Your Guide On How To Add Animations To PowerPoint With Examples

Have you ever felt your audience needed to be more engaged even after delivering good presentations? Do you think there’s something that you should have included in your presentation and that it needed more spark? Then you’re not alone; the truth is that many face this issue, and the best way to counter it is by using animations in PowerPoint! They can transform a presentation from a flat design to a dynamic and visually appealing one.

Adding animation can seem daunting or impossible if you’re not well-versed in the software. Hence, in this blog, we will provide a detailed guide on how to add animation to PowerPoint presentations. By the end of this blog, you’ll have the knowledge and skills to bring your PowerPoint presentations to life and keep your audience engaged from beginning to end. So, let’s get started with this PowerPoint animation tutorial.

What Are Animations In PowerPoint?

For those who do not know what PowerPoint animations are, think of them as special effects applied to your slideshow. You can animate almost anything present in your presentation, ranging from text, images, shapes, and even the slides themselves! Animations help your presentation look seamless and professional by making elements move, disappear, or change in some manner.

What Are The Types Of Animations In PowerPoint?

There are various animation styles in PowerPoint, which you can play around with and explore. However, you can categorize all the animations into four main categories: entrance, exit, emphasis, and motion. Let’s take a deeper look at these categories.

1. Entrance Animations

These PowerPoint animations are what they sound like; they are entry animations! Think of them as a dramatic unveiling of your object in a presentation. When you add an entrance animation to an object, it will remain invisible till it is not triggered. Once you activate it, the object will appear on the slide with your chosen entrance effect.

Now, there are different entrance effects, but a few you should know are:

a) Appear: The appearance effect is one of the most basic animations. When you activate this effect, the object immediately appears on the slide. One thing about this animation is that it can look broken compared to the other, but it can be the best to use when multiple elements appear on a screen together. The appear animation also works well when creating a surprise and maintaining a clean look.

b) Fade In: In this animation, your object is transparent at the start and slowly fades into the slide by becoming opaque. It is helpful when creating seamless transitions between objects in a slide and builds anticipation. Fade in also perfectly emphasizes key points and represents a visual hierarchy.

c) Fly In: One of the best animations to catch your audience’s attention is the fly in effect! In it, your object moves onto the slide from a direction of your choice (i.e., left, right, top, and bottom). Imagine that on a blank slide, an object appears moving into the slide from a direction (won’t it also catch your eye?). Other than that, fly in also adds dynamism to your presentation, making it look professional.

2. Exit Animations

They are the counterpart of entrance animations! While entry effects bring objects onto the slide, exit animations control how they leave the screen. A few exit animations are:

a) Disappear: Just like with the help of the Appear animation, your object pops up on the screen, the Disappear effect does the exact opposite by instantly vanishing an object. This effect works best when creating dramatic effects for suspense and tension and maintaining a clean look on your slide.

b) Fade Out: Gradually make an object disappear from your slide with the fade out animation’s help. Think of this effect as dimming out a light until it goes out. You can use the Fade Out effect in multiple cases, namely when you want to reduce the visual clutter on a slide without anyone noticing or even to create a calm atmosphere; this effect can help you with anything!

c) Fly Out: Let your object take flight and fly out of your screen in a specific direction with the help of this animation. Just like the Fly In animation, this effect does the exact opposite of it. You can use the Fly Out effect in places like a timeline to showcase the movement of time or to create a sense of completion as you show the end of a point with it flying out.

3. Emphasis Animations

Do you need help highlighting and bringing attention to specific elements in the middle of presenting a slide? Then, the emphasis effect is going to be your best friend! While entry and exit effects control how elements appear and disappear on a slide, emphasis highlights the already present on the slide, grabbing your audience’s attention. Here are a few emphasis animations:

a) Spin: Rotate an element around its center point using the Spin animation. It is perfect for drawing attention to a single element while keeping it playful and fun to watch; you can even use it to show a cycle or process that loops.

b) Grow: As the name suggests, enlarge the objects’ dimensions to emphasize their importance and keep your audience engaged. You can use the Grow animation in PowerPoint to create a sense of growth and expansion in professional presentations.

c) Shrink: If you are looking for methods to emphasize certain points by changing it’s size, then the shrink animation is perfect. Like the Grow effect, Shrink reduces the size of an object, making it feel less important. It can also create a sense of decrease or reduction, revealing hidden content behind the object!

4. Motion Path Animations

If you are looking for something that has more of a kick compared to your basic entry and exit effects, then motion path animations will be the kick you have been trying to find. Instead of a simple fade-in and fade-out, objects follow a specific path on a slide that you set. This allows you to control an element’s movement better, ensuring you can make engaging presentations. Motion path animations are very self-explanatory regarding their different animation styles, so here are a few motion path animations:

a) Lines: Using lines as a motion path for objects allows you to set straight paths for them to follow. You have three options for a line path: horizontal, vertical, and diagonal. They are perfect for creating a sense of direction and highlighting relationships between two objects on a slide.  

b) Turns: Unlike letting objects move in a straight line, add turns to their path using this PowerPoint animation. You can use looped, sharp, or smooth turns to surprise your audience and catch their eye for its complexity. Creating complex paths for elements to follow or simulate real-world movement in your presentation is best done with this effect.  

c) Custom Path: The custom path allows you to a custom path an object onto a slide (duh), creating a movement that you can’t normally create using other motion path animations. You can use it to show data fluctuations, the ups and downs of a trend, and even simulate movement like the turn motion path.

