Free PowerPoint alternatives – Canva

This is a guest blog post by Kavita Paliwal. Kavita is Outreach Specialist of Content writer at Canva. When not glued to her laptop, she can be found making travel plans that rarely happen 😉 Connect with Kavita on Twitter and Linkedin

Creating presentations has become the key part of many job positions, whether you are a speaker, an executive or manager. And for many people out there, it is a great challenge to get the message conveyed in a visually appealing manner, although it shouldn’t be. One such tool that is creating buzz for creating presentations is Canva.

This article will help you out with the step-by-step guide to create a presentation that not only makes you feel confident but also helps you leave the best impression.

So let’s get started!

1. Sign-up for Canva (or log in)

Go to Canva.com.

• For Signing up, first select your profile, as shown in the image. Now you will see the 2 options of signing up–you can either go with the traditional sign-up process or you can use your social media account to speed up the process.
• If you have an account, log in.

Signing up to the Canva is absolutely free and will take no more than 30 seconds.

2.  Create a presentation

Once you have created the account and confirmed your email, you are all set to create the presentation. Go to Canva’s presentation maker tool at https://www.canva.com/en_in/create/presentations/

If you’re already inside Canva, you’ll see the Create a Design gallery. Click More and then choose one of the 2 Presentation options (16:9, which is widescreen, or just “Presentation” which is standard). Then you can skip to Step 3.

Click on “Start Designing Your Presentation”

3. Choose a theme and add slides (pages)

Once you are in the dashboard section, in the left sidebar, you will see different pre-designed templates you can start with. Or if you want to start from the scratch, you can start with the default blank slide that you see on the right.

If you are a newbie, we suggest that you choose a pre-designed template and customize it. Some of them are free while the ones with Dollar sign ($) on them are paid templates. You can go ahead and start with the Free ones.

When you choose a template, you see it appear on the right side of the screen.

To add a new slide, click “Add a New Page” and click on the next slide template in the left sidebar.

4. Customize the content

When you click on the text, you will see multiple formatting options just as in PowerPoint, such as font style, font size, bold, italic, line and letter spacing, and much more. Of course, you can also change the content.

You can move, rotate, and stretch the text boxes as necessary. To delete an element, select it and click the Trashcan icon at the upper-right.

If you want to add or replace iman age, you can easily do that by following these steps:

1. Click the “Uploads” section in left side bar.
2. Click “Upload your own images.” After you navigate to and choose the image, you’ll see it in the left sidebar.
3. Drag the image onto the existing image to replace it. For a new image, drag it onto another part of the slide.

In the left sidebar section, click Background to find multiple background types that you can choose for your presentation.

Above the Background section, use the “Text” section from where you can select add a heading, subheading, body text, or preformatted text boxes.

Above the “Text” section, you will find “Elements” section. This section includes multiple additional elements– photos, grids, frames, lines, shapes, illustrations, icons, and charts. To add an element, either click it or drag it onto the slide. To recolor an element, click the color square at the top-left of the slide to display color options.

By the way, all of your work is automatically saved as you go along. And don’t forget Undo on the menu bar. If you have a question, click Help on the menu.

5. Download the presentation

Once your design is ready, click on download. Select the file type as PDF-Print or PDF Standard. Wait while Canva converts and downloads your presentation to your default download location in your browser.

Additionally, you can also share the design with other people via link or email.

Note: Paid elements cost $1 each.

6. Deliver your presentation

To deliver a PDF as a presentation, open the PDF and choose View, Full Screen Mode. You can use the Down or Right arrow to navigate from slide to slide.

3 tips to create an amazing presentation

Here are 3 tips that will help you create a professional-looking presentation:

1. Ensure consistency: The key here is to create a presentation that is not only easy to understand but flawless too. It is not compulsory to add multiple images to create stunning presentation. Always ensure that the slide conveys your message, not the opposite one. Use the same banner/title font, grid/frame, background, and fonts on all of your slides for a coherent look.
2. Create a stunning title page: The title slide of any presentation is the calling card for complete presentation – so make it loud and bold. The title page must convey the overall message of your presentation and create a sense of anticipation so people want to see and hear the rest.
3. Keep it simple: Less is more, nowadays. Too much clutter will irritate your listeners. So, Use visuals instead of text, when you need text, don’t write long paragraphs, and use graphs and charts instead of words to showcase statistics.

Your thoughts?

Have you used Canva for presentations? What was your experience? Leave a comment!