Chapter 15: Presenting a Slide Show
Before you present your PowerPoint slide show, be sure you understand the tools that are available to you during the show. These tools were designed to help you give a flawless presentation. Familiarity with them will enable you to present the slide show smoothly.
Mark Up with Pen and Highlighter
Get Ready to Present
A successful live presentation requires solid content, good design, and a prepared presenter. Preparing to make a presentation involves double-checking your presentation for problems and getting comfortable with your material and presentation environment. Many times, the person presenting a slide show is not only assessed on the quality of the ideas that they are trying to convey, but also on the professionalism of the presentation, the quality of the slide show, and salesmanship. Become familiar with your presentation, the tools, and your surroundings so you can give the best show possible.
Check Your Presentation for Errors
Checking your slides for details such as spelling, grammar, and typos can save you a lot of embarrassment at show time. Use the presentation outline to review the text so you are not distracted by design elements. A person should not proofread his or her own work. Have a third party review the presentation. That person may catch errors that you miss. Use the PowerPoint tools that are available to help you; PowerPoint contains a spelling and grammar checker, a thesaurus, a research tool, and a word counter. Use these valuable tools to your fullest advantage to build the best presentation possible.
Rehearse the Slide Show
Practice your presentation several times before you present it to an audience. Rehearse in front of a mirror or with a friend, or record yourself. You may discover undesirable mannerisms or expressions that you want to avoid. Know your material so you can anticipate each slide and each bullet point — know what comes next. Avoid looking at and reading from the slide show. Finishing your presentation in the allotted time is considered courteous. Use the Rehearse Timings feature in PowerPoint to check your timing, and then change your presentation accordingly. You want the slide show to move along, but not be rushed.
Know Your Presentation Space
To avoid problems during your presentation, visit the site before the presentation if you can. Knowing the size of the room, the acoustics, and the layout of the stage and audience seating can help you prepare. If the space is large, you may need a microphone. Close the blinds if the space is too bright. Try to meet your audience before the slide show. This makes you more comfortable with them, gives them a chance to ask preliminary questions, and allows you to identify people who need extra attention. Too many questions and comments during a presentation can bog it down.
Set Up Your Show
Be sure to check those all-important slide show settings. (For more information, see Chapter 13.) Before the slide show, you should set up the format for the presentation, such as a live presentation versus one shown at a kiosk, which slides to include, monitors and resolution, and how you will control the advancement of the slides. Even if you are using your own laptop, it could crash, so bring a backup of your presentation. Package it with the PowerPoint viewer in case you find yourself on a computer without PowerPoint. Package any files that are linked to the presentation as well.
Start and End a Show
You typed a lot of text, inserted graphics, and worked with design settings. Finally, your hard work pays off and you get to present your slide show. All you need is to start the slide show and navigate through it. You can end the show at any time or view all of the slides. For the most professional presentation possible, you probably want to start the show and have the first slide or a black screen visible before the audience arrives. You can start the show from any view.
Start and End a Show
Click the Slide Show tab.
Click From Beginning.
Note: You can also press 
to begin the show.
The slide show begins.
When you move the mouse pointer (
), the on-screen toolbar appears faintly in the lower-left corner.
To end the show before you reach the last slide, click the Options icon (
) on the on-screen toolbar.
Click End Show.
Note: You can also end the slide show by pressing 
.
The slide show closes.
Navigate Among Slides
No slide show would be any good without the ability to move through the slides. You can use the shortcut menu or the Slide Show on-screen toolbar, or click the screen to move through a slide show. You can move back or forward one slide at a time or you can pick a specific slide to show. You can also press the keyboard arrows to move forward and backward through the slide show. All of these options are also available in Presenter view, which is covered later in this chapter.
Navigate Among Slides
With your presentation in Slide Show view, click the Next icon (
) to advance the slide.
Note: You can also click the slide or press 
to advance the slide. Keep in mind clicking the slide also runs animations.
Click the Previous icon (
) to move to the previous slide.
Note: You can also press 
to move to the previous slide.
The slides advance.
Click the All Slides icon (
).
All slides appear.
Click the slide you want to show.
The selected slide appears.
TIPS
I clicked the All Slides icon and I am now in All Slides view. Can I return to the slide show without switching slides?
Yes. In the upper-left corner of the screen is a back button (
). Click that button and the slide show returns to the current slide.
The slide thumbnails in the All Slides view are too small. Can I make them bigger?
Yes. In the lower-right corner of the All Slides view is a zoom slider. You can click and drag the slider or click anywhere on the zoom slider to zoom in or zoom out, which resizes the slide thumbnails. You can also use the plus and minus signs at either end of the zoom slider to zoom in and out.
