Visual conversations,

visible results

Awesome PowerPoint tricks

for effective presentations

www.brightcarbon.com
Keyboard shortcuts for Windows
Be a PowerPoint productivity superhero with the top shortcuts that will have you
creating amazing slides in seconds.
View full
list here

Group Ctrl
+
G Run slideshow F5

Ungroup Ctrl
+
Shift
+
G Run slideshow from current slide +
Shift F5

Decrease/Increase font size Ctrl

+
[
+
] Jump to specific slide (slideshow mode)
Slide
number +
Enter

<#>

Change type casing Shift

+
F3 Copy style formatting + +
Ctrl Shift C

Find and replace text Ctrl

+
H Paste style formatting + +
Ctrl Shift V

Duplicate objects Ctrl

+ Move on a straight axis +
Shift

Cycle through layers/objects Tab Keep aspect when resizing +

Shift
Keyboard shortcuts for Mac
Be a PowerPoint productivity superhero with the top shortcuts that will have you
creating amazing slides in seconds.
View full
list here

Group Cmd
+
Option
+
G Run slideshow + +
Enter

Cmd Shift Return

Ungroup Cmd
+
Option
+
Shift
+
G Run slideshow from current slide +
Enter

Cmd Return

Decrease/Increase + + Jump to specific slide Slide Enter

+ +
font size Cmd Shift < >
(slideshow mode)
number
<#> Return

Change type casing Shift

+
F3 Copy style formatting + +
Cmd Shift C

Find and replace text Cmd

+
F Paste style formatting + +
Cmd Shift V

Duplicate objects Ctrl

+ Move on a straight axis +
Shift

Cycle through layers/objects Tab Keep aspect when resizing +

Shift
BrightSlide
Created by PowerPoint experts the BrightSlide add-in will help you create, polish,
and edit presentations at speed. It draws on industry-standard shortcuts to boost
your workflow and provides amazing, extra functionality PowerPoint users have View video
only dreamed of. And it’s all yours, for free! tutorial

Download
here

Align with Save animation Easy custom Update slides in Tidy and tame
precision combinations grids seconds tables

We developed BrightSlide as the ultimate

productivity add-in to tackle the pitfalls of
PowerPoint. And, because we love the
presentation community almost as much as
we love PowerPoint, we are sharing
BrightSlide with you for free!
Advanced Swap objects ‘So long’ to the Super shortcuts
typography with ease Selection Pane
Useful PowerPoint add-ins
There are many different add-ins you can use to improve or extend
PowerPoint’s capabilities, from sources of content, to design studio tools, to
being able to do more than ever before with full enterprise solutions. Some of
the add-ins you may find helpful are below. Click on each image to learn more.

Noun Project BrightSlide BrandIn

thenounproject.com brightcarbon.com brightcarbon.com

Pexels Thor’s Hammer PresentationPoint

pexels.com pptools.com presentationpoint.com

Picket Tabler Shufflrr

picket.com pptalchemy.co.uk shufflrr.com

Adobe Stock Build-a-Graphic Lucidchart

stock.adobe.com build-a-graphic.com lucidchart.com
Quick Access Toolbar
Add shortcuts to your Quick Access Toolbar to access the things you use more
quickly.
View video
tutorial

Add to Quick Access Toolbar Download BrightCarbon’s most

File > Options > Quick Access Toolbar used PowerPoint functions in
our own customized toolbar
www.brightcarbon.com
or
Search:
Right-click on anything in the Quick Access Toolbar
menus to add to the Quick
Access Toolbar or

Click this box

Copy & paste formatting
Use keyboard shortcuts to speed up content creation by copying and pasting
formatting between objects, rather than creating graphic effects from scratch each
time. View video
tutorial

Quick Access Toolbar > Pick Up / Apply Object style

The format is stored until you close PowerPoint, so use it any time,
across any object, any slide, or any deck.

Using keyboard shortcuts can help boost productivity further.

Copy style formatting + +

Ctrl Shift C
A nice box A nice box
Paste style formatting + +
Ctrl Shift V

These shortcuts also work across Office programs, so you can copy
formatting from PowerPoint to Word, or use these shortcuts in
Outlook to format emails.
Animation painter
Copy and paste animations using this neat tool, so that you don’t have to recreate
everything from scratch each time.
View video
tutorial

Animations > Animation Painter

Select an object with animations you want to re-use, click Animation
Painter to copy the animations, and then click on another object to
paste the animations to.

It only works once each time it’s selected.

Static
Animating Box
Box

Also note that any existing animations on the second object will be
removed, and that the new, pasted animations will all appear at the
bottom of the animation timeline.
Freeform shapes
Create custom shapes and edit existing shapes using the Freeform shape tool and
Edit Points.
View video
tutorial

Insert > Shapes > Lines
> Freeform Shape Tool
Use the Freeform Shape Tool to draw any
object. Click near the start or double click
anywhere to finish drawing.
Right-click Shape > Select Edit Points
Move any black edit points to alter the
shape. Create new points by left clicking on
the red outline. Remove points by holding
the Ctrl key and left clicking on the point to
be deleted.
Customise further by clicking on any black
edit point to reveal the Bézier vector handles.
Right-click the black edit point to choose
smooth, straight, or corner point. Move the
white box edges of the Bézier to change the
point shape or curve.
Merge shapes tools
Add the Merge Shapes tools to your toolbar to create custom icons and graphics
by merging and cutting out shapes.
View video
tutorial

Insert > Shapes Shape Subtract Shape Union

Arrange the shapes in the correct positions
then select two of them.

