7 PowerPoint Formatting Tips To Save You Time

Whilst creating a PowerPoint isn’t necessarily an arduous task, the majority of the time can be lost during the formatting process. As you’ll know, trying to get text boxes, images, fonts and spacing just right can take hours. Even a simple presentation can easily take much longer than anticipated with formatting done manually.

The good news is that there are a few built-in features which can really help you save time and create more organised PowerPoint presentations. With the right setup, they can help your team keep things consistent, save on repetitive tasks and save you time whilst focusing on the message you want to deliver.

Understanding that we need professional-looking presentations, we also understand that having a structured workflow can help us save time.

Here are 7 tips to help you with your PowerPoint formatting.

1. Use Slide Master

A common mistake people make is to manually format fonts, colours, logos and footers for each slide.

Imagine you’re creating a 40-slide corporate presentation and you discover you need to change the brand font. You then have to go through each individual slide and change the font.

Instead, utilise the Slide Master.

Head to View > Slide Master. Within here, you can set your formatting preferences. This will include:

• Standard fonts for headings and body text
• Brand colours and background styles
• Company logos and footer
• Slide numbers and repeating design
• Placeholder locations

Once the master has been set up, any new slides will be formatted accordingly.

Pro Tip: Set your master designs up with different layouts for your title slides, content slides, divider slides and data-intensive slides. This gives your team more flexibility.

2. Use Format Painter

Have you ever spent a few minutes getting one heading perfect, only to have to repeat this for 10 other headings?

Utilise the Format Painter tool.

Instead of having to manually select your font, size, colours, spacing, etc., just copy the formatting.

To use this tool:

1. Highlight the text/object you want to copy the formatting from.
2. Click Format Painter from the Home tab.
3. Highlight the text/object you want to apply the formatting to.
4. Double-click Format Painter if you need to apply the formatting to multiple elements.

This is perfect for using with headings, shapes, text boxes and more.

Pro Tip: If you have multiple slides within your presentation that are all using the same design, use Format Painter to help you avoid minor inconsistencies.

3. Use Alignment Tools

Having misaligned elements can cause your presentation to look unprofessional.

Imagine you have a slide with 4 icons showing your services. If the spacing between them is all slightly different, it can make the whole slide look messy.

Instead of manually adjusting your elements, utilise the Alignment tools.

From the Alignment menu, within the Shape Format tab, select what you want to do:

• Align Left – All objects aligned to the left-hand side.
• Align Centre – Balanced.
• Align Top – All objects have the same top edge.
• Distribute Horizontally – Spacing between objects is even.
• Distribute Vertically – Spacing between objects is even.

Pro Tip: Try using guides and gridlines. This will help you arrange multiple elements easily and create a clean layout. Perfect for dashboards, processes and corporate presentations.

4. Create Your Own Themes

If your organisation often creates presentations, you could save yourself a lot of time by creating your own theme in PowerPoint.

This will control the overall look of your presentation, including fonts, colours, backgrounds and effects.

Instead of having to select different formatting each time, create a standard theme.

Within this, you should set:

Design Element	Recommended
Font	Easy to read and professional.
Font	Readable.
Primary Colour	Match your brand colours.
Secondary Colour	For additional information.
Background	Clean.
Accent Colours	For highlighting and key data.

You can do this by going to Design > Variants > Colours/Fonts. Once you’ve set up your theme, save it for future use.

Pro Tip: Share your approved themes with your whole team. This will help to avoid employees creating presentations with different fonts, colours and layouts.

5. Use the Selection Pane

If you have multiple images, shapes, icons and text boxes on your slide, it can be frustrating when trying to find the right object.

This is common when creating infographics, financial dashboards and complex business diagrams.

The Selection Pane will help you manage your objects.

Go to Home > Select > Selection Pane.

From here, you can:

• Rename objects.
• Hide objects.
• Select objects that are tricky to click.
• Change the order of objects.
• Manage overlapping design elements.

Pro Tip: Rename your key objects to something easy to identify. For example, ‘Main Heading’, ‘Revenue Chart’, ‘Company Logo’ and ‘Background Image’. This will help you edit your presentation quicker in the future, especially when you have multiple designers working on it.

6. Use Reusable Slide Designs

Not all business presentations will require a completely new design.

Consider what presentations your organisation creates on a regular basis. This could include Sales Reports, Quarterly Business Reviews, Project Updates, Investor Presentations and Marketing Proposals.

These will often have similar slide designs.

