How to Add a Flashing Star to a PowerPoint Slide

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Adding a flashing star effect to your PowerPoint slides can be a great way to emphasize key points or add some visual flair. With just a few simple steps, you can create a flashing star animation that will capture your audience’s attention.

What You Need

To add a flashing star effect in PowerPoint, you will need:

  • PowerPoint installed on your computer
  • The slide where you want to add the flashing star

That’s it! No special plugins or add-ons required.

Adding the Star Shape

The first step is to add a star shape to your slide:

  1. In PowerPoint, navigate to the slide where you want the flashing star
  2. Click the Insert tab
  3. In the Illustrations group, click Shapes
  4. Select the star shape you want from the Stars and Banners section

I usually like to use the 4-point or 5-point star shapes, but feel free to pick whichever you prefer.

Pro Tip: Make the star white or yellow for best effect.

Animating the Star

Once your star is inserted, it’s time to add the animation:

  1. Select the star and go to the Animations tab
  2. Click Add Animation and choose the Pulse effect
  3. Click Effect Options and set the animation to repeat until the end of the slide
  4. Adjust the timing and duration to create the flashing effect

I usually set the duration to around 0.3 seconds, but play around with the timing to get the effect you want.

Customizing the Flashing Star

To make your flashing star really stand out:

  • Increase the size and thickness of the star border
  • Add a slight rotation for extra flair
  • Layer multiple flashing stars for added emphasis

With some creative customizations, you can turn a subtle flashing star into a dramatic focal point on your slide.

See It In Action

Once you’ve customized your flashing star, play your slideshow to see the animation in action. The pulsing star effect will grab your viewers’ attention and highlight the key point you want to emphasize.

Done right, a simple flashing star can take your PowerPoint slides to the next level. So try adding this popular animation trick to make your presentations pop!

Tips for Using Flashing Stars

When adding flashing stars to your PowerPoint slides, keep these tips in mind:

  • Use sparingly – The flashing effect is attention-grabbing, so use it to highlight your 1 or 2 most important points
  • Keep it simple – One animated star is usually sufficient. Too many flashing objects can be distracting
  • Time it right – Make sure the flashing aligns with what you’re saying verbally for maximum impact
  • Test presentation flow – Preview the slideshow to ensure your flashing star animations fire at the right moments

Advanced: Layering Multiple Animations

For even more visual impact, you can layer multiple animations on a single star. Here’s how:

  1. Select star and add the first animation (e.g. Pulse)
  2. Click Add Animation and choose a complementary effect like Spin or Color Pulse
  3. Customize timing of each animation in the Animation Pane
  4. Preview and tweak as needed to perfect the multi-layered effect

Layering animations takes more work but can add wow-factor to key slides.

Sample Uses of Flashing Stars

Flashing star animations in PowerPoint work well:

  • Highlighting key takeaways
  • Emphasizing statistical standouts
  • Pointing out significant milestones
  • Drawing attention to important dates/events
  • Adding flair to title slides
  • Celebrating achievements/wins

Get creative with where you place flashing stars on your slides – they can effectively accentuate your most important points.

That covers the basics of adding some sparkle to your PowerPoint slides with a customized flashing star animation! With just a star shape and a few clicks, you can create an eye-catching effect to keep your audience engaged.

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