How To Add Animation To PowerPoint For Elements (Text, Image, Shape)

Now that you know the main categories of animations in PPT, it is finally time to come to the part everyone has been waiting for! Let’s look at how to add animations to PowerPoint for elements. Follow these simple steps, and you will know how to animate objects in PPT like a professional.

1. Open your PowerPoint presentation and select the object you want to animate.

2. Click on the ‘Animations’ tab in the top menu and choose the animation you want to apply from the list of available options.

3. Adjust the animation’s start time, duration, and delay using the timing options. You can then check the animation by clicking either ‘with previous’ or ‘after previous.’ 

4. To adjust the animation’s details, such as its direction or timing, click ‘Animation Pane’ in the ‘Advanced Animation’ group on the ‘Animations’ tab.

5. If you want to animate multiple items with the same animation, select the object, choose the animation, and select ‘Effect Options’ to decide whether you want the animation to happen simultaneously or to each item separately.

And that is all it takes to know how to add animation to PowerPoint objects. If you are curious about how to change animation order in PowerPoint, then all you have to do is click on ‘Animation Pane.’ From there, you can easily rearrange  the animations in any preferred order.

How To Add Animation In PowerPoint For Slides?

Adding animations to your slides is like adding transitions; it helps create a seamless experience for your audience, keeping them engaged and attentive as it does not feel broken like regular slides. Here is how to animate PowerPoint slides in simple steps.

1. Open the presentation to which you want to add transitions. Navigate and select the slide where you want to apply a transition.

2. You can select a single slide or multiple slides. To do this, hold the control key and click.

3. Go to the ‘Transitions’ tab at the top of the PowerPoint window. 

4. Click on the transition effect that you like. See a preview of the animation by clicking on the effect.

5. You can also customize the options by adjusting the duration of the transition, adding sound effects, and setting other parameters. 

6. Preview and save your presentation.

And if you are looking up “how to add animation to all slides in PowerPoint,” you have to click the ‘Apply To All’ button in the ‘Transitions’ tab after selecting a transition effect. 

Why Should You Add Animations In PowerPoint Presentations?

Knowing how to add animation to PowerPoint presentations helps you not only improve the overall quality of the presentation. However, there are several compelling reasons to consider including it in your upcoming presentation. Below are a few reasons why you should learn how to add animation to PowerPoint presentations:

1. Grabs Your Audience’s Attention

Using animated elements in your presentation can capture your audience’s interest and enhance engagement. The motion on the screen can help diversify the boring nature of slides crowded with text and pictures.

2. Improves Memory Retention

You can use animations to not only emphasize key points but also make it a memorable experience for the audience. By controlling the flow of information with the help of animations, you allow the audience to process and retain the information more effectively. 

3. Enhances Visual Communication

Simplify complex data and ideas with the help of animations in your presentation. You can visually represent the processes or relationships by animating objects in your slide. Plus, animations also give off a professional and polished look, enhancing it even more! 

4. Better Control Of Information Flow

You can precisely control the flow of information on your slide with the help of animations. When used well, animations allow you to guide your audience’s focus and ensure that you are able to highlight key points at the right time.

How To Remove Animation From PowerPoint?

Now that you know how to add animations in PowerPoint, you can have fun making presentations with effects, but sometimes, a lot of animations can also make your slides look unprofessional and cluttered. Yes! If you overuse animations, you can distract your audience from your message. So, if you feel you have too many effects in your presentation, here is how to remove animations from a PowerPoint presentation.

How To Remove A Single Animation From A Presentation

Follow these simple steps if you want to remove a single effect from an object or slide:

1. Click on the ‘Animations’ tab and head over to the ‘Animation Pane’ in the advanced animation section.

2. Select the object/slide from which you want to remove the effect. 

3. You will see the applied effects highlighted in the Animation Pane. After that, click the down arrow for the effect and click on ‘Remove’.

How To Remove All Animations From A Single Slide

If you want to remove all the animations present in a single slide, then follow these steps:

1. Select an object on the slide from which you want to remove all animations.

2. Press Ctrl+A or Cmd+A to select the entire slide and its objects.

3. Head to the ‘Animations’ tab and select ‘None’ in the ‘Animation’ group.

Voila, you now know how to add animation to PowerPoint and how to remove them! 

PowerPoint Animation Examples & Templates

Now that you know how to add animations in PowerPoint and how to remove them, it is time for you to create mind-blowing presentations with the help of animations. One big hurdle you can face when creating a presentation is creating animated professional slides. To help you tackle this, SlideUpLift has come to your rescue with a wide range of animated PowerPoint templates you can take inspiration from as they are good PowerPoint presentation examples or even use them for your presentation! Our 100% customizable templates allow you to make them into your personal slides with their own identity! Here are a few of our best animated templates:

Animated 30 60 90 Day Sales Manager Plan

Animated Resume

Animated Roadmap

Animated Quarterly Review

Animated Timeline

Mastering the art of animations can transform your boring slideshows into visual masterpieces. Once you understand the different types of animations and the best way to use them, you can create engaging, informative, and visually stunning presentations that will leave your audience in awe. Always remember that animation is a superpower, and with great power comes great responsibility, so make sure you use it strategically to enhance your content, not overshadow it. With enough practice, you will be on your way to creating mind-blowing slideshows that will leave everyone inspired.

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