The Merge Shapes tools are only available through the Quick Access Toolbar in PowerPoint 2010.
They’re in the Format tab in PowerPoint 2013, 2016, 2019, and Office 365
Alignment & distribution
Use alignment and distribution tools to easily center and equally space your
objects.
View video
tutorial

Home > Arrange > Align

Align objects top Distribute horizontally

The alignment tools allow you to line
The distribute tools allow you to
up objects relative to each other along
evenly space a set of shapes
the top, middle, bottom, left, right, or
horizontally or vertically.
center of a set of shapes.
Setting default styles
Quickly ensure consistency by using the Set as Default Shape, Line, and Text Box
functions.
View video
tutorial

Insert > Shape
Create a shape, text box or line use the
format tools to create a style that you like.
Right-click > Set As Default Shape
Once you are happy with the style, set the
shape, text box or line as the default.
Insert > Shape
Now when you draw a new shape, line or text
box, it will have the formatting that you set.
This is much quicker than altering styles
through the slide master.

Set as Ḏefault Shape

A nice text box A nice text box A nice text box

Selection pane
The Selection pane lets you see every object, control the layers, and hide/show
objects on layered slides.
View video
tutorial

Home > Arrange > Selection Pane Arrow buttons or left click > Drag
Click on any of the eye icons to remove the object Moving objects up the list brings them forward in
from view to work on other objects behind it. the layers. Moving objects down sends them back.

Selection
Show all Hide all

Bones

X-Ray Machine

Power Ranger

Background
PowerPoint icons
Add icons to your slide directly from PowerPoint, with scalable, vector
graphics that you can resize and recolour easily.
View video
tutorial

Insert > Icons Illustrio

Find a range of icons, all from within
PowerPoint in Office 365. These icons are all
scalable, so you can resize them with no loss
of quality. They can also be recoloured in
PowerPoint, just like any other shape.
More free icons are available from these illustrio.com
websites. Sites at the top are completely free Endless Icons
and open, while those at the bottom require endlessicons.com
attribution for the icon source. Click on any
Material Design
of the logos to check out the site.
material.io/tools/icons

The Noun Project

thenounproject.com
Orion Icon Library
orioniconlibrary.com
Flat Icon
flaticon.com
Icons8
icons8.com
Photography
Use images in your presentation to convey your messages in a way that is
compelling, clear, and persuasive, as well as looking slicker and more professional.
All these sites give you free access to beautiful images that you can use in any
presentation.

Pexels Unsplash Every Pixel

pexels.com unsplash.com everypixel.com

Pixabay StockSnap.io Burst

pixabay.com stocksnap.io burst.shopify.com

Life of Pix Reshot Gratisography

lifeofpix.com reshot.com gratisography.com

These sites also offer free videos

Rich backgrounds
Add richness and depth by adding a full screen background image with
blur so it doesn’t interfere with content.
View video
tutorial

Insert > Picture Picture Format > Artistic Effects Choose an image in keeping with your
Add a picture to your slide and Using the Artistic Effects, choose blur brand, but try not to make it too busy.
resize to fill the slide. to take away the sharpness and help
it blend into the background.
Focus shift
Animate in a second blurred version of an image over the top of the first to shift
focus.
View video
tutorial

Group Objects > Copy Paste as Picture > Picture Tools Format >
Artistic Effects > Blur
Create an invisible box over your objects and group. Select the group
then copy and paste as picture. The invisible box ensures your
blurred image won’t have sharp edges.
Animations > Add Animation > Entrance Fade
Add animation to blurred image. Add your object of focus on top of
the blurred image to make it stand out.
Custom image cropping
Create a freeform shape and fill with an image to crop out any shape.

View video
tutorial

Insert > Shape > Freeform Shape
Trace around the part of the picture you want
to crop.
Format Picture > Crop
Crop picture to outer edges of the freeform
trace then copy picture (Ctrl + C).
Format Shape > Picture Fill > Insert from
Clipboard
Right-click on your freeform trace and insert
your cropped image.

In PowerPoint 2013 or later, use the Boolean Use the Alt key to snap the cropped picture Use the Soft Edges formatting tool to remove
tools Shape Intersect to cut out the image. to the freeform trace. any harsh edges.
Change picture
Quickly change a picture without losing formatting or animation effects.

View video
tutorial

Insert > Picture Right-click > Change Picture Choose new picture
Format the picture to fit your slide. Duplicate a single picture multiple times and Select a new picture from your computer files
then use Change Picture to have a series of or your clipboard.
screenshots all the same size.
Graph animation
Animate graphs piece by piece using the Chart Animation function, making them
easier to understand.
View video
tutorial

Animations > Add Animation >Entrance > Double Click

>Animation Event > Chart Animation

1) Animate chart using Add

Animation on the
Animations tab.

2) Double click on the

animation event in the
Animation Pane and select
Chart Animation.

