“No way!” was the expression I heard as every student dropped their heads to scribble down the PowerPoint shortcut on their Satori pages. “You don’t know how much time you just saved me!” was the next comment I heard. Bill Kreiger, one of our Master Instructors, had just shown the group how to use the eyedropper tool. When we teach our Visual Storytelling workshop we share a few PowerPoint shortcuts and they’re always met with extreme appreciation.
Here are the 5 best PowerPoint tips we give, based on student reactions in our Visual Storytelling workshops.
The Color Eyedropper
If you’ve ever wanted to color a shape or object on your slide to perfectly match the color in your company logo, the color dropper is for you. Even if it’s not your company logo, if you want to match the exact red or blue of any other object on your slide, you can easily do it here.
No more guesswork!
How to:
- Select the object you want to color
- Select Format / Shape Fill / Eyedropper
- Point the Eyedropper to the color you want to pick up / copy and click!
The Zoom Tool
Have you ever struggled with an audience who wants to choose where the presentation topic should go? If you’ve ever wished you could have an artistic way to create a main-menu type of slide with clickable areas for jumping to different parts of the message, you just found it. (This is only available in the most recent version of PowerPoint)
How to:
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To add a Zoom, go to Insert / Zoom.
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To summarize the entire presentation on one slide, choose Summary Zoom
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To show selected slides only, choose Slide Zoom
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To show a single section only, choose Section Zoom
Filling Pictures to a Shape
Similar to the profile pictures you set up for a social media platform, this tool allows you to fill a shape with your picture. So you can take your photo and wrap it to a circle. Or you can fill a starburst with your logo or your number one product line.
How to:
- Right-click on the object you’ve drawn and select Format Shape
- Then select the Fill option and choose Picture
- Select the file name of the picture and then click Ok
Double-Click on the Format Painter
Most people are familiar with the format painter tool used to copy all formatting for text or objects and apply it to other text or objects. But many don’t know you can Double-Click on the Format Painter to hold the formatting on the paintbrush. This will allow you to apply the formatting to many objects without having to go back and turn on the painter after each application.
How to:
- Select the object or text you want to copy the formatting from
- Double-click on the Format Painter
- Go click on as many objects or items as you want to apply the formatting
- Click once on the Format Painter to turn the tool off
The Duplicate Tool
Ever struggle with drawing multiple objects and getting them the same size? Ever try to copy and paste an object so you don’t have to draw it multiple times, but then struggle with getting it lined up perfectly? You need to know this tool! At first glance this tool sounds no different than copy (Ctrl + C) and paste (Ctrl + V), but that’s where you’d be mistaken.
If you duplicate an object (Ctrl +D) and then move it in alignment to the first object you drew, you can copy it again (Ctrl + D) to make a third object and it will follow your lead in both alignment and spacing!
How to:
- Draw your first object and then use Ctrl + D to duplicate it
(it will be placed down and to the right of the original) - Drag the new object to the alignment and spacing you want, relative to the first object
- Press Ctrl + D again and watch it follow your lead!
What’s your favorite PowerPoint tip?
Reply to this email or post your tips for us all!
Until next week…
Russ
Let’s connect…
iSpeak teaches workshops on Professional Selling to help sales leaders gather the most important data and then use that information to create the right message. Are your sales presentations closing eyelids or deals?
Russ Peterson Jr. is the co-founder and Managing Director of iSpeak, Inc. – An award-winning professional development training company. Russ is a speaker, international trainer, and published author on Professional Sales Communication and Business Communication. He delivers workshops, keynotes, and personal communication coaching services to business professionals in the US and around the world. His leadership blog assists leaders in giving voice to their vision. You can connect with Russ directly through Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
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