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FUNDAMENTALS OF INFORMATION The Modernization of Digital Information

TECHNOLOGY: Textbook – English Technology

1-1-2023

Chapter 10 Introduction to Presentation Applications

Shambhavi Roy

Clinton Daniel
University of South Florida, cedanie2@usf.edu

Manish Agrawal
University of South Florida, magrawal@usf.edu

Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/dit_tb_eng

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Roy, Shambhavi; Daniel, Clinton; and Agrawal, Manish, "Chapter 10 Introduction to Presentation
Applications" (2023). FUNDAMENTALS OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: Textbook – English. 10.
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Introduction to Presentation
Applications

CHAPTER CONTENTS
Overview 194
What is a Presentation Application? 194
Slides 195
Adding, Deleting, and Reordering Slides 195
Formatting Slides 197
Adding Content 200
Business Elements: Charts, Graphs, Tables, and
Spreadsheets 203
Sharing, and Printing Slides 207
Delivering the Presentation 209
Learning to Deliver Great Presentations 211
Chapter Terms and Definitions 213
Chapter Case: Amber’s Business Presentation 214

Chapter 10—Introduction to Presentation Applications 193

 Presentations aren’t about the presenter; they’re about the audience and what the
audience needs.

—Simon Raybould, author of “Presentation Genius: 40 Insights

from the Science of Presenting”

Overview
A presentation is an electronic document that conveys information to an audience. Robert Gaskins
got the idea131 of software to create “slides of text and graphics in a graphical, WYSIWYG environment,
then outputting them to 35-mm slides, overhead transparencies, or video displays and projectors…
[t]he presentation would spring directly from the mind of the business user, without having to first transit
through the corporate art department.”132 Before working on PowerPoint, as a student Gaskins had
worked in the computer lab at Berkeley as a graphics consultant. Gaskins began working on the
software, initially called Presenter, in July 1984, and continued working on it with two colleagues,
Dennis Austin and Tom Rudkin, and released PowerPoint on April 20, 1987, for Mac computers. Three
months later, in July 1987, Microsoft bought their company, Forethought Inc, for $14 million. 5 years
later in 1992, Microsoft released PowerPoint 3.0, which in Gaskins’ words, realized his initial vision
for the product.133 The first public presentation from a laptop to project video from PowerPoint took
place on February 25, 1992, in Paris. Since then, presentation software is used at virtually all business
meetings to improve communication.134 Students use presentation software in a variety of creative
ways to create flyers, brochures, and other electronic documents.

What is a Presentation Application?

A presentation application allows users to create and display presentations. Presentations are usually
made up of a series of slides or pages, each containing text, charts, images, and videos. Both word
processors and presentation applications create electronic documents with unstructured content. The
difference is in the goals and intended audience. Word processors create self-contained documents
that have all the detail necessary for a single reader to understand the information without any
external aids. This book is an example of a document created with a word processor. Presentation

131 The 2-page original concept for PowerPoint is at https://www.robertgaskins.com/powerpoint-

history/documents/gaskins-powerpoint-original-proposal-1984-aug-14.pdf (accessed June
2023).
132 How PowerPoint was created, David Pescovitz, https://boingboing.net/2017/11/01/how-
powerpoint-was-created.html, accessed from David Gaskins’ website at https://www.
robertgaskins.com/ (accessed June 2023).
133 A highly recommended site that describes the PowerPoint origin story is Robert Gaskins’ website
at https://www.robertgaskins.com/ (accessed June 2023).
134 For an important counterpoint to the use of presentations to facilitate business meetings, read
why Bezos banned the use of presentations at Amazon, and what they do instead at https://
twitter.com/JonErlichman/status/1573096127389474816?lang=en. This is business legend and
there are several articles online describing this approach. An example is https://www.foleon.
com/blog/why-jeff-bezos-banned-powerpoint-from-meetings (accessed June 2023).