Zoom In
Ideally, you want all the text and objects on a slide to be easily visible to your audience without them straining to see. You may have something on your screen, though, that is unavoidably hard to see. If your audience has trouble seeing something on a slide, you can zoom in on the slide with a click of the on-screen toolbar during the slide show. After zooming, you can move the zoom area to any region of the slide with a simple click and drag of the mouse.
Zoom In
With your presentation in Slide Show view, click the Zoom icon (
) on the on-screen toolbar.
A A marquee appears, showing the zoom area. The mouse pointer () changes to a zoom magnifying glass (
).
Drag the marquee with the zoom magnifying glass () to the area of interest.
Click the screen.
B PowerPoint zooms in on the marquee area. The zoom magnifying glass () changes to the zoom hand (
).
Click and drag the zoom hand () to any area of the slide, and the zoom area moves.
Press to return to the full screen view.
TIPS
The slides seem to advance properly when I use the Forward icon on the on-screen toolbar, but not when I click the slide. Why not?
You may have some animations on the slide that run when you click the slide instead of advancing the slide. Also make sure that you enable (
) On Mouse Click on the Transitions tab.
I set up the slide show to advance slides automatically, but sometimes I want to advance faster. Can I?
Yes. Enable () the On Mouse Click option on the Transitions tab. The slide will advance automatically and also when you click either the slide or the Next icon () on the on-screen toolbar.
Use the Pointer
You have options regarding how you use the mouse pointer during the slide show, such as showing or hiding it. The laser pointer is also a great way to draw your audience’s attention to a particular spot on a slide. The laser pointer is an on-screen tool that gives the illusion that you are pointing at the screen with a hand-held laser pointer. You can quickly and easily enable and use the laser pointer during your slide show to point something out with flair and style, or you can stick with the faithful standard mouse pointer.
Use the Pointer
With your presentation in Slide Show view, click the Options icon () on the on-screen toolbar.
Click Arrow Options.
Click a setting from the menu.
Automatic shows the mouse pointer (), but hides it when inactive; Visible shows the mouse pointer continuously; Hidden hides the mouse pointer continuously.
Click the Pen icon (
) on the on-screen toolbar.
Click Laser Pointer.
The mouse pointer () changes to the laser pointer (
), and the laser pointer appears continuously.
Drag the mouse around the area you want to identify on-screen.
Position the pointer over the on-screen toolbar.
The pointer temporarily changes back to the mouse pointer ().
Click the Next icon ().
A The slide advances and the pointer changes back to the laser pointer ().
Press .
The laser pointer () changes to the mouse pointer ().
TIPS
Is there an easier way to turn on the laser pointer?
Yes. Constantly going to the on-screen toolbar is inconvenient and strains the audience. To use the laser pointer briefly, press 
then press the primary mouse button, and then drag the mouse to move it. When you release the mouse button or the key, the mouse pointer () comes back.
Can I change the color of the laser pointer?
No, but the laser pointer is designed in such a way that it is clearly visible, even on a red slide background, or a red graphic or table. It actually shows well on any color because it is red with a white corona.
Mark Up with Pen and Highlighter
PowerPoint enables you to draw freehand on your screen during a slide show with a pen tool. You can use it to highlight or annotate important points in the slide show. You can choose Pen for a thin, opaque line, or Highlighter, which gives you a much thicker, translucent line. You can also choose a color for both. You can save annotations so they appear the next time you present your slide show — PowerPoint asks if you want to save annotations when you exit the show, but only if that option is enabled in PowerPoint Options (see Chapter 3).
Mark Up with Pen and Highlighter
With your presentation in Slide Show view, click the Pen icon () on the on-screen toolbar.
Click Pen.
The pointer changes to a point of color on the screen.
A You can click to change the color of the Pen or Highlighter.
Click and drag on the screen around the area you want to identify.
A line appears where you dragged the mouse.
Press to turn off the Pen.
Click the Pen icon () on the on-screen toolbar.
Click Highlighter.
The pointer changes to a rectangular patch of color on the screen.
Click and drag on the screen over the area you want to highlight.
A thick, translucent line appears where you dragged the mouse.
Press to turn off the Highlighter.
Press to exit the slide show.
PowerPoint asks if you want to save your annotations.
Click Keep or Discard.
TIPS
Why can I not seem to erase my annotations?
You can only erase annotations during the current session of your slide show. If you exited the slide show and saved the annotations when prompted, they are permanent and you cannot erase them the next time you view the slide show.
Why does PowerPoint exit the slide show when I press the Escape key to clear the Pen?