3) Animate the chart by series,

category, or individual
element for greater control.
Growing & shrinking bar charts
Create duplicates of bar chart columns and group them to get grow/shrink
animations to work effectively.
View video
tutorial

Duplicate your bar, making the second Position second bar directly below the axis Animations > Add Animation >
invisible. Duplicating and grouping your and group together with the first (Ctrl + Emphasis > Grow/Shrink
shape means it will appear to grow or shrink G). Bars below axis should be completely Effect Options > Vertical
from the axis. invisible (select ‘No Fill’)

Ctrl + D
Rotating objects
Draw large shapes over objects and group to enable you to rotate around a false
central point.
View video
tutorial

Animations > Add Animation >
Emphasis > Spin
Create a shape starting at the center point of
rotation, using the Ctrl key to make that
point the center, and make sure it’s larger
than anything else.
Make the large shape invisible (select ‘No
Fill’) and group it with any objects that need
to rotate.
Use a Spin animation on the group. The
entire group will rotate around it’s center
point, which is controlled by the large
invisible shape, making it look like other
objects are rotating around their end point.
Precise motion
Duplicate your shape and use motion paths on both objects
as a guide to get them to line up precisely.
View video
tutorial

Animations > Add Animation > Copy > Paste Adjust your original motion path so that the
Motion Paths > Lines Duplicate your shape, so that now both have end matches up with the start of your second
Add a motion path to your object. an identical motion path. path. Then delete your duplicate shape.
Screenshot
Screenshots are a great way to share real-world examples with people, and they’re
really simple to do.

Use the cursor to select just a small portion of your screen,

or select from one corner to the opposite corner to select the entire
screen.

Capture a screenshot + +
Shift S

This works for any part of your screen, any program, or browser.

The screenshot is stored in the clipboard, so once captured, go into

PowerPoint and paste (Ctrl + V) to put the image on your slide.
Screen recording
Sometimes video is the best way to demonstrate a technique or process.
PowerPoint gives you an excellent screen recording option.

Insert > Screen Recording

Record screen + +
Shift R
Use the cursor to select just a small portion of your screen,
or select the entire screen by clicking at the top and dragging down
to the bottom. Stop recording screen + +
Shift Q
Once the recording area has been selected, PowerPoint will minimize
(although you can maximize it again), allowing you record anything Select custom area + +
on your desktop, within a program, or a browser. Shift A

Record live audio as you capture the screen too.

Record audio + +
Shift U
Once finished, stop recording, and the video will be inserted into
your PowerPoint deck.
Record pointer + +
You can resize, trim, and edit the video in the Video Tools tab. Shift O

Lock control panel dock + +

Shift I
Video bookmarks
If you want other things to happen next to, or over the top of, a video, then using
bookmarks to trigger animations can be a great help.

Playback > Add Bookmark

Select a video and use the media controls underneath to
navigate to a time point. Choose Add Bookmark on the
ribbon and repeat to create as many bookmarks as
required.

Animations > Triggers > On Bookmark

Any animated content can be timed to animate with a
specific bookmark. Select an animation and choose the
Triggers drop down on the Animation tab. Choose the
appropriate bookmark.
How to embed a video in PowerPoint
Video is a great way to engage your audience in a more engaging,
dynamic, or emotive way than can be achieved with standard
PowerPoint alone. Or it can save you a lot of time. View video
tutorial

Insert > Video > Video on My PC

Resize video – to fit your design,

content, and layout, or make it full
screen

Playback > Video Options > Play Full

Screen – easy option to play full screen

Playback > Start: In Click Sequence,

Automatically, or When Clicked On

Animations > Animation Pane – for fine

detail control
Image cropping
Cropping a photo can completely change the focus of the image and the effect
that it can have on your slide.
View video
tutorial

Select your image and crop

Repeat this step across the
into a circle
remaining images
Format > Crop > Crop to Shape

To create a more accurate circle, Use the distribution tool to align

use the 1:1 aspect ratio tool your images accurately
Format > Crop > Aspect Ratio Format > Align

Use the crop tool, and hold the

shift key whilst resizing your image
to fill the shape accordingly
Format > Crop
Crop to zoom and recolour images
Standard tools like cropping and recolouring can really change the look and
meaning of your presentation. Crop to zoom can help your pictures look
consistent and your slides more professional, whilst recolouring may suggest View video
different topics or be used to create a segue. tutorial

Select the image, and choose Crop to reveal Use the white size grab handles to make the Select an image and apply a colour wash to
black cropping grab handles. image larger so that you can see only the each image to represent different topics, or
laptop within the crop area. use one highlight colour and others in
grayscale as a segue.

Format > Crop > Format > Color > Apply

Format > Crop
Enlarge white handles colour wash
Overcrop to create full bleed image
Make your slides more eye-catching with the use of full bleed images that you
control – not just filling the background.
View video
tutorial

Select the image, and choose Crop to reveal Use the black crop grab handles to drag the Use the white size grab handles to make the
black cropping grab handles. crop area to the edge of the slide, or new image larger so that it fills the crop area
larger image limits. completely.

