Canva presentations allow you to reinvent and create informative and visually engaging presentations. This is thanks to its huge media library and a wide range of easy-to-use custom presentation templates. And creating presentations is relatively easy due to its intuitive user interface.
This article explores all the details you need to make a professional-level presentation, even if you’re a Canva newbie.
How to make a presentation in Canva
One study shows that 46% of people lose concentration during a presentation. But with Canva designs, you can capture your audience’s attention throughout your presentation by combining your message with engaging visual elements. Although you can design your presentation from scratch, Canva also has unlimited editable templates to simplify your design process.
Some of the slide editing tools you’ll find in your presentation dashboard include:
- Elements: These include animated and static shapes, lines, grids, graphics, and gradients that you can add to your slides.
- Text: When you want to insert body text, headings, and subheadings into a slide, come here to add a text box and choose font styles.
- Uploads: This is where all the media you’ve imported from your device into Canva stays. It’s also where you add new images, videos, and audio to Canva.
Make a presentation in Canva from scratch
Preformatted slides can help you prepare a presentation in minutes if you’re in a hurry. However, they deny you the opportunity to try different options. Fortunately, Canva presentations allow you to use your design skills and creativity to create a presentation from a blank page. That is how:
- Sign in to Canva if you already have an account. If not, register for free Canva website.
- Go to the “You may want to try” p on your home page and select “Submission.”
- After the presentation page loads, a blank slide will appear in your workspace that you will use to create your presentation layout.
- Start by adding a background color to your slide. Go to the top left corner and tap on the “color tile.” If the default colors don’t match your tastes, tap the “Add” icon to create your color palette.
- Now you can start filling your slide with content by navigating to the left sidebar and tapping “Layout” in the horizontal menu.
- Tap “Add Photo” to add an image to your slide from your device uploads or Canva library.
- Choose “Add Text” to add a text element where you can type whatever text you want. Alternatively, scroll to the bottom of the layout page to select an editable layout that suits your needs.
- To add a new page, tap the “Add” icon at the bottom of the page. Repeat step 6 to complete it with content. Select the first slide, tap the “Brush” icon and open the next slide to transfer all editing effects.
- Hover over any slide at the bottom and tap the “Ellipses” menu (…) to delete, duplicate, hide, or lock it.
- Tap the “Present” button at the top when you’re done to start presenting. Alternatively, tap the “Share” icon in the right corner, choose “Download,” and tap the drop-down menu to download your presentation in the format you want: PDF, MP4 video, PowerPoint, or GIF.
Make a presentation in Canva using templates
- On your home page, navigate to the “You may want to try” p and choose “Submission.”
- Go to the horizontal menu in the left sidebar and tap “Template.” Canva will display a variety of pre-designed templates that are organized into different categories.
- Scroll down to see the available templates and select one that suits your design theme or theme. Alternatively, type your presentation name or category in the search bar to find related templates.
- After you select your presentation template, it will open in the left sidebar and display all available slides. Tap “Apply All” at the top, which opens the first slide in your dashboard.
- Go to the top of the screen and name your presentation before you start editing.
- Start editing by changing the background color. Select the first slide and tap the “color tile” in the upper left corner. Choose a color that matches your theme from the default colors or tap the “Add” icon to create your color palette.
- Tap “Change All” at the bottom to apply the background color to all other slides.
- Select the text on the slide and tap the “Delete” icon to delete the original text so you can enter your own text. Additionally, remove the standard image or video from the template and upload your own from your Canva library or your device.
- Repeat the process for other slides. If you want to delete a slide or add one, hover over it and tap the “Ellipses” menu (…) to select the appropriate menu option.
- When you finish the presentation, tap the “Share” button and choose “Download.” Canva selects PDF by default. Tap the drop-down menu to choose other format options, such as MP4 video or GIF. Alternatively, tap the “Present” button to make your presentation directly from Canva.
Make a collaborative presentation in Canva
If your presentation is a team project, you can easily collaborate with team members in Canva. To allow everyone to work at the same time, you’ll need to assign them ps to work on and send them an invite link. These are the steps to make a collaborative presentation in Canva:
- Assuming you are organizing the presentation project, open the design template or blank project page.
- Go to the top right corner and choose the “Share” icon. In the “People with access” p, tap the “Add” icon and enter the email addresses of your team members.
- Choose “View & Edit” to give members access to editing options. Copy the “design link” and email it to inpidual team members.
When your team members receive the link, they can open it and start working. Make sure each member is aware of their task in the presentation, as any changes made from this point will be instantly visible to others.
- In the Canva library, team members can find common elements, including logos, images or colors, ensuring design consistency.
- Any of your team members can tap the attached “chat icon” in the right corner of the slide to leave comments on any specific element within the presentation. These comments help you discuss ideas, provide feedback, and facilitate communication between members.
When everyone completes their task, edit the presentation and tap the “Present” button to start presenting. If you are not making a presentation, tap the “Share” icon and download your presentation in the desired format.
Other Features Available for Canva Presentation Slide
There are many other things you can do to customize your presentation slide besides adding background color, text, images, videos, and comments. These include the following:
- Add notes: Your slide should be less than 100 words to keep it organized. If you have more points to help you during the presentation, you can add them to the notes p. Go to the bottom left corner of the presentation panel and you will see a “Notes” icon. If you tap it, a blank page opens where you can add more points related to your slide.
- Animate your slideshow: Animating slides is not easy, right? In Canvas, you can animate your slides with just a few clicks without needing to animate each slide inpidually. Select the slide you want to animate and tap “Animate” at the top. Select your animation scheme and tap “Apply to all” at the bottom. This automatically animates all your slides.
- Record your presentation: There is no need to use third-party software to record your presentation. Tap the “Present” icon at the top and select “Present & Record” to start recording your screen.
Create a presentation that leaves a lasting impression
Whether you’re presenting in a boardroom, classroom, or virtual environment, Canva’s great features will help you bring out the best in your presentation. Unfortunately, these methods alone do not guarantee an exceptional presentation. Remember, the success of any presentation lies in understanding your audience and maintaining a coherent and visually appealing design.
Why do you prefer to use Canva to design your presentation? What features give your design that special professional boost? Tell us in the comments p below.
