When it comes to using PowerPoint, there are endless forums that are filled with tips and tricks to help even the biggest novice elevate their presentation design. But if you are like me, spending time searching these forums is not only exhausting but down right boring. However, we all know that effective presentation design is crucial, and one easy way to improve your design is through animation.
Here are 3 quick start guides to help you use animation in your next presentation.
Using animation for text entrances and exits.
1. Select the text or object you want to animate.
2. On the Animations tab in the Animation group, click an animation effect from the gallery. Click the More arrow to see more options.
3. To alter how your selected text animates, click Effect Options, and then click what you want the animation to do.
4. To specify the timing of the effects, on the Animations tab, use the commands in the Timing group.
Adding sound to your animated text.
1.On the Animations tab in the Advanced Animation group, click Animation Pane. The Animation Pane opens on the side of the workspace pane, showing the order, type, and duration of animation effects applied to text or objects on a slide.
2. Locate the effect to which you want to add sound, click the down arrow, and then click Effect Options.
3. On the Effect tab under Enhancements in the Sound box, click the arrow to open the list and then do one of the following:
Click a sound from the list, and then click OK.
To add a sound from a file, click Other Sound from the list, locate the sound file that you want to use, and then click Open.
4. When you click OK or Open, the slide plays a preview of the animation with the sound added. To change the preview sound volume, click Sound, and move the slider up or down. To turn off the preview sound, select the Mute check box.
5. Repeat for each bullet of text to which you want to add a sound effect.
6. To preview all the animation and sound applied to a slide, in the Animation Pane, click Play From.
Applying a motion path to text and or objects.
1. Click the object or text to which you want to add a motion path. The path that you apply is followed by the center of the object or text bullet.
2. On the Animations tab in the Animations group under Motion Paths, do one of the following:
Click Lines, Arcs, Turns, Shapes, or Loops. The path chosen appears as a dotted line on the selected object or text object. The green arrow indicates the path’s beginning and the red arrow indicates its end.
Click Custom Path. Click where you want the motion path to start.
To draw a path of connected straight lines, move the pointer, and click where you want the line to end. Draw the next connected line by clicking where you want it to end. Double-click at the motion’s final end point.
To draw an irregular path, hold down the left mouse button and move the pointer on the path that you want the motion path to follow. Double-click at the motion’s final end point.
3. To see the complete animation and sound for the slide, on the Animations tab in the Preview group, click Preview.
Animation is a great way to create an impactful presentation design. These 3 quick start guides will give you the steps needed to take your presentation from boring to engaging in a few minutes. Head over to Microsoft.com for more in-depth PowerPoint design ideas.
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