Power Point: what animations and transitions are and how to use them

Working with PowerPoint it may be difficult, but little by little you will realize the numerous possibilities that its functions and features can provide you. 

With PowerPoint you can add transitions and animations to your presentations, making your work more professional and effective. 

But what exactly are animations and transitions in PowerPoint? Let's see it together.

Estimated reading time: 11 minutes

Animations and Transitions

Le animations in PowerPoint are special visual or sound effects that can be applied to elements on a slide such as text, shape, image, icon, etc.

While the transitions in PowerPoint are special visual effects applied to a complete slide. Transition effects can only be seen when one slide transitions to the next.

In this article, we will delve into the animations and transitions di PowerPoint. We'll look at the differences between the two, what each does, and how you can use them both together to really make your presentations stand out. 

What is animation in PowerPoint

Let's imagine two presentations PowerPoint, with the same textual content. Now imagine that in one presentation your text comes flying in and then pulses across the screen while in the other only the old text remains still and dormant.

As you can perceive, they are two identical contents which however are communicated in a completely different way. Animations and transitions are able to make content more usable, more interesting and therefore a presentation becomes more pleasant to see and read.

Types of animations in PowerPoint

We can think of classifying animations:

• Classification 1 – Intro Effects, Emphasis Effects, Exit Effects: as the names suggest, you can animate a piece of your presentation to enter or exit a slide, even to add emphasis to something. You might as well use them for no reason other than to liven up the presentation.

• Classification 2 – Basic, Subtle, Moderate, Exciting: this is a broad classification as it includes all animation effects, and each of the animations in classification 1 falls into one of these.

How to add an animation in PowerPoint

The first step to have animations in your presentation is to first understand how to add them. So, here's how to add animations to any slide of PowerPoint to really make them stand out. Follow the simple steps below.

1. Select the object or text you want to animate into PowerPoint.
2. Go to the “Animations” tab at the top and select it.
3. Click “Add Animation Pane” to open the Animation Pane on the right. Here you will be able to see all the animation effects added to the slide.
4. Click on the desired animation and select it. You can choose from those displayed or, just to the right, you can select “Add Animation.”

5. In the image above, you can see a number of options at the top right. Use it to set the duration of the animation.
6. Select whether you want the animation to be automatic or triggered by clicking on it.
7. Select the desired delay.
8. Animation preview.
9. Save the presentation and you're done.

How to animate shapes in PowerPoint?

The animation of shapes in PowerPoint allows you to animate multiple elements within a slide. When done well, it's great for giving a professional touch to your presentation that will make people remember it more effectively.

Here's how to animate shapes in PowerPoint in a few simple steps

1. Add the shape to your presentation by selecting the ” Insert tab ” in the presentation.
2. Go to the option ” Form ” as per the image below.

3. Select the shape you want to add.
4. Add to presentation by holding down the left mouse button and resizing the shape.
5. Go to the “Animations” tab at the top and select it.

6. Click on the desired animation and select it. You can choose from those displayed or, just to the right, you can select “Add Animation.”
7. Set the duration of the animation.
8. Select whether you want the animation to be automatic or triggered by clicking on it.
9. Select the desired delay.
10. Animation preview.
11. Save the presentation and you're done.

How to animate text in PowerPoint

A presentation with a lot of text might seem a little boring, but it really doesn't have to be. Being able to animate your text can turn a presentation with a lot of text into something that people will remember.

THEanimation of text in presentations PowerPoint it's great for the audience because it allows them to feel like the text means more than what it's actually trying to tell them. This is always a great thing for anyone who is trying to sell a product or idea.

So, here are some simple steps to animate text in PowerPoint.

1. Add your text to the presentation.
2. Edit the text as you wish.
3. Go to the “Animations” tab at the top and select it.

4. Click on the desired animation and select it. You can choose from those displayed or, just to the right, you can select “Add Animation.”
5. Set the duration of the animation.
6. Select whether you want the animation to be automatic or triggered by clicking on it.
7. Select the desired delay.
8. Animation preview.
9. Save the presentation and you're done.

