Ask the Expert
Got a PowerPoint question? Ask the experts at Presentation Tree! Send us your question, and we’ll respond usually in the same day. The service is free, but we usually post the questions and answers on this page, for the benefit of others.
| Q: |
How do I embed video into my PowerPoint show?
(Steve D., Arizona) |
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| A: |
Steve, don’t feel badly, but you just made a very common mistake among PowerPoint warriors. It is actually not possible to embed video or audio into PowerPoint! This is a common mistake. You actually have to link the media files to an action button in your presentation. This is fairly easy to do. The most important thing to remember is that you must first include your audio and video files in a folder that also includes your PowerPoint file. Here’s the basics: |
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| The Basics: |
- Right-click on your desktop, and create a new folder
- Move your PowerPoint presentation and audio/video files into that folder
- Open the PowerPoint presentation and go to the slide that will present the media file
- In the upper menu, choose Insert>Movies and sounds > Movie (or sound) From File
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- Navigate to the folder where the media file is located, select it, and click OK
- A small window will pop up asking if you want the media file to play automatically. If you choose yes, it will play when the slide comes up. If you choose no, it will play on a mouse-click.
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If you share the presentation, you must also send the audio and video files, which must be included in the same folder (preferably in the same location and with the same file names).
See also our PowerPoint Tip: Get The Picture! Insert Video Into Your PowerPoint Show! |
| Q: |
My PowerPoint presentation is too large to e-mail. Is there an easy solution for getting around this?
(Janet S., Washington) |
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| A: |
Yes! There are several Web services that allow you to quickly and easily upload your large files and share them with others, for a small fee. We like Whalemail (www.whalemail.com). |
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| Q: |
How do I put some space between my bullet points? I usually hit the enter key to add a line and then backspace to delete the bullet, but this puts in too much space, and is a pain!
(Helise F., Florida) |
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| A: |
Helise, your PowerPoint line-spacing pain is over! Simply follow these 3 steps: |
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| 3 Steps: |
- Select all the bulleted text by highlighting it, or by clicking on the border of the text box
- In the upper menu, go to Format > Line Spacing
- Make the following changes: Line Spacing : 0.9, Before paragraph: 0.5
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Note: If you do this in the slide master, then it your slides will have the correct line-spacing automatically. Our free PowerPoint template downloads have line-spacing adjusted for maximum readability in the slide master, if you need an example of what this looks like.
See also our PowerPoint Tip: Five Professional Secrets To Make Text Look GREAT In Your PowerPoint Presentations!
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| Q: |
I have to give a 20-minute PowerPoint presentation, but I have 40 slides. Do I too many slides for this amount of time and, if so, how many slides would you recommend?
(Ralph B., Massachusetts) |
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| A: |
Great question, Ralph! We get asked this all the time. More slides does not necessarily mean a longer presentation. In fact, using more slides could lead to a much more engaging and lively presentation. The next time you watch a commercial or TV show, count the seconds an image is on the screen before it changes. It’s usually 2-3 seconds! The point here is that most of us can process visual information very fast. So… the way to think about your problem is not the number of slides, but rather the amount of information that is on each slide, and in your presentation overall. It’s much better to spread information across several slides, vary the layouts, insert lots of images, and advance the slides frequently. This will keep your audience engaged. If you sit on a single slide and talk through 8 bullet points for 5 minutes, then chances are you will hear some snores out there! |
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| Q: |
Is it possible to put a live Web page into a PowerPoint slide so that I can click on it and do things, just like on the Web?
(John D, Colorado) |
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| A: |
Yes! Try downloading and using Shyam Pillai's LiveWeb. It's free, easy to use, and it works! Please note: For this to work in your presentation, you must be connected to the Internet.
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