Among the top factors of a winning presentation, the right slide size and PPT dimensions play an important role in making it visually appealing, clear, and effective. While setting up slides on your own device is simple and easy to use, adjusting them according to audience preferences makes it challenging.
According to Acuity Training, PowerPoint remains the preferred tool for creating presentations, with over half of the UK population using it for work or personal purposes. The report also highlights that in 2023 alone; approximately 20.3 million people in the UK utilized PowerPoint for their presentation needs.
Whether you are going to present a dissertation, explain a business plan, or show your research work, the right PPT dimensions guarantee that your work is professionally arranged. In this article, we will share a comprehensive guide on how to choose the right slide size for your presentation like a pro.
Step-by-Step Guide on How to Choose the Right PowerPoint Slide Size Like a Pro
Are you a student struggling with PPT dimensions and don’t know how to choose the right slide size? No need to worry anymore as we have covered everything in detail here. You just need to pick a size according to your requirements and make sure that your presentation looks professional and well-sorted.
In addition to this, if you don’t know how to effectively write or present your research work, you may seek help from a dissertation writing service. Their expertise can help you refine your work, enhance clarity, and achieve better academic results.
The following is a step-by-step guide with expert tips to help you pick the right PPT dimensions and slide size for your presentation.
Step 1: Understanding PPT Dimensions
The size of your PowerPoint presentation, like width and height, is known as the dimensions of your PowerPoint. These dimensions are necessary as the way your presentation looks on various displays, projectors, and printed materials depends on these dimensions. If you maintain the actual size of your dimensions, it ensures that your material is readable and presented professionally.
The following are the two most popular sizes for PowerPoint slides:
- The Basic size of the slides is about a 4:3 aspect ratio that can be used mostly in projectors and older monitors.
- The second common size is the 16:9 aspect ratio. A broader display that can be used for projectors, laptops, and modern screens.
Instead of these popular sizes, PowerPoint also allows you to select the size according to your PPT dimensions preferences.
Step 2: Identify the Right Aspect Ratio for Your Needs
It can be chosen on the basis of your needs, both sizes fit according to their characters. The relative connection between the width and height of your slides is known as the aspect ratio. You should select the aspect ratio of PowerPoint, as it shows professionalism.
Furthermore, if you choose the accurate ratio, it means your presentation fits the screen properly and appears polished. You should always verify the display setting of your presentation location before deciding on the aspect ratio.
According to Plus AI, the following are some common sizes of the aspect ratio:
- Standard (4:3): It is ideal for printed materials and older projectors. It can be recommended for educational purposes, especially when the nature of the display is unclear.
- Widescreen (16:9): This size is an ideal option for you if you have a presentation on a laptop or high-quality screens, and it is also perfect for conferences, company presentations, and digital projectors.
- Custom Sizes: You can use it especially for digital posters, social media posts, and for your specific display needs.
Step 3: Change PowerPoint Slide Size (Quick Tutorial)
You should select the size professionally because it is essential for your presentation. Microsoft provides these simple steps to modify the PPT dimensions:
- Firstly, you should open PowerPoint and import your presentation.
- Then you have to select the “Design” tab from the top menu,
- Now, you should select the custom slide size after selecting “Slide Size.”
- You can choose the dimensions from standard, widescreen, or custom dimensions.
- For changing sizes, you can choose “Ensure Fit” (which stops material from cropping) or “Maximise” (which works best on larger screens).
- If you need to change the content, click OK.
Applying this easy change guarantees that your slides will be displayed properly on the specified screen.
Step 4: Select the Best Slide Dimensions Based on Presentation Type
You often need different sizes of slides for different kinds of presentations. For example, among the three steps of writing a dissertation, presentation is the last stage. Here, you should choose the perfect measurement according to the type of your presentation. You can ensure that your presentation is aesthetically optimum for its use if you select the correct size.
You can use this type of guide to choose the ideal dimensions:
- Business Presentations: The best size of presentation regarding businesses is a 16:9 aspect ratio because this size is best for modern screens and large projectors that are used in business meetings.
- Academic Presentations & Student Projects: In your academic life, you can use both 4:3 and 16:9 sizes depending on the type of your presentation because universities or colleges both have new and old types of projectors.
- Webinar & Online Presentations: The best size for webinar types of presentations is 16:9. It is the perfect size because almost all online meeting platforms use widescreen layouts, such as Zoom and Google Meet.
- Social Media & Marketing Slides: The different customised sizes are used for different kinds of social media, like 1080 x 1080 px for Instagram and 1080 x 1920 px for Stories because, for excellent visuals, different platforms require different sizes of slides.
- Print & Posters: You can choose letter, A3, or A4 size for printing materials. For printing, you need high-resolution slides.
Step 5: Test Your Slide Size Before Presenting
You should not forget to view your slides on the real display screen before giving your presentation, because many people neglect this. In case the display configuration changes, you should always keep a backup copy of your presentation in both 4:3 and 16:9 formats.
You can follow these actions to prevent last-minute surprises:
- Preview on a Similar Screen: You should try your PowerPoint presentation on a similar screen that you are going to utilise in your presentation.
- Modify the content if needed: After resizing, you have to make sure the text and images are arranged correctly.
- Print a Sample: You should test a print to make sure that the formatting is correct while printing the slides.
Step 6: Follow Best Practices for an Engaging PowerPoint Design
When you select the appropriate PPT dimensions size, you should follow these professional guidelines to give it an attractive and impactful look:
- Keep Text Minimal: You can use bullet points rather than lengthy paragraphs to avoid an overload of information.
- Use High-Quality Images: You have to use HD images rather than blurry images as these images can reduce the quality of your presentation.
- Maintain Consistency: You should use consistent fonts, colors, and spacing if you want to give a professional look to your presentation.
- Utilize White Space: If you want to improve readability, leave space between text and images.
- Use Contrast for Readability: In order to enhance visibility more, you should choose light text on a dark background.
These best practices improve audience participation and create an eye-catching presentation.
How to Change Dimensions of a PPT Slide?
Whitepaper states that you can easily modify the dimensions of your PowerPoint slide by adjusting the aspect ratio. For that, you should click on Slide Size and choose your desired aspect ratio from the design tab. For detailed learning of PPT dimensions, follow these points:
- First of all, open the PowerPoint and go to the Design tab.
- Find out the customise group there from the right corner and select Slide Size according to your presentation needs.
- Choose “Custom Slide Size.”
- You have two options in the “Slide Size” dialogue box: you can either select their given sizes from the menu or customise their width and height measurements.
- After that, you need to press “OK.”
- Lastly, PowerPoint will provide you the choices to “Ensure fit” or “Maximise” the size of your current slide contents.
Final Thoughts
No doubt, students and professionals both struggle in choosing the right PPT dimensions and slide size due to the availability of many different options. It is not only crucial for a good display but also gives your work a very professional and formal look. To help you create the right-sized slides, here we have covered a thorough guide to make you a pro in creating presentations. Follow this easy yet comprehensive guide to optimise your slides based on your presentation type.
In spite of this step-by-step guide, if you are still confused about how to design a perfect presentation for your dissertation, you should consult UK-based dissertation writing company. They are expert in writing and presenting well-structured dissertations and help students achieve the best results from their designed work. So, get the benefit of both these options to create a picture-perfect display on the screen and present your work excellently to the audience.
Author Bio
Donna J. Foley is a dissertation writer who not only excels in dissertation writing but also assists students in making impactful presentations for defence and viva. With more than 5 years of experience in this field, she has developed the right skills and strategies to streamline the tough tasks with great ease.
