How to use PowerPoint Animation like a pro

The use of PowerPoint Animation can enhance a presentation by adding movement and visual interest to text, images and other elements. When used correctly, animations help draw attention to important information, guide audience focus and make presentations more engaging. The key is using animations to support your message rather than distract from it. Subtle effects such as Fade, Zoom and Float In can create a professional presentation, while excessive animations can quickly become overwhelming.

There are four (4) different types of animations: Entrance, Emphasis, Exit and Motion Paths. The type of animation you decide to use is directly related to what you want the object to do.

• Do you want an object to appear or disappear? Then you will need an Entrance or Exit effect.
• Do you want it to be highlighted or accentuated on the slide? Then you will need an Emphasis effect.

When to use a PowerPoint Animation?

PowerPoint animations are most effective when they help guide the audience through your content. A well-placed animation can reveal information gradually, draw attention to an important point, or demonstrate a process step-by-step. For example, animating bullet points one at a time can help keep your audience focused on the current topic instead of reading ahead, while a subtle emphasis effect can highlight a key statistic or message. When used with purpose, PowerPoint animation effects can make presentations more engaging, easier to follow and more memorable.

When to avoid Animations?

Animations should be avoided when they don’t add value to the presentation or when they become a distraction. Applying animations to every object on a slide, using overly flashy effects, or adding unnecessary sound effects can quickly overwhelm an audience and take attention away from your message. If an animation doesn’t help explain, emphasise or illustrate information, it’s usually best left out. In most business, education and training presentations, simple and consistent animation effects are far more effective than complex or excessive movement.

Apply an Animation to text

All types of elements can have a PowerPoint animation applied including text. To animate individual bullet points on a slide, follow these steps:

1. Open Microsoft PowerPoint.
2. Open an existing presentation which contains some text.
3. Highlight the first bullet point sentence:

4. Select the Animations tab on the ribbon.
5. From the Animation gallery select the More button:

6. You will see the full list of animation options displayed.
7. From the Entrance effects (displayed in green), choose Float In:

8. A preview of the animation will run. The bullet point will “float in” from the bottom of the slide.
9. The bullet point will now be displayed with the number 1 beside it:

Tip: The number represents the position of this object in the animation sequences. If you have 10 elements animated, they will be numbered. Number 0 typically indicates the first animation in the sequence.

10. Click the Effect Options button to change the direction of the float in:

11. Change the direction of the animation to Float Down.
12. Highlight the second bullet point sentence.
13. Repeat the process this time choosing a different Entrance animation effect. E.g. Bounce

Note: Not all animation types have additional Effect Options you can change.

14. Repeat this process to any remaining sentences or bullet points you have on the slide. You should end up with an animation number next to each item:

TIP: In this example we have animated an entire sentence. You can also choose to animate individual characters one at a time which is great for creating stunning headings on a slide.

Preview the slide show

Now that you have added some animations to the slide, you will want to preview what the slide will look like in Slide Show mode.

To preview in Slide Show mode:

1. Select the Slide Show tab from the Ribbon.
2. Choose to run the slideshow From Current Slide. Alternatively you can press Shift + F5 on the keyboard.
3. To have each animation begin, press any key on the keyboard or click once with the mouse.
4. The first animated sentence or bullet point should appear.
5. Press Esc to exit Slide Show mode.

Animation Timing

Animation timing refers to settings that control when and how animations occur during a presentation. By default, animation timing includes several options including when an animation will start and the length, or duration, of the animation along with the ability to delay an animation.

The first bullet point animation is currently set to Start: On Click. This means that when in slide show mode, the mouse will need to be clicked in order for the animation to begin.

To edit when an animation will start:

1. Highlight the first bullet point with an animation applied.
2. Select the Animations tab and find the Timing group.
3. Click the Start drop-down menu to change it to After Previous.

Tip: The previous action which will trigger the animation to begin, will be the display of the slide.

4. The number beside the bullet point will now be displayed as 0. Having multiple elements numbered as 0 indicates they will all have the same start time and usually the elements are set to Start: After Previous. This is a good way to visually tell which elements are set to Start: After Previous and which are set to On Click.

5. Highlight the next bullet point. Repeat the process to edit the timing to Start: After Previous.
6. Use Shift + F5 to preview in slide show mode and make sure the animations begin by themselves without your interaction.
7. Press Esc to exit slide show mode.

