Do you find yourself often uttering “there must be a better way!” when working in PowerPoint? We get it. Fortunately, we’ve found some keyboard shortcuts that have proven helpful while building and delivering presentations. Whether you need to point something out, create a clean slate, or get back to where you started from, there’s a shortcut for that!
Start at the beginning
Giving the same presentation a few times on the same day? Need a fresh start? Want to show the opening slide again? We’ve got you. There are a few different ways to go back to slide 1 of your presentation.
If you’re already in presentation mode and want to return to the first slide, this should work:
1 + Enter
If you’re in edit mode and would like to go to the first slide in presentation mode, no matter which slide you’re on, this command will bring you to your first slide and start presentation mode:
Shift + Command + Enter (mac)
F5 (pc)
Enter presentation mode
Now, if you want to start presentation mode, staying on a different slide than the first slide, then click that slide, and use
Option + Enter (mac)
Alt + F5 (pc)
Create a new slide
Want an easier way to create a new slide than having to click the “new slide” button on the taskbar?
1 + Enter
This formula is your ticket. Look familiar? That’s because it’s also used to get back to the first slide in presentation mode, as mentioned above.
Go anywhere
If you’re in a presentation and want to skip to a certain slide, that’s easy as long as you know the slide number.
Slide number + Enter
This should skip your presentation to the slide of your choice.
Blank slate
Ever just need a moment to get away from the slide show and go rogue? This is an option in PowerPoint. If you want to make the screen white, you can utilize
W
If you’d prefer the screen go black, press
B
Clicking any key will take you out of black or white mode and back to your presentation.
Highlight important points
Ever want to cross something off of a slide or circle a certain part of a slide in real-time? You can utilize the pen tool for this.
Command + P (mac)
Control + P (pc)
This will activate the pen tool while in presentation mode.
Want to erase markups? It’s as simple as typing a single letter.
E
Would you rather have a laser pointer to point out information without marking up the page?
Command + L (mac)
Control + L (pc)
Want to exit the laser pointer tool during a presentation and return to the default arrow?
Command + A (mac)
Control + A (pc)
Don’t need a pointer at all and can’t seem to get the default arrow off of your screen?
Command + I (mac)
Control + I (pc)
We hope you can start utilizing these keyboard shortcuts ASAP for some newfound presentation savvy. Impress your coworkers! Hopefully, your audiences will think you’ve really done your homework and trust you as an expert. The truth is, we work with presenters every day, and many don’t know about these simple shortcuts. In addition to these easy tips and tricks, we love helping leaders uncover hidden talents and easy commands. Let us know if you want to dig deeper and take our Presentation Mentor course with a coach that will get to know you in a meaningful way. Happy navigating!
