Adding a pyramid to your Microsoft PowerPoint presentations can help visually tell a story and showcase hierarchical relationships. Pyramids are an excellent way to present information in a clear and structured way.
In this article, we’ll walk through the steps for inserting and customizing pyramids in PowerPoint.
Why Use a Pyramid in Presentations
There are several key reasons why using a pyramid diagram can be beneficial for presentations:
- Shows hierarchy and structure: Pyramids instantly showcase how concepts or items relate, with the most important information at the top. This allows audiences to easily understand the relationships.
- Visual appeal: Pyramids stand out on slides and grab the audience’s attention. The triangular shape is more unique than typical bullet points or charts.
- Concise communication: With pyramids, you can share a lot of information concisely by utilizing the visual hierarchy. Less text is needed to get key messages across.
- Versatile uses: Pyramids can illustrate everything from organizational structures to processes to demographic data. Their flexibility makes them useful across presentation topics.
Step 1: Insert a Pyramid SmartArt Graphic
The first step is to actually insert a pyramid layout onto your slide. Here is how to do it:
- Open your PowerPoint presentation and insert a new blank slide to house your pyramid.
- Select the Insert tab at the top and click on SmartArt in the Illustrations group.
- In the Choose a SmartArt Graphic window, select the Pyramid category.
- Choose the pyramid layout you want to use. The most basic option is the “Basic Pyramid.”
- Click OK to insert the pyramid graphic onto your slide.
You can now see the pyramid shape on the slide with default placeholder text. Next, we’ll customize it further.
Step 2: Customize the Pyramid
With the pyramid inserted, it’s time to customize and format it for your needs:
- Add layers: Click on the bottom shape and select Add Shape After from the Shape Format tab to add more layers to your pyramid. Continue adding shapes until you have the number of layers needed.
- Change layout: Try different SmartArt styles by going to SmartArt Design > Layouts. Explore options.
- Modify text: Click into the text boxes on each layer to replace the filler text with your own.
- Color and style: Use Shape Fill, Shape Effects, and Shape Styles to brand your pyramid, make it 3D, apply reflections, and more.
- Position: Drag your pyramid into the optimal position and size on the slide.
Take time to explore all the possibilities for customizing your pyramid in PowerPoint. Analyze if the current visual hierarchy makes sense for your content or if shapes should be re-ordered.
Step 3: Enhance the Slide
After inserting your pyramid, think about slide enhancements to make the imagery stand out:
- Complement the graphic with concise bullet points elaborating on each layer of the pyramid.
- Use PowerPoint’s alignment guides, spacing tools, and arrangement options to position the pyramid.
- Incorporate visuals like icons, photos, or illustrations that reinforce pyramid layers.
- Animate the pyramid to have it build on the slide section-by-section to grab attention.
- Add captions, lines, brackets, or text boxes to explicitly connect supporting content back to the relevant shape in the pyramid.
Pyramid Examples and Uses
Some examples of effective ways to utilize pyramids within presentations include:
- Organizational hierarchy: Show department/team structure from C-suite down.
- Marketing funnel: Illustrate stages from awareness to customer acquisition.
- Process flow: Visualize multi-step workflows from start to finish.
- Demographics: Compare populations by attributes like age, income, etc.
The applications are vast. Pyramids lend themselves well to any data or concepts with an inherent structure, hierarchy, or sequence.
Now that you know how to insert and format pyramids within PowerPoint, explore integrating them into your next presentation!