Getting more money allocated to your IT budget is already a Sisyphean effort, even more so in a lean economy. Using a sloppy PowerPoint presentation to argue your case makes your quest even more ineffective. You can’t do anything about the economy, but you can use these tips to make a more effective, polished pitch.

Trick No. 1: Add Narration To Your Show

Adding narration can be helpful if you plan on e-mailing your show or posting it to the web. Follow these steps, and remember to rehearse timings before finalizing.

1. Go to slide 1 and click Slide Show tab | Record Narration.
2. Make a note of the free disk space and max record time in the current recording quality section to ensure you have enough free disk space for narration. You also must choose whether to link or embed the file in this dialog. Note: If put a check in the box next to “link narrations in…,” you will need to include the narration sound file when e-mailing the presentation. If you do not check the box, your narration will be embedded into the presentation, which will markedly increase your PowerPoint presentation file size.
3. Click “Set Microphone Level” to modify recording level.
4. When you are ready to begin recording, click OK.
5. Read the text that accompanies the first slide into the microphone, and then click on the slide to advance. Add your narration to the second slide, and then click on the slide to advance to the next. Repeat this process until you are finished. After the last slide, a black Exit screen will appear. Click anywhere on it to wrap up.
6. When you are prompted to save your slide timings, click Yes. A sound icon will appear in the bottom right corner of each slide that includes voice narration.
7. Press F5 or click Slide Show | From Beginning to launch your presentation.
Note: Your computer must be equipped with a sound card, microphone and speakers for you to record and hear narration.

Transform a choppy, amateurish presentation into polished and professional pitch.

Trick No. 2: Loop a Recording

This is a frequent request, but not as easy to set up as it should be. Usually, when you add sound to slides, it plays until you segue to the next slide. The resulting transition is often choppy and amateurish, depending on the type of sound you are using. Follow these steps to loop your music, which will make for a much smoother, natural presentation.
1. Go to the slide where your sound will begin.
2. Click the Insert tab | Sound | Sound from File.
3. Choose the sound file and click Insert. When prompted to choose how you want the sound to start in the show, select “automatically.” (A speaker icon will now appear in your slide.)
4. Click on the speaker icon, which will bring up a Sound Tools contextual tab at the top of the window.
5. In the Sound Options section of the Sound Tools | Options tab, put a check in the box next to “Loop Until Stopped,” and choose “play across slides” from the dropdown next to “Play Sound.”
6. Click Slide Show, From Beginning or press F5 to view your slide show.

Trick No. 3: Org Chart 101

Hierarchies are important, and at some companies they can become quite labyrinthine. It’s no help that Microsoft’s organization charts tend to have a mind of their own – until Office 2007′s SmartArt came along. It’s easier to use than previous versions, and offers countless design possibilities.
1. Click on the Insert tab of the Ribbon, choose Smart Art, select Hierarchy on the left, then select a design in the center, and click OK.
2. Double-click on a shape or click in the text entry box to the left to enter text in the existing shapes.
3. To deselect a shape, click on a blank area within the chart. To deselect the entire chart, click somewhere else in the document.
4. To add new shapes, select the shape they should connect to, then click on the Add Shape button the SmartArt Tools Design tab or press Enter in the text entry box.
5. To delete an unwanted shape, select the shape and press the Delete key.
Formatting choices that affect the positioning of shapes can be found on the SmartArt Tools Design tab of the ribbon. Choices for text within the chart and the individual shapes like border and fill can be found on the SmartArt Tools Format tab of the Ribbon.
Note: To promote shapes in the text entry box, press the Tab key; to demote shapes press Shift+Tab.

Trick No. 4: Animate Your Bullets

Have just a few points but lots to say about each of them? Animate your bullets. Here’s how:
1. In the Slides section on the Home tab, choose Title and Content from the Layout dropdown menu and enter your text.
2. On the Animations tab, in the Animations section, choose the style of animation you want (fade, wipe, fly in, custom) and choose “by 1st level paragraphs” for bullet-by-bullet animation.
3. To adjust the effects, click on Custom Animation on the Animations tab of the Ribbon. A task pane will appear on the right side of the screen.
4. Select any or all of the bullet points to modify, and click the Change Effect button in the Custom Animation pane. The options here are limitless. You can change speed, direction, entrance, exit, motion paths and many other attributes.
5. Click Play at the bottom of the task pane to preview.

Trick No. 5: We Love Shortcuts

Shortcuts are great for getting things done in less time. Here are some of the more popular and useful ones:

Bold: Ctrl+B
Change case (toggle for title case, lowercase and all caps): Shift+F3
Copy: Ctrl+C
Delete a word: Ctrl+Backspace
Demote a paragraph: Alt+Shift+Right Arrow
Find: Ctrl+F
Insert a hyperlink: Ctrl+K
Insert a new slide: Ctrl+M
Italicize: Ctrl+I
Open: Ctrl+O
Open the font dialog box: Ctrl+T
Paste: Ctrl+V
Print: Ctrl+P
Promote a paragraph: Alt+Shift+Left Arrow
Repeat your last action: F4 or Ctrl+Y
Save: Ctrl+S
Select all: Ctrl+A
Start a slide show: F5
Undo: Ctrl+Z

Have any PowerPoint tips to share? Post them in comments, or send them in an e-mail. (Jen Darr)

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Jenny Sweeney How To, Office 2007, PowerPoint, Time-Saving Tips How To, Office 2007, PowerPoint