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Office and productivity - Beginner

Microsoft PowerPoint: Presentations that Work

Build clear, good-looking slide presentations in PowerPoint and deliver them with confidence, from the first slide to the final talk.

About this course

PowerPoint is a program for making slides: pages of words, pictures, charts and video that you show while you speak. Students use it for class projects, NGOs use it to report to donors, and small businesses use it to pitch to customers. A good presentation helps people understand and remember your message.

This course teaches you both the buttons and the thinking. You will learn how to build slides, how to design them so people can read them, how to add motion and media sensibly, and how to stand up and deliver with confidence.

You need no experience. Each lesson ends with a short practice task, and by the end you will have made a complete presentation of your own. The steps match Microsoft 365 and PowerPoint 2019 or later on Windows 10 and 11, and most steps work on a Mac too.

What you will learn

  • Create, save and organise a presentation with slides, layouts and themes
  • Build slides with text, pictures, shapes, tables, charts and SmartArt
  • Use the Slide Master to keep every slide consistent
  • Design slides that have one clear message, strong contrast and little clutter
  • Make presentations accessible with alt text, reading order and readable fonts
  • Add transitions, animations, audio, video and links with good judgement
  • Use speaker notes, Presenter View and rehearsed timings
  • Export, share and present in person or online with confidence

Course content

5 modules · 19 lessons · 4 h 24 min · 6 quizzes

Module 1: Getting started with PowerPoint3 lessons

Learn the window, slides and layouts, and how to start, save and view a presentation.

  1. The PowerPoint window and what a slide is 12 min
  2. Layouts, new slides and themes 14 min
  3. Saving, views and the Slide Sorter 12 min
  4. Quiz: 8 questions
Module 2: Building slides4 lessons

Add and format text, use the Slide Master, insert content and arrange it neatly.

  1. Titles, bullets and text formatting 14 min
  2. The Slide Master: one change, every slide 15 min
  3. Pictures, icons, shapes, tables, charts and SmartArt 18 min
  4. Arranging objects, colour and font pairing 14 min
  5. Quiz: 8 questions
Module 3: Design that communicates4 lessons

Apply simple design principles: one message per slide, readability, images, charts, clutter and accessibility.

  1. One message per slide and visual hierarchy 14 min
  2. Contrast, readability and using images well 14 min
  3. Consistency, data visualisation and avoiding clutter 15 min
  4. Making presentations accessible 12 min
  5. Quiz: 8 questions
Module 4: Motion and media4 lessons

Use transitions, animation, audio, video, screen recording, links and sections with good judgement.

  1. Transitions 10 min
  2. Animations and the Animation Pane 15 min
  3. Audio, video and screen recording 15 min
  4. Hyperlinks, action buttons and sections 12 min
  5. Quiz: 8 questions
Module 5: Delivering your presentation4 lessons

Prepare notes, rehearse, present with Presenter View, export and share, and handle nerves and questions.

  1. Speaker notes, Presenter View and rehearsing 15 min
  2. Running a slide show, handouts and exporting 14 min
  3. Sharing, co-authoring and presenting online 14 min
  4. Nerves, questions and the final presentation checklist 15 min
  5. Quiz: 8 questions
Final exam

29 questions. Pass with 70% or more to earn your certificate.

What you need

  • A computer with PowerPoint installed (or PowerPoint online)
  • No experience needed

Further reading

More courses to explore

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