📋 Verified Walkthrough
Computers • Everyday Basics

How do I make and edit a slide deck in PowerPoint or Google Slides?

Direct Answer

Open PowerPoint or Google Slides, click "Blank Presentation," click the text boxes on your first slide to type your title, click "New Slide" in the top-left toolbar to add more pages, and use "Insert" → "Pictures" to add photos.

Why You Might Want to Do This

  • To build a family photo slideshow for birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, or memorial services that you can play on a TV or computer.
  • To prepare clear, large-print talking points for community club meetings, church groups, HOA gatherings, or volunteer presentations.
  • To organize stories, travel memories, and photos onto neat sequence cards (slides) that can be easily shared or printed as handouts.

Before You Start

  • A computer with Microsoft PowerPoint, Apple Keynote, or a web browser to open free Google Slides (slides.google.com).
  • Any photos or notes you would like to include saved on your computer or USB drive.

Slides are automatically saved as you edit when using Google Slides or PowerPoint Online in your browser.

Step-by-Step Instructions

  1. 1

    Open PowerPoint or Google Slides and choose Blank Presentation

    Open Microsoft PowerPoint on your PC or Mac, or visit slides.google.com in your web browser. Click the large icon labeled "Blank Presentation" (or select a pre-made design theme with colors and fonts you like).

    👀 Plus sign (+) or thumbnail labeled "Blank Presentation."

  2. 2

    Click inside the text boxes to type your Title slide

    Your first slide comes with large guide boxes. Click inside the box that says "Click to add title" and type your main topic (like "Johnson Family Vacation 2026" or "Garden Club Meeting"). Click the subtitle box below to type your name or the date.

    👀 Dotted outline boxes labeled "Click to add title."

    3. ✅ Success Checkpoint: You're Doing Great

    If your screen matches the description above, you have followed the steps correctly. Continue to the next step.

  3. 3

    Click "New Slide" to add more pages to your presentation

    In the top-left toolbar (under the Home tab), click the "New Slide" button. A new blank slide will appear with a headline box and a body box ready for bullet points or photos.

    👀 Slide icon with a plus sign labeled "New Slide" in top-left toolbar.

  4. 4

    Type bullet points and reorder slides in the left panel

    Click inside the main text box on your new slide and type your first point. Press Enter on your keyboard to create the next bullet point. Look at the left sidebar showing miniature previews (thumbnails) of all your slides: click and drag any slide thumbnail up or down to change the order.

    👀 Left sidebar with numbered slide thumbnails.

  5. 5

    Insert photos or family pictures onto your slides

    Click the "Insert" tab at the very top of your screen, then click "Pictures" (or "Image" → "Upload from computer"). Choose the photo from your computer and click "Open." Click and drag the small corner circles of the photo to make it bigger or smaller, or drag its center to reposition it.

    👀 "Insert" tab at top → "Pictures" / "Image" button.

  6. 6

    Play and view your finished Slide Show in full screen

    To watch your presentation in full screen, click the "Slide Show" tab at the top and click "From Beginning" (or press the F5 key on Windows; on Google Slides, click the "Slideshow" button in the top-right). Click your mouse or tap the Right Arrow key on your keyboard to move forward, and press "Esc" to exit.

    👀 Slide Show tab → "From Beginning" button (or Slideshow button).

If You Don't See It / Troubleshooting

If you accidentally delete a slide, photo, or block of text

Press Ctrl + Z on Windows (or Command + Z on Mac) to immediately undo your last action and restore what was deleted.

If your picture covers up your text box

Right-click the photo, move your mouse over "Send to Back," and click "Send to Back" so the text shows clearly on top of or beside the photo.

Good to Know

  • Keep your slide font sizes large (32pt or bigger for titles, 20pt or bigger for bullet points) so anyone sitting across the room can read comfortably.
  • You can print physical paper handouts for meetings by clicking "File" > "Print" and choosing "Handouts (3 slides per page with notes)."
  • In PowerPoint and Google Slides, you can add smooth slide transitions by clicking the "Transitions" tab at the top and picking "Fade."