Format > Crop >

Format > Crop Enlarge black handles
Enlarge white handles
Image-enhanced story
Turn a standard image into an effective visual tool that will enhance
communication and get your message across more clearly. Simple highlighting
can represent relevant stats more powerfully than numbers alone. View video
tutorial

Fill screen with image

Crop grey image to 80% of
full image width
Format > Crop
Create duplicate image
Ctrl + C > Ctrl + V

Resize text to 40pt and

Send images to back
increase text box size
Home > Arrange
Home > Font

Align images to slide edges

Home > Arrange > Align
Triangle to link text to image
and highlight message
Recolour top image Home > Drawing
Format > Color > Grayscale
Image combination
Using only PowerPoint you can edit images to make you look like a Photoshop
expert. Combining two images and using the blur effect can make your slide stand
out. View video
tutorial

Resize images with background

filling entire slide

Remove white from phone image

Format > Color > Set Transparent
Color

Copy/paste mountains image and

resize and reposition over phone
Ctrl + C > Ctrl + V

Send small mountain image behind

phone and crop to fit screen
Home > Arrange

Blur background image

Format > Artistic Effects > Blur
Whitespace image and text formatting
White space doesn’t necessarily have to contain a lot of white. It’s about using
areas of contrast to focus attention on specific elements. You can use actual white
space, but also other colours, and even images to create the effect. View video
tutorial

Overcrop image and expand across

Align text left and change paragraph
full slide, positioning key focus to
font size to 20pt
one side
Home > Font
Format > Crop

Change text to Body font and Change bullet text font size to 24pt,
change text colour to white make Bold, and toggle off bullets
Home > Font Home > Font

Add shape around text and send Select bullet text and apply 1.5x
back, behind text to add contrast line spacing
Home > Arrange Home > Paragraph > Line Spacing

30% transparency to shape box to Add lines to demark individual

link with image text lines
Right-click > Format Home > Drawing
Grids and guides
Using a grid provides a classic design layout for your slides. A 3x3 grid – the rule
of thirds – is a good start. PowerPoint guides can help form the grid clearly and
make your text, images, and other content look more uniform, and instantly more View video
pleasing to look at. Everyone loves a tidy slide. tutorial

Draw four vertical lines, ensuring
there are two on the outer edges
of your document. Click and drag
to move the
lines roughly into the position
you need.
Select all of the lines, and use the
distribute tool to automatically
space them correctly.
Right-click to begin bringing Repeat this step using horizontal
guides into your document. lines to complete your 3x3 grid.
Holding Ctrl while dragging will
copy your existing guide.
Place your guides over the lines
you have drawn to create an
accurate three column grid.

Format > Align > Right-click > Repeat steps

Insert > Shapes
Distribute Horizontally Grid and Guides horizontally
Text formatting
Formatting text appropriate can help your audience understand what
they need to read first, and the importance of the words on the slide.
Avoid confusion by simplifying the style, creating a sense of hierarchy, View video
and cutting back on the effects you use. tutorial

Choose a single font and size to Add bold and colour to points of
use across your text B focus within the text
Home > Font Home > Font

Remove any bold type by selecting Fill text box with a dark colour,
B the bold tab and adjust transparency to 30%
Home > Font > Bold Right-click > Format Shape

Apply a consistent style and Resize text box to around ⅔ of

colour to all bullet points the slide size
Home > Font > Bullets Right-click > Format Shape

Select all text and increase ‘after’

Add an appropriate picture
spacing to 12pt
Insert > Pictures
Right-click > Paragraph
Setting theme colours
The best way to handle colours in PowerPoint is to set your template correctly.
Keeping everything consistent and on brand helps to make your slides
recognisable and full of impact. View video
tutorial

Open the colour menu within the

current theme
Design > Variants > Colors

Select Customize Colors to change

the programmed swatches
Design > Variants > Colors >
Customize Colors

Select your colours, or insert

colour values to create your
personalised theme
Colour to convey meaning
Colours can have specific meanings – red for bad or green for good. Clever use of
colour can enhance your message and help your audience to understand your
story more quickly and more easily. View video
tutorial

Draw a triangle, and flip the shape so that Use the gradient fill effects to create a scale, Add markers and use the distribute tool to
the right-hand side is tallest. Resize and from red through yellow, and into green, to space them accurately. Create a single
reposition the triangle to fit the appropriate give a sense of scale. thicker line to act as a gauge
area on the slide.

Insert > Shapes

Format > Align >
Home > Arrange > Rotate > Right-click > Format Shape
Distribute Horizontally
Flip Horizontal
Colour highlighting
Using colour well with charts is critical – you can use it to help your audience
quickly understand exactly what the key messages are.
View video
tutorial

Select the bars relating to the

important data on the graph, and fill
these with a bold colour.
Format > Shape Fill

Select the bars relating to non-

essential data on the graph, and fill
these with a dull colour that makes
them less eye catching.
Format > Shape Fill

Make sure to use two shades of the

dull colour to differentiate between
the results.
Highlighting content
Banish the drudgery of content-heavy, detailed slides by using this technique to
focus attention on what’s important and bring your stories to life. Use highlighting
to help your audience understand the key ideas and remember them. View video
tutorial

Use the Freeform Shape Tool to
draw around parts to highlight.
Click to start, release the mouse
button, move to the next point
and click to continue. Click on
start point to finish.
Create full slide black box and Select the black box, then shift Make black box semi-transparent
send back using the layer tools, click the highlight shapes and (30%) and add labels to
to reveal the freeform shapes. use the Merge Shapes Subtract highlighted areas.
tool to cut out the highlights.

