A Google Slides deck lives in Google Drive. There is no file to save, no version to email: everyone with access opens the same deck, changes are saved as you type, and the version history keeps every earlier state. That makes it the natural choice for team decks, classrooms and anything that changes often — and it works on Windows, Mac, Chromebooks and in the mobile apps.
Step 1: create the deck and pick a theme
Start a new presentationGoogle Slides
Create the file
Go to slides.google.com and click Blank presentation, or click Template gallery at the top for a ready-made deck. In Google Drive: New → Google Slides. Typing slides.new in the address bar is the fastest way.
Google Slides start page: Blank presentation and Template gallery Name it
Click Untitled presentation at the top left and type a name. Names matter in Drive search later; include the audience and the date.
Choose a theme
The Themes panel opens on the right of a new deck (otherwise Slide → Change theme). Click a theme; Import theme at the bottom takes the theme of another presentation, such as your company’s.
Slide → Change theme Set the page size
Leave File → Page setup on Widescreen 16:9 unless you know the screen differs. Change it now rather than later.
Step 2: add slides and write the content
Build the slidesGoogle Slides
Add a slide with a layout
Click the arrow beside the + button in the toolbar (or Slide → New slide, Ctrl+M / Cmd+M) and pick a layout: Title slide, Section header, Title and body, Title and two columns, Title only, Big number and others.
New slide layouts Change a layout later
Right-click a slide and choose Apply layout, or use the Layout button in the toolbar.
Write in the placeholders
Click into a placeholder and type. Keep titles as short statements; put detail into the speaker notes below the slide.
Reorder and organise
Drag slides in the filmstrip on the left. Ctrl+D / Cmd+D duplicates a slide; right-click → Skip slide hides it in the presentation.
Step 3: pictures, charts and diagrams
Insert visualsGoogle Slides
Pictures
Choose Insert → Image and Upload from computer, Search the web, Drive, Photos, By URL or Camera. Crop with a double-click on the picture; Format options adjusts transparency, brightness and recolouring.
Insert → Image Charts
Choose Insert → Chart and Bar, Column, Line or Pie, or From Sheets to use a chart from a Google Sheet. The chart is linked: when the data changes, click Update on the chart. Edit the data with the chart’s menu → Open source.
Insert → Chart → From Sheets Diagrams
Insert → Diagram opens a panel of grids, hierarchies, timelines, processes, relationships and cycles. Pick a number of items and a colour; the result is editable shapes.
Tables and shapes
Insert → Table for exact values; Insert → Shape for boxes, arrows and callouts. Align them with Arrange → Align and Arrange → Distribute.
Step 4: transitions, animations and notes
Choose Slide → Transition to open the motion panel: pick a transition for the slide (or Apply to all slides) and, with an object selected, Add animation for an entrance effect starting On click, After previous or With previous. Keep it to one calm transition and simple reveals. Speaker notes go in the field under each slide; drag its edge up if it is hidden, or choose View → Show speaker notes.
Step 5: work on it together
- Share: click Share at the top right, add people by email and choose Viewer, Commenter or Editor. Or set General access to anyone with the link.
- Comment: select something and choose Insert → Comment (Ctrl+Alt+M / Cmd+Option+M). Type @ and a name to assign it as a task.
- See changes: File → Version history → See version history shows who changed what; name important versions (“Sent to client”).
- Avoid conflicts: give each person a section. Colourful cursors show who is where.
Step 6: present and share
Present and send the deckGoogle Slides
Start the slideshow
Click Slideshow at the top right (Ctrl+Enter / Cmd+Enter). The arrow beside it offers Presenter view, which opens your notes, a timer and the next slide in a separate window.
Slideshow → Presenter view Present in a meeting
In a Google Meet call, use Present now and choose the browser tab with the slideshow. In other video tools, share the slideshow window rather than the whole screen, so your notes stay private.
Send it
Share the link for a live version, or File → Download as Microsoft PowerPoint (.pptx) or PDF document (.pdf). File → Share → Publish to web creates a public link or an embed code.
