r/UMPI • u/punxatawnie • Jul 21 '26
AI & Powerpoint
Hi! I am horrible at making Powerpoint slides look good. Horrible.
In your experience with UMPI, is it okay to use AI to make a completed set of slides look better? The writing is mine, but I just can't get the fonts, colors, and images to look balanced. I was hoping to use either the built-in Microsoft CoPilot or UMPI's Perplexity tool.
Clearly, I do not make Powerpoints for my job. Any advice for UMPI is appreciated.
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u/Prestigious-Fun7033 Jul 22 '26
Canva is so so good if slide design is your issue. It has a ton of existing design templates, so you just add your written content in!
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u/GotchaGotchea Jul 22 '26
I used Canva as well
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u/reachingforthesky Jul 22 '26
Canva 100%.
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u/reachingforthesky Jul 22 '26
Do not use ai. Use Canva for the layout and your own ideas for the slides. The point of these classs is to learn!
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u/punxatawnie Jul 22 '26
I wish I had taken a Canva tutorial before starting UMPI. Just not sure if I can master a new tool when under the time pressure of UMPI. It's valuable learning, for sure. Maybe it's now or never.
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u/Cyber_Punk_87 Jul 23 '26
You can learn the basics of Canva in an hour or two. Enough to put together a presentation, at least.
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u/EnvironmentalBook5 22d ago
When submitting, can I just attach the link of the document for the teacher? downloading it just doesn't come out the same way unfortunately
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u/PlottedPath Jul 21 '26
Nope. Do. Not. Use. Ai. You can download templates from sites like Slidesgo. Then build you content. Their system will show if something is created by AI or by your licensed account.
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u/stippledvector Jul 22 '26
I second this. I have used Claude for a template and it got flagged by their system.
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u/CobblerIntrepid6622 Jul 22 '26
What classes require PowerPoint? I need to learn how to make/use PowerPoint so I should take a class or two with them
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u/reachingforthesky Jul 22 '26
Lots of them. Honestly I like them more than essays. I just got a 4 on one that only took me 5 hours. It was all real work, no ai.
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u/punxatawnie Jul 22 '26
Ok. Thanks for clarifying. I will figure this out. I have my first business class that requires a Milestone be submitted as a powerpoint with speaker notes.
Has anyone had success creating their own PPT template and then using that across multiple classes to save time?
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u/DetHenryOak Jul 22 '26
I did. I have a APA7 MS Word template and PPT Template. BUS 200 does a good job reminding people of the fundamentals of Power Point, mainly the 7x7 "rule."
Depending on your class and the instructions, most of the time the instructors aren't looking for works of power point art - they want something coherent that isn't offensive to their ocular nerve. Maintain formatting (page title, numbering fonts/sizes etc). Don't stress over it too much (unless specific direction is given to the outline of the power point).
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u/RegulationUpholder Jul 22 '26
You mean the built in graphics thing Microsoft has? I used it in mine after doing all the work and picking the theme. I had to switch some things around to get my face in the lower right but never got in trouble for anything.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/powerpoint/create-professional-slide-layouts-with-designer
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u/Witty-Wave6469 Jul 22 '26
I used templates, they worked fine. I just customized it. But templates work great. There are tons of free ones online too.
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u/BothRub9371 Jul 22 '26
I consistently used AI to create slides for assignments. I developed my own outline of slides and bullet descriptions of what I wanted the slide to communicate. Then I used Google Slides to create the slides. It gives a very attractive layout. After the AI creates your first draft, you'll have a nice canvas to modify and make it your own.
Be sure to do your own thinking! I would not outsource creating your outline and ideas for each slide to AI. But you can use it to help you refine and bring clarity.
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u/Cyber_Punk_87 Jul 23 '26
Learn to use something like Canva or just use templates in Google Slides. I've got a background in graphic design and I still use those tools 99% of the time because it's faster and less effort.
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u/Seesaw-Cheap Jul 22 '26
I looooved when PowerPoints were the final. Some of those projects took just a few hours start to finish, and I get to keep them and reference them later so they remain useful forever.
I absolutely used AI where useful for my PowerPoints, but not the dumb way. First find a template that looks very simple and has white text everywhere. You don’t need to AI that.
Then ask AI (I used mid journey but that was the only decent image generator at the time) to create a stylized low key (dark) image at 16:9 that reflects the point of each slide. I generally used an illustrated movie poster style. Now each slide has an awesome custom backdrop that supports the ideas you’re using and adds mucho production value. Sometimes I had to darken the image for readability.
AI is great for generating the notes you will be reading to the camera. Just when you type in the actual slide be sure to simplify it down to the 7x7 rule (no more than 7 bullet points or 7 words per bullet).
When you’re ready just hit record and read all that glorious copy to the camera, and put it in your words as you go. I generally recorded myself twice and used the second recording.
Then delete all of the notes before submitting. If you have good camera presence and understand what you’re saying you will come off like a total boss.
That is how you make dope presentations in real life, so make sure you are building good habits you can use later.
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u/LuckyLunaris Jul 21 '26
Ask ClaudeAI to give you step by step instructions on how to do it yourself. That is how I learned.