powerpoint presentation slide sequence

How to loop a sequence of PowerPoint animations

• Written by: Jamie Garroch
• Categories: PowerPoint animation
• Comments: 16

Loops are like buses. You wait ages for one then a bunch of them arrive at the same time! In our last looping article you discovered how to create infinite Motion Paths in PowerPoint. Now you’re going to learn a simple technique to loop sequences of animations in PowerPoint.

Animation effects in presentations aren’t just decorative, they’re a great way to pace your content so you can explain your story step-by-step. We’ve got lots of articles about how to use simple animations effectively (like this beginner’s guide to Morph and this introduction to PowerPoint animation ), but today we’re going to look at something a little more sophisticated. Sometimes you might want to play a sequence of animation effects in a loop, over and over again to illustrate a particular point. PowerPoint allows you to loop a single animation effect but not a sequence of multiple effects. Our neat hack solves that limitation and, as an added bonus, gives you a warm fuzzy sensation because you know loops inside out.

How to loop one animation effect in PowerPoint

Let’s start at the very beginning as I’ve heard it’s a very good place to start! If you’re sitting there thinking, ‘Hang on a second, I have no idea how to loop a single animation!’ – fear not! Take a look at the slide below. Let’s say you wanted the computer icon in column E to blink repeatedly until you move to the next slide.

To do this you would add the Blink emphasis effect from the Animations tab ( Animations > Add Animation > More Emphasis effects… ). Then open the Animation Pane , right click on the blink animation you just added and select Effect Options . Then set up the animation as follows:

How to loop a sequence of animation effects in PowerPoint

Okay, one animation successfully looped! But what would you do if you wanted a sequence of animation affects to play in a specified order and then repeat, as in this example:

This is just one PowerPoint slide with a fairly complex animation sequence used to show the production line process. This is what the Animation Pane looks like:

You can download this file to see how the animation sequence was created: Download looping animation file . What we want to do now is to set this whole sequence to repeat until the next slide. How? With our audio bookmark hack!

Hover your mouse over the last animation effect in the sequence and make a note of the time it ends. In our example, it’s 13.5 seconds.

Record a sound file that’s a bit longer than the time you just noted down. This may seem odd but stick with it! To do this, go to the Insert tab in PowerPoint and – way over on the right-hand side of the ribbon – click Audio followed by Record Audio .

Top tip: Name your recording using the target time so you remember when to stop recording!

If you want, you can mute your microphone. Otherwise, keep completely silent and press the record button. Wait until the recording is the right length, then press the stop button.

Wait! Hold the phone. Why are we telling you to record a silent audio file?! All will become clear.

Select your new audio file then set it up in the Playback tab as follows:

• Click Add Bookmark (this will add a bookmark at 0 seconds)
• Click Volume > Mute
• Click Start > Automatically
• Click Loop until Stopped
• Click Hide During Show

Your audio file options should now look like this:

Finally, click the Trim Audio button and set the End Time to the exact time you want the animation sequence to repeat. In our example, the sequence lasts 13.5 seconds so we’ll set the audio end time to 14.00 seconds.

Open the Animation Pane (download our free quick access toolbar customisation for Windows or macOS to open the Animation Pane with just one click). Then select the first animation effect in the sequence, hold down the shift key and select the last effect in the sequence. With the whole sequence selected, go back to the Animations tab and in the Advanced Animation group, click the Trigger menu followed by On Bookmark and then Bookmark 1 .

And you’re done! You should now see two zones in the Animation Pane. The top part in the main timeline sequence just has the audio file in it, set to start automatically and repeatedly fire its single bookmark trigger event every 14 seconds. The main animation sequence has moved to what’s known as the interactive or trigger sequence. This sequence will now start every time the bookmark in the audio file is reached.

And as the audio file is set to loop until you advance the slide, the animation sequence will repeat from when you start the Slide Show until you move to the next slide or quit the show. And it doesn’t stop there. Imagine what effects you could achieve by adding different sequences to different audio files with multiple bookmarks. One audio file triggering another that triggers a sequence of effects that triggers another audio file. Welcome to mind-blowing PowerPoint that makes your brain ache and your heart sing! No? Just us then!

Got a thirst for PowerPoint loops?

If you’re now looping mad, then you might want to check out this blog post: How to create infinite Motion Paths in PowerPoint . And our free BrightSlide add-in for PowerPoint includes lots of new ways to enhance your creativity, including some very cool animation tools that’ll have your boss, colleagues and audiences jumping for joy. Download BrightSlide!

Jamie Garroch

Principal technical consultant, related articles, powerpoint memory game.

• PowerPoint design / PowerPoint animation
• Comments: 4

We love PowerPoint at BrightCarbon. It’s such a versatile application which can be used for so much more than ‘just’ designing presentations. You can create videos, printed collateral, interactive eLearning, even animated GIFs and so much more. But did you know you can even create games? We’ve built one for you, using VBA, and it’s free to download and adapt.

3 ways to create slide backgrounds in PowerPoint

• Comments: 1

If you’ve used BrightCarbon’s guides before, we have no doubt that you can make your content look incredible. But something you might not have dabbled in yet is changing up the slide background in PowerPoint. The right presentation backdrop can do a lot, from keeping everything on brand to adding…

How to create infinite Motion Paths in PowerPoint

All the best things in life do loop-the-loops. Rollercoasters, fancy planes, and… PowerPoint! Learn how to make a loop-the-loop-ing infinite Motion Path in PowerPoint for silky smooth repeating image carousels, never-ending animations, and more!

Absolutely brilliant! Thank you for sharing

Thank you very much, It’s very useful.

Very useful. Worked like a charm

Thank you so much for sharing this knowledge!

Brilliant! Thank you so much

Thank you – works like a charm. I would never have thought that I’ve have to record an audio to make a animation loop!