Home > Shapes > Home > Arrange > Format > Merge Right-click on shape >
Lines > Freeform Send Backward Shapes > Subtract Format Shape > Fill >
Transparency
Capturing attention
Want to make an impact? Learn how to capture attention in PowerPoint,
transforming your slides from dull and boring walls of text, into beautiful and
impactful visual slides that capture your audience’s attention and leave them View video
thinking about what’s most important in your story. tutorial

Copy the image (Ctrl + C) to
build up multiple layers. Then
make the initial image grayscale
so that the highlight later stands
out.
Paste a new image (Ctrl + V) and
align with the original. Then
apply a greyscale recolor and
blur using Artistic Effects to
create contrast.
Paste a new image. Use the
Freeform Shape Tool to draw
around parts to highlight. Click
to start, release the mouse
button, move to the next point
and click to continue. Click on
start point to finish.
Select the color image, then shift
click the highlight shape and use
the Merge Shapes Intersect tool
to cut out the highlight on the
color image.

Format > Color > Format > Artistic Home > Shapes > Format > Merge
Grayscale Effects > Blur Lines > Freeform Shapes > Intersect
Storytelling with animations
Far from being a luxury, animations in PowerPoint are incredibly useful for telling
stories. Learn how to master the different types of animations to create a dynamic
visual sequence that communicates elegantly and effectively. View video
tutorial

All animations are in the Animations tab on the ribbon. Choose

Use Entrance animations to make content appear on
Add Animation to find the four categories and different types of
the slide to provide pacing and help focus attention on
animation.
new content.

Use Emphasis animations to change content. Use the

Fill Color to alter the color and Grow/Shrink to change
the size. Click the Effect Options button to change the
color or size of the object for each.

Use Exit animations to remove unnecessary content

from the slide so that it doesn’t distract or clutter up
the slide.

Use Motion Paths to move objects around a slide. The

green arrow indicates the start point and the red
arrow is the end point, with the shape moving along
the black dotted line. Select either end point to resize,
position, and shape the motion path.
Interactive content with trigger animations
Create interactive presentations with triggers! Develop slides where you choose
what content to share with each audience, giving you a responsive PowerPoint
and a great deal of flexibility. Create interactive content like short quizzes, using View video
them for maximum effect. tutorial

Triggers cause animations to start when you click an object on the slide. Use triggers to reveal and hide additional information,
click to change colour to highlight something, or play media.

Add an Entrance animation to

additional information.

Double click animation event,

select Timing, then Triggers,
and choose which object to act
as the clickable button.

Using both an entrance and an

exit animation means you can
turn the pop-up on and off.
How to create a drop-down menu in PowerPoint
Drop-down menus in PowerPoint allow you to create flexible, interactive
slides, self-led presentations, documents, eLearning, and training materials.
A drop-down menu in PowerPoint can be used for cleaning up busy slides View video
or combined with hyperlinks for smooth navigation. tutorial

1. Create titles or buttons | Add titles or menu buttons that will be the clickable
elements to reveal content
2. Add content boxes and triggers | Place content, add animations that make it
appear where you want, and then add triggers to those animations, so they happen
when you click the appropriate title or button.
3. Add mask and ‘on’ title option | To minimize complexity, creating a mask over
other menu titles or buttons means that the current content has to be closed before
other elements can be opened. Add a mask, add an appear animation to it, and add
it to the trigger animation group. You can also highlight the current option with a
duplicate bar of a different colour. Also animate this and add it to the trigger group.
4. Hide content and return to menu | Reverse all the animations created for the
trigger, to hide all content and reset titles or buttons. Add all of these animations to
a trigger on the highlighted menu item (or a separate close button if you prefer).
5. Rinse and repeat | Repeat these steps for the other titles or buttons and content
in the menu.
Flexible navigation using hyperlinks
Create flexible navigation within your PowerPoint presentation using hyperlinks to
move around the deck seamlessly and effortlessly with clickable menus. It makes
for a more interactive presentation and discussion with your audience and it's View video
really easy. tutorial

Right-click on an object (not a group)

and choose link.
Section 1 Section 2 Section 3 Section 4
Hyperlink any object to travel to a
slide, webpage or document.

Hyperlink boxes on menu slides to

jump to different chapters.

Hyperlink invisible boxes over multiple

objects or groups.

Hyperlink logos to return to menu.

Supercharging interactive presentations with VBA (Part 1)
Use VBA macros to create menus that populate across your entire presentation
automatically, without having to manually paste them, saving a huge amount of
time, and ensuring accuracy and consistency. View video
tutorial

If you have an interactive menu that covers content,

animating it over the content by clicking a trigger
button can be helpful, but animations don’t reset
when you come back to the slide.

