Clear, persuasive communication - between individuals, within teams, among departments, to clients - is a vital part of any successful organisation and - if used appropriately - PowerPoint can help keep your audience engaged through the length of your talk.
One of the rules to prevent "Death by PowerPoint" is “keep it simple”, but - if used sparingly - animations can add visual interest and help your listeners to focus.
For example, you might want to magnify part of an image on your slide. Depending on which version of PowerPoint you use, there are various ways to do this. Here’s a tried and tested method that works in all versions. (With thanks to Donna and Emma for this week’s tip inspiration.)
Here’s how:
- Insert your picture, as normal.
- Copy and align the pictures. (CTRL + D or press CTRL + SHIFT and move your mouse down a bit, which makes aligning the copy much easier.)
- Right-click the picture and Crop it to remove unwanted areas.
- On the Animations tab in the Animation group, click on Appear to add the first effect.
- In the Advanced Animation group on the Animations tab, click Add Animation and select Grow/Shrink to add the second effect.
- In the Timing group on the Animations tab, select With Previous from the Start drop-down list.
It’s easier done than said. Honest!
Related tips
Top ten Microsoft PowerPoint shortcuts
Nudging objects, such as AutoShapes
Shortcut key to quickly copy and align drawing objects
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13 July 2020
Karen Roem offers software training and support through her company Roem Ltd. Contact her by email (Karen@roem.co.uk) or visit her website at www.roem.co.uk