Now you may be thinking – I know you can start a presentation from a template, but did you know that Microsoft provides lots of ready made design templates both locally on your computer and online? No? Well let me show you.
In PowerPoint click File New and you can choose from any of the templates offered on the screen. These are Design templates and include colours and layouts and sometimes variations.
But if you look at the top of the New screen you will see that you can search online and there are categories. One such category is Business which I picked to use as an illustration.
When I click Business I can now choose from quite a selection and I chose Tech Dividend Design.
It downloads the template and when you click Create a new presentation is opened on your screen complete with ready-made slides for you to simply update with your data.
Cool no? I think so!
PowerPoint courses
Did you know that I have three PowerPoint courses in the tomorrow’s VA Academy?
Master the Slide Master takes you through how to get to and modify the slide master so that you can update the design of your presentation in one place.
How to Create Infographics just using PowerPoint – shows you how to harness the software you have on your machine to create Infographcis.
Create Instant Instagram Posts in 30 Minutes or Less – yep, you are correct! I show you how to use PowerPoint to create Instagram posts. Once your template is set up you can create 30 or so in half an hour.
I have a special offer today. Get 15% off any of the courses. The Master The Slide Master comes in two flavours, one for Windows and one for Mac.
The other two are recorded using PowerPoint for Windows – however work the same way for Mac.
Use the Coupon Code – PPT15 at the checkout to get 15% off the price.
You will see that there is also a bundle – Social Traffic Mastery which includes all three courses. This is priced at 3 courses for the price of 2 so when you apply the PPT15 Coupon Code you get an even bigger discount.
Testimonial – This is what one of my students says about Master the Slide Master
The first thing I heard about Shelley Fishel, the author of this course, was from my web designer – “she knows EVERYTHING about Microsoft Office. Any problems, just message her.” This came an the right time. I had just had my first skirmish with the Slide Master and I had come off worst. Still licking my wounds, I didn’t have the confidence to ask for help.
Word reached Shelley that I needed help and she told me about the course. I knew I needed it but ego knew better. Oh, crud. A few months went by and I had reached the dizzy heights of 20 to the Slide Master, 0 to me. I had spent hours trying to recreate the same thing in Excel that someone had done using the Slide Master. It didn’t work. Of course, it didn’t work!
Swallowing my pride, I took this course. It’s great. Easy to manage, there’s one video that’s just over five minutes and the rest are less than five minutes. It’s in bite-sized pieces and everything is carefully explained with Shelley doing it as she’s talking.
It’s clear and easy to understand even a bolshi 63 year old can understand it.
I’ve changed the fonts and I’ve changed the colours in the Slide Master, which is my new BFF. It isn’t quite purring but we’ve shaken paws and I’m taking it out for a drink later 🙂
Why would anyone take a perfectly good idea for a presentation then build it using the Slide Master when PowerPoint is so good for putting projects together?
Because, when your project is a daily planner with 365 pages and you get to the end and realise you’ve got the same spelling mistake on every page you’ll wish you had used the Slide Master to build it on, because you’ve got to go and correct every page. Or start again using the Slide Master.
Using the Slide Master will be a game-changer in my journal design business. It will save me hours of work.
You have a client who asks you to create a presentation. Now amongst the information that needs to go into that presentation is some data. Your client really wants this data presented as a chart and asks you to do this.
What if you are not sure how to do so? How long is it going to take you to learn? How many hours will you spend trawling the inernet to find out how to create a chart in PowerPoint?
In today’s blog post, I am going to help you with that
Get started via the Insert Ribbon or the Chart Placeholder on a slide.
Inserting charts
Click on the Insert Chart icon in a placeholder
Or Click on the Charts Icon on the Insert Ribbon
Figure 1 – add a chart
You will see the Insert Chart Dialogue Box which prompts you to select the type of chart you want to create.
Figure 2- choose the chart type
Once you have selected the type of chart, an Excel spreadsheet opens up on top of your slide, with a sample chart in the placeholder. Fill in the data area on the spreadsheet and the chart will update with your numbers and categories. When you have finished filling in the data, simply close the spreadsheet. The chart updates and the spreadsheet disappears.