Great idea!

had to repeat list of animations on a slide – this works perfect! Thanks much for sharing

It doesn’t loop. It just plays once even though I have “loop until stopped selected”. I applied all the steps you suggested. What am I doing wrong?

I’m having the same problem! I’ve followed this guide a few times with no problems but this time I just can’t get it to work.

The most bizarre thing is that a previous slideshow I did still works perfectly and I’ve compared all the settings and all the checkboxes and they all match. But the new slideshows just repeat once and stop. Very annoying. I suspect there’s been an ‘improvement’ by Microsoft – that’s normally what breaks useful things in the office apps!

It seems that in current versions of Office 365 there is a strange bug. I just ran into the same problem, but I figured out its cause and a solution. Here’s how:

Apparently, PowerPoint adds a slide transition timer when you add the audio. It is set so the exact duration of the audio. So when the loop is ready to repeat the transition kicks in and switches to the next slide. To solve it just go to the Transitions tab and clear the check box next to the slide timer (usually the last item on the ribbon).

Works perfectly! I looked for this option for a while and finally learned how to do it. It is explained easily step by step.

Thank you so much.

Where in the heck is the Playback tab? I recorded the video but it’s nowhere to be seen. Clicking it in the Animation pane just brings up Animation options. Why do these articles skimp on screenshots? Be better for us dumb ones.

Found it–have to select the “recording” icon dead center in the slide. Missed it because I had assets masking it. Seriously–screenshots are signposts for your readers. Shouldn’t have to explain that for technical content.

All the options I need to do this are greyed out. How do I make them so I can actually click on them?

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Save my name and email in this browser for the next time I comment.

Join the BrightCarbon mailing list for monthly invites and resources

It is, quite simply, the best deck we have. I did a nice presentation with it yesterday and would like to do the same next week... I am sure it will get a lot of use. The visual impact and flow are compelling! Peter Francis Janssen

• 9 Free Online Earth Day Games for Kids
• The Best Gadgets for The Beach or Pool

Change Order of Animations for PowerPoint Slides

Vary the sequence with simple click-and-drag reordering

• Brock University

Animations are a great way to add interest to a PowerPoint presentation. But, animations may not always appear on the screen the way you intended. When your animation goes wrong, change the order of the animations.

Instructions in this article apply to PowerPoint 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010; PowerPoint for Mac, and PowerPoint for Microsoft 365.

Reorder Animations

When you want to change the sequence of a PowerPoint animation, it's as easy as dragging the animation to a new location in the Animations pane.

To change the order of an animation, select the slide with the animations, go to Animations , and select  Animation Pane . The Animation pane shows every animation on the slide in the order the animations will execute.

Drag an animation from its current position to a new position (you'll see the insert point represented as a red line in the animation list). Reordering takes effect immediately.

Animation Transition Best Practices

Using too many animations in a presentation can confuse your audience. When a presentation is over-animated, your audience will spend most of their time watching the movement instead of concentrating on your message.

Recommended best practices include:

• Limit slides to three or fewer animation effects.
• Use the same effect for the same activity.
• Apply short-duration effects (less than 2 seconds).
• Avoid animations that paint over a large area (for example, bounce-ins).

Animations pair well with presentations that include recorded audio, such as narrations. It's more difficult to get the timings right for slides that include embedded video along with animation pieces.

When your animations are ordered properly, play the entire presentation from the beginning for a final quality check. Don't forget to save your work.

Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day

• How to Add Animation to PowerPoint
• Animate Specific Parts of a PowerPoint Chart
• Add, Delete or Change the Order of PowerPoint Slides
• Play Sound and PowerPoint Animation at the Same Time
• What Is an Animation in Presentation Software?
• How to Use Google Slide Animations and Transitions
• How to Apply Custom Animation in PowerPoint
• Dim Text in PowerPoint Presentations
• Edit Music, Sound, or Other Audio Settings in PowerPoint
• How to Use the Slide Sorter View in PowerPoint
• Copy Slides to Another PowerPoint Presentation
• How to Draw Freehand in PowerPoint
• An Introduction to PowerPoint
• Add Rolling Credits to a PowerPoint Presentation
• Adding Sounds, Music or Narration to PowerPoint Slide Shows
• How to Add Music to PowerPoint

How-To Geek

How to reorder animations in microsoft powerpoint.

Make sure that bouncing word or flying line show up when they should.

Quick Links

About the animation sequences in powerpoint, reorder animations using the animations tab, reorder animations using the animation pane.

Animations can take an ordinary presentation and turn it into a dynamic one. So, as you add more animations to a slide, it's important to sequence them correctly. Here's how to reorder animations in Microsoft PowerPoint.

By default, PowerPoint arranges animations in the order you add them. This means if you decide to animate an image in the middle of a slide, after the surrounding animations have been set up, that animation will appear last. This isn't always the desired outcome, so to help you arrange your animations correctly, we'll explain a few ways to reorder them.

Here are a few points to keep in mind before we start reordering animations in PowerPoint .

Related: How to Make a Typewriter or Command Line Animation in PowerPoint

Each animation you add receives a number. This number does not correlate to the item that's animated, but to the animation itself. So, if you add five animations to a slide, you'll see them numbered one through five.

The animation sequences in a presentation are per slide. For example, if you add four animations to a slide and five animations to the next slide, the numbers start at one on each slide.

You can add more than one animation to a single item. For instance, you may animate a line to fly in from the bottom and then have it spin. In this case, you might see a stack of numbers next to the animation if you have the Animation Pane open.

When you close the pane, you'll see all numbers that apply.

One more thing to remember is that you won't see the animation numbers on the slides until you select the Animations tab.

Now that you have the basics on how the animation sequences works in PowerPoint, let's look at reordering the animations.

If you have a small number of animations that you want to rearrange, the quickest way is using the Animations tab.

Related: How to Make Animated Characters in PowerPoint

Open the tab and select the animation you want to change. You can do this by clicking the animation number, not the item.

