How to make a PowerPoint presentation, step by step

Most bad presentations go wrong before anyone opens PowerPoint. This guide walks you through the whole job in order: plan the story, build the slides, polish them, then present or send the file.

Before you open PowerPoint: plan the story

Write down, in one sentence, what you want the audience to think or do when you finish. "Approve a second support hire" is a goal. "Update on support" is a topic. Every slide should move people toward the goal, and anything that does not can go in an appendix or the speaker notes.

Next, sketch the slides as a list of headlines on paper or in a text file. A 10-minute talk usually needs 8 to 12 slides. For most business decks this order works:

1. Title slide: what this is and who is presenting.
2. The situation or problem, in plain words.
3. The evidence: two or three slides of numbers, examples or a chart.
4. Your recommendation or answer.
5. What it takes: cost, time, people.
6. The next step you want from the room.

Step 1: start a new presentation

1. Open a blank deck or a templateOpen PowerPoint and choose Blank Presentation, or go to File > New and search the template gallery. If your company has a template, start from that file instead so logos and colours are already right.
2. Check the slide sizeGo to Design > Slide Size. Widescreen (16:9) is the default and fits almost every screen and video call. Change it now if you need 4:3 or a custom size, because resizing later can squash your layouts.
3. Pick a themeOn the Design tab, hover over the themes to preview them and click one to apply it. Use the Variants group next to it to switch colour sets and fonts. Choose something plain; you can always add personality with images.

Step 2: add slides with the right layouts

On the Home tab, click the arrow under New Slide to see the layouts: Title and Content, Two Content, Comparison, Section Header, Title Only, Blank and more. Pick the layout that matches what the slide needs to show. Using layouts (instead of drawing your own text boxes on blank slides) keeps titles in the same spot on every slide and makes the deck easier to restyle later.

• Ctrl+M (Windows) or Cmd+Shift+N (Mac) adds a new slide below the current one.
• To change the layout of an existing slide, select it and use Home > Layout.
• Drag slides up and down in the thumbnail pane on the left to reorder them.
• Right-click a thumbnail and choose Add Section to group slides; it helps a lot in decks over 20 slides.

Step 3: write the text

Click into a placeholder and type. Keep body text short: one idea per slide, and a few words per bullet. If a slide needs a paragraph to make sense, the paragraph probably belongs in the speaker notes, which you can open with View > Notes or the Notes button on the status bar at the bottom of the window.

Keep font sizes large enough to read from the back of the room: roughly 28 pt or larger for body text and 36 pt or larger for titles. If PowerPoint starts shrinking your text to fit (the AutoFit behaviour), take that as a signal to cut words or split the slide.

Step 4: add pictures, icons and charts

1. PicturesGo to Insert > Pictures and choose This Device, Stock Images or Online Pictures. Stock Images includes free photos and icons for Microsoft 365 subscribers. Drag a corner handle to resize without stretching.
2. IconsInsert > Icons opens a searchable library of simple line icons. Recolour them from the Graphics Format tab so they match your theme.
3. ChartsInsert > Chart, pick a type, and type your numbers into the small worksheet that opens. We have a full walkthrough in how to add a chart in PowerPoint, including how to keep it linked to Excel.
4. TablesInsert > Table and drag across the grid to set rows and columns. Keep tables to what the audience must compare; put the full data in a handout.

Step 5: use transitions and animations sparingly

Transitions (the effect between slides) live on the Transitions tab. Pick one simple transition such as Fade or Morph and click Apply To All so the deck feels consistent. Animations (effects on items within a slide) live on the Animations tab. The one animation worth using often is making bullets or chart parts appear one at a time, so people listen to the point you are on instead of reading ahead. Open the Animation Pane to see and reorder everything on a slide.

Step 6: check it and rehearse

• Press F5 to play from the start, or Shift+F5 to play from the current slide.
• Use Review > Spelling to catch typos, and Review > Check Accessibility to find missing alt text and low-contrast text.
• Use Slide Show > Rehearse with Coach (in Microsoft 365) for feedback on pace and filler words, or Rehearse Timings to see how long each slide takes.
• Turn on Slide Show > Use Presenter View so you see your notes and the next slide while the audience sees only the current one. Our speaker notes and presenter view guide covers the details.

Step 7: save, export and share

Save with File > Save As. Saving to OneDrive or SharePoint turns on AutoSave and lets you share a link with the Share button in the top right. If people only need to read the deck, send a PDF: File > Export > Create PDF/XPS. To send a version that plays on its own, use File > Export > Create a Video. If you want a clean link that opens in any browser, see how to turn a PowerPoint into a shareable link.

Common beginner mistakes

Or type one sentence and get the whole deck

InstaPresentation plans the story, writes the slides, picks images and charts, and animates it all. Download it as a PowerPoint file when you are done.