What is PowerPoint?

PowerPoint is the presentation software developed by Microsoft. It is part of Microsoft Office and allows users to create digital, multimodal presentations. PowerPoints are slideshows where users can adjust each slide to contain the appropriate amount of text, imagery, iconography, charts, videos, and other multimedia to convey information to the audience. PowerPoint is one of the most commonly used presentation applications because it is so well-known and trusted. More so than that, it’s useful for marketing presentations, educational materials, business proposals, and other situations where conveying and displaying information in a visual format would be necessary.

This powerful design tool, originally developed under the name “Presenter,” hit the scene in 1987 and was developed by Robert Gaskins and Dennis Austin. The software company Forethought Inc. initially had the software, but the acquisition by Microsoft shortly after its release has made it one of the most well-known, widely used, and industry-standard tools today. Microsoft PowerPoint has seen numerous updates and changes within the few decades it’s been around. Effects like animations, multimedia support, templates, collaboration tools, and other visual design features have been added to make presentations even more visually compelling. In addition, PowerPoint has evolved to meet the needs of its users, whether you need enhanced business tools or effective educational templates. Overall, PowerPoint has been through many phases, but the same has remained the same: it’s one of the most useful tools for communicating ideas in an organized, engaging, and professional way.

Why Learn PowerPoint?

Learning PowerPoint can increase your professional opportunities and job prospects depending on what field or type of career you’d like to pursue. This skill can help you navigate numerous personal and professional projects and make you more confident in your communication and presentation skills as well. If you want to work in marketing, business, or sales, you will need to know PowerPoint in and out. Those in consulting and human resources (HR) positions also use PowerPoint fairly frequently. Pretty much any role that is responsible for communicating important information will benefit from learning PowerPoint. This tool can improve your communication and persuasion efforts, enable you to collaborate more effectively, and assist in your professionalism and credibility.

Plus, depending on your role and the industry in which you work, you will likely use PowerPoint for various reasons. This application can be used for everything from business presentations, like project updates and proposals, to educational content like data showcases and onboarding training. PowerPoint not only helps you convey information in numerous ways but also allows you to be a bit more creative, so you are sharpening both the technical and creative sides of your skill set.

Besides the professional benefits, you could also learn PowerPoint to benefit your personal life. PowerPoint is a great tool for planning and organizing. You could create a slideshow to share ideas for an upcoming vacation or to brainstorm wedding planning with others. You could also use it as a creative outlet and make a unique digital scrapbook on a slideshow to share with loved ones. Whether you’re looking to advance in your job or just have fun with new and unique creative projects, PowerPoint is a versatile, engaging tool that’s worth studying.

What Will You Learn in a PowerPoint Course?

PowerPoint is a highly sought-after skill that is worth learning. If you are interested in taking a course, you may wonder what kinds of skills you’ll learn. Some classes start from the beginning and discuss interface navigation, basic functions, and design principles. Others may focus more on formatting, multimedia, shortcuts, and other advanced features. Most cover presentation techniques as well so no matter what you plan to use PowerPoint for in the future, you’ll have the skills to design and present a great PowerPoint slideshow.

Interface Navigation and Basic Functions

Beginner classes will start with interface navigation and basic functions. Getting comfortable with the interface is step one, so you’ll learn where to access different features and get familiar with the most common functions, like creating slides, choosing a layout, and organizing content in a way that flows naturally. Moreover, you’ll likely practice basic functions like adding text, shapes, and simple images. Taking time to learn these skills and truly master them helps you end with a polished, professional presentation that moves seamlessly from one slide to the next.

Design Principles

Most PowerPoint classes will cover basic design principles as well. Design principles refer to concepts like contrast, repetition, alignment, proximity, hierarchy, negative space, and balance. These help create a well-organized and visually appealing design project, whether it’s a website, a print advertisement, or a PowerPoint presentation. PowerPoint comes with built-in themes and templates that add a level of consistency and professionalism to your slides while also providing a cohesive project that has consistent color schemes, typography, and design elements.

