This article will explore two of Microsoft 365’s most popular presentation applications, PowerPoint and Sway, to see which one comes out ahead in 2022 for designing presentations.
Microsoft PowerPoint
What is PowerPoint?
Microsoft PowerPoint is an application that was designed for creating slideshows and presentations that impart information to a specific audience. This app comes with an array of tools and features for outlining, word processing, graphing, sketching, and managing presentations. Those wishing to make presentations using PowerPoint can do so with the templates that come with this application or can make their own. Text, as well as art, video, and images, can all be incorporated into PowerPoint presentations.
Why Use PowerPoint for Presentations?
The measure of a good presentation isn’t just delivering information to an audience, it’s finding ways to provide this information so that it’s poignant, relatable, and memorable. Thanks to PowerPoint’s custom presentation tool, users can accomplish all these goals and more when making presentations. The following are just a few of the ways PowerPoint can help you create a killer presentation that resonates with your audience:
- Animated elements and cinematic motion can be incorporated into PowerPoint presentations to provide them with an interactive component. In addition, three-dimensional objects from your own files or a library of content can be directly embedded into a presentation.
- For presenters who work in longhand first, handwritten notes can be converted into text when using PowerPoint, and shapes that were drawn by hand can be smoothed in just seconds.
- In addition to its features for cutting-edge presentation design, PowerPoint also helps users deliver their actual presentations. With the help of Presenter Coach, an AI-powered feature, users are provided with tips as they practice their speech on how to improve various elements such as pacing and word choice.
- When working with a group or team on a presentation, PowerPoint ensures that all users are kept up-to-date on edits that were made. This app’s “While You Were Away” feature keeps track of any changes that were done to the presentation since a user last opened it. In addition, anyone collaborating on a presentation who wishes to offer feedback can do so by selecting the “Review” tab, then “New Comment.”
- Video editing capabilities help presenters perform edits to videos such as trimming excess video or exporting presentations as videos.
- Brand logos can be displayed in PowerPoint presentations for even further customization.
- PowerPoint also provides several tools for helping to make presentations more accessible to all audience members. It can transcribe words that were spoken during a presentation, then position them in captions directly on the screen. The subtitles can be made in either the language that is being spoken or can be translated into another language so that they can be understood by audience members who speak other languages.
- PowerPoint users can print entire presentations, as well as speaker notes.
In addition to the above-mentioned benefits of creating presentations in PowerPoint, it also integrates well with other Office 365 applications. Documents created in PowerPoint can be imported into other Microsoft products such as Word or Excel. In addition, presentations can be saved to OneDrive, where they can be accessed at a later point from any device.
Microsoft Sway
What is Microsoft Sway?
Microsoft Sway is an online application for storytelling and presenting. It helps users create websites on which content like videos, images, links, and text can be stored. This cloud-based platform is considered to be easy to learn and intuitive to use. Sway provides users with an assortment of templates such as resumes, newsletters, and business presentations, so that they can launch right into creating a presentation, rather than having to stare at a blank page and wait for inspiration.
Presenters can also draw from the “get inspired” presentation selections to help them select a fitting form for their presentation. This helpful feature takes a topic like “technology” and creates an entire outline for the presentation, which contains important terms and corresponding definitions, images, linked topics, applications, and important areas to further explore. This feature is powered by Wikipedia. It also provides links to the source material for citation purposes. If a Sway user cannot find an appropriate template for their presentation, there’s no need to worry; this app can still assist with project outlining. Users simply choose “Start From a Topic” and are provided with a list of topics.
Unlike other presentation apps such as PowerPoint, Sway focuses on the storytelling component more than the actual presentation. This focus is reinforced by the design of the app; it provides a narrative structure that flows either from the top to bottom or left to right. Instead of clicking a button to move slides, the presenter relies on a mouse wheel to navigate through the story. The storyline that is created in place of slides creates a narrative journey for the audience rather than a series of steps. This helps audiences stay engaged, and makes it more likely they will remember the content of the presentation.
Why Use Microsoft Sway for Presentations?
Sway users draw from the following tools and features to create engaging, professional-level presentations:
- Text placement is an important element of an effective presentation. Sway users can insert text in many places such as next to videos or images, directly on top of images, as well as left or right-aligned. Intelligent text placement capabilities are also offered. This feature is helpful for those who wish to insert multiple paragraphs and an image into a vertical layout. Sway automatically will pin the image to the right so that it fits nicely with the text.
- Those who create presentations in Sway can email the presentation link to any mobile device or tablet. Sway is also able to resize a website browser and automatically adjust the website so it can fit if the browser window is maximized or minimized.
- Adding images to Sway presentations is easy, thanks to the image holder. Those wishing to incorporate images into their presentation simply go to the panel on the right side of the screen. Sway provides auto-suggestions of images that are pertinent to the presentation theme.
- Ensuring that a presentation is accessible to all audience members is crucial to its success. Sway has presenters covered; its accessibility mode provides helpful tools and suggestions for creating accessible presentations. For audience members who use a screen reader, alternative text can be used in place of images. In addition, any page created in Sway can be made placed in a more accessible layout to facilitate viewers with dyslexia. The built-in accessibility checker provides users with free guidelines so they can make sure all users have access to content.
- Sway provides users with built-in applications that automatically search different outlets like social media for content. Sites such as YouTube are also searched for third-party content.
In addition, since Sway belongs to the Microsoft 365 family of applications, it integrates nicely with other Microsoft apps. Sway users can upload images into Sway directly from OneDrive. They can also import documents from Word.
Which One Comes Out Ahead?
When deciding which Microsoft application is best suited for your presentation needs, there are a few important considerations. While both PowerPoint and Sway are helpful tools for creating engaging presentations, they have different strengths. For those who wish to collaborate on a presentation, Sway is a better option than PowerPoint in that it places more emphasis on shareability. This app permits multiple users to simultaneously work on a presentation, as well as to share it to enable editing. Sway’s “Invite People To” feature is designed for just this reason.
In terms of formality, Sway is considered to be a more informal app than PowerPoint. It facilitates the process of retrieving content from online sources, then compiling it into a presentation. On the other hand, PowerPoint has a more formal, business-oriented feel. However, for those looking to have more layout options when presenting, Sway comes out ahead. This app offers three layouts: vertical, horizontal, and slideshow, whereas PowerPoint is more geared toward slideshow presentations. While Sway offers fewer templates than PowerPoint, it does offer users great flexibility with customizing their own templates.
When pressed to decide between Microsoft PowerPoint and Sway, users should consider the type of content they wish to present, as well as the needs of their target audience. PowerPoint is the preferred platform for presentations that revolve around charts, graphs, or other basic data visualizations. However, in situations where presenters wish to incorporate video content or animations, Sway is a better option.
Learn PowerPoint with Hands-On Classes
Those who know how to create stunning PowerPoint presentations have many job opportunities across industries and careers. If you are interested in learning more about how to use this Microsoft Office application, then Noble Desktop’s live online and in-person PowerPoint courses are for you. These small group classes prepare students at all levels to work with this industry-standard presentation software.
If you are looking for a more rigorous and intensive PowerPoint class, look no further than Noble’s PowerPoint Bootcamp. Throughout this 14-hour, two-day course, participants create different layouts, as well as learn how to layer objects and customize text. More advanced features are also covered such as how to make your own reusable PowerPoint template, as well as how to import Excel charts.
There are also over 50 PowerPoint courses available from Noble Desktop and its affiliate schools. If you want to learn more about which of these courses you can take nearby, Noble’s PowerPoint Classes Near Me Tool is designed to help prospective students explore all learning options.