When the deck must go to PowerPoint
The .pptx download works well for ordinary decks: text, shapes, pictures, tables and basic charts. Watch for three things. Google Fonts that are not installed on the recipient’s computer are replaced, so check headings. Charts linked to Sheets arrive as charts or pictures depending on the type — check that they can still be edited. And Google Slides animations map to similar PowerPoint effects but not always exactly. Our guide to converting files to PowerPoint covers the routes in both directions.
Google Slides deck templates
The Template gallery on the start page has decks for reports, pitches and lessons, and Workspace organisations can add their own. Any deck can serve as a template: make your best one, then use File → Make a copy for each new deck. For more looks, see our page of Google Slides templates.
Shortcuts and tricks that save time
| Action | Windows | Mac |
|---|---|---|
| New slide | Ctrl+M | Cmd+M |
| Duplicate selected slide or object | Ctrl+D | Cmd+D |
| Start slideshow | Ctrl+Enter | Cmd+Enter |
| Insert comment | Ctrl+Alt+M | Cmd+Option+M |
| Group objects | Ctrl+Alt+G | Cmd+Option+G |
| Ungroup | Ctrl+Alt+Shift+G | Cmd+Option+Shift+G |
| Show all shortcuts | Ctrl+/ | Cmd+/ |
- Edit the master for consistency. Slide → Edit theme opens the theme builder; change the title style there once instead of on every slide.
- Paint format. The paint roller in the toolbar copies formatting from one object to another; double-click it to apply it several times.
- Explore the linked charts. Keep a single Google Sheet of the deck’s numbers; every chart reads from it and updates with one click each.
- Use the mobile app for rehearsal. Open the deck on your phone to read the notes while walking through the talk.
- Offline mode. Turn on offline access in Google Drive’s settings before a trip, so you can still present without a connection.
Common Google Slides mistakes
- Formatting slide by slide instead of in the theme builder, so titles end up in four slightly different sizes.
- Pictures searched from the web without checking the licence. Insert → Image → Search the web shows pictures from the web; check each one’s licence before you publish the deck.
- Sharing with “Anyone with the link” as Editor. Anyone who gets the link can change or delete slides. Give edit rights by name and view rights by link.
- Too many fonts. The font list is long and tempting; keep to the theme’s two.
- Forgetting the notes when downloading a PDF. File → Download → PDF leaves notes out; for a handout with notes use File → Print preview and choose 1 slide with notes.
Designs for this kind of deck
Every design brings its own colours, fonts and layouts to the whole deck.
A deck for Google Slides from ExpertSlides
If you would rather start from a finished draft, ExpertSlides writes the whole deck from a sentence or an attached document — structure, text, charts, pictures — in a design of your choice, and you edit it in the browser like any slide tool. When the deck should live in Google Slides, the export menu has a Google Slides target: it hands you the presentation as a .pptx to import with File → Import slides or by opening it from Drive.
That export is part of Pro and Business, and it writes editable objects — texts, shapes, tables and charts — so the deck stays editable in Google Slides after the import. For decks that should stay in ExpertSlides, a Web link shares a read-only version with presenter view, much like a published Google Slides link.
Read the PowerPoint version of this guide, how to make a presentation, and templates and backgrounds. Plans with the export are on Pricing.
Questions, answered
How do I make a slide deck in Google Slides?
Open slides.google.com, click Blank presentation or a template, choose a theme, add slides with layouts from the plus button, insert pictures, charts and diagrams from the Insert menu, write speaker notes, then present with Slideshow or share the link.
Is Google Slides free?
Yes, with a Google account. Google Workspace plans add administration, more storage and organisation features.
How do I use presenter view in Google Slides?
Click the arrow beside Slideshow and choose Presenter view. A separate window shows your notes, a timer and the next slide while the audience sees the current one.
Can I convert a Google Slides deck to PowerPoint?
Yes. Choose File, Download, Microsoft PowerPoint (.pptx). Check fonts, linked charts and animations afterwards.
Can ExpertSlides export to Google Slides?
The export menu has a Google Slides target that hands you a .pptx to import there, on the plans with PowerPoint export. Texts, shapes, tables and charts stay editable.