You may have pressed a second time, which exits the slide show. Be patient, it sometimes takes a few seconds for the Pen or Highlighter to change back to the mouse pointer (). You may need to move the mouse to see the pointer if your on-screen arrow option is set to Automatic, which hides the pointer when inactive.
Erase Annotations
When you work with the Pen and Highlighter tools to mark up a slide, in essence, the slide becomes a whiteboard or blackboard. These tools allow you to circle or highlight many things in your slide show. However, you may want to remove some markings from a slide if you marked the wrong thing or if you need more room on a slide where there are too many markings. You can remove annotations from the slide using a tool in the on-screen toolbar.
Erase Annotations
With your presentation in Slide Show view, click the Pen icon () on the on-screen toolbar.
Click Eraser.
The mouse pointer () changes to an eraser (
).
A You can click Erase All Ink on Slide to remove all annotations from the current slide.
Position the eraser () over an annotation and click the annotation.
The annotation disappears.
Press to clear the eraser.
Display Slide Show Help
You probably do not know everything about PowerPoint, so you may need help during the slide show. If you need help running your show after starting it, you do not need to stop the show to open PowerPoint Help. The slide show on-screen help shows shortcuts for running the show and managing presentation features such as pointer options. If you are using Presenter view, you can open the on-screen help for the slide show without the audience seeing it because it opens on the Presenter view screen on your laptop.
Display Slide Show Help
With your presentation in Slide Show view, click the Options icon () on the toolbar.
Note: You can also right-click the screen to display the shortcut menu.
Click Help.
Note: You can also press 
during the slide show to see Help.
The Slide Show Help window appears.
A PowerPoint categorizes the shortcuts with a tab for each category.
Look up the shortcut to perform the procedure you want.
The shortcut is in the left column and the description is in the right column.
When you finish, click OK.
The Help window closes.
Enable Presenter View
You can give a smooth presentation by using Presenter view. You can view your presentation complete with speaker notes on your computer, while the audience views only the slide show on the main screen. With Presenter view, you can see your notes, the slide show controls are continuously visible and accessible, and PowerPoint Help shows only on your monitor. If you need to go to the All Slides view to go to a particular slide, only you see it. A timer shows the elapsed time, and you can see both the current and the next slide.
Enable Presenter View
Click the Slide Show tab.
Click Use Presenter View (
changes to ).
Begin the slide show.
Your laptop shows Presenter view.
A You can click Display Settings to specify which screen shows the main show and which screen shows Presenter view.
B You can click Show Taskbar to switch to a different program.
C You can click Black Screen (
) to display a black screen.
Click End Slide Show.
Use Presenter View
During a live presentation, you want to give the audience your full attention, which means not looking at the projector screen. If you are presenting on a projector screen or monitor, you can use Presenter view on your laptop. With Presenter view, you see the slide currently being viewed by the audience, the next slide, any notes you made, and a suite of tools specifically designed to help you give a professional presentation. There is no need to search for tools on the main screen or have the audience watch you search for another slide. Everything is visible and available in Presenter view.
A Toolbar
The toolbar is nearly identical to the on-screen toolbar and is always visible in Presenter view.
B Command Buttons
These commands are conveniently visible in Presenter view, but hidden on the main screen.
C Timer
The timer shows the elapsed time of the show, and you can pause and restart it.
D Notes
Notes are visible and you can change their font size.
E Slide Preview
You can see the next slide and collect your thoughts in preparation.
F Advance Slides
You can advance slides with confidence by clicking buttons instead of slides.
Switch to a Different Program
You can switch to a different program and work with it during a slide show. For example, if you are giving a presentation on Microsoft Word, you may need to go to Word to demonstrate a feature that you are showing in your slide show. Perhaps someone asks to see the data for a chart and you want to show it during the slide show. You can quickly and easily switch to that other program, work with it, and then return to your slide show. To return to your slide show, you can minimize or close the other program.
Switch to a Different Program
With your presentation in Slide Show view, click the Options icon ().
Click Screen.
Click Show Taskbar.
The Windows taskbar appears.
Click an open program on the taskbar.
This example clicks Excel.
The program you clicked appears on the screen.
To return to your slide show, find the slide show on the taskbar and click it.
A You can also click the Close button (
) to close the program, Excel in this example, or the Minimize button (
) to minimize the program.
The slide show reappears.
TIPS
Can I open a program during a slide show?
Yes. When the taskbar appears, you can use it in any way that you normally would, including to go to the Windows 8 Start screen to open a program. You can also press 
to switch between the Windows 8 Start screen and the slide show.
Is there another way to switch to a different program?
Yes. If you are using a laptop and the audience is watching on a projector screen or monitor, you can use Presenter view. Presenter view has a command button for this very purpose. You can switch to another program with one click of the mouse.