Simple Steps to Make a PowerPoint Presentation

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Do you want to have your data in a slide show? If you have Microsoft 365, you can use PowerPoint! PowerPoint is a program that's part of the Microsoft Office suite (which you have to pay for) and is available for both Windows and Mac computers. This wikiHow teaches you how to create your own Microsoft PowerPoint presentation on a computer.

How to Make a PowerPoint Presentation
  1. Open the PowerPoint app, select a template and theme, then like “Create.”
  2. Click the text box to add your title and subtitle to create your title slide.
  3. Click the “Insert” tab, then “New Slide” to add another slide.
  4. Choose the type of slide you want to add, then add text and pictures.
  5. Rearrange slides by dragging them up or down in the preview box.
Things You Should Know Part 1 of 6:

Creating a New PowerPoint

Step 1 Open PowerPoint.

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Step 2 Select a template.

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Step 3 Select a theme if possible.

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Step 4 Click Create.

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Click Create . It's in the bottom-right corner of the window. Doing so selects your template and creates your PowerPoint presentation.

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Creating the Title Slide

Step 1 Understand how your title slide should appear.

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Step 2 Add a title.

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Step 3 Add the subtitle.

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Step 4 Rearrange the title text boxes.

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Adding a New Slide

Step 1 Click the Insert tab.

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Step 2 Click New Slide ▼.

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Step 3 Select a type of slide.

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Step 4 Add any other slides that you think you

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Add any other slides that you think you'll need. You can certainly add slides as you go, but adding a few slides up-front will give you an idea of the layout of the presentation as you progress through it.

Step 5 Reposition your slides as needed.

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Adding Content to Slides

Step 1 Select a slide.

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Select a slide. In the left-hand column of slide previews, click the slide that you want to edit. This will open the slide in the main presentation window.

Step 2 Look for a text box.

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Step 3 Add text to the slide.

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Step 4 Format the slide

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Step 5 Add photos to the slide.

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Add photos to the slide. If you want to add a photo to your slide, click the Insert tab, then click Pictures in the toolbar and select a picture.

Step 6 Rearrange the slide

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<a href=Step 7 Repeat this for each slide in your presentation." width="460" height="344" />

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Adding Transitions

Step 1 Select a slide.

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Select a slide. In the left-hand column of the PowerPoint window, click the slide to which you want to apply a transition.

Step 2 Click the Transitions tab.

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Click the Transitions tab. It's at the top of the PowerPoint window. This will open the Transitions toolbar near the top of the window.

Step 3 Review the available transitions.

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Review the available transitions. Transitions make your slide pop up in an exciting, eye-drawing manner during your actual presentation; you can see the list of available transitions at the top of the window.

Step 4 Preview a transition.

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Step 5 Select a transition to use.

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Select a transition to use. Once you decide on a transition, click it to ensure that it is selected. The current slide will use the selected transition.

Step 6 Add a transition to slide content.

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Testing and Saving Your Presentation

Step 1 Review your PowerPoint.

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Review your PowerPoint. Once you've finished adding the bulk of your PowerPoint presentation's content, skim through it slide-by-slide to ensure that you haven't left anything out.

Step 2 Click the Slide Show tab.

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Click the Slide Show tab. This tab is at the top of the window. Doing so opens the Slide Show toolbar.

Step 3 Click From Beginning.

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Click From Beginning . It's in the far-left corner of the toolbar. Your PowerPoint presentation will open in slide show view.

Step 4 Page through the slide show.

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Step 5 Make any necessary changes before proceeding.

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Make any necessary changes before proceeding. When you're done scrolling through the presentation, add any details that you forgot, delete any content that you want to remove, and so on.

Step 6 Save your PowerPoint.

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Community Q&A

How do I add background music to my presentation? Community Answer

Click the Insert tab and select Audio and then click "Audio from my PC." browse your computer for the audio file you want to set as your background music. After inserting the file, click "Play in Background" on the Playback tab.

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How do I add background music to my presentation? Community Answer

Click the Insert tab and select Audio and then click "Audio from my PC." browse your computer for the audio file you want to set as your background music. After inserting the file, click "Play in Background" on the Playback tab.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

How do I insert arrows that point at specific objects on the slide? Community Answer

Click the Insert tab and then click the "Shapes" button. Select the type of arrow you want to insert from the Lines or Block Arrows section. Once you've selected the arrow type, click and drag on the slide to draw the arrow. You can also use an image of an arrow if you want something more stylish.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow

Ask a Question 200 characters left Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. Advertisement

If you save your PowerPoint presentation in .pps format instead of the default .ppt format, double-clicking your PowerPoint presentation file will prompt the presentation to open directly into the slideshow view.

If you don't have Microsoft Office, you can still use Apple's Keynote program or Google Slides to create a PowerPoint presentation.

Submit a Tip All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published Please provide your name and last initial Thanks for submitting a tip for review!

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Your PowerPoint presentation (or some features in it) may not open in significantly older versions of PowerPoint.

Great PowerPoint presentations avoid placing too much text on one slide. Advertisement

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