On the right side of the ribbon, click "Move Earlier" or "Move Later" below Reorder Animations. If one or the other is grayed out, then that animation is already at the earliest or latest point.

You can click the option you pick more than once. For example, if you want to move animation 3 to the first position as in the screenshot above, you would click "Move Earlier" twice. This then changes its number from 3 to 1.

If you have many animations on a slide , it's easier to use the Animation Pane. This allows you to view all animations on the slide in one spot as well as reorder them.

On the Animations tab, click "Animation Pane" in the Advanced Animation section of the ribbon. By default, the pane opens on the right side, ready for you to work with.

The animations appear in the pane in the order they're numbered on the slide. You then have two ways to reorder them using the pane.

Use the Up and Down Arrows

Select an animation in the list within the pane. Then use the up or down arrow at the top of the pane to move the animation where you want it. Like the buttons on the Animations tab, you can click more than once to move up or down more than one spot.

Drag and Drop the Animations

Another way to rearrange the animations is to drag and drop them where you want them in the list. To move one, select, hold, and drag it up or down to its new position, then release. You'll see a red line as you drag, allowing you to drop the animation exactly where you want it.

As mentioned, PowerPoint sequences animations in the order that you add them. And because the order in which those animations appear makes a big difference, it's not always acceptable to let them remain in that order. But now you know three easy ways to sequence them as you wish!

Related: How to Change the Speed of an Animation in PowerPoint

• Skip to primary navigation
• Skip to main content
• Skip to footer

Laura M. Foley Design

Cheat Death by PowerPoint!

How to create looping animations in PowerPoint

October 2, 2018 by Laura Foley 7 Comments

PowerPoint has some incredible animation tools. Incredibly frustrating, that is. One thing that’s eluded PowerPoint animators for years has been a way to loop an animation sequence on a slide. Friends, I’m happy to announce that the wait is over. I’ve learned of a way to cheat the system!

The problem with looping animations in PPT

A looped sequence is a repeating sequence. For example, a looping animation would go through Effect #1, then Effect #2, then Effect #3, then go back to Effect #1 and keep going until you tell it to stop. It seems like it would be super-simple to set something like this up in PowerPoint. Trust me, without knowing the trick I’m about to teach you, it’s a huge pain in the tuchus.

You see, the animation timeline in PowerPoint is stupid. It only travels from left to right, ever forward. There’s no way to isolate a set of animations, group them, and cause them to loop. So to create the illusion of looping, you’d have to repeat the animation sequence however many times you want it to loop. It can be a real drag, especially if you have a number of complicated animations, exact positioning, etc.

The answer? Bookmarks.

I’m a member of the Presentation Guild . One of the many benefits I enjoy as a member is access to the forum pages, where the best presentation designers share their ideas and inspirations. One of the Alpha Nerds, Jamie Garroch , developed an ingenious method of creating looping animations within PowerPoint by using something I’d never been aware existed: bookmarks.

A bookmark can be added to a video or audio file. Like bookmarks IRL, you can use these to mark interesting parts of the media. You can also use them to…wait for it…trigger animations! And the way to do it is to use bookmarks on an audio file you create that’s the same length as your desired animation loop.

How to create looping animations

Don’t be put off by the number of steps below. As with anything, writing out instructions takes much longer than actually doing it. If you’d rather learn by watching me do it, then watch this video.

Step 1: Create your animations

Create the animations you want on your slide. Wherever you want a bookmark to trigger an animation, select Start On Click . Use animation tools like After Previous , With Previous , Duration , Delay , etc., as you normally would.

Step 2: Make the audio file

• Under Media on the Insert tab, click Audio then Record audio .
• Click on the red dot (record) and remain silent for the length of your recording. The recording length is determined by how long you want the looping animation to be. When finished, click on the square (stop).
• Click on the audio file. Under Audio Options on the Playback tab, select Volume then select Mute . Also select Hide During Show, Start Automatically , and Loop Until Stopped .

Step 3: Add bookmarks

• Click on the audio clip.
• In the audio controls below the clip, click Play .
• When you reach the point where you want to make a bookmark, click Pause .
• Under Audio Tools , on the Playback tab, in the Bookmarks group, click Add Bookmark . Note that these bookmarks cannot be changed, only deleted and remade, so choose wisely!
• Make as many bookmarks as you have Start On Click animations.

Step 4: Use bookmarks to trigger animations

• In the Animation Pane , move your audio file to the top.
• Select the first animation that starts on click, then select On play…Recorded Sound – Bookmark 1 under Triggers .
• In the Animation Pane , move all of the animations that follow up until the next Start On Click animation to be after the triggered animation.
• Repeat steps 1–3 for as many Start On Click animations you have.

Step 5: Breaking the animation cycle

To get the animation cycle to stop and advance to the next slide, follow these steps:

• Click on the Transitions tab in the Ribbon .
• In the Timing section of the Transitions tab, deselect On Mouse Click
• Select After and set the amount of time you want to stay on the slide.

Share this:

You’re using an older browser version. Update to the latest version of Google Chrome , Safari , Mozilla Firefox , or  Microsoft Edge for the best site experience.

• eLearning Blog
• eLearning Basics
• Instructional Design
• Corporate Training
• Course Selling
• Manufacturing
• Products iSpring Suite iSpring Learn
• Use Cases Onboarding Compliance Training Induction Training Product Training Channel Partner Training Sales Training Microlearning Mobile Learning
• Company About Us Case Studies Customers Partnership Course Development Contact Us Academy Blog Webinars Guides
• Community Academy Blog Webinars Guides Experts on iSpring
• Language EN English Français Deutsch Español Italiano Nederlands Português Polski 中文 日本語 العربية Indonesia
• Shopping Cart

Free Online eLearning Conference | May 2nd–3rd

iSPRING DAYS 2024

Seize the human-centric future of learning

How to Structure a PowerPoint Presentation

Table of Contents

This is the main part of your presentation, which should keep the promises you made in the introduction. This is where you explain your topic and present all your information. 