Formatting Techniques

Once you’ve mastered the basics, it’s time to take things one step further. You’ll likely learn formatting techniques, particularly more advanced ones, in an intermediate or advanced-level course. During these lessons, you’ll practice creating custom slide layouts that fit your style and project purpose, giving you more agency and creative freedom over the design. Additionally, you may get familiar with SmartArt, which helps you explain complex ideas and data points with diagrams, tables, charts, and graphs. You’ll learn these skills by getting direct experience using the tools and taking a hands-on approach to how you design an informative yet engaging presentation.

Integrating Multimedia

A significant part of what makes PowerPoint stand out is the ability to integrate multimedia such as audio, video, and animations into slides. In a PowerPoint course, you’ll learn how to insert media in a way that complements your message rather than overpowers it. Additionally, you’ll discover how to add hyperlinks and other interactive elements that give your audience direct access to source material or company websites. Plus, you will learn how to balance the multimodal elements on each slide and use imagery, audio, and video effectively -- whether this includes choosing the right visuals, adding the right music, or positioning icons on the slide to fit the layout.

Shortcuts and Other Advanced Features

Once you feel comfortable using the tools offered on PowerPoint, you can learn time-saving techniques and shortcuts that make navigating the interface even easier. You can also learn about add-ins, which are third-party tools that extend PowerPoint’s abilities, such as making advanced infographics or even more sophisticated charts and tables. These additional features take your presentation skills and design features to the next level and help you go beyond the basic slide-by-slide presentation. Mastering advanced features can make all the difference in the job search or while pitching an important idea to your supervisors.

Presentation Skills

The last step in creating any PowerPoint is presenting it. Many PowerPoint courses will offer ways to present your slideshow effectively and confidently. You’ll explore tools like Slide Sorter, which makes organizing slides easier. In addition, you can explore various slideshow settings that make each transition smoother, clearer, and easier. You can also add speaker notes to guide you during your presentation and help you keep track of the most important information. By the end, you’ll learn how to confidently share your thoughts, opinions, findings, and ideas with others and keep your audience informed and engaged, as well as impressed with the way you delivered your message.

What Industries Use PowerPoint?

Presentations are commonplace in the workforce, whether you work in education, technology, tourism, government, media, or healthcare. Professionals of all kinds give presentations to pitch ideas, share information, educate others, or train employees, which makes learning PowerPoint virtually essential if you want to enter the professional world. If you’re curious about how PowerPoint may be used in your industry or the industry you are curious about exploring, continue reading below.

Education

PowerPoint is practically a lifesaver for those working in the education industry -- and for those who take classes. Instructors of all kinds use PowerPoint to create a fun, engaging way to teach students complex topics. The slides help break down difficult information and take things step-by-step, which enhances the learning experience and increases retention rates. Moreover, the ability to add images, text, video, movement, and audio is multimodal. No two students learn the same way, so incorporating multiple modes of communication helps all students absorb the material, regardless of their learning style. It’s also useful for online classrooms and workshops so students can refer back to the material. Whether it’s explaining a complex math problem, explaining a historical timeline, or breaking down a classic novel, PowerPoint is a useful tool for those working in the education industry.

Technology

The technology industry utilizes PowerPoint frequently. Depending on the specific role you plan to hold, you may use PowerPoint to showcase the innovations and cutting-edge ideas that are emerging from your department. This is especially useful for developers and engineers who will have to discuss complicated technical concepts with laymen. A clear, concise PowerPoint presentation is one of the best ways to keep stockholders and supervisors up to speed on the latest and helps break down difficult ideas. Plus, you’ll have the ability to show off your technical skills by adding animations, graphics, and charts that are not only impressive but offer a visual connection to the material and purpose of your presentation. Truly, the tech industry is all about innovation, and PowerPoint is one of the best ways to showcase your tech talent.

Tourism and Hospitality

In the world of tourism and hospitality, PowerPoint helps make places and experiences more interesting. Travel agencies may use PowerPoint slideshows to showcase the newest and most exciting vacation destinations they have to offer. Hotels could use presentations to attract customers or inform customers of amenities and services offered on-site. Hotels and tour operators can also use PowerPoint to train incoming tour guides and hotel staff so every one offers the consumer the best experience possible. Additionally, a well-designed slideshow can help those working in tourism and hospitality share new offerings with consumers, entice visitors to partake in the services, or inform visitors about safety protocols. Basically, PowerPoint is a great way to spread information to visitors, hopeful travelers, employees, and everyone in between.