Create reusable slide designs for commonly used content.

Presentation Requirement	Reusable Design
Introduction to Business	Company Overview
Financial Reporting	Charts and KPI Dashboard
Project Updates	Timeline and Progress Tracker
Sales Performance	Comparison and Performance Charts
Business Strategy	Strategic Roadmap
Team Introduction	Profile and Organisation Chart

You can create these using the Slide Master in PowerPoint. Alternatively, you can use Reuse Slides from the Home tab.

Pro Tip: Create a central hub for your approved slide designs. This means your employees can quickly use them and can focus on content.

7. Use Shortcuts and AI Tools

Sometimes you just want to save time on repetitive tasks. Using shortcuts in PowerPoint can help you save time.

Some useful shortcuts to know:

Shortcut	Function
Ctrl + D	Duplicate Object/Slide
Ctrl + G	Group Objects
Ctrl + Shift + G	Ungroup Objects
Ctrl + M	Insert Slide
Ctrl + Z	Undo
Ctrl + Shift + C	Copy Formatting
Ctrl + Shift + V	Paste Formatting
Ctrl + A	Select All

AI tools are also starting to change how teams create PowerPoint presentations. Microsoft announced new AI features in November 2025, including better presentation creation, image editing tools and an initial preview of Agent Mode. This shows that they are moving towards using AI tools to help with repetitive editing tasks.

However, you will still need to check the formatting manually. Always ensure fonts are consistent, charts are correct, brand guidelines are followed, and information is presented in the right order and slides are easy to read.

Pro Tip: Use shortcuts, reusable designs and AI. Whilst technology can help speed things up, a professional eye is key to creating an effective presentation.

Which Formatting Feature Should I Use?

Depending on your team’s workflow and presentation requirements, you may benefit from using a specific feature.

Challenge	Best Feature	Benefit
Inconsistent Fonts/Colours	Slide Master	Consistent globally
Formatting repeated	Format Painter	Faster formatting
Objects not aligned	Align and Distribute	Cleaner designs
Multiple brand styles	Custom Themes	Consistent designs
Objects difficult to select	Selection Pane	Easier editing
Repeated slides	Reusable Slides	Faster to create
Too many clicks	Shortcuts and AI	Improved efficiency

We would recommend using the Slide Master, Custom Themes and Reusable Slides first. You will notice a difference when creating presentations regularly.

When Should I Consider Getting Help With Professional Formatting?

Although it’s helpful to know these tips, sometimes your teams just don’t have enough time.

For example:

• Sales team requiring multiple client presentations each week
• Leadership team requiring high-quality business review decks
• Regularly converting long reports into presentations
• Struggling with complex charts
• Strict brand guidelines
• Tight deadlines

Working with a professional presentation team can help.

At MyBusiness Visual, we help businesses to create structured, consistent presentations from their content, reports and existing slides. We combine our design, communication and corporate knowledge to provide you with a professional result.

A Professional Presentation Designing Company can help your team create quality presentations, whilst reducing the time spent on repetitive formatting.

If you are facing tight deadlines, you can Outsource Powerpoint Presentation Support. This will help you create high-volume presentations quickly and give your teams more time to focus on business.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is the quickest way to format multiple slides in PowerPoint?

Using the Slide Master is one of the quickest ways to format multiple slides. This will help you keep your fonts, colours, logos and designs consistent.

2. How can I keep my slides consistent?

Use a theme, standard fonts, consistent colour palettes, reusable slides and ensure they’re aligned. Creating a template will also help.

3. Can I use the Format Painter on images and shapes?

Yes. You can use the Format Painter tool to copy formatting from shapes and other objects. Depending on the object selected, you’ll be able to copy different formatting.

4. Can AI tools format my presentation?

AI tools can help create, edit and suggest designs. However, you will still need to review the formatting to ensure brand guidelines are followed, information is correct and the presentation is professional.

5. When should I consider outsourcing my PowerPoint presentations?

Consider outsourcing if you have increased presentation requirements, tight deadlines or require specialist design skills.

Final Thoughts

You don’t need to waste hours formatting your PowerPoint presentations professionally. By making small changes to how you create, manage and reuse your slides, you can save time.

Start with the Slide Master, Format Painter, Selection Pane and Reusable Slides. This will help reduce any repetitive tasks and improve the quality of your presentation.

We believe great presentations should clearly communicate your ideas, look professional and help you make better business decisions. Whether you need one executive deck or regular presentations, having the right workflow and design will make all the difference.