial In the online classroom environment at Axia College of University of Phoenix, you will create Microsoft ® PowerPoint ® presentations. (If you do not already have the software, make sure you get access to it. ) This tutorial gives you the very basics for starting up with the program. Getting Started †¢ Open Microsoft ® PowerPoint ®. †¢ Start a new presentation: Click on Blank Presentation, then OK. †¢ Choosing a slide layout: Click on Format, then Slide Layout. A good one to start with is one with a header and bullet points. †¢ Type in text for the slide (Suggestion: Put the title of your paper in the top box and then your name and class information in the lower box. Next slide: Overview of paper topics—introduction. Next slide: First topic). †¢ To add presenter’s notes:  Click on the Notes Page. Click on View, then Notes Page. To get back to the slide, click on View, then Normal. †¢ To add a slide:  Click on Insert, then New slide. To add background color:  Click on Format, then Background, and then More colors (for the full palette). †¢ To insert a slide in the middle of your other slides:  Go to the left side of the screen, where it gives you an overview of your slides, and click on the place where you want the new slide to go. Click on Insert, then New Slide †¢ To change the order of your slides: Go to the presentation overview on the left side of the screen, click on the slide you want to move, and then drag and drop it where you want it to go. Save your presentation just as you would save a Microsoft ® Word document by clicking on File, then Save. Some Fun Features of Microsoft ® PowerPoint ® †¢ To apply one of the design templates: Click on Format, then Slide Design. Choose whichever one you would like to apply to your presentation. †¢ To insert clip art or a picture file: Click on Insert, choose Picture, then click on Clip art, or choose a picture from the files on your computer. Note: If you get stuck, use the Help feature to figure things out. We will write a custom essay sample on Powerpoint Presentations specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Powerpoint Presentations specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Powerpoint Presentations specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Click on Help, then Microsoft ® PowerPoint ® help and type in a keyword. Points to Keep in Mind Regarding Microsoft ® PowerPoint ® Presentations †¢ Microsoft ® PowerPoint ® is a visual aid to help express the main ideas of your presentation. Before you can express your main ideas, you need to have a solid idea of what you want to communicate. So, be sure to spend a good deal of your preparation time on the content of your presentation, not just your visual aids. †¢ Limit the amount of information you put on each screen. If information is crowded densely onto on a screen, your audience is likely to read the screen and not listen to you, or the information will be too small for your audience to read. †¢ Bullet points and charts are good ways to organize information visually. †¢ Keep your formatting and backgrounds simple enough to avoid being distracting. If your presentation is very complex visually (such as moving images, lots of bright colors, and so forth), it is likely your audience will pay more attention to the images than to what you are saying. †¢ Graphics can help add interest to your presentation. Pictures, clip art, and arrows are good; just limit the number of them you use per screen. If you are not sure if something is distracting, ask someone to review your work and give you some feedback (Wilder and Fine, 1996). †¢ Have fun! More Tips There are also many Web sites that focus on Microsoft ® PowerPoint ® presentations. Go to your favorite search engine and enter Microsoft ® PowerPoint ® presentation. Reference Wilder, C. , and Fine, D. (1996). Point, click wow!! A quick guide to brilliant laptop presentations. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Pfeiffer.