How to Set the Default Shape Style in PowerPoint 2013

PowerPoint enables you to set the default format of all shapes or text boxes you insert into your presentation. Every time you create a new shape or text box, it will take on the default format you have set, saving you time and effort.

1. Select the INSERT tab. Click on Text Box to add a new text box to your slide.
2. Once you have created your new text box, right click on it to format it. You can change the color, style, line width, etc.
3. Once you have formatted the text box, right click on it and select Set as Default Text Box from the context menu.

Now every time you add a text box, it will take on your default format. You can use the same steps to set a default format for normal shapes (Set as Default Shape) and lines (Set as Default Line).

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The Many Flavors of Microsoft Office: Office 2013, Office 365, Office RT, Office Online

Choosing the version of Microsoft Office that is right for your needs can be confusing. Here are some tips on ensuring that you’re getting the version that is tailored to your interests and budget.

Office 2013 on the desktop/laptop

Office 2013, the traditional release of Microsoft Office that runs on a desktop or a laptop Windows computer, comes in three versions:

• Office Home & Student 2013 has a one-time cost of $139.99(US) per PC. All three versions of Office 2013 for the desktop/laptop include Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. This Home & Student version is licensed only for home use.
• Office Home & Business 2013 costs $219.99 per PC and also includes Microsoft Outlook.
• Office Professional 2013 costs $399.99 per PC and also includes Outlook, Publisher, and Access.

Office 365 – Office 2013 in the cloud

There are two versions of the Cloud-based Office 365: Personal and Home. Office 365 Personal allows one person to access the site with a PC, Mac, iPad, or Windows tablet and use the Office programs online. Your Office 365 account includes online storage of the documents that you create.

Office 365 Home offers the same services to as many as five family members. The Personal version costs $6.99(US) per month, and the Home version costs $9.99. You can save about 16 percent on either Cloud-based version by signing up – and paying for – a full 12 months of service.

It’s easy to access your account using an iPhone, Android phone, or Windows phone. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook are included for both Windows and Mac users. OneNote is also available to both groups of users, but Mac users need to download it from the Mac App Store. Publisher and Access are available only to PC users.

Office RT – Office on Windows RT Devices

Office RT is the release of Office that is designed for use on Windows RT devices. There have been several versions of the software released since 2013, and the feature set seems to still be evolving. Before buying Office RT, visit Microsoft’s site and read about the feature-set and the licensing agreement that is currently in force.

Office Online

Office Online is a free Internet-based service from Microsoft. Microsoft describes it as a way to “collaborate in real time on shared projects” and says that Office Online “works great with Office 365.”

The Office Online site itself is a doorway to eight individual sites on which you can create and share Office documents. The eight main menu items are Word Online, Outlook.com, People, OneNote Online, PowerPoint Online, Calendar, Excel Online, and OneDrive.

Office Online runs in any standard web browser, and there is no need to install software on your desktop or laptop computer. Visit office.com to get started.

Which Version Should You Get?

First, decide if you want to continue to run the traditional type of Office that gets installed on the desktop or laptop computer that is located in your home or office, or if you want to move your Office processing to the Cloud. The desktop/laptop solution offers more control, more privacy, and a consistent processing speed. The Cloud solution can slow down when your Internet connection becomes sluggish, and stop completely when you lose your connection to the web. You can decide if your data is more safe and secure on your local computer or on a professionally maintained server at some undisclosed location somewhere on the planet.

Next, decide which applications you need. Word, Excel, and PowerPoint seem to be available on all flavors of Office. Most other Office programs are only available at premium prices.

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Free Halloween PowerPoint Template

With Halloween coming, I have created a PowerPoint template to give your presentations a special Halloween touch. Below are screenshots from the template and the link to download the file.

The template comes with 12 icons (pumpkin, ghost, zombie, grave, severed hand, skull, spider, bat, magic hat, witch, moon, and castle), and includes the freeware font Poultrygeist by Apostrophic Laboratories.

Click here to download the free Halloween PowerPoint template.

This file is free for private and commercial use.

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How to Merge/Combine Shapes in PowerPoint 2010

PowerPoint 2010 comes with a great new feature that is surprisingly hard to find: the Combine Shapes tool. You can use this tool to combine existing shapes into new ones using the principles of Boolean geometry (more about that later).

Access to Combine Shapes Tool

By default, the Combine Shapes tool is not available in the PowerPoint 2010 Ribbon. You can add it by following the steps below:

1. Click the File tab.
2. Select Options.
3. Switch to the Customize Ribbon page.
4. Click New Group to add a custom group to the Home tab.
5. Click Rename and name the group Shape Tools.
6. Choose Commands Not in the Ribbon in the top-left drop-down box.
7. Select Combine Shapes from the list and click Add to add it to the Shape Tools group.
8. Click Ok to close the options dialog.

The Combine Shapes command will now appear at the right end of the Home tab.

Using the Tool

To see how Combine Shapes works, add and select two or more overlapping shapes on the slide.

Then click on Combine Shapes and select one of the following options:

• Shape Union: Merges the shapes into one shape that covers the entire area of the original objects.
  
• Shape Combine: Merges the shapes, but leaves out the intersection area.
  
• Shape Intersect: Leaves only the intersection where the selected shapes overlap.
  
• Shape Subtract: Cuts out the area of the last selected shapes from the first selected one.
  

