You can do a lot with great presentation design. But what if you need to give your audience more content or linked material, but you don’t want to clutter up your slide deck? You can use QR codes.
QR codes offer great options for letting your audience engage with your presentation at a greater depth on their own time, for extending the reach of your presentation and your brand, and for saving money on printed materials. So today we’ll be covering the steps to easily add QR codes in PowerPoint and Canva, and we’ll cover some ways to use them.
How to Insert a QR Code into a PowerPoint Presentation
It’s really simple to create a QR code from inside PowerPoint when you follow these steps:
1. Click on the Insert menu.
2. Click on Get Add-Ins.
3. Type in QR Code.
4. Find QR4Office and click Add. (You have other options here, but we like QR4Office because you don’t have to create an account to use it.) You’ll see a QR menu come up on the right side of your screen.
5. From here, you can personalize your code. The drop-down menu lets you choose the type of URL/text you want to use. Now, just enter your URL or link.
6. You can customize your colors in the options box.
7. Then click Insert, and you’re done!
Now that you have your QR code on your slide, you can reposition or resize it just like you would any other design element.
How to Insert a QR Code into a Canva Presentation
Using QR Codes in Canva presentations is also really simple. From within your presentation, just follow these steps:
1. Click on Apps in the lefthand design menu.
2. Either search for QR or scroll down to find the QR Code generator on the list of apps.
3. Enter your URL/link.
4. Use the customize drop-down menu to change the colors and margin size.
5. Then click Generate QR Code.
Just like in PowerPoint, once you’ve created a QR code, it will function on the page like any other design element.
Some Ways to Use QR Codes in Your Presentations
Now that you know how easy it is to create QR codes and add them to your presentation, it’s time to start dreaming of all the ways you can use them. Here are just a few ideas to get you started:
1. Accessibility to your presentation.
For users who might have trouble seeing your presentation on a large screen, you can create a QR code on one of your first slides that lets them access your slide deck up close on a personal device. Or, you might simply want to make your slide deck available to your audience after you’ve walked them through it, so a code on the last slide gives them that access.
2. Drilling down into content.
For content that is too lengthy or detailed to put on a slide, you can include a QR code on those slides where users might want to “drill down” farther into the content. For example, if you want to give your audience access to research without spending a lot of time on it during your presentation, offer them a QR code.
3. Inviting participation.
QR codes are a great way to increase audience participation. Maybe you are taking a quick live poll and want to make it easy for the audience to access it. Or, you want to get feedback from your audience following the presentation. Or, you are asking your audience to sign up for something (a volunteer opportunity, an email list, etc.). All of these can easily be accomplished with a simple QR code.
4. Making your brand known.
QR codes are also an easy way to link to your company’s website or social media platforms to your presentation. With a simple “learn more about our brand” above a QR code, you can efficiently and effectively direct traffic where you want it.
QR codes allow you to extend the reach of your presentation. Think about how you can save time and money using QR codes rather than printing materials, while at the same time offering a way for your audience to actively participate with your presentation.
For more ways to level up your presentation, check out our blog and our primal presenter podcast which are both full of tips and tricks from everything from presentation design to delivery. Or get in touch with us now to see how our award-winning presentation design agency can help with your next big presentation!