Helpful Shortcuts For Showing PowerPoint Presentations

Toolbar buttons in desktop applications (including Microsoft Office) are a great thing; couldn't imagine life without them. But there are still some cases where keyboard shortcuts are better for me. For example, I still use Ctrl+X, Ctrl+C, and Ctrl+V to cut, copy, and paste respectfully (it's a habit I never got out of.) And why would I go to the Edit menu and click "Select All" when I can just do a Ctrl+A and I'm done - you know what I'm saying?

There are also keyboard shortcuts that you should know about when you run a slide show with a PowerPoint presentation. Why? Two reasons: 1) Because they'll make your presentation more interactive, thus increasing the effectiveness of it; 2) Because there's no toolbar buttons available in Slide Show mode. Here are two that I use a lot:

Slide Number + ENTER
When the audience has a question, sometimes it's helpful to go back (or forward) to specific slide that assists you in answering it. To do that, just type the slide number and press Enter. Obviously, this works best when you know the slide number; otherwise, you can always use the Backspace key to go backward in your presentation until you spot the one you need.

B or W
If you've presented a slide and you're not quite ready to move on to the next one, it's important to draw the attention back on you - otherwise they'll keep getting distracted by your beautiful presentation. Pressing the letter "B" makes the screen go black, and the letter "W" makes it go white. I normally go with a black screen, but sometimes white it better based on the room you're in. When you're ready to move on, just press any key.

For more keyboard shortcuts to use in your slide show, check out this post from Brainy Betty.