194 Chapter 10—Introduction to Presentation Applications

applications are used to create electronic documents that support a talk given by a presenter to a
large audience, by making it easy to display visual information. The slide decks your teacher will use
in class to present the information in this textbook are created using a presentation application.
Typically, when a speaker presents information or teaches in front of an audience, they use slides
to display graphics, statistics, and other related information that adds context to the talk. Often
this information is difficult to describe verbally, but easy to present visually. Popular presentation
applications include Microsoft PowerPoint, Google Slides, and Apple Keynote. These applications are
feature rich, providing tools to create and format text, images, and other media, to design a consistent
look and layout of the presentation.

Slides
A presentation slide is a single page of a presentation. The term “slide” originated from the days of
overhead projectors, when an enhanced image was projected onto a screen that the audience could
see from a distance. Even with the advent of computers, the term slide remains popular. Presentations
are sometime called slide decks. Unlike a page in a document, which is typically intended to be
read by someone in a personal setting, a slide is intended to be used in a shared setting, either on a
conference call such as Zoom or in a conference room in front of an audience.

Adding, Deleting, and Reordering Slides

If you have Microsoft software, you can click on any existing presentation or open PowerPoint to
create a new presentation. If you use Google Slides, just go to slides.google.com. You can either
open a blank presentation or pick a template from the wide selection of templates available in both
PowerPoint and Google Slides (Figure 141 shows an example).

FIGURE 141 — PowerPoint users can add new slides to a presentation.

Chapter 10—Introduction to Presentation Applications 195

To add new slides to your presentation in PowerPoint, go to the “Home” tab, click “New Slide,” and
then pick any layout you want. In Google Slides, go to the “Insert” menu and select “New slide” (Figure
142). You will notice new slides inherit the same color scheme as the existing slides. We will discuss
later in this chapter how you can change the layout and theme of your slides.

FIGURE 142 — Google Slides users can also add new slides to their presentations.

To delete any slide in PowerPoint or Google Slides, select the slide, then right click on your mouse
to bring the context menu, and then select “Delete
Slide” (Figure 143). Once you have finished creating
your slides, you may want to rearrange the slides
based on inputs from colleagues and friends. In the
pane on the left (called the slide thumbnail pane),
you can see thumbnails of all your existing slides.
To move slides around, just click the thumbnail
of the slide you want to move, then drag it to the
new location. You can also select multiple slides by
holding “Ctrl” while you click the slides you want
to move, and then drag them as a group to a new
location. The slide thumbnail pane is very useful to
organize your slides.

FIGURE 143 — Users can quickly delete a slide by

right clicking on the slide.

196 Chapter 10—Introduction to Presentation Applications

Formatting Slides
You can customize how your presentation looks by changing the theme, layout, and background of
your slides.

FIGURE 144 — The Themes users can choose from are displayed on the right pane of Google Slides.

Themes offer a predefined set of colors, fonts, and visual effects for the presentation. Themes give your
presentation a unified, professional look. For most presentations one of these predefined themes will
work very well. To change the theme in Google Slides, go to the “Slide” menu, then select “Change
theme.” The right pane will show a variety of themes you can choose from (Figure 144). Selecting any
theme will change the theme of all your existing slides (Figure 145). In PowerPoint, go to the “Design”
tab to select from the list of available design themes.

FIGURE 145 — Google Slides users can change their themes using the toolbar.

Chapter 10—Introduction to Presentation Applications 197

Layout determines how information is
arranged on a slide. Typically, there is a single
theme for the entire presentation, but the
layout changes from slide to slide based on
the type of information you want to present.
For example, in a typical presentation, the
first slide has a layout appropriate for a
title slide to introduce the presentation to
the audience. By default, this first slide has
a place to enter the title and subtitle of
the presentation, along with the name of
the presenter. Most themes offer multiple
layouts options for the same task. You can
use any of these layouts to communicate
your message.
The slides following the title slide have
different kinds of content and there are
various layouts to choose from to present
this content. In the simplest case, you may When utilizing themes, it is important to note the first slide
just have a text box in your slide if you are will typically default to the title.
planning to write a paragraph. You may
want to use a two-column layout if you plan to compare the performance of two different products.
In PowerPoint, you have the option to select a layout when you add a new slide. You can also change
the layout of any slide by clicking the slide and then right clicking on the mouse to bring the context
menu. Select “Layout” to get all the available layout options (Figure 146). In Google Slides, you have
the option to “Apply layout” under the “Slide” menu (Figure 147). Of course, you can change the layout
of the slide manually, too. For example, if you want to remove a text box or an image from your slide,
just select the text box or image and click delete.