Depending on the nature of your presentation, divide it into segments/points. Arrange your points in a logical order and then provide information to support each of them. There are many different ways to organize your key points, for example:

• Number your points according to their priority (1, 2, 3, …)
• Place the points in a time frame (past, present, future)
• Use narration (tell a story from beginning to end)
• Present the points with a problem-solution dynamic (state a problem, describe its impact, offer ways to solve the issue)

A good conclusion summarizes the key points you made or highlights what the audience should have learned. It clarifies the general purpose of your presentation and reinforces the reason for viewing it. Here are the slides you may want to include:

• Summary. List what goals your audience have achieved, what knowledge they got, and how this information can help them in the future.
• Conclusion. Here you can thank your audience for viewing the presentation.

Tips for Structuring a Presentation in PowerPoint

Now that you know which parts a typical presentation should consist of, let’s see how to structure it in PowerPoint. 

1. Combine slides into sections

When working with a large PowerPoint presentation (PPT), you can create sections that can be collapsed and expanded. This will help you keep presentation slides organized and facilitate navigation in editing mode. To do that, follow these steps:

• To shift a section, right-click on its name and use the Move Section Up and Move Section Down options.
• To collapse or expand a certain section, click on the collapse icon to the left of the section name. You can also minimize and maximize all sections at once by right-clicking on the section name and choosing Collapse All or Expand All .

As well, you can access these settings by choosing Slide Sorter under the VIEW tab.

This kind of segmentation is a great way to overview the logical flow of your slides all at once and see if there are any changes required. For example, you may decide to break one slide into two or three, or the other way around.

2. Use the Outline View

One other way to structure a PowerPoint presentation in the editing mode is to use Outline View . You can choose it from the VIEW tab.

This view doesn’t display sections, but it shows the title and main text of each slide, which can give you a quick overview of the presentation contents. Here you can go through the entire text and edit it instantly. You can also work with text (on the left) and slides (on the right) simultaneously, as the latter is shown on the right side of your screen.

Note that, to be displayed in an outline, text needs to be typed in a text placeholder, not a text box . A text placeholder is a box with the words “Click to add text” or “Click to add title”, and it appears when you choose a standard layout.

You can also use Outline View to promote bullet text to titles and the other way around. To do that, right-click on a relevant title or text and select the Promote or Demote options.

Be attentive about demoting a title, as this will delete the original slide and move its title and text to the adjacent slide.

PowerPoint only allows users to promote and demote text, not entire slides. Therefore, there’s no possibility to change the hierarchical order of slides.

3. Create a table of contents

All the aforementioned tips help you organize a presentation when formatting it. However, it’s crucial that your viewers can easily navigate through entire presentation too. One sure way to provide them with this opportunity is to create an interactive and structured table of contents.

Though there’s no native automatic outline in PowerPoint, it can be created manually:

• Press Ctrl+A to select all the names, and Ctrl+C to copy them. 
• Then Press Ctrl+V to paste the copied titles on the desired slide. In case there are too many titles and they don’t fit onto a single page, you can divide the table of contents into two columns or place it on two slides.

You’ll need to repeat this procedure to link all the chapters to corresponding slides. For more information, read this step-by-step guide on how to add a hyperlink in PowerPoint .

Now all the chapters can be accessed from a single table of contents, which is very convenient. However, you will also need to link them back to that unifying page. You can do this by inserting an Action Button on every slide of your presentation in Slide Master mode:

Now there is a single page from which all the other pages can be easily accessed. As well, it’s possible to go back to the table of contents at any time with the intuitive Home button.

Depending on the size of your presentation, the time it takes to create an interactive outline may vary, as you will need to add hyperlinks to every chapter manually. Be aware that if you rename a slide or simply delete it, these changes will not be automatically registered in the table of contents. For example, if you delete a slide, its title will still be displayed in the table of contents, but clicking on it won’t lead the viewer to another point in the presentation.

This is what our sample presentation looks like:

A Better Way to Structure a PowerPoint Presentation

Creating a table of contents manually might be fine for a small presentation, but if you have 122 slides, it would require too much time and energy to do so. That’s why, instead of manually creating a table of contents, we took advantage of iSpring Suite and simply enabled the automatic outline.  

iSpring Suite

Fully-stocked eLearning authoring toolkit for PowerPoint. No training required to start!

Note: iSpring Suite turns slides into HTML5 format, so your audience can view them online, right in their browsers. 

As you can see, the new presentation has a pop-up outline and a navigation panel, which make it possible to move to any slide at any time without leaving the slide show mode. 

How to set up navigation

To create navigation in your presentation, follow these simple steps:

• Get a free trial of iSpring Suite.

• When you’ve configured the Slide Properties settings, click on Save & Close in the upper-left corner.

How to configure an outline

Whereas PowerPoint requires the outline to be designed manually, iSpring Suite has already prepared it for you. At the same time, you don’t have to stick with the standard outline template, as you can easily customize the player’s final look and feel:

We recommend leaving Enable Search marked, as this will allow viewers to search for any content at any time, including the texts on the slides. This is especially useful for large presentations with a lot of text.

If you have previously arranged slides into multiple levels in the Slide Properties, then leave Multilevel outline marked. That way, the outline will display the nesting structure of the presentation, facilitating navigation. You can learn more about the other outline options here .

• When you have finished configuring the player, click on Apply & Close in the upper-left corner.
• Now you can publish your enhanced presentation either to HTML5, to make it easily accessible via browser on any device, or MP4 video format. If you’re going to upload your presentation to an LMS, you can publish it to any eLearning format: SCORM, AICC, Tin Can, or cmi5. 