Using VBA macros to reset the animations on each

slide whenever you come back to it, so you see a
fresh version each time. The VBA code for the next
slide macro is:
Public Sub NextSlide(ByRef oShp As Shape)
Dim oSld As Slide
Set oSld = oShp.Parent
lIdx = oSld.SlideIndex + 1
If lIdx = ActivePresentation.Slides.Count Then lIdx = 1
SlideShowWindows(1).View.GotoSlide lIdx, msoTrue
End Sub
Supercharging interactive presentations with VBA (Part 2)
In this second part of our series on supercharging PowerPoint interactive
presentations with VBA we look at how you can provide your users with visual
feedback for active areas of your slide using a mouse hover technique. View video
tutorial

You can use VBA macros to provide extensive visual

feedback when mousing over a hyperlinked object.
The VBA code for highlighting active objects is:
Public Sub GraphicHover(ByRef oGraphic As Shape)
oGraphic.Fill.ForeColor.ObjectThemeColor =
msoThemeColorAccent1
End Sub
This macro changes the fill colour of the object
(called a Shape in VBA) to Accent 1 from the theme.
Once you’ve added this to your PowerPoint file then
you can uncheck the PowerPoint highlighting feature
and instead assign the Mouse Over event to Run
macro, selecting the GraphicHover macro.

Now when you move the mouse over the icon during
a slide show the fill colour changes.
Morph magic
Morph is a stunning way to seamlessly transition between slides, but also to
create motion, emphasis and tell stories. Note that it only works with Office 365 or
PowerPoint 2019. Earlier versions of PowerPoint will simply use a Fade transition. View video
tutorial

Transitions > Morph

Morph recognizes objects across slides and will seamlessly move,
resize, recolour, and rotate objects. You can use this to change
content on your slide. Objects have to be on both slides to create any
change using morph, otherwise, the transition appears like a fade.

Introduce objects by having them off the edge of the first slide
canvass and on the second slide, or remove them by having them on
the first slide and off the edge of the second slide canvass.

Give the effect of moving around a more complex diagram with

content moving off and onto the slide, by creating a diagram that
only partly fits on the slide canvass. On the second slide, move the
diagram so that a different part is on the slide canvass, and morph
will pan around the diagram. Zoom into particular elements by
making the diagram larger on the second slide.
Morph magnify
Morph isn’t just for transitioning between slides, it can be used for interesting
effects to tell stories, such as creating a magnifying lens to highlight content. Note
that it only works with Office 365 or PowerPoint 2019. Earlier versions of View video
PowerPoint will simply use a Fade transition. tutorial

Transitions > Morph

Insert an image on the slide, copy, paste, and align the new
image on top of the original.

Crop the top image to a rough square focusing on a specific

area, set the Crop to Shape (Oval), and set the Aspect Ratio
to 1:1 (Picture Tools Format > Crop).

Add a shadow or outline to the new cropped circle image and

make it larger (use Shift and Ctrl to expand in proportion and
the correct position).

Duplicate the slide (Ctrl + D) and on the new slide, move the
circle image to a different position.

Select Crop on the circle image, but now move the image
within the circle placeholder, so that it matches the image
behind in the new position.
Interactive morph
Morph is a stunning way to seamlessly transition between slides, but also create a
fantastic way to navigate around a complex scene using hyperlinks and morph
combined for great effects.

Transitions > Morph

Draw boxes over parts of the slide or diagram.
Change the fill colour to No Fill and line colour
to No Outline.

Right-click each invisible box and choose Link

from the pop-up menu. Hyperlink to the
relevant slide.

On the main slide featuring the content full-

screen, apply the Morph transition to achieve
the effect of seamlessly moving from the
complex diagram or menu slide to the
appropriate content slide.

Then consider changing content between the

slides and using morph to create interesting
effects as the content changes.
Morph | Off-slide content
Morph allows you to create some amazing effects for beautiful, impressive, and
professional slides. Especially when you consider niche techniques.
View video
tutorial

Transitions > Morph

Content must be on both slides
for morph to take effect. But,
content can be off-slide to make
it move onto (or off) the slide
during the transition.

The off-slide position is

important as the object will move
in a straight line to the new
position, so it impacts the
direction of motion.

The off-slide position also affects

the speed of movement – the
longer the distance, the faster
the movement.
Morph | Layers to reveal content
Morph allows you to create some amazing effects for beautiful, impressive, and
professional slides. Especially when you consider niche techniques.
View video
tutorial

Transitions > Morph

Use layers to hide/reveal content
hidden underneath.

Combine with off-slide content

to create seamless and
impressive content.

Masking layers can create both a

reveal and movement of content
at the same time, as content
moves out from behind it.
Mask (white shape) covers South America with Mask (white shape) moves up to reveal South
content over the top. America and cover North America, with content
over the top.
Morph | Dynamic detail reveal to highlight content
Morph allows you to create some amazing effects for beautiful, impressive, and
professional slides. Especially when you consider niche techniques.
View video
tutorial

Use a sequence of slides to create a dynamic reveal of content. Multiple slides allows you to focus on each element in turn, rather
Combining off-slide content, masks, and changing content, you can than all at once.
cycle through various elements in an elegant way.
Morph | Dynamic photography
Morph allows you to create some amazing effects for beautiful, impressive, and
professional slides. Especially when you consider niche techniques.
View video
tutorial

With morph you can create interesting and dynamic

photography effects. The trick is to morph between
two different crops of the same photo

Picture Format > Crop

Crop an image to focus on a particular part of it.

