Animating slides in PowerPoint 2003 is a great way to make your presentations more dynamic and engaging. With animations, you can make text, images, charts, and other slide elements enter, exit, or move around the slide in different ways.
There are two main types of animations in PowerPoint 2003:
Animation Schemes
Animation schemes allow you to quickly apply preset animations to text placeholders in your slides. They are easy to use but limited in the types of animations available.
Custom Animations
Custom animations give you more control and allow you to animate any object on your slides, not just text. You can choose from many different entrance, exit, emphasis, and motion path effects.
Here are some tips for using animations effectively in PowerPoint 2003:
Use Animations Judiciously
- Don’t overuse animations just because you can. Only use them if they enhance your presentation.
- Make sure animations don’t distract from your main message.
- Keep animations simple. Don’t make your audience dizzy!
Animation Schemes
- Easy way to quickly animate text placeholders on title, bullet point, and text slides
- Help focus audience attention and introduce slide elements
- Categorized as subtle, moderate, or exciting
To apply an animation scheme:
- Select the slide(s) in Normal or Slide Sorter view
- Click the Animation Schemes button on the task pane
- Choose a scheme under “Apply to selected slides”
Custom Animations
- Allow you to animate any object on a slide including shapes, images, charts, SmartArt, etc.
- More animation effects available than just schemes
- Effects organized into:
- Entrance – how elements enter the slide
- Emphasis – animations that occur while element is on slide
- Exit – how elements exit the slide
- Motion Paths – movement around slide
To create a custom animation:
- Select object to animate
- Open Custom Animation task pane
- Click “Add Effect”
- Choose an animation category and effect
- Adjust animation options like speed, delay, etc.
Animation Tips
- Use an animation to draw attention to important text
- Animate bulleted lists to introduce points one at a time
- Make charts/graphs build for emphasis
- Add sound effects for more impact
- Adjust animation speed to match presentation pace
Slide Transitions
In addition to object animations, slide transitions control the visual effects as one slide changes to the next. Some ideas:
- Choose subtle transitions like fades or wipes
- Avoid distracting transitions like spirals or explosions
- Use sound effects sparingly
- Set transition speed appropriately
With some strategic animations and transitions, you can make your PowerPoint 2003 presentations truly captivating!
Conclusion
Animations and transitions, when used properly, can enhance presentations and keep your audience engaged. Just remember not to go overboard! Apply these effects judiciously and purposefully to emphasize key points without creating distractions. Mastering animations in PowerPoint 2003 does take some practice, but the effort is well worth it for more polished, professional, and memorable presentations.