FIGURE 146 — PowerPoint users can change FIGURE 147 — Google Slides users can also edit
theme layouts by right clicking. theme layouts for individual slides.

198 Chapter 10—Introduction to Presentation Applications

The background refers to the area behind the
slides. It can be a solid color, a pattern, or a picture.
The purpose of the background is to set the tone
and style of the presentation and to help create
a cohesive look. You can use the background to
reinforce your presentation’s theme or to support
your overall message. You can customize the
background for a single slide or for all the slides in
your presentation.
To change the background in Google Slides, just
select the slide you want to change, right-click on
your mouse to bring the context menu, and then
select “Change background” (Figure 148). You can
also go to the “Slide” menu and select “Change
background.” The process to change background
is similar in PowerPoint. You can select the slide,
bring up the context menu, and select “Format
Background” (Figure 149). Once you select the
kind of background you want, you could apply
it to the selected slide or to all the slides in your
presentation. The “Design” tab in PowerPoint also
offers you the option to “Format Background” and
apply it to the selected slide or all slides in your
presentation.
FIGURE 148 — Editing the background of a slide
allows users to insert pictures.

FIGURE 149 — PowerPoint users can also edit backgrounds and insert images.

Presentation Design Tip

As you discover presentation software features such as backgrounds and layouts,
it is very tempting to use them indiscriminately across your presentation.
However, too many changes in visual design can quickly become jarring to
the viewer and draw viewers’ attention away from the core message you are
trying to convey. Use your judgment so that your design elements enhance
your message, and do not distract from the message you want to convey in
your presentation.

Chapter 10—Introduction to Presentation Applications 199

Adding Content
Once you insert a slide, you can add content to the slide by listing your ideas and inserting charts and
videos to illustrate your point. Charts and videos serve the additional purpose of ensuring folks don’t
fall asleep in the middle of your presentation. Keep in mind, you do not want to create verbose slides
with paragraphs of text. These slides become unreadable even from the first row of an audience. You
should have just enough words to convey your core message, without boring your audience with
details. For additional information, you can refer audience members to websites or other documents
that present the information with all necessary context. For example, your slide can say that “club
membership grew by 16% this year” and present all necessary details in your talk, or supporting
documents.
Adding text is easy. Most slide layouts have text boxes where you can enter text. How many text
boxes are there depends on the layout of the slide. In the slide in Figure 150, there are two rectangular
text boxes, one small box that serves as the header of the slide and the other large one for the main
content. This is perhaps the most common layout used in presentations.

FIGURE 150 — Text boxes allow users to customize the location of text in
individual slides.

Sometimes you may want to add additional text boxes to your slide. In Google Slides, go to the “Insert”
tab and then click on “Text box” (Figure 151). Click and drag on the slide to create a text box. Similarly,
in PowerPoint, go to the “Insert” tab and click on the “Text Box” icon in the “Text” group. You can then
click and drag on the slide to create a text box.

200 Chapter 10—Introduction to Presentation Applications

 FIGURE 151 — Text boxes can be added and removed to meet user needs.

You may want to create bulleted and numbered lists in text boxes to make your point succinctly. To
create a list in PowerPoint, just go to the “Home” tab and click on the “Bulleted List” or “Numbered List”
in the “Paragraph” group. Similarly, in Google Slides, just click on the bulleted or the numbered list
icon in the ribbon and select the format you want (Figure 152). A bullet point or number will appear
on the slide. Press “Enter” to create a new bullet point or number.

FIGURE 152 — Numbered lists can help users choose direction and priority in slides.

