Presentation Software
What to know
Presentation software builds a sequence of slides for an audience. A slide layout defines placeholders (title, content, picture, chart), and a theme supplies a consistent set of fonts, colours and effects. The slide master stores the design of every layout, so editing it (adding a logo, footer, or moving the title) updates all slides that use it. Transitions control how one slide replaces another; animations control how individual objects appear, move or disappear. Speaker notes are visible only to the presenter, whereas text on the slide is visible to everyone. Slide sorter view shows thumbnails for reordering, while normal view is for editing. Timings can be rehearsed and recorded for a self-running display, and exports include PDF, images and video.
Traps
Confusing transitions with animations is the most common swap in exam questions. "Apply to All" changes every slide, not just the selected one. Edits made to the master do not override formatting that was applied directly to a slide. Notes are not shown to the audience or printed with handouts unless selected. Cropping an image hides pixels rather than removing them until the file is compressed.
Rule of thumb
Design first, decorate second: choose the theme and set up the master before adding content, then keep each slide to roughly six lines of six words so the audience listens rather than reads. Rehearse with the notes pane to check timing.