How to animate objects (like images or icons) in PowerPoint

A good presentation PowerPoint will contain many images and icons. This is because, in a presentation, you need to convey a message and many people, in fact, most people can remember things much easier thanks to the visual representation. That said, here are some simple steps to animate objects like images and icons in PowerPoint.

1. In your presentation, go to the “Insert” tab at the top and select it.
2. Select the “Image” option. Alternatively, you can simply drag and drop an image or icon.

3. Go to the “Animations” tab at the top and select it.
4. Click on the desired animation and select it. You can choose from those displayed or, just to the right, you can select “Add Animation.”
5. Set the duration of the animation.
6. Select whether you want the animation to be automatic or triggered by clicking on it.
7. Select the desired delay.
8. Animation preview.
9. Save the presentation and you're done.

What are transitions in PowerPoint

One of the ways to make a good first impression is to use simple but effective transitions in your presentation.

PowerPoint allows you to add transitions to your presentation. 

Le transitions they are basically visual effects that can be applied to a complete slide rather than individual elements of a slide. Furthermore the transition it is only visible when you move from one slide to another.

Le transitions they also allow you to enhance the look and feel of your presentation. It does this by allowing you to add transitions to each individual slide or to multiple slides at once. There transition it's simply the way one slide exits the screen and a new one enters.

Should You Use Transitions in PowerPoint?

Use transitions in your presentation Power point is simple. By choosing the right type of transition, you can actually create a positive impact on your audience.

While some feel that transitions make the presentation a little “gimmicky,” the trick is really to add a subtle transition.

Additionally, selectively using transitions can definitely make your presentation a little more interesting.

Main types of transitions in PowerPoint

Just like with animations, there are three main groups of transitions and you can find them in the menu transitions in PowerPoint. 

• Subtle: It still adds excitement to your presentation without being too flashy.
• Dynamic: this is a perfect balance and has the potential to add something to your presentation while still remaining professional.
• Thrilling: this is your go-to when you need to sell something or when your presentation contains a lot of text.

Having these different groups is great because we all have different personalities and we all present for different reasons. You can choose the type of transition you want to use based on your audience or personality, the choice is yours.

How to Add a Transition to Your PowerPoint

Now it's time to start adding transitions to your presentation PowerPoint, so let me walk you through some steps for adding transitions to your presentation.

1. Open the presentation of PowerPoint.
2. Create a new slide.
3. Go to the “Transitions” tab in the top menu bar and select it.
4. You should see a row of popular transitions. Select the one you want.

6. Select the transition you want.
7. Change the duration.
8. Apply a sound, if applicable.
9. Save the presentation and you're done.

If you want to apply the same transition to all your slides, you can simply select the “Apply to All” option.

This is great if you want your presentation to be uniform. If multiple slides have the same transition but some are different, you can reduce your workload by adding the most common one to all of them. Then, edit the other slides individually.

How to automatically transition slides

Sometimes we don't want to constantly change slides. Maybe we just want the slides to automatically transition to the next slide after a certain duration.

So here are some steps on how to automatically transition slides in PowerPoint

1. Open your PowerPoint presentation.
2. Create a new slide.

3. Go to the “Transitions” tab in the top menu bar and select it.
4. After adding transitions and editing them, stay on “Transitions.”
5. At the top right, you'll see an option called “Advanced Slide.” Select the “After” option.
6. Select how long each slide lasts before it changes.
7. Save the presentation and you're done.

Setting slides to automatically transition can be especially useful when you're creating a presentation for a kiosk where you don't want to keep checking the slides throughout the day and perhaps want them to transition automatically.

It is important to note that the presenter giving the presentation can stop presenting the slides if he feels he needs more time to explain what is happening. This is also good if they have an audience that interacts with them, she remembers that this is a good problem because an engaged audience is a good audience.

To pause an automatic slide, simply click on the presentation to pause it, or you can use the Pause button if you are using a remote control for the presentation.

What is the difference between animations and transitions in PowerPoint?

There are numerous differences between a slide and a transition. While both enliven your presentation, they do so in different ways and are used for completely different purposes. Let's get into it.

Le transitions they affect the entire slide by how it comes into focus and then comes out. When it comes to animations, affect the content of the slide such as text and/or graphics.

FAQ

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Ercole Palmeri