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Use PowerPoint as a tool to help you get your point across and get more eyes to your awesome content!

4. Use PowerPoint to make photo slideshows

PowerPoint may seem like a software strictly for business, but did you know you can also use it for pleasure?

For instance, if you've recently been away on vacation, and you've taken a thousand pictures of things you want your family and friends to see, then you can easily use PowerPoint to create a photo slideshow.

Of course, you don't want to bore your friends with your selfies, so make sure you pick only the very best photos of your vacation.

Who knows, it may even lead to photography work for you if people find you take high-quality and emotionally-charged photos!

Some may say you don't need PowerPoint to create slideshows. These days you can even use your smartphone and hook it up to a laptop or projector. You can then play all the images on your phone if you want.

Some mobile phone apps include music to play along with your slideshow. You also don't need to worry about adding transitions manually.

While this convenience is obviously great, don't count out PowerPoint just yet!

The great thing about using PowerPoint when creating slideshows is that you're not limited to using only photos. You can insert other elements too, like text, video, or any other graphics you want. Adding music or voice narration is easy to do too.

You can do tons of things on PowerPoint that you can't do on your mobile app. Have a story in mind, think of cool presentation styles that will spice up your slideshow.

To get started, you can add your Photo Album to your slideshow. Go to Insert > Photo Album, and then select the slideshow settings for your presentation.

How to turn your PowerPoint pictures into a slideshow

You can control how you want your slideshow to look like. Use transitions and animations wisely though. Don't go crazy on them as it could be a huge turn off for your viewers (you don't want them to get migraines after watching your slideshow)!

With PowerPoint, you can create unique and dynamic slideshows for both business and pleasure. With some creativity, you can mix and match different elements to make your slideshow an instant hit with your viewers.

If you export your slideshow into video format, people won't even know you made it with PowerPoint! This versatility is what makes PowerPoint such an awesome piece of software.

5. Use PowerPoint in trade show booths and kiosks (self-running presentations)

Knowing how to do a PowerPoint presentation for trade shows is important if you intend to exhibit or participate in such events. (Image source: Dave Taylor)

Self-run PowerPoint slideshows or presentations are a common sight in trade shows, trade fairs, trade exhibitions, and the like. Trade events are great for networking, and for getting more leads and sales for your business.

Looping a PowerPoint slideshow allows people to get to know more about your brand or your business. Make your slideshow as engaging as possible.

Don't use boring templates that will literally make people run off in the opposite direction. You want people to approach your booth, not run away!

For best results, you should know your venue well. Consider the size of your booth, the furniture, the lighting, as well as your proximity to other booths so you can make the perfect presentation.

If possible, consider adding music or a voiceover to your video to make your slideshow engaging.

As usual, don't go too crazy on animations and transitions, instead use these sparingly. Use animations to emphasize a particular point.

For transitions, a simple fade transition is usually enough for most business presentations.

To begin with, create a presentation outline to make sure your slideshow flows from one idea to the next.

Without a well thought out presentation outline, your audience could get lost in the message you want to convey.

It's also important to not forget to rehearse your slideshow's timings. This is especially important for self-run presentations, as no one will be manually clicking on a mouse or keyboard to advance the presentation to the next slide.

In addition to setting up a looping video, PowerPoint's versatility allows you to create visitor-directed navigation. You can use action buttons or hyperlinks on your display screen.

This gives your audience the option to go over the menu items they want to get more info on, instead of watching your entire slideshow.

How To Make A PowerPoint Presentation Effective And Engaging (And Avoid Death By PowerPoint)

PowerPoint is arguably the most powerful presentation software in existence. However, you may have heard the phrase 'death by PowerPoint' before.

Some may find it an odd expression but trust me, it's a real phenomenon. But what does it really mean?

Great PowerPoint presentations don't bore people to death (Image source: WeKnowMemes)

'Death by PowerPoint' is NOT in any way, shape or form, the fault of PowerPoint. Rather, it refers to an audience's reaction to a PowerPoint presentation.

If you've ever sat in front of a boring presenter with a very uninspired slideshow who kept on droning on and on about his topic, then you've been a victim.

If your eyes have ever glazed while sitting in on a PowerPoint presentation, then you've been a victim of 'death by PowerPoint.'

While your eyes were glazing, you probably had a running commentary in your mind about how the presenter could have done a better job.

For instance, you might have thought how the presenter could have checked out some real engaging PPT presentation samples by simply doing a Google search!

There are literally tons of great-looking, free sample PowerPoint presentations available on the Internet.

Knowing how to do a PowerPoint presentation properly can mean the difference between success and failure.

At one point or another, we've all been victims of 'death by PowerPoint. Know the next points by heart to avoid giving PowerPoint a bad rap!

1. Start with a presentation outline

You're certainly free to wing your presentation, but if you want to save time, it's best to create an outline before you start thinking about the designs, and colors you want to use in your PPT.