While a standard PowerPoint slideshow is straightforward and limited, iSpring Suite saves viewers from having to follow a strict slide order. An interactive and searchable outline allows non-linear navigation, where any information can be accessed at any time at a glance.

Also read : → How to Convert PowerPoint to MP4 Video

Also read : →  How To Record Presentations With Audio

Another perk

iSpring Suite comes with Content Library , which provides a great collection of presentation templates and allows you to create professional-looking presentations in a matter of minutes. Each template includes basic course elements: a title slide, a table of contents, chapters, a timeline, and info slides. Organize them in the order you prefer, populate them with your texts and images, and your presentation is ready to go.

We hope this article will help you develop an ideal structure for your PowerPoint presentation and do this quickly and easily. Captivate your audience with a powerful and persuasive presentation!

Do you have any other insights on how to simplify PowerPoint slides design? Please share them in the comment section. We’d like to hear from you. 

Fast course authoring toolkit

Create online courses and assessments in record time.

Content creator:

Helen Colman

She enjoys combining in-depth research with expert knowledge of the industry. If you have eLearning insights that you’d like to share, please get in touch .

You might also like this

Subscribe to our blog

Stay tuned to get our latest eLearning tips and tricks!

By clicking “Subscribe”, you agree to our Privacy Policy . All emails include an unsubscribe link, so that you can opt-out at any time.

We use cookies to give you the best possible experience on our website and also for analytics and marketing purposes. You can enable or disable optional cookies as desired. See our Cookie Policy for more details.

Manage your cookies

Essential cookies are always on. You can turn off other cookies if you wish.

Essential cookies

Analytics cookies

Social media cookies

• Speech Writing
• Delivery Techniques
• PowerPoint & Visuals
• Speaker Habits
• Speaker Resources

Speech Critiques

• Book Reviews
• Browse Articles
• ALL Articles
• Learn About Us
• About Six Minutes
• Meet Our Authors
• Write for Us
• Advertise With Us

How to Sequence Your Presentation

There are many ways to organize your presentation . The choices you make seriously impact the success of your presentation.

If you order your material in an intuitive manner that your audience can readily understand, they are more likely to be persuaded.

If you order your material in an awkward manner, your audience will struggle to understand, and they will resist being persuaded by your message.

Given the criticality of your presentation sequence, how do you choose the right one for your topic and your audience?

In this article, we:

• survey the available sequence types ,
• give examples of presentations which fit each scheme, and
• discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Simple Sequences

Suppose you have a number of points you would like to discuss. You can’t discuss them all at the same time, so you have to decide which goes first, which goes second, … and which goes last.

If you organize them into a single list (i.e. no sub-lists, no hierarchy), then you have created a simple sequence . There are several simple sequences available to you, including:

• Chronological sequence
• Step-by-step sequence
• Spatial sequence
• Paired sequence
• Topical sequence
• Perspective-based sequence
• Sort-by-property sequence

Each of these simple sequences is discussed below.

1. Chronological Sequence

In a chronological sequence , items are ordered according to the date or time they occurred. Examples of presentations where a chronological sequence may apply:

• Key events in the War of 1812
• A day in the life of an E.R. doctor
• Development stages during a baby’s first year
• The past, present, and future of aviation safety

Many  scientific presentations follow a loose chronological sequence to recap the steps undertaken in an experiment:

• Experimental methods
• Analysis and discussion
• Conclusions

Advantages : A chronological sequence is easy to apply. Because most stories (parables, novels, movies) follow this pattern, it is a familiar pattern for audiences, and is thus quite easy to follow.

Disadvantages : Chronological sequence encourages “and-then” syndrome (“… and then… and then… and then… and then…”). It can feel like a long, tiring sequence, and may make it more difficult to highlight key takeaways.

2. Step-by-step Sequence

In a step-by-step sequence , items are organized according to their order within a process. Examples of presentations where a step-by-step sequence may apply:

• How to upgrade financial management software
• How to stuff and cook a turkey
• How to change a flat tire

Advantages : Easy to apply, and easy to follow. Particularly effective for any type of “how to” presentation.

Disadvantages : None, provided that the nature of the presentation is a good match for this sequence type.

3. Spatial Sequence

The most common type of spatial sequences  in presentations are those which organize items by geography . Examples of presentations which might use a geographic sequence are:

• Roadside attractions along the Oregon coast
• Ukrainian settlements throughout Canada from 1891 to 1914
• Local, regional, and national impact of hosting the Olympics

But spatial sequences do not always correspond to geography. Spatial sequences can also sequence the connected parts of a whole. Example presentations include:

• Functions of different parts of a plant (roots, stem, branches, leaves, fruit)
• How to design an ergonomic office/workspace (computer, desktop, seating, storage)
• Human nervous system (brain, spinal cord, nerves)

Advantages : Emphasizes the spatial relationships between your items. This can lead to a stronger understanding of the whole. Audiences can easily visualize how items “fit” together, particularly if you provide a map, diagram, or scale model.

Disadvantages : A spatial sequence is sometimes used even though the spatial dimension is meaningless to the content. Avoid this trap.

4. Paired Sequences

Paired sequences are short — only two items — but are quite common due to our propensity to compare and contrast .

There are a number of paired (or binary) sequences:

• e.g. Proposal to replace a paper-based process with an electronic one
• e.g. Strategy to recapture shrinking market share
• e.g. Impact of chemical processing plant on local water supply

Advantages : Natural pairings are easy to understand, and audiences expect that one will follow the other. Using a paired sequence generates anticipation and suspense.

Disadvantages : The binary nature of the paired sequence may not be flexible enough to handle complex real-world topics. The sequence suggests simplicity which may not be real. (It suggests a black-and-white situation, even though there may be fifty shades of grey.) For example, how do you handle a factor that is neither a cost nor a benefit? How do you handle a factor that is both a cost and a benefit?

