Become a PowerPoint Guru by Dave Tracy
Learn the methodologies, frameworks, and tricks used by Management Consultants to create executive presentations in the business world.
I’ve always said there are 4 key contributing factors to building presentations with incredible speed and efficiency. These are:
- Practice.
- Having a robust inventory of slides and diagrams. (Don’t have that? This will help you out. Or, get the Basic PowerPoint Toolkit for free.)
- Button shortcuts. This is why I still prefer 2003, because it reduces the extra step of toggling among ribbons.
- Keyboard shortcuts.
In this post, I will list the 10 keyboard shortcuts that I use most often and that are not immediately obvious. In other words, I won’t include any shortcuts that everyone knows (e.g. Page Up, Ctrl+C).
Alright, here they are, in no particular order.
- Ctrl + arrow key
Move objects pixel by pixel. You may notice, if you just select an object (e.g. shape, group, table) and hit the arrow key, the object will jump by a number of pixels.
- Ctrl + [
Decrease font size.
- Ctrl + ]
And, likewise, increase font size.
- Shift + F5
Go to presentation mode on current slide.
- Shift + changing size of object
Maintain ratio of object’s dimensions–i.e. a square will remain a square and not turn into a rectangle when you resize.
- Ctrl + Shift + G
Group objects together (in PowerPoint 2003).
- Ctrl + Shift + H
Ungroup a group objects (in PowerPoint 2003).
- Ctrl + click object with mouse
Creates a duplicate copy of the object.
- Shift + changing length of line
Ensures straightness of line.
- Shift + Alt + right arrow
Increase indent of a bullet one level deeper.
I hope you’ll find these key PowerPoint shortcuts helpful in becoming faster and more efficient with building your PowerPoint presentations. You can find a more comprehensive list of useful PowerPoint shortcuts included in Chapter 5 of the eBook, Become a PowerPoint Guru.
Questions, thoughts, concerns? Go to my site (learnppt.com) and shoot me an email.
For pre-made PowerPoint diagrams used in business presentations, browse our library here: learnppt.com/powerpoint/. These diagrams were professionally designed by management consultants. Give your presentations the look and feel of a final product made by McKinsey, BCG, Bain, Booz Allen, Deloitte, or any of the top consulting firms.
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