Both Google Slides and PowerPoint allow you to insert shapes, images, tables, charts, and headers and
footers. In PowerPoint, the ribbon of the “Home” tab has many different shapes in the “Drawing” group
(Figure 153). You can choose to fill the shapes if you want with color and add texture and gradients. In
PowerPoint, under the “Insert” tab, you have the option to add tables, charts, slide numbers, headers,
and footers.

FIGURE 153 — PowerPoint allows users to select and draw shapes that can be utilized to enhance a presentation.

Chapter 10—Introduction to Presentation Applications 201

When you add shapes and text boxes to your
slide, it is useful to ensure that the shapes on
the slide don’t go out of sync with respect
to each other. The simplest way to do this
is to group shapes. Grouping preserves the
individual shapes but treats the group as one
object while rearranging. To group shapes,
select the shapes by clicking on the shapes
while holding the “Ctrl” button, then right click
to bring the context menu, and choose “Group”
(Figure 154). A very common group is a shape
object and the associated text box label.
FIGURE 154 — Grouping shapes helps create complex
In Google Slides, you have the shapes icon on images that can be reused later
the ribbon, which offers a variety of shapes,
arrows, callouts, and equations (Figure 155). You can also go to the “Insert” tab to add shapes, tables,
charts, diagrams, and images. Text boxes can also be added over shapes to create a narrative. You can
group and align several shapes to create a consistent look.

FIGURE 155 — Google Slides also allows users to insert and create shapes (top). By layering shapes and combining
text boxes, users can create unique layouts (bottom).

202 Chapter 10—Introduction to Presentation Applications

Inserting media content is also easy in Google Slides as well as in PowerPoint. In Google Slides, go to
the “Insert” tab and search for any video on YouTube, the Internet, or your local drives. Once you find
the video you want, selecting it will insert it in your slide. Similarly, in PowerPoint, under the “Insert”
tab, you can use the “Video” button in the “Media” group to select videos from your device, YouTube,
or other online sources.

Presentation Applications as Drawing Tools

Presentation applications are one of the best drawing tools available, though
unfortunately, their drawing abilities are highly under-rated. Between shapes,
connectors, alignment tools, grouping, and related capabilities, you can create
almost any kind of drawing using presentation tools.

Business Elements: Charts, Graphs, Tables, and Spreadsheets

You can make the data in your presentation stand out by adding tables, charts, graphs, and
spreadsheets. There are many ways to add tables to slides. In PowerPoint, just go to the “Insert” tab,
click on the “Table” button, and find several options to create a table (Figure 156). You can select
boxes representing columns and rows to tell the software how many columns and rows you want.
Otherwise, you can select the “Insert Table” option and input the number of rows and tables you want.

FIGURE 156 — Tables can be inserted into slides.

Chapter 10—Introduction to Presentation Applications 203

Once you have your table, you can go to the “Table Design” tab and select any of the available Table
Styles. You can change the border style to either highlight or minimize the table borders. The “Effects”
button allows you to add special effects, including Cell Bevel, Shadow, and Reflection (Figure 157).

FIGURE 157 — Using table effects can help grab the viewer’s attention and personalize how data is displayed.

You can also link an Excel spreadsheet to your PowerPoint slide to make sure that the data in your
slide gets updated every time you change your spreadsheet. To do this, go to the “Insert” tab and
then click on “Object” in the “Text” group. In the “Insert Object” window, select “Create from file” and
make sure to select the checkbox (“Link”) to link the two objects (Figure 158). Once you click “Ok,”
the spreadsheet will get inserted into your slide. Anytime you change your Excel file, the data in your
presentation will also get updated. This is particularly useful when working with rapidly changing
data, so that the data and charts in your presentation reflect the most current data.

FIGURE 158 — Linking Excel files to presentations can allow users to reference and change data.

204 Chapter 10—Introduction to Presentation Applications

Working with tables in Google Slides is equally as
easy. You can create a table in Google Slides by
choosing the “Table” option under the “Insert” tab.
To link an existing spreadsheet onto a slide, just
open both the slide and the spreadsheet. Copy the
data in the spreadsheet and make sure to select
“Link to spreadsheet” before you paste it on your
slide (Figure 159).
Adding charts and graphs can be done easily.
Presentation applications have basic charting FIGURE 159 — Users can also copy the data from
capabilities to help you create quick charts without a spreadsheet and paste it into their presentation.
first plotting them using the extensive capabilities
available in spreadsheets. If you are using PowerPoint, simply go to the “Insert” tab and select the type
of chart you want. The chart as well as the data associated with the chart will get added to the slide
(Figure 160). To replace the sample data with your own, paste your own data or change the sample
data manually.