Duplicate the slide (Ctrl + D) and crop the image on

the second slide in a different way. Either a different
focus, or different magnification, or both.

Transitions > Morph

Apply the morph transition to the second slide and

see how the image changes seamlessly. Create even
more interesting effects with several images all
changing their crop focus at the same time.
Morph | Automatic transition slides
Morph allows you to create some amazing effects for beautiful, impressive, and
professional slides. Especially when you consider niche techniques.
View video
tutorial

Transitions > Morph

As morph is a transition between slides,

sometimes you need an additional slide purely
to achieve the effect you want during the
transition.

Use an initial setup slide to position everything

correctly, ready for the morph transition.

Transitions > Advance Slide > After 0

seconds

This means that when in slide show mode,

PowerPoint will automatically and immediately
transition to the next slide, giving the effect you
want.
Zoom navigation
Zoom in PowerPoint is a terrific tool that allows you to jump straight to the
content you want and supports a seamless interactive presentation. It’s really
quick and straightforward to do. View video
tutorial

Home > Slides > Section > Add Section

Adding sections to your deck makes it much

easier to manage and navigate through using
Zoom. Create a section for each topic or
subtopic that you might want to navigate to.

Insert > Links > Zoom

You can add three different types of Zoom, but

Section Zooms are probably most useful as
they will navigate through entire sections of
your presentation before coming back to the
menu or launch slide.
How to print PowerPoint with notes
Printing visual, animated slides doesn’t always look great, and they shouldn’t
contain much text, so they can be tricky for people to understand later in a
handout. Use the Notes Page view in PowerPoint to print slides and speaker View video
notes in a single easy document that doesn’t compromise the presentation. tutorial

File > Print > Settings > Notes Pages

You can print the notes pages – the slides plus

speaker notes. And choose your printer for
either paper handouts or a PDF.

View > Notes Master

Create better layouts for the notes pages with

the Notes Master, altering size, position, and
formatting of core content placeholders (slides
and speaker notes) and add custom branding.

View > Notes Page

Customize each notes page with specific

content, adding text, charts, images, or other
elements to support clear understanding of
your content.
How to print multiple slides on one page
It can be useful to give people handouts to annotate notes on slides while
you’re speaking. If you print multiple slides on one page, they’re not dealing
with reams of paper and encourages them to just take a few notes, rather View video
than anything too detailed where they could miss something important. tutorial

File > Print > Settings > Handouts

You can print handouts with 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, or 9

slides per page. Choose your printer for either
paper handouts or a PDF.

View > Handouts Master

Create better layouts for the handouts with the

Handouts Master, altering size, position, and
formatting of supporting content placeholders
and add custom branding.
Slide show functions
Be a PowerPoint productivity superhero with the top shortcuts that will have you
creating amazing slides in seconds.

<
See all the slides G
Whites/Unwhites the screen W
or
,

Zoom out of a slide / + Stop/Restart automatic show

- Ctrl - S

Zoom in on a slide +
or
Ctrl
+
+
Go to next slide if hidden H

Slide Enter
Go to that slide number + Return to first slide + + 2 secs.
<#>

End Slide show Esc View task bar Ctrl

+ T

All Slides Dialogue + Hide/Show arrow on mouse move + T

/ U
Ctrl S Ctrl

>
Blacks/Unblacks the screen B
or
. Return to previous zoom slide Shift
+ < / ^
Infographics in PowerPoint
Infographics help convey your message powerfully because they combine text
with visuals in a way that tells a story and makes sense to the viewer. Watch this
summary video to gain an understanding of infographic design theory so you can View video
create some on your own. tutorial
 Visual conversations,
visible results

Visualization for effective

presentations & eLearning

www.brightcarbon.com
Which door will you choose?
There are two choices when building your presentation. Do you subject your
audience to the fiery pits of PowerPoint hell, or let them bask in beautiful visual
poetry? You decide.... View video
tutorial
When slides spell out what you’re trying to say Reduce the use of text on the slides, and use
the audience tunes out the presenter and reads pictures, diagrams and graphs to illustrate and
that text. Its a sure-fire cure for insomnia. reinforce your messages.
What do people see when they open up Use colours, fonts, point size, animations,
PowerPoint? and images that are thoughtfully combined
to make everything clear and compelling
Click to add text for your viewers.

Is it any wonder that most presentations

contain too many bullet points?
Text you read and words
you hear are processed in
the same part of the brain,
so they interfere with each
other and cause confusion.
Timing is everything. But
often there’s no thought
to animation or the order
of elements on a slide.
Visuals are processed
in a different part of the
brain leaving the audience
free to concentrate on
the speaker.
Adding animation gives
you control. When the
narrative synchronises with
the visuals, audiences are
motivated to pay attention.
The good, the bad and the clip art…

Bad ideas Good ideas

White washout Picture perfect

A white background on a slide often Find a nice, clean image in keeping with your
looks unfinished rather than thought out. brand and put it in your slide full screen to form
Unless you’re a really good graphic designer a rich background. Use creative commons images
it’s not what we’d recommend. or buy from a stock image website.
The good, the bad and the clip art…