Figure 3- fill in the mini spread sheet
Open and view chart data
You may want to see the data in the spreadsheet in order to make a small (or even big) change.
Click on the chart you want to modify.
On the chart tools ribbon click Edit Data
The mini spreadsheet opens up and you can now modify the data
Figure 4- edit the data
If you select Edit Data in Excel, then a full size spreadsheet opens up on top of PowerPoint complete with data ready to edit.
Figure 5- complete the spreadsheet
You can overtype the cells that are filled in. If you need to add more columns to the chart drag the small blue triangle which appears at the bottom right of the range and then add in your new data.
Figure 6- drag the corner to make the chart larger
Continue to update the mini spreadsheet until you have all the data. Then use familiar Chart Tools just like in Excel as the Ribbon will change to show the Chart Ribbon.
Leave me a comment telling me how this has helped you and what else you would love help with in PowerPoint?
Why would you need to create a timeline? What purpose does it serve? What if a client asks you to create a visual timeline in PowerPoint to show her book launch plan? It would be a real shame if you declined the job because you did not know how to do this.
The first thought to pop into your head might be, wow. This is going to be really time consuming. How will I be able to charge the client for all that time. I will have to draw lots of shapes and arrows and connectors, add the text and change how it looks. Easier to just say no or to outsource it.
I will let you into a secret. If you have PowerPoint 2016 as part of an Office365 account you can utilise the Artificial Intelligence that is built in to the PowerPoint Designer, to create a timeline. With just a few clicks!
Here is how to do it:
Step One – add tasks with dates
Add the events that need to appear on the timeline in a bulleted list with dates – like this:
Step Two – use Design Ideas
Once you have your bulleted list of items to add to the timeline the next step is to go to the Design Ribbon and click on the Design Ideas Icon at the far right of the Ribbon
When you click on the Design Ideas icon, PowerPoint will show you a list of design ideas in a task pane on the right-hand side of the screen.
Just pick one of the designs that you like. If you don’t see one you like, click the Design Ideas button again to have PowerPoint suggest more designs for you.
Design Ideas
The Design Ideas button is now one of my go-to buttons in PowerPoint. As I am not a designer, and often don’t trust my own aesthetic judgment, it is great to have a tool that suggests how to set out your graphics. It works for pictures as well as bulleted lists and it will also adjust the way that Smart Art looks. It suggests different layouts and picks up your colours from the colour palette. If you have changed the default colour scheme that is what it will use. Really handy for keeping everything on brand.
You do need to be using PowerPoint 2016 and have an Internet Connection for this to work!
Have you used Design Ideas yet? If so what do you think? Please leave a comment below.
P.S – did you know that over on the Course Directory you will find links to all my PowerPoint Courses? Take a look at the Course Directory to see what is there!
When you see a logo on a billboard you notice it and without thinking, you know who the brand is. Think Coca Cola or Nike or even Tesco.
The colours and shapes that are associated with the brand – the visual elements reinforce recognition.
Now when you are working on slides for an online course or presentation, you want to keep your brand top of mind.
I Thought Less Is More When It Comes To Slides For Courses?
And you would be correct. The best slides are plain with minimal branding (but some!) and have lots of images to help retention of the learning.
So, What Do You Mean By Brand Your Slides?
I mean using your brand fonts and colours and keeping your slides consistent with the visual elements of your branding where possible. For example, for my own online courses I use slides that have my brand colours top and bottom, the headings use one colour and the body text another.
Logos are used sparingly as I don’t want to detract from the content – however I have found a way of incorporating the logo into the slide background so that it is not taking away from the messaging.
Themes or Designs are the way to go
I have a design theme which incorporates my colours as mentioned above. I have a dark blue border at the top incorporating my logo and a turquoise border at the bottom the titles are all in the Orange from the brand and it has the logo in the top left dark blue border.
Now you don’t need to have the borders, you could just have a discreet logo top left or use your brand colours for titles, shapes and borders of pictures etc. The choice is yours.
However, using some form of branding that helps your learner remember who you are is a good thing! When teaching reinforcement is key.
OK – You convinced me, now how do I do this without taking too much time?
