That is why the importance of making good presentations is becoming increasingly important, so it is advisable to take this work very seriously if we really want to give a good image of our proposals. Likewise, within the teaching sector it is very important since if we do not manage to be original they can be boring, so it is essential that we turn to this task to obtain the expected results.
Essential features to consider
When we propose to find a program with which to make slideshows that help us obtain professional results, they must have some essential characteristics:
- Predesigned templates: something almost essential to be able to make slideshows, especially if we are starting and we need to have ideas to help us with our creation. These templates must be attractive as well as modifiable since they must give it a professional appearance.
- Flexibility and customization: Beyond templates, these programs should allow us to customize our presentation to the extreme, so they should give us flexibility so that we can create what we need at all times, without feeling corseted by limitations.
- Possibility to share and collaborate: nowadays remote work is gaining more and more force, so it is ideal that the program allows us the possibility of sharing our project so that it can be used or modified by other people in real time.
- PPT and PPTX file support: These are the original formats of PowerPoint, which is the most popular and used presentation application worldwide. Thus, even if we use other options, it is important that they have this compatibility so that we do not have problems reading documents in this format.
Based on these characteristics, we can lay the foundations of what should not be missing in our software when choosing the most appropriate option to carry out our work with the best guarantees.
Presentation programs
Next, we are going to see a series of programs with which to make all kinds of presentations. Most of them are free so we can try them freely to see which one we cope with more or better suits our needs.
Microsoft Office PowerPoint, the benchmark
When we talk about a program to make presentations, inevitably the first that comes to mind is PowerPoint. This software is found within the Microsoft Office suite of office applications. This program has a wide set of tools to make presentations with professional results, starting with its different types of templates that we can customize.
Among its functions we find the possibility of creating and inserting texts with different colors and formats to choose from, along with the possibility of inserting images, video and audio in an intuitive way. In addition, it has animation tools, which will allow us to give movement to the elements that we add to our slides.
In order to use PowerPoint, it is essential to purchase the entire Office suite. We can purchase a subscription to Microsoft 365 for one year at a price of 99 euros from this link.
Sway, Microsoft’s free presentation alternative
For users who do not want to pay for Office to use PowerPoint, Microsoft offers another tool with which to make slide presentations, newsletters and documents for free. This application has the possibility of use default templates or create our own template from scratch. We can also insert all kinds of multimedia elements such as photos, audio or videos. It has a design engine capable of formatting all types of design that we want by adjusting the content so that it has a unique appearance.
As a good Microsoft product, you cannot miss its compatibility and integration with applications such as OneDrive, the cloud storage service and the possibility of converting our content into Word or OneNote. We can download Sway for free from the Microsoft Store.
Developer: Microsoft Corporation
Presentation, the presentation tool of the OnlyOffice suite
This program for making slideshows belongs to the OnlyOffice office suite. It includes different default templates with all kinds of tools necessary to make quality creations. The application allows us to work with files in the PPTX, PPT and ODP and even save our work in PDF format.
Its characteristics include the possibility of using tools such as graphs, tables and formulas to visualize statistical data. It also has compatibility with add-ons that we can optionally install to improve the result of our presentations, with the possibility of inserting images, videos, clip art elements, etc. In addition, it has free updates so that we can always keep it updated at no cost.
In order to use Presentation we must download the OnlyOffice suite for free from this link.
LibreOffice Impress, with full compatibility with PowerPoint
We are talking about the presentation creation application belonging to the LibreOffice office suite, with similar functionalities and features to those of PowerPoint. Among its characteristics we can highlight the possibility of creating slides that include elements such as text, drawing objects, diagrams and multimedia elements (audio, video …). It also allows us to make transitions between slides, animations between the elements that compose it and multimedia effects.
This application also allows the use of templates and has full compatibility with the Microsoft tool, since it allows importing, modifying and exporting presentations created with PowerPoint. In addition, it also allows you to export your presentations in other formats such as PDF and SWF.
Impress is a free application that we can use by downloading the LibreOffice package for free from its website.
FreeOffice Presentations, with advanced drafting and layout capabilities
We are facing the application to make presentations belonging to the FreeOffice Office suite. The program offers us a wide variety of design and drawing functions, since we will have the possibility of inserting drawings, images and text frames to our presentations. We can also apply effects and it has different default templates to make our designs more comfortable.
To make our presentations more visually attractive, the program offers the possibility of inserting animations and transitions on our slides, as well as movies and sound effects. In addition, it allows us to open and save PPT and PPTX files, so we will have absolute compatibility with PowerPoint.
In order to use Presentations it is necessary to download it as part of the FreeOffice suite from here.
Web applications for our presentations
When it comes to making slide shows, we can also choose to use web applications. This can be of great help to us if we do not want to download any type of software on our computer, especially if we make presentations sporadically.
Canva, the most popular online alternative
By using this online application we will have access to hundreds of template designs so that we can create presentations on any topic that comes to mind, just by choosing the perfect images, fonts and colors for each occasion. In addition, it has the advantage that we can edit our presentations from anywhere, since we can use it both from the computer, mobile or tablet.
In our presentations we can insert graphs and tables, icons, stickers and multimedia effects such as audio and video. Canva has a free version that we can access from this link. In case the options they offer us were not enough, we can always by their payment options, on which they have trial versions.
Prezi, get different results in your presentations
It is a dynamic and educational web application with which we can create presentations from our web browser with an Internet connection, without the need to install any software on our computer. It should be noted that the program does not use the classic slides that we can find in other programs. Instead it has a canvas where we can add all the content we need. In it we can add graphics, text, images and it even allows us to play videos within the same presentations that will be played automatically.
However, not everything is positive, since Prezi is a somewhat complex program to understand at first given the multiple functions it has. Also, it is in English, which can make it even more difficult to use.
Prezi has a free version that allows us to make up to five presentations at no cost. For this, it is enough that we access its official website and register. If we want to make the most of its functions, we must subscribe to some of its paid versions.
Slides, the Google alternative for making presentations
Slides is the online application for Google presentations. With it we can create our jobs, modify them and collaborate as a team in any way and completely free of charge. The application offers full compatibility with Microsoft PowerPoint since it is capable of performing presentation conversions from Google and vice versa.
This online application has been conceived for digital professionals who seek to make corporate presentations without fanfare with a little text and a design that is capable of communicating what we want to capture. In addition, it allows us to integrate a YouTube video directly into the presentation.
We can use Google slides for free just by accessing your website.
What is the best option for creating presentations?
When choosing the best option to make a presentation, it is mandatory to think about Powerpoint as a benchmark, since it is the base on which the rest of the available alternatives are located. Both its use with slide creations and its file formats have been imitated by many. Of course, it is a tool that is not exactly economical since it will be necessary to pay for the Office license to use it.
That is why in case we do not want to go through the box we can always opt for some of the free options such as other free office suites such as Impress or Presentation, that offer similar compatibility and features.
