Google Slides: Kick the PowerPoint Habit

Visual presentations are becoming more important as you continue to try and capture the attention of your prospects and/or clients. While Microsoft PowerPoint has been the standard tool for insurance agencies, there are a growing number of other products and services that are excellent alternatives.

Google Slides is one such service. Most people have a Gmail account (vs. a Microsoft account) and, therefore, easy access to Google Drive. Google Slides offers most of the design, formatting, and presentation features currently found in PowerPoint. You can expect a few things to be different, but these are user interface issues, not missing functionality. Google has proven its commitment to Slides over the past months so I’m certain that more functionality will be added in the future.

Google Slides has a different look and feel to it, which might make you feel that it’s inferior to what you’re used to, but once you start using it, you’ll soon warm up to it.

Creating a Presentation

The easiest way to get started is to sign into your Google account and go to www.Google.com/slides. Once you are on the Slides page, it is simple to create a new presentation:

• Click the Create button.
• Then click Presentation from the drop-down menu.
• A blank presentation will open. You can now pick a theme for your new presentation, which you can change later if you wish.
• Name your presentation by clicking in the Untitled Presentation box at the top left, and then typing in your title. You can click there again to change the title at any time.

Presentations created in Google Slides can be up to 100 MB in size. Uploaded presentation files that are converted to Google Slides can be up to 50 MB.

 

Advantages of Using Google Slides

Google is determined to give PowerPoint a run for its money. You’ll gain quite a bit by going to the Cloud for your presentations.

• Changes are automatically saved as you type so you don’t have to worry about clicking a Save button. Earlier versions are easily accessible.
• Offline editing allows you to work in your browser wherever you are, even without an Internet connection.
• Seamless collaboration on a presentation with coworkers, with effortless sharing.
• Import PowerPoint PPTX and PPS files and convert them to Google presentations.
• Download your presentations as a PDF, PPT, SVG, JPG, or TXT files.
• Insert images and videos into your presentation. Searching Google’s Scholar, News, Images, and Videos filters directly within Slides makes it easy to find that perfect illustration or video.
• Research different types of information in your presentation with the Tools | Research feature.
• Publish and embed your presentations into a website.
• Use your mobile device (Android and iOS) to present.
• It’s free. 🙂

Have you tried Google Slides? Let me know your experiences and whether you prefer it over PowerPoint or not.