applied tips : february 2008
microsoft powerpoint : saving time with auto-layouts
Maybe that catnap during last week's staff meeting felt great, but while you slept, your cubicle comrade nominated you to create the highlight reel for the annual company party. You might ask, "Who watches a slideshow at a party?" But the bigger question is this: What are you going to do?
No need to panic. Just use PowerPoint's handy AutoLayout feature and select the one that matches your need. When you're looking at a blank slide, choose the Format menu and Slide Layout. The "Slide Layout" task pane will open on the right of the screen and allow you to choose from a variety of preconfigured layouts. Just choose the right one for your slide.
Title
Grab the logo off your company's electronic letterhead or Web site and plop it on a title slide along with a catchy phrase like “2008 Review.” Well, that's not very creative, but you can dress it up with clip art, a photo, or some Word Art. Or add some drama with animation or sound effects. But use all of these sparingly - you only need a hint of visual pizzazz.
Bulleted List
Use this slide to create a short list of highlights. You must be able to think of five good things that happened to the company over the last year. If you're desperate, call the folks in the marketing department - they usually have all the company literature and propaganda you could ever need.
Change the bullets to numbering by highlighting the bulleted list and clicking the Numbering button on the Formatting toolbar. And then build up to the biggest event by making the items appear on the screen one at a time in reverse order by clicking the Reverse Text Order Effect button on the Animation Effects toolbar.
Table
Again, tap the marketing department for the latest scoop on the company's products. Then insert a table slide and whip up a simple three-column table that shows a picture of each product, its name, and its newest features. You can create more visual impact by changing the border width and colors via the Tables and Borders toolbar.
Chart
Let's assume that you found a financial chart - your best bet is a line chart, which is great for illustrating trends. After you add your data, double-click the chart to select it and then select Chart → Chart Type from the menu. In the Chart type list, select Line, and then pick the Chart sub-type of your preference.
Be sure to keep your chart simple. Don't list all twelve months -- use quarters instead. Don't list a bunch of products, just stick to product categories. If people want the full scoop they can ask you for a handout.
Organization Chart
Make an organization chart that shows the basic structure and change the color of the boxes to something that vaguely resembles the colors in your company logo. Select Boxes → Color from the menu in the Microsoft Organization Chart window.
Clip Art
Here's a good place for photos of the folks who are retiring this year. Or, use a Clip Art & Text slide to pair a bulleted list of their names, pictures, and achievements with an appropriate Clip Gallery image that identifies their department.
Media Clip
Didn't someone shoot video footage of the hijinks after the annual meeting? Remember that families may be present, so if the footage would receive a G rating and demonstrates company camaraderie, you can insert it in a Media Clip slide. But video clips require a lot of memory so just skip this slide if your video is less than stellar.
Mix and match design elements
Of course, you can and should mix and match these slide elements. In fact, PowerPoint's AutoLayout feature already contains the combinations you're most likely to need. The slide layout symbols (listed in the table below) are fairly intuitive once you understand them, so you won't have to bother memorizing the names of the various combinations.
But, in case you forget, PowerPoint 97 and 2000 both display the title of the selected layout in the lower right corner of the New Slide dialog box. PowerPoint 2002 and 2003 display the title in a ScreenTip if you position your cursor over the AutoLayout for a few seconds.
And remember that those areas that say “Click to add title” or “Click to add text” are just placeholders. You literally click them and start typing; the placeholders will grow or shrink to accommodate any text that you enter.
Okay, so you found all the info that you needed and whipped together a promotion-worthy presentation. Now relax. Just don't fall asleep during another staff meeting.
schedule a class on powerpoint
Request an on-site PowerPoint class from Applied Office. Sessions are just $125/hr and your employees will be creating amazing slideshows in no time! Learn more here
quick reference card
Get the Quick Reference Card on Microsoft PowerPoint! Download it for free and print it on your own printer. You might even want to laminate it.