Make a PowerPoint animation faster or slower

Now that you have changed when an animation will start, what about changing how fast or slow the animation is when it runs. Sometimes you add a PowerPoint animation effect and it happens so fast you barely see there is an effect there at all. Just as you were able to change when an animation will Start, you can also change the Duration, or length of time, the animation takes to complete. This in effect then makes an animation appear faster or slower on screen.

To make an animation faster or slower:

1. Highlight the first bullet point with an animation applied.
2. Select the Animations tab and find the Timing group.
3. Locate the Duration setting and use the arrows to increase or decrease the duration. It will likely show a default setting of 01.00 which is 1 second:

4. To slow it down, increase the duration.
5. To speed it up, decrease the duration.
6. Use Shift + F5 to preview in slide show mode and check the new speed of the animations.
7. Press Esc to exit slide show mode.

Apply animation to a shape

Now that we can animate text, lets look at the use of shapes and animations. Shapes can be used to draw attention to important information, create visual effects, or build diagrams and processes step-by-step.

For example, you might animate arrows to show the flow of a process, reveal boxes in an organisational chart, or highlight key areas of a slide with a subtle emphasis effect. Just like text animations, shape animations should be purposeful and enhance your message rather than distract from it. By combining shape animations with text, you can create more engaging and professional presentations that guide your audience through your content.

To add a PowerPoint animation to a shape:

1. Select a slide which contains a shape, or simply add a shape to a new slide.
2. Select the shape.
3. Select the Animations tab on the ribbon.
4. From the Animation gallery select the More button:

1. From the Emphasis effects (displayed in yellow), choose Grow/Shrink.
2. A preview will be displayed of the animation.
3. Click the Effect Options button to change the effect options.
4. For the Timing options, change Start to After Previous.
5. Change the Duration if needed.
6. Use Shift + F5 to preview in slide show mode and check the animation sequence.
7. Use the same process to apply an animation to other objects such as pictures.
8. Press Esc to exit slide show mode.

Add a Motion Path Animation

Motion Path animations allow you to animate objects along a predefined or custom path on the slide. This type of animation is useful for creating dynamic and visually engaging presentations by moving objects in various directions or along specific trajectories.

A common request when using animations is to have objects appear from a specific direction. E.g. Have a product image not showing on the slide, and then after 10 seconds have it appear on the screen from the left hand side.

To have objects appear on the screen you need to utilise the Scratch Area. The Scratch Area of a slide refers to the space outside the visible slide area where you can temporarily place and work with objects. Although this space is not visible during the actual presentation or in the printed version, it provides a useful workspace for organising and working with elements before they appear on the slide.

To display the scratch area and animate a picture:

1. Select a slide containing an element you wish to apply a custom path animation.
2. Use the Zoom slider (bottom right corner of the screen) to zoom out so that you can see the space around the slide area:

TIP: A quicker option is to hold down the Ctrl key on the keyboard and then scroll the wheel on your mouse up or down to zoom in or zoom out. Just make sure the cursor is over the slide area so that it zooms in/out the correct area.

3. The grey area around the slide is the Scratch Area:

4. Move the shape or object you are going to animate, to the right and into the scratch area:

5. With the shape still selected, go to the Animations tab.
6. From the Animation gallery select the More button.
7. Find the Motion Paths category and choose the Custom Path option:

8. The cursor will now appear as a cross +.
9. Place the cursor near the object and click and hold down the left mouse button. Draw a path into the slide area, around a loop and then off the left-hand side.
10. When you are at the finishing spot, double-click the mouse.
11. The motion path animation will show you a preview and then reset back to the starting point:

12. A green arrow will mark the start of the motion path, and a red arrow will mark the end.
13. From the Animations tab click Preview.
14. The object will animate along the path you created (it will be moving quite quickly).
15. Use the Timing group to change the Start option to After Previous.
16. Increase the Duration to slow it down.
17. Use Shift + F5 to preview in slide show mode and check the animation sequence.
18. Press Esc to exit slide show mode.

That’s it! You have now looked at the fundamentals of creating a PowerPoint Animation. Understanding the concept of the different animation types, along with the Start and Duration settings will help get you started and creating professional animation effects in no time.

If you want to check out some fun options, be sure to check out:

Don’t forget to add any questions or comments below or check out some of my other PowerPoint content for more inspiration.