FIGURE 160 — Users can create graphs and visualizations in the presentation
application.

Right clicking on the chart will bring up the context menu to let you change labels, chart type, and
data. For more extensive controls and to work with large quantities of data, you could copy charts
created in Excel and paste them in PowerPoint. You will have the option to link the PowerPoint chart
to Excel, which can be great if you want the chart in PowerPoint to change every time you change
the data in Excel. Otherwise, you could choose to embed an Excel chart into a slide, which makes the
chart a part of the presentation, and disconnect it from the original source data. You can edit the data
associated with the chart in PowerPoint, and it will be saved with the presentation.

Chapter 10—Introduction to Presentation Applications 205

You can insert a chart just as easily in Google Slides by going to the “Insert” tab and selecting the
“Chart” menu option and the chart type you want. Both the chart and the sample data will get inserted
into your slide. You can change the data and labels to customize your chart. For more extensive
capabilities, you can also insert a chart from an existing Google Sheets file and link the two, so that
the chart in Google Slides gets updated whenever you update the data in the spreadsheet (Figure
161).

FIGURE 161 — Google Slides can also import charts and visualizations (Step 1—top; Step 2—bottom).

206 Chapter 10—Introduction to Presentation Applications

 Linking and Embedding135
Linking and embedding are two different ways of displaying information,
typically in a document or presentation, that has been created in a different
program (often a spreadsheet). Embedding creates a copy of the original data
in the document and removes any association between the document and the
data source. Linking retains the data in the original spreadsheet and uses the
document or presentation just for display.
In practice, linking requires great care since the links can get broken if either the
document or spreadsheet are moved from their locations.

Sharing, and Printing Slides

Sometimes you may need to share your slides with
your colleagues to get their feedback before your
slides are ready to be presented to customers or
stakeholders. If you want to share Google Slides,
you can do that by clicking on the “Share” button in
the top-right corner of your screen. You can also use
the “Share” option under the “File” tab, where you
can set up your colleagues and friends as editors,
commentors, or viewers. Once your presentation is
final, you may want to make it available to everyone
by choosing to “Publish to web” (Figure 162). If you
choose the “Publish to the web” option, you can
select the “Auto-advance” option to make sure the
slides move forward automatically.
To share PowerPoint slides with others, you could FIGURE 162 — Publishing a presentation enables
users to share their finished slides.
send the slides as an email attachment. Otherwise,
you could also upload the file to a cloud storage
service such as OneDrive, Google Drive, or Dropbox and share the link with your audience. The third
option is to upload the file to an online presentation platform such as Slideshare, Prezi, or PowerPoint
Online and share the link with others.

135 For more information on linking and embedding, please lookup related articles online. One
such article is from 2010 at Microsoft’s website https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/
linked-objects-and-embedded-objects-0bf81db2-8aa3-4148-be4a-c8b6e55e0d7c (accessed
June 2023).

Chapter 10—Introduction to Presentation Applications 207

Often, while delivering in-person presentations,
speakers like to distribute printed copies of their
slides to everyone in the audience, to help them
make notes while the presentation is going on or
to refer to the slides at their leisure. When you print
your slides, you could choose to print your slides
as handouts or outlines (Figure 163). Handouts
let you print multiple slides per page, usually in
a format that is easy for people to take notes on.
In PowerPoint, you can choose to print anywhere
from one to nine slides per page. You can also
include space for notes or include speaker notes.
Outlines are a way to print the text from your slides
in a document format. This is useful for people who
want to follow along with the presentation, or for
people who want to read through the presentation
before or after it is given.

FIGURE 163 — Users can print slides to create

handouts.

