Microsoft PowerPoint is a software application used to create presentations. It is packaged with Microsoft Office Suite but can be purchased separately. The current version is PowerPoint 2007. PowerPoint allows for creation of professional, effective and creative business presentations that can be used for corporate or sales presentations and trainings. Each page in the presentation, called a slide in PowerPoint, can be customized according to business needs.
PowerPoint Basics
PowerPoint contains several easy-to-use features such as design templates, the capability to insert graphics and charts, and various printing options that allow the user to create a business presentation. Companies can develop a design theme containing their logo and colors to create a uniform look to all their presentations. The templates provided with PowerPoint are designed with intentionally placed text and graphic boxes and colors to lend a professional appearance to the presentation.
PowerPoint presentations can be printed in different formats: sets of slides, handouts or notes. The slides print with one slide to a page, handouts may print up to six slides condensed per page, and handouts allow for space to take notes.
Corporate and Client Presentations
Companies often use PowerPoint to create a visual simplified showcase to explain reports such as company status or program status. PowerPoint does not allow for heavy text to be crammed onto each slide, making PowerPoint easy to read and follow. The highest-impact PowerPoint slides highlight key points that tell a story and drive home a point in as few slides as necessary.
Each slide can accommodate titles, bulleted text, photos, clip art and graphics among other objects. Choosing text and objects carefully will add to the overall effect of your presentation.
Training Materials
PowerPoint is often used to develop training materials such as orientations, computer system lessons, customer service trainings and specific concept trainings. PowerPoint can be projected onto a screen in a classroom or can be easily followed sequentially online in a web meeting or at the user's own pace.
Within a slide show, the creator of the presentation has options for animation, timing and position from one slide to the next. For example, the transition from one slide to the next can be a slow fade-out. The trainer can time these slide show elements with the accompanying narrative.
