The Beginner's Guide to Google Slides: Content Types

The Google Slides content types range from simple text to videos and sound. There are a lot of ways you can combine the different forms of content to express yourself and tell an engaging story.

Let’s show you how the different types of written and visual content in Google Slides works and how you can get started if you’re a beginner with this tool.

Content can be either text or images, charts, tables, simple shapes or even audio and video files.

Each element can be animated, so that in presentation mode, the information can come in little chunks or in a more attractive way.

Animations between the slides are called Transitions.

Text

You have number of fonts to use by default and a lot you can add. Click the font menu and choose the option More fonts at the top of the list.

All the fonts you can choose from are part of the big Google Fonts library. It’s a totally free resource for high quality fonts. Using one of them will guarantee, that everybody who opens your presentation through the link can see it in its original design.

To add a new textbox, simply click on the icon with T in frame, which is on the tool bar.

Clicking with right mouse button on a text box, you can choose Format options and a panel with more editing possibilities will open on the right.

Images

The next icon on the right is for adding images.

Different choices will appear. As this is an online software, you can upload a picture from your computer or even camera, but also to import directly from the web through Google Search, URL or your Google Drive.

However, we recommend you to avoid using pictures directly from the web because sometimes the images are not available any more. The best way is to download the selected image first and then upload it from your local drive.

Clicking with right mouse button on an image, you can choose Format options and a panel with more editing possibilities will open.

Shapes

Next to the icon of images, is the icon for adding shapes.

They are grouped into several categories for your convenience and easy search.

Automatically, the tools for text editing will appear, too, as Google Slides consider the shapes as text boxes as well.

Lines

They have their own separate categories and a fast button on the tools bar.

It allows you not only to draw a simple line or an arrow, but draw more complicated forms. You can make a long waving line and have super fun by choosing Curve. Or choose Polyline to create an asymmetrical shape with straight sides. To exit the drawing mode, simply click twice.

And here’s the coolest part – Scribbles. You can add some hand drawn elements or even a signature if you use Google Slides on a device with touchscreen.

Apart from the basics, you can also add charts, complicated diagrams, tables and even videos to your presentation. All of them are accessible from the Insert menu on the menu bar.

Using Google Slides means that your presentation has seamless connection to other Google services. This offers more possibilities for adding various elements to your presentation, such as data visualization content types.

Charts

Therefore, all charts are created and can be edited in Google Sheets, or you can use data from an already existing Sheet. Moreover, all the changes are updating by default on your slides.

To add a chart go to Import > Charts and you can explore the several options.

The new chart will appear like a picture. And while you can still edit some characteristics like color and size (through the Format options panel), to edit the data, you need to select it and click on the link icon in its upper right corner. Choose “Open source” and a new window in your browser will open with Google Sheets.

Diagrams

Choosing this from the Insert menu, will open a panel on the right with categories of diagrams like Hierarchy, Process or Timeline. Each contains various designs – all of them clean and neat, so that your message can be delivered in a very effective way to the audience.

Tables

Tables are also accessible through the Insert menu. The one that will appear is pretty basic and clear, so you can have the freedom to design it.

Word art

This is a very easy way to scale a word or two and make them as a background, for example.

Type in the text, click Enter and then you can edit it as a text, but also scale it as a picture. Free your imagination and a great things can come out of this possibility.

Voice and video

You can insert an audio file only if it’s already uploaded in your Google Drive.

For video files, you also have an option to import it directly from YouTube or other place on the web. Again like the images, we recommend you to choose a more secure way and first download the content.

You can “crop” the video and show only a little part from the whole. Just choose Format options > Video playback and choose a starting and ending point.

Further below, mark the checkbox “Mute audio” if you don’t need the sound.

Also, choose if on presentation mode you want the video to play immediately when coming to its slide. If the checkbox is not marked, this means that the video will start after an additional click.

Now you know what the Google Slides content types let you do in your presentations. Start testing them out and learning more of the customization options they allow and when you’re ready – check out how to present your Google Slides.