Government

In government, PowerPoint is one of the best ways to share policies and updates with government agencies. It’s an ideal platform for breaking down complex laws, giving progress reports on a public project, or providing updates on health and safety measures. Likewise, PowerPoint helps government officials during briefings, speeches, press conferences, and internal meetings. The slides make it easier to share budgeting decisions and campaign plans. Plus, the ability to add visuals, charts, and text means the information can be communicated effectively, in multiple ways, and in a clear, organized format.

Media and Entertainment

PowerPoint in the media and entertainment industry plays an important role when pitching a new television show, planning a movie project, creating a marketing campaign, or proposing a video game concept. PowerPoint brings ideas to life since it allows you to present your ideas visually, sharing rough sketches of characters, settings, and scripts. Studios and media companies use it to design press kits, pitch decks, and proposals to grab the attention of investors; plus, it’s perfect for a brainstorming session and to help get production schedules organized. PowerPoint's multimodal features and capabilities make it a useful tool for any storyteller, from a Movie Producer or Director to a News Anchor or Digital Marketer.

Healthcare

Although it may not be the first tool that comes to mind when you think about healthcare, PowerPoint is an indispensable tool for healthcare professionals during training or departmental meetings. Patients and medical professionals alike can learn new information about tools, treatments, and illnesses with a PowerPoint slideshow. Moreover, it can make sharing research findings far less challenging with the use of charts, graphs, tables, and other data visualizations. During a medical conference, a PowerPoint slideshow may be the best way to share the new emerging medical technology you and your team have collaborated on developing. In essence, PowerPoint helps medical professionals share their achievements, educate others, stay organized, and keep everyone from Doctors, Nurses, and patients in the know about relevant information.

Careers That Use PowerPoint

It’s useful to learn PowerPoint for a wide range of careers, some of which may surprise you. Whether you’re interested in working in more human-centric roles like marketing, human resources, project management, and business or more technical roles like IT and data analytics, you can find a reason to use PowerPoint. To learn more about the various ways professions use PowerPoint, read ahead. You never know -- one of these jobs may be on your radar and you may want to consider learning PowerPoint.

Marketing Professionals

PowerPoint knowledge is useful in many marketing situations, for both physical and digital marketing experts. Each marketing role uses this common presentation tool to create effective, visually compelling slideshows meant to inform, persuade, or assess. For example, Marketing Managers could put their PowerPoint skills to use when creating presentations for marketing strategies, campaign suggestions, and performance reports. Likewise, an Advertising Executive would need a clear pitch to present to clients. PowerPoints are a great way to keep a clear presentation that highlights your creative concepts, provides insightful market research, and discusses various media strategies. No matter what type of marketing, PowerPoint can be an essential tool for planning, executing, and reporting on marketing campaigns and efforts.

Business Consultants

Business Consultants provide professional advice to businesses both big and small. They often share their concerns, findings, and recommendations with clients, stakeholders, or project teams and, as such, often utilize presentation tools. Using PowerPoint helps consultants convey their ideas in a structured, visually engaging way that keeps everyone on the same page no matter their position or skill level. A Business Consultant, for example, may present market research by creating comparative market graphs and explaining them slide by slide. Likewise, PowerPoint is beneficial in sharing new business strategies and initiatives with other teams and departments or presenting new proposals for solutions to organizational problems. Overall, a Business Consultant will use PowerPoint to make sure the business, client, or stakeholder with whom they are working is following the industry's best practices, learning from the past, and sustaining growth in all areas.

Project Managers

To work in a project management position, you have to be comfortable juggling numerous tasks, staying organized, and being an effective communicator. This can be challenging to balance but there are ways to convey information concisely and clearly while remaining updated on project timelines, budgets, expectations, and regulations. Many Project Managers use PowerPoint regularly for project planning, status updates, timelines, risk assessments, and resources. In addition, some presentations will be highly detailed and include project goals and expectations for various departments and teams. Overall, a PowerPoint presentation is an easy way to explain important information to as many people as possible and is easy to share with others so they can access it at any time. Because of this, those who work in project management should know how to use PowerPoint at some level.