Outlines as a Power Tool for New Document Creation

One very powerful but under-rated use of presentation applications is to create
document outlines. In the normal workflow, users create documents describing
a plan in the greatest possible detail, then create the presentation to describe
the plan to an audience. This sequence can also be reversed. You can start
with the presentation and use the bullet lists and slide rearranging features
of presentation applications to create your presentation as an outline of your
document. The outline exported from the presentation application will be an
electronic document with slide titles and bullets in appropriate heading styles.
You can now fill in each section to create the complete document. This is a very
effective way to create a new document when you are still trying to develop the
structure of the document.

To see all the formatting options for handouts (to decide the layout, the number of slides per page,
page numbers, headers, footers, and background styles) go to the “View” tab and check out the
“Handout Master” (Figure 164). “Notes Master” will let you customize how your presentation will look
when printed with notes.

208 Chapter 10—Introduction to Presentation Applications

 FIGURE 164 — PowerPoint can help you choose the best format for handouts.

When you are ready to print or export a PowerPoint presentation, just to go the “File” menu and select
“Print.”
Google Slides also has similar options to print or export your presentation in the form of handouts
and outlines. One option is to download Google Slides as PowerPoint slides or a PDF document. Once
you have the slides in PowerPoint or PDF, you can use the print option to create handouts or outlines.
The “Print” option in Google Slides lets you choose the number of slides per page and whether to
include notes or not.

Delivering the Presentation

When you are done creating and ordering your slides, and have prepared it for sharing with others,
you may have the opportunity to deliver the presentation to an audience. If you plan to present your
slides in front of your audience, one of the first things you may want is speaker notes for your slides.
Speaker notes are a list of important talking points for a slide. Speaker notes can be added to slides
in Google Slides as well as in PowerPoint to help you remember things you want to talk about during
the presentation. In PowerPoint, click on “Notes” in the bottom-right corner to add notes. In Google
Slides, clicking on the three dots at the bottom of the page will bring a box to enter speaker notes.
Otherwise, you could go to the “View” tab and select “Show speaker notes.”
Presentation applications have a few tricks up their sleeve to add interest to your presentations. One
such capability is various transitions between slides (Figure 165). To add transitions in PowerPoint, go
to the “Transitions” tab and select the type of transition you want. If you are presenting at a children’s
birthday party, you may even choose to have sound effects when you transition from one slide to
another. But formal presentations in business contexts tend to be more sober affairs. Flashy visuals
are seen as lacking seriousness. Once you select the type of transition you want, you can choose
to apply it to all slides by clicking “Apply To All.” If you are at a trade show and want to run slides
continuously, you may choose to advance slides automatically after a certain time rather than move
slides manually with “On Mouse Click.” In Google Slides, add transitions by clicking on the “Transition”
button on the ribbon.

Chapter 10—Introduction to Presentation Applications 209

 FIGURE 165 — PowerPoint (top) and Google Slides (bottom) allow users to select and edit transitions.

Not all presentations are in-person. With many organizations switching to remote work due to the
changes and adaptations required as a result of the Covid pandemic, many meetings and presentations
are now delivered on Zoom, Google Meet, or Skype. Whether online or live, when you present in
front of a large audience, you may want to ensure that your laptop or mobile device can successfully
connect to the projector, display, or meeting software. Make sure to practice a few times to avoid a
panicky, stressful situation on the day of the presentation.
Once you are ready to present, you will need to switch to the presentation mode in the presentation
application. The presentation mode removes all editing controls and uses the entire viewing area to
display the contents of the displayed slides. In presentation mode, you can move slides manually or
automatically. In PowerPoint, you have the “Slide Show” tab with many different options to present.
To start the presentation, go to the “Start Slide Show” group and select “From Beginning” or “From
Current Slide.” If you select “Use Presenter View,” you will see the notes and several other presentation
options on a second display connected to your computer while you present. This can be very useful
since you may want to have access to your notes while presenting but don’t want to show them to
others. The presenter view also gives you access to the taskbar while you are presenting. In Google
Slides, begin presenting by clicking on the “Slideshow/Presenter” button in the top-right corner
(Figure 166 top). You have the option to give the URL of the presentation to your audience so they
can ask questions that will show up on your screen as they are typed in (Figure 166 bottom). You can
address the questions at the end or immediately as they appear on your screen.