You can of course create a slide in a presentation and keep on duplicating that slide so that the brand elements you set up are on every slide. However, there are problems with working this way. First off you may forget to delete content that exists on one slide and it becomes included in the next one. Then, if the colours and fonts are not embedded within the design, you can easily miss them or use the wrong shade.
Enter the Slide Master
You may have heard about the Slide Master and wondered what on earth it had to do with you!
What does the Slide Master do?
The slide master is like a template – for the design elements of your presentations. In the Slide Master you can set the colour scheme, choose which fonts and colours to use in the Headings and body text. What the bullet points or numbers should look like. You can create specific layouts that do a particular job and are always consistent.
By setting up the Slide Master to reflect your brand, you no longer need to edit the colours or fonts on the slides themselves. If you also set up the way shapes look and which overall colour scheme to use, then picking colours from your brand palette is a cinch.
How do I get to the Slide Master and Make these Changes?
In PowerPoint, go to the View Ribbon, choose Slide Master from the icons on offer.
Next up you will see all the layouts in the side bar on the left. Here you will find the Master master slide with the number 1 showing and below that all the master slides for each of the different layouts on offer.
You can make changes to any element on the Master Slide, change the font and/or font colour here, and any new slides you create will have the new fonts and colours.
When you are done making changes, close the Slide Master and you will be back in the presentation.
Now when you add a new slide, you will be using the new colours and fonts and whatever else you have changed.
Can I save this Slide Master to use again?
Yes of course! That is the whole point. As an online course creator, you will be creating more than one course – or you may be a virtual assistant that has been asked to put the slides together for an online course creator. This means that you need to have access to this particular slide design again and again with the ability to switch to it fast.
The Slide Master is saved as a Design in Windows and a Theme on Mac.
They are saved in a special location on your computer and the next time you open up PowerPoint will be available on the Design Ribbon.
How do I Use my new Slide Master?
When you start PowerPoint, simply go to the Design Ribbon and select the Design you wish to use. The design will be applied to whatever slides you have, or you can even apply it mid presentation.
What About A Template?
A template is a master presentation that holds the design and any standard slides you want to use. So, for example, if you always have an opening slide or an end slide, you can create a presentation, apply your course design, create the standard elements and then save it as a template.
Next time you start a presentation for a new online course, you have the design sorted and need only concentrate on the content of your training! A real time saver I am sure you will agree.
To learn more about the Slide Master, you can take my online course called Master The Slide Master. In the course I take you through exactly what the Slide Master is, how to get to it, how to modify it and also how to change the colours so that you are using your brand colours. You will also learn how to create custom layouts and to save both the Design and a template.
There is one version of the course for Windows and one for Mac – you can access them here.
I also have a couple of ebooks on Amazon (they are included with the course so when you sign up to the course you get the guide too!) if you prefer to learn by reading.
Recently I was asked – How do I record a voice over for my slides?
Someone asked this in a Facebook Group I belong to.
“What’s a good program for recording audio only for voiceover with slides?
Keeping in mind I read with a screen-reader and will be slower as a result, I need something with reasonable recording time that’s not short.
Also, how do I combine them? Could I embed the voiceover with the slides, so people don’t even have to read?”
Record Narration
I assume that you have the slides and probably some notes of what you want to say. To record the Narration:
Head over to the Slide Show Menu and click the dropdown under Record Slide Show then choose where to start from.
You will see the following screen
Recording tools
See or hide Speakers Notes
Increase or decrease the font size for Speakers Notes
Clear all recordings
Settings – Microphone and Cameral settings
Turn on camera or microphone here
Pick a colour and pen style for annotating
See the duration of each slide here
To start recording click the Record Button and use the arrows on the right and left to move back and forth through the slides – all the while saying whatever you need to say.
When you are finished click the Stop Recording button and you are taken back into PowerPoint.
To see what you have recorded, play the presentation and it will play the slides keeping them on screen for the length of time you had them displayed whilst recording. It will also play any camera or voice recordings so long as you have ticked the boxes Play Narrations and Use Timings.
Rehearse Rehearse Rehearse!
Before you launch into recording, you can Rehearse Timings. This does not actually record your voice but it does record the flow of the slides and the length of time each one is on screen.
I like to use this when I am preparing as I can go through and “say” out loud my whole presentation so that I can improve. You can also record as many times as you wish and simply clear the previous recording.
