Basic: Start by creating a four slide PowerPoint presentation:

• One intro slide.
• One slide with bullet points of what you will talk about.
• One slide with an excel graph (you can use the chart in this excel sheet)
  • Insert a new slide and change the "layout" to have a graph and a text box (Format >> Slide Layout >>).
  • Copy the graph from excel, select the graph box in PPT, and paste...
  • Adjust the graph size.
• One slide with an image (download from the web and make sure you reference).
  • Then: Insert >> Picture >> From File
  • Alternatively, you can copy the picture from the browser and paste it in PPT.

Intermediate: Add the following elements:

• Change the colors and fonts of the headline using the Slide Master View (View >> Master >> Slide Master).
• For the excel graph,
  • Add a wipe animation (select the excel graph >> Slide Show >> Custom Animation >> Add Effect >> Entrance >> (More Effects; select "Wipe").
  • Change the settings of the animation to: (Direction: "From Left"; Speed "Fast").
  • Change the wipe options to "Categories" or "Series": (open the drop down menu for the animation >> Effect Options >> Chart Animation >> (choose "By Category" or "By Series") >> uncheck "Animate Grid and Legend" >> OK
• Create an additional slide with a background image, a semi-transparent box and text with a Fade animation:
  • Add a background image to ONE of your slides. Choose an image that has a variety of colors and light/dark areas: Format >> Background >> Fill Effect >> Picture >> Select Picture >> (find the picture you want to use as background and Insert >> OK >> Apply (NOT Apply to All)
  • Add WHITE text over the background image in a spot that has various light/dark areas so that the text is not always clear and the contrast with the background is poor.
  • Add semi transparent box under the text: (First, if the "drawing tools" do not appear: View >> Toolbars >> Drawing). Then:
    • Select the "Rectangle" tool from the Drawing tool bar;
    • Draw a rectangle over the text;
    • Right-click on the rectangle >> Order >> Send to Back (this should put the rectangle "behind" the text)
    • Double-click on the rectangle >> select a BLACK "Fill" color >> set Transparency to 60%-to-75% (hit preview and check if the contrast is OK; if not play around with the transparency level).
  • Add a Fade animation to each of the text and the black rectangle (see above "wipe animation" for directions). Then:
    • Select the Custom Animation drop-down menu for the second object (ie. if the black rectangle was under the text in the custom animation box, select the black rectangle; otherwise select the text...)
    • In the custom animation box, change the "Start" setting from "On Click" to "With Previous" (you can also experiment with "After Previous" and see if it looks better; You can change the delay time by opening the drop-down menu >> Timing >> etc...)
• Create a new slide with an image that points to two Text Boxes using arrows:
  • Locate an image on flickr (or another place) that is relevant to your topic and has at least two elements you want to explain (example: a map that covers the geographic market of the merging companies). Download the image and insert it in the new slide (resize to fit along with the two text boxes you will create).
  • Create two small text boxes (Insert >> Text Box) and add a short sentence in each (for example: Box 1: "Company A: North and West Maryland"; Box 2: "Company B: South and West Maryland")
  • Use the Arrow tool to create arrows that point from the text boxes to appropriate areas of the image (example: Box 1 points to North and West Maryland; two arrows!!). YOU NEED TWO ARROWS per box. (you can double click on the arrow and change its settings and options).
  • To "Group" each pair of arrows coming out of each text box:
    • Select the first pair of arrows (click on the first, then SHIFT click on the second)
    • Right click on one of them >> Grouping >> Group.
    • This will make the two arrows behave as one object (you can undo that by going back to Grouping >> Ungroup).
  • Add a Custom Animation to each pair of arrows (see above). Each pair of arrows should appear simultaneously.
• Create two links in a slide.
  • Link to URL:
    • Highlight a word or sentence >> Insert >> Hyperlink >>
    • Make sure "Existing File or Web Page" is highlighted
    • Paste link in "Address" >> OK
  • Link to other slide:
    • Follow the first step above
    • Highlight "Place in This Document" (instead of "Existing File or Web Page")
    • Choose a slide >> OK
  • NOTE: You can also use Slide Show >> Action Settings to achieve similar results (experiment!!).
• Finally, create two custom shows. The first custom show with slide 1 and 3 and 5; the second with slide 2, 3 and 4.
  • Slide Shows >> Custom Shows >> New >> (move slides 1 and 3 to the right box) >> OK.
  • Do the same for the second custom show.
  • NOTE: To present one of the custom shows: Slide Shows >> Custom Shows >> (select the custom show you want to present) >> Show.