“ There are many ways to organize your presentation. The choices you make seriously impact your success. ”

5. Topical Sequences

When all else fails, you can usually apply a topical sequence . Examples of presentations where a topical sequence may apply:

• Presenting a project plan (budget, schedule, staffing, testing)
• Unveiling new corporate strategy and discussing the impact on different stakeholders (marketing, sales, manufacturing, suppliers, customers)
• School dress code presentation (code details, common violations, enforcement, uniform costs)

Advantages : Can be applied in almost any presentation, even when chronological, spatial, or other sequences are not relevant. Because of this, it is the most common sequence pattern.

Disadvantages : Unlike previous patterns covered, topical patterns are not intuitive. By their nature, topical sequences are more abstract. Audiences can easily get lost, and may have difficulty seeing how the sequence items relate. It’s also easy for a presenter to “miss” an important topic. For these reasons, a topical sequence is generally weaker than other options.

6. Perspective-based Sequences

A perspective-based sequence is a little like a topical sequence turned inside out. Instead of looking at different aspects of the main issue, a perspective-based sequence involves investigating some entity through a series of different lenses.

For example, consider a proposal to adopt a corporate initiative on telecommuting. One way to sequence your presentation would be to consider the impact of the policy from several perspectives:

• From the perspective of telecommuting employees
• From the perspective of office-based employees
• From the perspective of managers
• From the perspective of IT
• From the perspective of Accounting

Advantages : Good for persuasive presentations when you encounter resistance, if you can correctly address the perspectives of each of your key stakeholders. Audience analysis is key!

Disadvantages : Can be repetitive (boring) if there is a great deal of topical overlap as you consider each of the perspectives.

7. Sort-by-property Sequences

Sort-by-property sequences are special topical sequences which allow a presenter to choose one property (or dimension) of their material and organize along that property (or dimension). You can choose any quality, as long as you can evaluate each item in your list e.g. importance, brightness, size, speed, popularity, shape, concreteness.

Once you choose the property, you then sequence your items in an appropriate order, often ascending or descending. For example:

• Smallest to largest
• Most understood to least understood
• Most concrete to most abstract (specific to general)
• Least impactful to most impactful

The optimal sort order may depend on the audience and the goals of the presentation. For example:

• Executive presentations often follow a sequence which begins with the most important item (what is being proposed?), and then follows with less important details (analysis, data, methods).
• Conference keynote addresses often follow a sequence which begins with small examples and points, progressively building to larger and larger points, and ending with a climax.

Advantages : Easy for an audience to follow and predict. Once you set the pattern with the first two elements, audience members will recognize it and use it to assess subsequent items.

Disadvantages : Avoid choosing a meaningless dimension on which to organize:

• If discussing hockey players, it would be meaningless to sequence by favorite music style.
• If discussing Academy Award winning actresses, it would be meaningless to sequence by hair color or breast size.
• An alphabetical sequence is rarely meaningful… no matter what your topic.

Compound and Nested Sequences

The sequences discussed so far are all simple sequences . For a very short presentation, you may be able to organize all of your material using just one these sequences.

As your presentation grows longer, you may split it into distinct parts, and choose a different sequence to present each part, one after the other. This is a compound sequence .

As the complexity of your presentation grows, simple and compound sequences may not be flexible enough. You may use one type of sequence to organize your blocks at the top level, and a different type of sequence to organize the sub-blocks at a lower level. This is a nested sequence .

For example, suppose your presentation focuses on Scandinavian culture. You might choose to organize first by a topical sequence: food, music, and literature. Then, within each of these topics, you could nest a geographic sequence:  Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. Your overall outline would be:

• Introduction

Basic sequences can be combined in a multitude of ways, resulting in many forms of the compound sequence and nested sequence.

Bonus…

Did you notice the sequencing pattern used in this article?

It’s a nested sequence.

• My primary organization is a sorted property sequence (dimension = complexity). I started with the simplest  sequences (chronological, step-by-step, spatial) and ended with the most complex sequences.
• Within each item, I used a topical sequence (definition, examples, advantages, disadvantages), which itself nested a paired sequence.

What do you think?

What sequences do you use most often in your presentations? Which sequences do you see others use well? Which are most often abused?

Please share this...

This is one of many public speaking articles featured on Six Minutes . Subscribe to Six Minutes for free to receive future articles.

Image credit: Fowl Storm by JD Hancock ( CC BY 2.0 )

Add a Comment Cancel reply

E-Mail (hidden)

Subscribe - It's Free!

Similar articles you may like....

• Toastmasters Speech 2: Organize Your Speech
• Speech Transitions: Magical Words and Phrases
• Speech Preparation #3: Don’t Skip the Speech Outline
• 5 Speechwriting Lessons from Obama’s Inaugural Speech
• How to Master the Demonstration Speech
• Why Successful Speech Outlines follow the Rule of Three

Find More Articles Tagged:

When explaining the disadvantages of Sequence #3 Spatial, your article leaves me wondering in what example could it be “meaningless to the content.” I am cautioned to “Avoid this trap.” Please, explain further. Thank you. Susan

Thanks for your question. I’m sorry that my original explanation wasn’t clear enough.

Spatial sequences are very useful when your points have a strong, spatial relationship to one another. By arranging them spatially, you help your audience to see these spatial connections. Consider this topic: “roadside attractions along the Oregon coast”. Organizing this material spatially provides a useful framework for the audience, encouraging them to travel north-to-south (or vice versa) on a virtual road trip along the coast as you speak.

On the other hand, forcing a spatial sequence on material when there is no meaningful spatial relationship is inappropriate.

• In a speech discussing influential actresses, I might organize by genre (drama, comedy, action), or time period (the 50’s, the 70’s, the 2000’s). It would probably be meaningless to organize them by the country or state in which they were born.
• When describing how to stuff and cook a turkey, a step-by-step sequence is clearly the most appropriate. Organizing spatially (steps performed on the counter, steps performed in the sink, steps performed in the oven) would be meaningless because the steps would get all jumbled up and out of their natural order.

