Changing slide backgrounds and layouts in a PowerPoint 2010 presentation

Changing slide backgrounds

Changing the background of a slide can make the content more readable. The British Dyslexia AssociationOpens in new window and JISC TechdisOpens in new window suggest that although personal preferences differ, combining cream or a pastel colour with dark blue can provide improved legibility e.g. using a cream background with dark blue text or visa versa.

To change the background colour on a slide:

  1. Right click on a blank area on the slide (away from text boxes or other slide content).
  2. Select Format Background from the menu.
  3. Click the arrow next to the Color button.
  4. Choose a colour or click on More Colors for further options.
  5. You will find a cream option in the More Colors area.
  6. Click Close to apply it to one slide or Apply to All to change the background of all slides.

Using slide layouts

To ensure that screen reading software is able to interpret the content of your slides, it is important to use the slide layouts provided within PowerPoint. Often these layouts use bullets as a means of displaying text. Bullets make slides easier to follow and help to divide text up avoiding long sentences. Another recommendation is that you end each bullet with a full stop. This helps screen readers to distinguish where a bullet ends rather than reading on to the next bullet as if it was part of the same sentence.

To change the slide layout:

  1. Select the slide by clicking on the slide in the slide viewer on the left.
  2. Click on the Home tab.
  3. Click on the Layout button.
  4. Select the most appropriate layout for the content on your slide.
  5. The slide will then display the new layout.