Bad ideas Good ideas

Dodging bullets Give text a break

Bullet points! They don’t work; too much Give your text breathing space by increasing
text, all-at-once, means that your audience are the size of the box, or reducing the point size.
just reading ahead and ignoring the presenter. Make sure it can be easily read and all the
boxes are the same size.
The good, the bad and the clip art…
Bad ideas
Just say no to clip art!
Clip art gives your slides the sophistication
of a child’s IT project. Is that the impression
that you want to give people?
Good ideas
Be iconic
Icons provide an easy-to-understand visual
language. Pop them in a box the same height as
your points and use the align and distribute tools
to keep everything neatly lined up. They are
found on the ‘Home’ tab in the ‘Arrange’ section.
Visualizations are GO!
There are five main steps for taking basic text-based content and transforming it
into dynamic visuals...
View video
tutorial

1 Understand the audience

Inform Persuading
If you’re informing your If you’re persuading your
audience of something, audience, it’s most helpful
have a clear idea of to think in terms of how
precisely what they need the audience will benefit.
to know to succeed. What’s in it for them?
2 Identify the key message/story
Decide what information you need to present to your audience to achieve that goal. Focus on the core of the message
and rewrite it in a structured way that’s easy to understand.

Problem Solution Impact

Sets up the context and The details of what The end result that will
why people need to pay happens or how often lead to the
attention. It frames the something works. outcome that your
rest of the story. audience will achieve.

3 Identify the key objects

Identify the objects that are crucial to telling the story.

Use an icon, photo, label, Show a point on a map, Keep quotes short and Use figures, dates, costs, or
or even a logo to represent an icon of a building, or to the point. It should concepts you can quantify,
the product or service. even an office floor plan. really speak for itself. like a level of risk or effort.
4 Establish relationships
Look at the relationships between key objects and how they interact to guide the layout of the slide.

XY graph XYZ graph Flow Matrix Timeline Pie

Cluster Static display Hierarchy Balance Jigsaw 2D/3D space

This is a small selection of the types of layouts you could come up with. Lots of slides might use two or more of these to
get a simple idea across. To work out which ones to go for, look at your information and think about how you’d explain it,
the order you’d point to your key objects, and how those key objects are related to one another.
5 Design
Check the story flows between the stages you’ve built up. Think about the changes in relationship you have
and check they support the story.

Add Remove Grow Shrink Move

Merge Connect Highlight Replace

Is something being added or subtracted? Are there two or more things being combined?
Actions are the animations you can apply to your different elements on the slide. They help you to pace the flow of the
information, and keep the audience focused on the right thing at the right time - and basically tell the story.
Fulfilling the learner’s wishes
Cinders is trying to brush up on her fairy tale knowledge before tonight’s ball, but
she is struggling...
View video
tutorial

What am I supposed to Hiya Cinders! It’s me, your fairy

achieve from this? god-trainer. I’m here to grant
you three wishes, to make your
learning experience better.
I want to learn about
dancing first, not pumpkins.
It’s so boring and I don’t
remember any of it!
 Ah, that’s a simple one! We need
some learning objectives!
Oh goody! My
first wish is... I
wish I knew what
I had to actually
do to reach my
destiny...
Learning objectives
Learner-first language:
start each one with ‘The learner
will be able to...’
Use active verbs: create,
build, locate, select
Be realistic: ensure the
objective can be achieved by
the end of the training
Learning objectives are measurable goals
that the learner should be able to achieve
by the end of the training.
The learner will be able to:
Recall the names of her evil step sisters
Select appropriate dance moves to use at the ball
Analyse Prince Charming’s suitability for marriage
Got it! Let me whip up some interactive
menus to personalise your learning journey!
Things are looking
better already! My
second wish is that I
wish I had more
control over how to
reach my destiny!
 Learners have different levels of expertise,
interest, and learning styles. Offering them
options helps them choose a learning Interactive menu tips
journey that is relevant for them... Remember the aim is to
achieve the learning objectives,
not read every page
Dish Cellar
washing sweeping Consider what makes your

?
learners different from each other
and then plan your branches
Bed around those differences
Dancing
making

Oh gosh, one wish Done! We can use As well as being more interesting than static slides,
left. For my final some interactive interactions make the learner work a little bit harder
wish: I wish the slides to engage to get the information, which helps increase retention.
journey to my your curiosity and
destiny was more help you learn!
inspiring! Drag and drop the correct words into the gaps:
When the _ _ _ _ strikes twelve its time to call a cab!
Bring blister plasters, as your shoes are made of _ _ _ _
Your horses are actually mice! feed them _ _ _ _ , not oats.

glass cheese clock

 All your wishes
have been granted!
Now get yourself
Interactions tips
to that ball girl!
Plan your interaction
around what the learner
needs to achieve
If aim is recall, use e.g:
click to reveal, multiple
choice questions
If aim is perform an activity,
use e.g; choose the correct
button/drag the object to
the correct position

Thanks to clear learning objectives, Cinders now knows exactly what she needs to achieve. The interactions allowed her to control
her own learning journey, engage with the content, and helped her remember it long after midnight.
www.brightcarbon.com @brightcarbon info@brightcarbon.com UK +44 161 883 0225
USA +1 866 789 2482