I like it. It is good. It has much that is of good use for me. You are obviously a learned man in this field. Please keep it up. I will look forward to more of these useful hints and wise guidance. With best regards.

AQ, MBA, UK

Recent Tweets

How to Sequence Your Presentation https://t.co/K0Mp3j1hpK — @Digital_Tavern Oct 21st, 2015

7 Ways to Sequence the Info in Your Speech https://t.co/gaRZDwCddS — @ClassicaScholar Oct 25th, 2015

@SECToastmasters, we constantly search to become better. #Toastmasters #PublicSpeaking https://t.co/b21LmfaiT5 by @6minutes — @SECToastmasters Oct 28th, 2015

How to Sequence Your Presentation https://t.co/w4zAaovP7V — @tjwalker Nov 4th, 2015

How to Sequence Your #Presentation https://t.co/A0Kb9etQIj via @6minutes #speaking #professionalspeaker #author — @debrasimpson Nov 11th, 2015

How to Sequence Your Presentation https://t.co/CvesiyBhRK #tip — @tonnet Nov 13th, 2015

How to Sequence Your #Presentation https://t.co/gpdlyG6EOz — Patricia Fripp (@PFripp) Nov 28th, 2015

How to Sequence Your Presentation #speeches #presenting https://t.co/hTAFqTl9JH — @ClaretPartners Dec 1st, 2015

How to Sequence Your Presentation https://t.co/a4GQ5WIe8A — @teach2ignite Mar 30th, 2016

How to Sequence Your Presentation https://t.co/QOXI3qupi8 by @6minutes — Sleiman Skaf (@SleimanSkaf) Apr 20th, 2016

Featured Articles

• Majora Carter (TED, 2006) Energy, Passion, Speaking Rate
• Hans Rosling (TED, 2006) 6 Techniques to Present Data
• J.A. Gamache (Toastmasters, 2007) Gestures, Prop, Writing
• Steve Jobs (Stanford, 2005) Figures of speech, rule of three
• Al Gore (TED, 2006) Humor, audience interaction
• Dick Hardt (OSCON, 2005) Lessig Method of Presentation

Books We Recommend

Six Minutes Copyright © 2007-2019 All Rights Reserved.

Read our permissions policy , privacy policy , or disclosure policy .

Comments? Questions? Contact us .

• What is a slide master? Article
• Add, rearrange, duplicate, and delete slides in PowerPoint Article
• Apply a slide layout Article
• Add color and design to your slides with Themes Article
• Start with a template Article
• Get design ideas for slides Article
• Customize a slide master Article
• Change the page orientation in PowerPoint between landscape and portrait Article
• Organize your PowerPoint slides into sections Article
• Add a DRAFT watermark to the background of slides Article
• Create, merge, and group objects on a slide Article
• Guides for arranging things on a slide in PowerPoint Article
• Change the order in which stacked objects, placeholders, or shapes appear on a slide Article
• Rotate or flip an object Article

Add, rearrange, duplicate, and delete slides in PowerPoint

When creating your presentation, you’ll typically add new slides, move your slides around, and delete the slides you don’t need.

Select the slide you want your new slide to follow.

Select  Home  >  New Slide .

Select a layout.

Select the text box and type.

Delete slides

For a single slide:  Right-click the slide in the thumbnail pane on the left, then select Delete Slide .

For multiple slides: Press and hold Ctrl, and in the thumbnail pane on the left, select the slides. Release the Ctrl key. Then right-click the selection and choose Delete Slide .

For a sequence of slides: Press and hold Shift, and in the thumbnail pane on the left, select the first and last slides in the sequence. Release the Shift key. Then right-click the selection and choose Delete Slide .

Duplicate a slide

In the thumbnail pane on the left, right-click the slide thumbnail that you want to duplicate, and then click Duplicate Slide . The duplicate is inserted immediately after the original.

Rearrange the order of slides

Move a single slide: In the pane on the left, click the thumbnail of the slide that you want to move, then drag it to the new location.

Move multiple slides: Press and hold Ctrl, and in the pane on the left, click each slide that you want to move. Release the Ctrl key, and then drag the selected slides as a group to the new location.

What is a slide layout?

Use vertical (portrait) slide view for your presentation

Reuse (import) slides from another presentation

Basic tasks for creating a PowerPoint presentation

Add a new slide

In Normal view, on the left slide thumbnail pane, select the slide that you want your new slide to follow.

On the Home tab, select the arrow by  New Slide .

In the gallery of layouts, select the layout that you want for your new slide. 

As your new slide is now inserted you can click inside a placeholder and begin adding content.

In the left-side pane on, select the thumbnail of the slide that you want to move, then drag it to the new location.

Tip:  To select multiple slides, press and hold the Command key while you click each slide that you want to move, and then drag them as a group to the new location.

Delete a slide

In the left-side pane, Ctrl+click or right-click select the thumbnail of the slide to be deleted. Then click Delete Slide .

Alternatively, simply select the slide you want to delete, and press Delete.

In the pane on the left, Ctrl+click or right-click the slide thumbnail that you want to duplicate. Then select  Duplicate Slide  in the menu of options. 

To add a slide from another presentation, see  Reuse (import) slides from another presentation .

Another way to see all your slides at once and rearrange them is to use the Slide Sorter view. Learn more here:  Switch to different views in PowerPoint . 

Organize your PowerPoint slide into sections

Design in PowerPoint

Apply a slide layout

Create a presentation in four simple steps

Discover more courses like this at LinkedIn Learning

In the left-side slide thumbnail pane, select the slide that your new slide will follow. 

On the Home tab, click New Slide .

In the New Slide dialog box, select a layout for your new slide.

Learn more about slide layouts .

Select Add Slide .

Your new slide is inserted. Click inside the  placeholder to begin adding content.