With an outline, you can write down the main points you want to cover, as well as write down what you're going to say to describe those points in your verbal presentation.

An outline allows you NOT to waste time going back and forth revising your slides, simply because you can't get your ideas to flow from one slide to the next!

2. Present one idea or story per slide

You don't want to cram 10 ideas in a single slide. That would mean too much text and could lead to glazed eyes from your audience members.

A better arrangement would be to present idea #1 in slide #1, idea #2 in slide #2, and so on.

Here's a good example:

Presentation example which showcase only one idea per slide. (Image Source: Dan Benoni's Slideshare)

In each slide, don't just display a plain text of the idea you're going to discuss. Use graphics, nice fonts, animations, etc. to make your idea come to life. You want people to understand your ideas.

Use the right effects to help ensure they understand your ideas thoroughly.

3. Use more graphics and less text

If your audience wanted to read, they'd be going to the library. They're not going to be looking up at your PowerPoint and read. No.

If you've written a hundred words per slide, delete 90 words and leave 10 (or even fewer) of the most important words!

As we mentioned in point #2, use one story per slide. The fewer words you have on your slide, the more interesting your presentation is.

Icons, vector images, and other graphics help bring your presentation come alive, not to mention unique and engaging. Check out the example below:

PowerPoint sample that uses less text and makes good use of graphics (Image source: OfficeVibe's Slideshare)

PowerPoint makes an awesome stand-alone graphics software. It may not give Photoshop a run for its money anytime soon, but if you know how to work PowerPoint, you can make some pretty good-looking graphics on there (remember, you can use it to make infographics!).

4. Use plenty of white space

Don't cram text, images, and graphics in your PowerPoint slides. Instead, use plenty of white space to give greater impact on the topic you're covering or talking about.

You can use white space to direct your audience's eyes to the text or graphics you want them to pay attention to.

White space doesn't necessarily have to be white like you see here:

PPT presentation sample with plenty of white space. (Image source: Elodie Ascenci's Slideshare)

Depending on your slide's design or theme, you can use any color you want as long as it doesn't make your slide look 'too busy.'

5. Think about where you're going to be presenting

This point is particularly important, because if you don't know where you're going to be presenting, then your presentation may not be suitable.

For example, if you know you're going to be presenting in a large room in front of a few hundred people, then you'd make your fonts extra large so people at the back can read too.

If you're presenting in a small room, then medium to large size fonts would be okay.

6. Use animations and slide transitions sparingly

PowerPoint has plenty of animations and transitions available. But it doesn't mean you should use all of them in your presentation.

If you're thinking of using 5 different animations on a single slide, and a different transition anymore after every slide, then you better rethink your presentation!

You may find it cool, but I guarantee your audience will hate it. Using too many animations and transitions is a sure-fire way of getting your audience's ire.

If you want people to pay attention to your presentation, use animations, and slide transitions as sparingly as possible.

7. Tell stories that appeal to your audience's emotions

Make your presentation relatable to your audience. If you're presenting in front of a middle-aged professional crowd, then tone down your design.

Don't use slang that's more fitting for youngsters than people in their 40s or 50s.

Stories help get your point across. To make people remember your story, you'd need to connect with them on an emotional level. Tell a joke at the right time. Drop a relevant quote when possible.

8. Make frequent eye contact

If making eye contact scares you, then it's best to practice speaking in front of a mirror and looking into your eyes. Think of it as looking into the eyes of your audience.

When you're ready to practice with other people, ask family members or friends to sit in front of you. Ask them to give you some pointers and feedback to help you improve.

When presentation time comes, you may be surprised at just how easy it is to look your audience in the eye.

9. Your confidence helps enhance your presentation

Confidence is an important factor to make your presentation as effective and as engaging as possible. Making eye contact helps convey confidence.

If you don't fumble on stage and stay calm even though you just encountered a technical problem, then you help put your audience at ease.

Your confidence allows you to charm your audience and help make your presentation memorable to them.

Being confident allows you to deliver your speech, and use your presentation slides, in an engaging manner.

You want your audience to hang onto every word you say. Your presentation is just a visual aid, you need to have the confidence to pull off a solid presentation that will get you high marks in your audience's book!

PowerPoint Is Still King Among Presentation Software

There's no doubt. With its versatility and its robust features and tools, PowerPoint still reigns supreme even today.

What's even better is you're not stuck with the default settings. You can further expand its feature set by downloading PowerPoint plugins to get even more out of the software.

Over the decades, Microsoft has done an excellent job of keeping PowerPoint up to date. They regularly update the software every few years and add features that keep it competitive with the current presentation software landscape.

Competition may have stepped up over the years, but no one is yet to say that Keynote, Google Slides, Prezi, Slidebean, Visme, or any other presentation software, has taken over PowerPoint's giant market share.

I hope this article has answered your question, "What is PowerPoint presentation?" If anything is still unclear, we have tons of articles on this blog about PowerPoint, Keynote, Presentation Design, and many other relevant topics!

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