Data Analysts

Many Data Analysts, including Financial Analysts, Business Analysts, and Marketing Analysts, rely on PowerPoint as a user-friendly, easily accessible way to present their findings and share insights with stakeholders, clients, or supervisors. Data Analysts use PowerPoint because it is an industry-standard tool across multiple industries; it’s useful for presenting quarterly performance reviews or visualizing sales trends for the next month. Financial Analysts specifically may use PowerPoint to explain complex results from financial models, such as discounted cash flow models. In addition, a Business Analyst will often create presentations that help communicate recommendations for organizational improvement, a slideshow comparing the current versus future business processes. Even Marketing Analysts use PowerPoint to explain brand strategies, SEO efforts, or consumer behavior. PowerPoint may also help Marketing Analysts report on the performance of the latest campaign.

Human Resources (HR) Professionals

Those who work in Human Resources (HR) often have reasons to create presentations so it will benefit you greatly to learn how to use PowerPoint if you plan to enter this field. HR Managers, for instance, create PowerPoint presentations to train new employees or to share more information about company culture at a job fair. Furthermore, those who work directly in recruitment and talent acquisition often present PowerPoints throughout the process, whether they are discussing recruitment strategies with colleagues or assisting hopeful talent with the onboarding process. Some HR professionals use PowerPoint to present conflict resolution training, discuss diversity initiatives, and host regular meetings about departmental performance. Overall, PowerPoint is a great way to convey a lot of information to many people as efficiently as possible. Thus, HR professionals should certainly know how to use PowerPoint.

IT Professionals

PowerPoint is used frequently in the tech industry, so IT professionals of all kinds may encounter this presentation software at some point in their careers. For example, Software Engineers may use PowerPoint to share new software features with stakeholders or brainstorm coding challenges with colleagues. Moreover, PowerPoint can be useful when providing product demonstrations so that clients, colleagues, and other technical teams can stay up to speed on the project’s latest. Likewise, an IT Manager may use PowerPoint to communicate upgrades in recent tech projects or system implementations. PowerPoint can make all the difference for everyone, from colleagues and leadership to stakeholders and laymen, which is why many IT professionals rely on it for communicating complex information in a streamlined, simplified way.

What PowerPoint Courses are Available?

If you want to become proficient in PowerPoint, you’ll want to explore professional training options. Noble Desktop has a PowerPoint Specialist Certification Program that prepares you for the PowerPoint Specialist Certification Exam. Through 14 total hours of interactive instruction and two hours of private exam preparation, you’ll learn how to use PowerPoint to its fullest capacity and feel confident going into the exam. You’ll also receive a free retake of the course and exam should you need it.

Noble Desktop also offers a PowerPoint Bootcamp. Throughout this 12 hour bootcamp, you’ll learn everything needed to design and present a well-organized, visually appealing slideshow. You’ll begin by learning to navigate the interface, create new projects, and choose layouts, themes, color schemes, typography, imagery, and graphics. You’ll also learn to work with tables and charts exported from Excel. In addition, you’ll learn to incorporate video, transitions, and animations that really add an extra level of creativity and clarity to the slideshow. This course also allows you to practice and sharpen your collaboration and presentation skills.

However, some may prefer learning in shorter spurts. In that case, enrolling in Noble Desktop’s PowerPoint Level I is a great option. Here, you’ll learn how to create PowerPoints, choose layouts, add multimedia, and edit imagery. You’ll also learn how to build diagrams with SmartArt, draw shapes and lines, align objects, add transitions, and finalize your project. Then, you’ll practice running the slideshow from the top and learn a few presentation techniques. Who knows? When you finish Level I, you may want to go on to learn how to customize themes, bring in tables from Excel, and collaborate with others in PowerPoint Level II.

In Intro to Public Speaking, you’ll learn to communicate your thoughts, ideas, concerns, and findings in the clearest, most organized way possible all while remaining calm, confident, and concise. This course helps you overcome your fear of public speaking by providing you with simple tips and tricks to increase confidence and credibility. You’ll practice improving your body language and learn to connect with your audience so you can tailor the presentation to their needs and preferences. In addition, you’ll learn how to use PowerPoint to add an effective visual aid to your presentations while also serving as an outline for what to discuss next.