In the pane on the left, select the thumbnail of the slide to be moved, then drag it to the new location.

Tip:  To move multiple slides, press and hold Ctrl as you click all of the slides to be moved. Then drag them as a group to the new location. 

In the left-side pane, right-click the thumbnail of the slide to be deleted. Press and hold Ctrl to select multiple slides or press and hold Shift to select multiple sequential slides. Then click Delete Slide .

In the left-side pane, right-click the slide thumbnail that you want to duplicate. In the menu, select Duplicate Slide .

Apply a slide layout 

Need more help?

Want more options.

Explore subscription benefits, browse training courses, learn how to secure your device, and more.

Microsoft 365 subscription benefits

Microsoft 365 training

Microsoft security

Accessibility center

Communities help you ask and answer questions, give feedback, and hear from experts with rich knowledge.

Ask the Microsoft Community

Microsoft Tech Community

Windows Insiders

Microsoft 365 Insiders

Was this information helpful?

Thank you for your feedback.

Home PowerPoint Templates Sequence

Sequence PowerPoint Templates

One of the most important aspects of making a good presentation is to set the right sequence. Sequence PowerPoint Templates provide professionally crafted slide layouts that can help you present your topic in a sequence, be it in the form of a financial chart, business diagram or scientific model.

Our collection of Sequence PowerPoint Templates provide editable layouts with logical diagrams and charts which can be easily edited to suit your needs.

These templates are highly customizable and even the basic slide objects can be organized via drag and drop, duplicated or removed to build your own sequence.

Genomic Sequencing PowerPoint Template

4-Column Layout Slide Template for PowerPoint

5-Step Horizontal Process Flow Template for PowerPoint

Next Steps Sequence PowerPoint Template

Waterfall Model Diagram PowerPoint Template

Blue Ocean Strategy PowerPoint Template

Multi-Step Linear Process Diagram for PowerPoint

Math Operations Equations PowerPoint

Gradient Column Chart PowerPoint Infographics

Strategic Alignment PowerPoint Slides

Six Steps Solid Circular Diagram PowerPoint

5 Step 3D Stairs Diagram for PowerPoint

Download unlimited content, our annual unlimited plan let you download unlimited content from slidemodel. save hours of manual work and use awesome slide designs in your next presentation..

• SUGGESTED TOPICS
• The Magazine
• Newsletters
• Managing Yourself
• Managing Teams
• Work-life Balance
• The Big Idea
• Data & Visuals
• Reading Lists
• Case Selections
• HBR Learning
• Topic Feeds
• Account Settings
• Email Preferences

How to Make a “Good” Presentation “Great”

• Guy Kawasaki

Remember: Less is more.

A strong presentation is so much more than information pasted onto a series of slides with fancy backgrounds. Whether you’re pitching an idea, reporting market research, or sharing something else, a great presentation can give you a competitive advantage, and be a powerful tool when aiming to persuade, educate, or inspire others. Here are some unique elements that make a presentation stand out.

• Fonts: Sans Serif fonts such as Helvetica or Arial are preferred for their clean lines, which make them easy to digest at various sizes and distances. Limit the number of font styles to two: one for headings and another for body text, to avoid visual confusion or distractions.
• Colors: Colors can evoke emotions and highlight critical points, but their overuse can lead to a cluttered and confusing presentation. A limited palette of two to three main colors, complemented by a simple background, can help you draw attention to key elements without overwhelming the audience.
• Pictures: Pictures can communicate complex ideas quickly and memorably but choosing the right images is key. Images or pictures should be big (perhaps 20-25% of the page), bold, and have a clear purpose that complements the slide’s text.
• Layout: Don’t overcrowd your slides with too much information. When in doubt, adhere to the principle of simplicity, and aim for a clean and uncluttered layout with plenty of white space around text and images. Think phrases and bullets, not sentences.

As an intern or early career professional, chances are that you’ll be tasked with making or giving a presentation in the near future. Whether you’re pitching an idea, reporting market research, or sharing something else, a great presentation can give you a competitive advantage, and be a powerful tool when aiming to persuade, educate, or inspire others.

• Guy Kawasaki is the chief evangelist at Canva and was the former chief evangelist at Apple. Guy is the author of 16 books including Think Remarkable : 9 Paths to Transform Your Life and Make a Difference.

Partner Center

• Customer Favourites

Sequence Of Events

Powerpoint Templates

Icon Bundle

Kpi Dashboard

Professional

Business Plans

Swot Analysis

Gantt Chart

Business Proposal

Marketing Plan

Project Management

Business Case

Business Model

Cyber Security

Business PPT

Digital Marketing

Digital Transformation

Human Resources

Product Management

Artificial Intelligence

Company Profile

Acknowledgement PPT

PPT Presentation

Reports Brochures

One Page Pitch

Interview PPT

All Categories

• You're currently reading page 1

Stages // require(['jquery'], function ($) { $(document).ready(function () { //removes paginator if items are less than selected items per page var paginator = $("#limiter :selected").text(); var itemsPerPage = parseInt(paginator); var itemsCount = $(".products.list.items.product-items.sli_container").children().length; if (itemsCount ? ’Stages’ here means the number of divisions or graphic elements in the slide. For example, if you want a 4 piece puzzle slide, you can search for the word ‘puzzles’ and then select 4 ‘Stages’ here. We have categorized all our content according to the number of ‘Stages’ to make it easier for you to refine the results.

Category // require(['jquery'], function ($) { $(document).ready(function () { //removes paginator if items are less than selected items per page var paginator = $("#limiter :selected").text(); var itemsperpage = parseint(paginator); var itemscount = $(".products.list.items.product-items.sli_container").children().length; if (itemscount.

• 3D Man (96)
• Anatomy (6)
• Business Cards (1)
• Business Plan Word (23)
• Business Plans (276)
• Business Slides (49426)