210 Chapter 10—Introduction to Presentation Applications

 FIGURE 166 — In Google Slides the presenter view helps to increase viewer engagement, removes most of the editing
tools from the display (top), and allows questions during the presentation (bottom).

Learning to Deliver Great Presentations

Thus far, we have described the important elements of creating and delivering a presentation. As you
create your own presentations, it is useful to pay attention to what makes presentations successful.
Since the primary purpose of presentations is to communicate with an audience, it is important to use
consistent font sizes, styles, and colors throughout your presentation. Bullet points and numbered
lists help organize and present information in a clear and concise manner. Headings and subheadings
help structure your content and make it easier for your audience to follow along. Also, images, charts,
and other types of graphics help illustrate your points and make your presentations more engaging.
Experts have shared several tips online for creating and delivering great presentations. A very good
starting point is the TED talks playlist on how to create great presentations. It is available at https://
www.ted.com/playlists/574/how_to_make_a_great_presentation.

Chapter 10—Introduction to Presentation Applications 211

 FIGURE 167 — Choosing the appropriate mix of color, content, and general aesthetic is crucial to creating impactful
slides.

Here are a few suggestions to create impactful slides (e.g., Figure 167):
1. Add data and remarks to make your point clearly and briefly
2. Explain complex concepts or ideas by providing visual aids—images, charts, graphs, and
videos—to help the audience understand and retain information.
3. Create an appealing presentation that captures and holds the audience’s attention and helps
them to stay engaged throughout the presentation.

212 Chapter 10—Introduction to Presentation Applications

 Chapter Terms and Definitions

Background: Refers to the area behind the slides Slide: A single page of a presentation used to
visually display content intended to be used in a
Embedding: Creates a copy of the original data shared setting
in the document and removes any association
between the document and the data source Slide show: A presentation mode in the
presentation application that removes all editing
Layout: Determines how information is arranged controls and uses the entire viewing area to
on a slide display the contents of the slides

Linking: Retains the data in the original Theme: A predefined set of colors, fonts, and
spreadsheet and uses the document or visual effects that can be used for the presentation
presentation just for display
Transition: A feature is used in presentations
Presentation: An electronic document that to apply special visual or audio effects when
conveys information to an audience advancing one slide to another

Chapter 10—Introduction to Presentation Applications 213

 Chapter Case

Amber’s Business Presentation

Amber was preparing for a Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA136) high
school competition. FBLA is the largest business Career and Technical Student
Organization in the world. Each year, FBLA helps over 230,000 members prepare
for careers in business. Its mission is to inspire and prepare students to become
community-minded business leaders in a global society through relevant career
preparation and leadership experiences.137
Amber was competing in the category, “Introduction to Business Presentation.” Her
task was the following:
You are trying to raise money to attend a business leadership training program
in New York City. This would be a week-long summer program that will cost
$2,000. You will prepare a presentation that can be used in front of potential
sponsors from your community. Be sure to include why you should attend,
and the benefit you will receive and bring back to your school.138

Question 1: Maybe you aspire to be a future leader or perhaps you may not.
However, consider for a moment that you will be participating in this
competition with Amber. Create a presentation using a presentation
application you have access to that meets the requirements described
above. Be sure to apply a theme, background, and professional
layout.
Question 2: Considering that you are petitioning your community to sponsor
the funding needed to pay for the summer program, add at least
one “business element” to your presentation. Describe the “business
element” and why you added it to your presentation.

136 Future Business Leaders of America, FBLA, High School, https://www.fbla-pbl.org/divisions/

fbla/ (accessed June 2023).
137 Future Business Leaders of America, FBLA, Mission, https://www.fbla-pbl.org/about-fbla-pbl/
(accessed June 2023).
138 This sample scenario was taken from FBLA website which describes the “Introduction to Business
Presentation” competition category.

214 Chapter 10—Introduction to Presentation Applications