However, if you want to master PowerPoint while also learning how to use other applications within Office, consider the Complete Microsoft Office Bootcamp. This is worth consideration as Office is one of the most commonly used software bundles in the professional landscape. You’ll learn advanced Excel skills and intermediate Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook skills. Throughout the various lectures, discussions, and projects, you’ll learn to create customized, visually appealing PowerPoint slideshow presentations, format Word documents with advanced formatting tools, and use advanced analytics tools in Excel. In addition, you’ll learn how to use the most time-saving tools in Outlook and automate tasks. You’ll leave the bootcamp with a well-developed and diverse set of technical, creative, communicative, and organizational skills that will serve you well throughout the job search.

NYIM Training has a six-hour Advanced PowerPoint for Business course that covers the most useful ways to use PowerPoint in a professional setting. The instructor will discuss everything from importing Excel charts and adding layered objects to recording a slideshow and making reusable templates. Additionally, students will get creative by adding images, shapes, and animations to their projects. The course will prepare students to use PowerPoint in more professional settings and create slideshows that are visually engaging and informative.

Multimodal presentations are effective for a reason, and in PowerPoint Psychology: Tips for Amazing PowerPoint Presentations, you’ll learn why. Offered by Learnit, students in this course will spend the day learning what makes an effective presentation. Students will learn the best practices for presenting on PowerPoint, including ways to enhance the visual design and communicate the information. In addition, students will learn how to create a cohesive presentation, slide-by-slide, and use animations, graphics, typography, and other design elements.

At ONLC Training Centers, you can enroll in their six-hour PowerPoint: Beyond the Basics course. This is an advanced course where students master PowerPoint functions and features such as customized themes, advanced animations, and slideshow set-up options. Students will learn to create presentations that are both professional and engaging and will leave feeling much more at ease while setting up a PowerPoint slideshow.

The Intermediate Microsoft PowerPoint course by Softek Services, Inc. offers a balanced education for those who have some skills but are not quite considered experts. This day-long course covers advanced features like custom-made template designs and ink hand drawings to make the presentation more personal. In addition, students learn how to add charts, animation, and other forms of media as well as add professional-style transitions.

If you know how to use PowerPoint but feel like you need to ramp up your skills, consider the six-hour PowerPoint Advanced: Making Things Move course from AdvantEdge Training. This course focuses on ways to make PowerPoints more interactive, including ways to embed hyperlinks, videos, and audio into slides. In addition, students learn how to add animations, transitions, and input elements from outside sources. To take your slideshow skills to the next level, consider this interactive course.

Advantages of Taking a PowerPoint Course

There are numerous advantages of taking a PowerPoint course, particularly if you want to become a working professional. PowerPoint is a widely used tool in many industries, from business and education to marketing and data analytics, so mastering it increases your job prospects. You’ll have a wide variety of job opportunities and be able to advance in your career by effectively utilizing PowerPoint, particularly if your role consists of a lot of presenting, reporting, educating, and proposing. Plus, completing a PowerPoint course can help you interact with others more effectively, such as through enhanced collaboration. PowerPoint makes it easy for multiple people to work on the same document, so collaborating, sharing, and receiving feedback is easy. All in all, PowerPoint is a standard tool for many professionals and is worth learning.

Beyond the professional, PowerPoint skills can be used for creating presentations for personal projects, like weddings, family reunions, travel plans, hobbies, or even as a way to showcase an art portfolio. PowerPoint can serve as a fun and creative way to express your ideas or make plans. You can create slideshows full of weekly meal plans or exercise plans. A PowerPoint presentation can serve as a digital photo album too. Overall, taking a PowerPoint course, even for personal use, is a great way to start a new hobby or expand upon a current one. It’s also a useful way to keep information organized, whether it’s a weekly plan, images from a recent trip, or any other personal content.

The most beneficial reason to take a PowerPoint course is that it will enhance your presentation skills beyond measure, which will show in your designs, storytelling and communication abilities, and general self-confidence. Learning PowerPoint teaches you to design visually appealing slides that consider design principles, typography, and color schemes. In addition, these courses help you present the material clearly and structured while still engaging with the audience through imagery, audio, or video. A PowerPoint class will help you feel more confident in your presentation abilities, making you feel and appear more sure of yourself.

About the Author

Tess Robinson is an experienced writing professor and content writer for Noble Desktop. She has a background in various genres and mediums and specializes in technology topics, including PowerPoint. Tess is passionate about expanding her expertise and guiding others as they learn more about the design and technology landscape.

May 2025
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