7 Things You Didn’t Know You Could Do in PowerPoint

PowerPoint is the go-to tool for slideshows, but most people only scratch the surface. It’s more than bullet points and transitions. Behind its familiar interface are powerful features that can save you time, impress your audience, and make your presentations stand out.

Here are 7 things you probably didn’t know you could do in PowerPoint — but should start using today.

1. Turn Your Presentation into a Video

PowerPoint can export your entire presentation — animations, voiceovers, timings and all — into a high-quality video file. Perfect for YouTube, training modules, or sending to clients who missed the meeting.

How:
File > Export > Create a Video

2. Record Your Screen

No need for extra software. PowerPoint can record your screen and embed the video right into a slide. It’s handy for tutorials, software demos, or walking through a website.

How:
Insert > Media > Screen Recording

3. Remove Backgrounds from Images

Forget Photoshop. PowerPoint lets you remove the background of any image with just a few clicks. Great for creating clean, professional visuals.

How:
Select Image > Picture Format > Remove Background

4. Create Interactive Quizzes or Forms

Yes, you can make clickable quizzes in PowerPoint using hyperlinks and triggers. Add buttons for answers, give feedback, and link to the next slide based on user choices.

Use case: Training, onboarding, classroom activities.

5. Use Zoom for Non-Linear Presenting

PowerPoint’s Zoom feature lets you jump between sections of your presentation like a website — perfect for Q&A sessions or when you don’t want to follow a linear slide-by-slide path.

How:
Insert > Zoom > Summary Zoom

6. Draw Live on Slides During a Presentation

PowerPoint lets you annotate your slides in real-time with digital ink. Great for brainstorming sessions, highlighting points, or live teaching.

How:
In Slide Show mode, hover bottom-left > Click Pen icon

7. Design Like a Pro with Designer & Icons

Stop wasting time aligning text and guessing colors. PowerPoint’s Designer tool offers smart design suggestions, while its built-in Icons library gives you thousands of clean visuals to use royalty-free.

How:
Design > Design Ideas
Insert > Icons

Final Tip

PowerPoint is no longer just a presentation tool. It’s a design platform, a video studio, a training builder, and a content creation machine — if you know where to look.

Try out these features in your next deck. Odds are, your audience won’t just be listening — they’ll be paying attention.