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Planning a PowerPoint Sales Presentation

When creating a sales presentation using a powerful application like PowerPoint, it’s tempting to run the program and explore all of the cool slides that you can create. The animations and slide transitions are fun. So, too, is the ability to add music and videos to your sales presentation. By contrast, the text of your sales presentation, and the supporting images, are dull and boring.

Resist the temptation to focus on the technology. You won’t close the sale by creating a stunning slideshow. You’ll only sell your product or service if you create a powerful, cogent presentation about the benefits of the product or service that you sell. And that requires a well-written, well-illustrated set of PowerPoint slides.

Focus on the Prize

The goal of your PowerPoint sales presentation is to sell product or service to your prospect. Your entire slideshow has to lead your prospects, step by step, to make a buying decision. Avoid the temptation to create dazzling special effects that become the center of attention.

Your PowerPoint presentation has to match the product or service that you’re selling:

• If you’re offering retirement investment products, then your sales presentation needs to be clear, conservative, and professional.
• If you’re marketing a vacation package that takes singles to the hottest European nightclubs, then your sales presentation needs to be dramatic and compelling.
• If you’re selling a turnkey enterprise business software solution, then your PowerPoint slides have to be modern and high-tech.

At the end of your presentation, the decision-maker in the audience might say, “Wow, that was a beautiful presentation.” If so, then you’ve failed. You’ve impressed your prospect with your ability to craft a visually appealing PowerPoint sales presentation. But you didn’t convince her to buy your product or service. You didn’t focus on the prize.

Choose Your Words Carefully

You may be selling a complex retirement investment package. But you cannot assume that your prospects understand the language of finance and investments. You need to translate your sales message into the language understood by the audience that you’re addressing.

If the vacation package that you’re selling is designed to appeal to young single people, then you have to speak to them in a language that they’ll understand. A safe choice is to speak in conversational English. Use common words to form short, clear sentences. A risky alternative would be to try to speak to people in their teens and twenties in a language that they would find natural. Be aware, however, that middle-aged people who try to talk like teenagers often sound ridiculous. You’re not going to sell any product or service if your sales presentation is viewed as contrived and insincere by your target audience.

If you’re selling computer services, you cannot assume that your audience is computer literate. Tech talk will confuse non-technical people. And confused people won’t buy the product or service that you’re offering. You sell business software to business people by speaking in plain English, and not by using computer jargon.

It’s Not About PowerPoint

PowerPoint is a superb software application. But it shouldn’t be the focus of your sales presentation. Use PowerPoint as a tool. Create a professional presentation with clear text and graphics. But focus on the sale, and not the technology.

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Adding Music to Your PowerPoint Presentation

It’s simple to add an audio track to your PowerPoint slideshow. You can play a song on any slide in your presentation. Alternatively, you can select one piece of music that will loop continuously from the time you click its audio button until you close your PowerPoint presentation.

Add Music from Your Hard Drive

To add a music file from your hard drive, choose a slide in PowerPoint, select INSERT, click Audio, and click Audio on My PC.

Navigate to the directory that contains your audio files. PowerPoint will display a list of your audio files in all of the popular formats. You’ll see your .mp3 and .mp4 files, your Windows Audio Files (.wav), and your Windows Media Audio Files (.wma), as well as audio tracks that are stored in some less popular formats.

Highlight the file that you want to add to your slide, and click Insert. PowerPoint will add the familiar audio button to your slide. To start the music during your presentation, just click the audio button. Your music will play as long as that slide is being displayed.

Add Music from the Internet

PowerPoint makes it easy to grab an audio file from the Internet, or to record a file yourself. To access the large library of online sounds and music that is available for free to Office 2013 users, select INSERT, click Audio, and click Online Audio. PowerPoint will download the file that you’ve selected, and make it available during your presentation.

Record an Audio Track and Add It

To record your own audio track, select INSERT, click Audio, and click Record Audio. Follow the instructions on the screen for starting and stopping the recorder.

Play Music in a Continuous Loop

If you want music to loop continuously during your PowerPoint slideshow, set up a music file using one of the procedures described above. Next, click the song’s audio icon. Select Audio Tools Playback and then select Play in Background. The music will start playing, and will continue to play until you close your presentation.

The Pros and Cons of Adding Music

Adding music to your PowerPoint presentation might be a great idea. People are accustomed to hearing musical soundtracks on just about every movie and TV show that we watch. So hearing a low-volume musical track playing during your slideshow might feel normal to most people.

For two groups of people, adding a music track will make them less able to appreciate your presentation:

• People with hearing problems should be concentrating on your verbal presentation. Playing music in the background will make it more difficult for them to separate the important message from the background music. People who don’t wear hearing aids will automatically distinguish between the music that is coming from your computer (or from the sound system that is connected to your computer) and the words that are coming from your mouth. By contrast, people with hearing aids receive a single input stream of sound. They have a much more difficult time separating your voice and your music in the sounds that they hear.
• People who speak English as a second language often struggle to understand people who speak conversational English. Playing music in the background makes this task much more difficult.

Many people in your audience are already being distracted by text messages, by social media interruptions on their smartphone or tablet, and by the ambient noise in the room in which you’re making your presentation. If your music track further degrades their ability to absorb and process the information in your presentation, then adding a music track is a bad idea.

The Bottom Line

PowerPoint makes it simple to add music to your presentation. But that doesn’t mean that adding music will help you achieve the goals of your presentation. Choose carefully.