How do I Clear the Previous Recording if I don’t like it?
Click the drop down next to Record Slide Show.
Choose Clear Timings – use this if you just rehearsed and want to start over
Choose Narrations on All Slides – choose this to clear all Narrations.
If you want to clear both Narrations and Timings, go back and choose each one individually.
Where can I see Timings?
Sometimes you just want to see how long each slide will play for. You can do this by switching to Slide Sorter View.
Get to Slide Sorter View by clicking on the View Ribbon and choosing Slide Sorter or by clicking the Slide Sorter View Icon a the bottom right of the screen
You will see that wherever there are timings there is a star with the number of seconds displayed.
Can I change the Timings?
Yes, you can Clear the timings from an individual slide or the whole presentation.
Can I record slide by slide?
Instead of recording the whole thing and having to go back and forth re-doing the whole thing for one or two mistakes, you can actually record slide by slide.
When you do this PowerPoint keeps the recording of each slide and includes it with the rest of the recording.
On the Slide Show Menu
Click Record Slide Show
Then Click Record from Current Slide
Click the record button to record your narration for the current slide then click Stop recording. Close out of the recorder and then you should see the narration and timing on the slide. If you don’t see the timing on the slide in Slide Sorter view – switch back to Normal View and then go back to Slide Sorter View. The timing will now be displayed.
Using the Keyboard – On Windows
You an also use Keyboard Shortcuts to start the recording.
Press the ALT Key to display letters on the Ribbon – you will see each Ribbon gets a letter. To go to the Slide Show Ribbon press the letter S.
Once on the Slide Show Ribbon you will see more letters and numbers. Press the letter N to get the recording options
Then press the required combination to start recording either the current slide or the whole presentation.
Did this help you?
Please leave a comment and let me know if this has solved a problem for you or helped you in any way.
As a VA you do a lot of amazing work for your clients. In this post I’ll share with you 10 ways you can create better infographics and speed up their creation.
1. Gather the Data
Your first step is to gather and arrange the data in a way that makes sense and tells your story. If the data isn’t right, you may have to conduct a survey to get more data and information that helps you get to your point for the infographic. But gathering and finding the data and collecting it into a cohesive database is imperative.
2. Check All Sources
When you find data, don’t assume it’s accurate. Always verify the data before you put it on your infographic. Also, some of the data you find online might be out of date. Check for the most recent source of data so that you have the most up-to-date information on your infographic.
3. Create Your Mock-Up
Once you have the data, create what is also called a wireframe. This is organizing the data before you add images so that you can see how the information flows. This will also provide ideas for images and for how you might want to display the data.
4. Know Your Why
You won’t be able to arrange the information into an effective infographic if you don’t know why you’re doing it. You’ll want to arrange the information with a purpose. For example, if your why is to get your audience to agree with you on a topic (or to engage with you or buy from you), that should be clear from the way you’ve arranged the infographic.
5. Tell a Story
When you create the infographic, think about what story you want to tell your audience. If you can tell a story with the data, you’ll help with understanding as well as helping them act on the information.
6. Know Your Voice
Don’t try to be someone else for your infographic. You want people to see the infographic and know it’s you right away. Know your voice and the tone you want to take in the infographic before you start designing it.
7. Be More Visual
When creating an infographic, it is supposed to be visual first. The colors, the images, and the text should all combine to give your audience’s mind a clear picture of what you want them to think about when they look at your infographic.
8. Use Text Creatively
Infographics still have text, of course, but you can be very creative with the text so that it simply highlights and drives a point home that the visual information sets the tone for.
9. Use the Right Colours
Most infographics will be read on a computer screen or mobile device, which means that just like websites you want to avoid using colours that burn people’s eyes and make it hard to look at. Dull the colours some so that the infographic is easy to read and understand.
10. Get Feedback
Before letting your infographic out into the wild, ask your closest audience to look at it and give you feedback about it – including how it makes them feel when the look at it. Then, if necessary, make changes.
Infographics are great ways to give your audience information, encapsulated in a form that helps them understand the issues and information that you are offering them – more easily than if they just read it in a paragraph.
Why do you need a Timeline In PowerPoint
