Vincent started by pointing out that using the hotkeys in any presentation software is one of the simplest methods to improve efficiency. And if you are developing and designing anything in Google Slides, you might want to check what those hotkeys are.

For example, if you hold down the Shift key while creating a square shape, you’ll end up with a perfect square. And then, if you are drawing a circle, holding the Shift key makes sure that you keep the proportions of the perfect circle, and not an oval. Holding the Shift key locks down the proportions.

The Shift key can also be of use when you move content on your slides. If you want to move something across but want to move it only, for example, horizontally, then hold down your shift key, and it would not allow you to go off the horizontal alignment of the object.

Here you can see the difference between moving an object without and with holding the Shift key.

When copying, we usually do Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V, or right-click Copy and then right-click Paste. But you can also hold down the Ctrl key and click and drag the object you want to copy. It is way quicker in some cases. And if you hold the Ctrl and Shift while you copy an object, smart guides show up, which help you position it aligned. You can also select to copy multiple objects this way.

Vincent then showed another trick that Google Slides has. When you copy content by holding the Ctrl and Shift keys, you can then hit the Ctrl + Y combination, which triggers the Repeat action. It can ease your work, for example, if you are creating an organizational chart or anything more complex. You can use this combination to build more complex slides quickly.

Vincent showed how useful the Repeat function by hitting Ctrl + Y could be in the creation of any more complex charts.

Sometimes you probably have had to rearrange your content on the slides and move something backward or forward. It can be infuriating having to right-click and select to bring forward or backward on all the objects separately.

Vincent shared that you could do just that by just selecting the object, holding down your Ctrl key, and using your arrow keys bring it to the front or the back. And if you hold the Ctrl and Shift button, the arrow up will bring it to the very front. Saves so many right-clicks.

What about objects styles? If you get your deck back and suddenly a lot of the content that sits on the slide isn’t consistent with your style, your brand, etc., you can click on the Paint Format, click on the object from which you want to copy the style, and then click on the other object to paste the style.

You can also do it to more than one object if you select the object that you want to copy the style from and double click on the Paint Format. Now the tool will stay for more than one object, and you can do it evenly across your whole deck where it is needed. So, it is good to know that you can use it for a single paste and the entire deck when you need it. It is a way of building consistency in your slides.

When it comes to your presentation’s delivery, Vincent shared that you could turn on captions while you are presenting. They are available only when you are in show mode, so they are real-time only, but could be helpful to have them sometimes.

When in Show mode, this is where you can find the menu to turn the live captions on.

Moreover, you can voice type your speaker notes. Go to Tools, select Voice type speaker notes, and speak well what you want to say on the slide. It is quick, and you then only have to go and edit the script.

What not to do – Vincent was asked by someone in the audience if it is safe to duplicate already made charts in Google Slides. He said that it is risky as it takes the same data linked to the first chart. You would not want to duplicate the chart itself because if you change the data on the second, you will change the original as well. His advice was to just always insert a new chart, which therefore will take its information from a new Google Sheet each time.

According to Vincent, Google Slides’ strength is collaboration, and its biggest weakness is the lack of animation options. He shared that in his work he has had 10 or 12 people working on the same deck easily in Google Slides. Microsoft Office 365 and PowerPoint are still catching up with the Web PowerPoint, while Google Slides has pioneered it. Whereas Google Slides is still very clunky when you want to do any animation in your presentation when in PowerPoint you can finetune any animation that you do.