PowerPoint Icons: A Way To Liven Up Virtual Presentations

We come across many presentations that look precisely the same and boring too because they have a few things in common- long text, too much information, bullet points, and lack of visuals. PowerPoint Icons are one of how the text on these presentation slides can be structured visually, making the presentation appealing.

What are PowerPoint Icons?

PowerPoint Icons are graphic symbols that represent a specific piece of information, message, or action. In essence, Presentation Icons draw attention to, categorize, and simplify the information on the slide.

Icons allow you to explain the message through visual representation quickly. In general, the audience does not like too much content and dull-looking slides. PPT Icons are a great way to condense and present the same content in an easy, visually appealing, and cleaner format.

Benefits of using PowerPoint Icons

One of the most significant benefits of presentation Icons is that they make the most complex message understandable.

Presentation Icons act as a memory hook as they are retained in the audience’s mind for a more extended period.

In addition to this, PPT icons have the following benefits-

• They help tell the story in a more structured way and convey more with less, which helps both the presenter and the audience.
• Icons help in simplifying concepts. For example, it could be hard for the audience to understand the diagrams in the slides; clever use of ppt icons can easily communicate the message.
• People do not have the time to read the presentation slides thoroughly; therefore, you can draw the audience’s attention to the most important slide areas with icons.
• The audience can drastically vary in their background, language, or expertise. However, popular Icons are universally understood, enabling messages to be communicated to diverse groups.

Cons of using PowerPoint Icons:

PowerPoint Icons should be strategically used to enhance communication. Icons add visual appeal, take up less space, but their meaning can sometimes be confusing and misinterpreted.

• Using too many icons on a slide can make the slides confusing, and this won’t allow the viewer to concentrate on any of the messages in the slide.
• PowerPoint icons are simple graphics, and their purpose is to give an idea about the concept to the user just by looking at it. Forcing icons to illustrate overly complex concepts can create confusion.
• The uncertainty of an icon’s function puts the viewer in a state of doubt. It requires them to think about the icon instead of focusing on the information.
• PPT Icons simplify a complex message or visual into a simple graphic. But sometimes, sacrificing the nuances may work against you. For example, using a walking stick or eyeglasses to represent senior citizens may risk offending them, emphasizing disability.

Tips for using PowerPoint Icons

One of the primary reasons for using PowerPoint Icons is that they are more intuitive. They are a replacement of text or words to represent objects or actions. But they are not always the best way to describe data. Below are a few tips for using PowerPoint Icons –

• The icon must evoke its meaning at a glance. It should not engage the user in interpreting it. An example of a good icon is the “trash box” icon. It refers to delete or discard. Therefore, the icons must be functional, which means the audience should immediately relate to them.
• Colors play an essential role in any design. The icon’s colors should not clash with the overall slide look and feel.
• Don’t overdo the icon design. Icons are supposed to be simple and make the slide look minimal.
• Avoid stuffing icons in the slide as too many icons can make the presentation slide cluttered.

One of the primary reasons for using PowerPoint Icons is that they are more intuitive. They are a replacement of text or words to represent objects or actions. But they are not always the best way to describe data. Below are a few tips for using PowerPoint Icons -

Where can you find PowerPoint Icons?

1. Microsoft PowerPoint

Microsoft PowerPoint comes with a wide variety of free icons. The library consists of icons to serve a variety of needs. Here is how you can download them -

Insert ribbon > Illustrations > Icons

2. Free Resources

There are a lot of resources available on the web that offer Free icons. Flaticon, Icon finder are a few of them.

3. SlideUpLift’s PowerPoint Icons library

SlideUpLift has a vast collection of PowerPoint icons keeping business professionals in mind. It provides standalone icon slides from where you can copy-paste icons for your presentations. The library includes Covid-19 icons, security, data icons to human silhouette icons, and financial icons. From electronic device icons to calendars, check icons, and infographic icons, .and a lot more.

PowerPoint Icons for different uses

Check out different types of Powerpoint icons that can be used to make impactful presentations. This PowerPoint Icons library contains icons to suit a variety of presentation needs.

Here are a few examples.

Coronavirus Icons

View Coronavirus PPT Icons

Globe Icons

These PowerPoint Icons represent ideas like global presence, networking, office locations, traveling, etc.

View Globe PPT Icons

Finance PowerPoint Icons

Here are a few examples.

View Finance presentation Icons

Growth PowerPoint Icons

These PowerPoint Icons represent ideas like global presence, networking, office locations, traveling, etc.

View Growth PPT Icons

Checkmark PowerPoint Icons

These PPT Icons represent finance, money, revenues, profits or loss, investment, stocks, etc.

View Checkmark PPT Icons

Transportation Icons

View Transportation PPT Icons

Icons can turn a simple presentation into an attractive one. The correct use of PowerPoint Icons is very important.

The example below tells how the correct use of PPT icons can transform the entire presentation.

Example of PowerPoint slides containing PowerPoint Icons

View Resume PowerPoint Template

Conclusion

In a nutshell, presentation Icons help you categorize the content on the slide into smaller chunks of information, making it easier for your audience to read, interpret, and absorb it. Therefore, we would recommend using icons to enhance the quality of your presentation strategically.

Now you don’t have to scour the web to find out the right templates. Download our PowerPoint Templates from within PowerPoint. See how?

About SlideUplift:

SlideUpLift is an online platform to help professionals make compelling presentations using principles of vision science and storytelling. The platform contains an online library of pre-designed presentation templates that can be used across industries and functions.

Check out our library of free PowerPoint templates that are weekly updated to serve professionals' presentation needs. You will find out the simplicity and ease in downloading the editable template, filling it with your content, and building world-class presentations in just a few clicks.

Originally published at https://slideuplift.com on October 29, 2020.