Before finding methods to resolve this problem, it is essential to know why PowerPoint file size would grow so large and then take actions to compress it. Through analysis, we find that one obvious reason is that there are many high-resolution images and photographs in the presentation.

Regarding this problem, the following paragraphs will list some tips to help reduce the size of PowerPoint presentations.

1. Use compressed graphics file formats to reduce the size of PowerPoint
There may be many images in graphic formats like bitmap (.bmp) in your PowerPoint presentation. The suggestion is to open bitmap image with a program that converts images and save the image in one of the following graphic file formats: jpg, gif, tif, wmf. Once your image has been saved under another format, you can reinsert it into your slide. If you do this for all your images, your presentation will be much smaller and it will run smoothly and fast.

2. Save your presentation a second time to reduce the size of PowerPoint
Open your presentation, go to File (2003)/Office Button (2007) >> Save As… and give it another name. Then click “Save”.Doing this you will have a second presentation that often is smaller than the original copy. This is because PowerPoint usually stores lots of redundant information such as earlier drafts and previous used images. Once you save it as another file, the unnecessary redundant information would be purged.

3. Choose E-mail (96 ppi) output to reduce the size of PowerPointPicture
Tools >>Format >> Compress Pictures >> Options >> Target Output >> E-mail (96 ppi)

(For PowerPoint XP and 2003, right-clicking the image >>Format Picture >> Compress >> Web/Screen) This would change all the pictures used in your presentation to an optimal size.

4. Insert a hyperlink instead of inserting an object to reduce the size of PowerPoint
When you insert an image, you have the option to insert it either as an embedded object or as a linked file. By inserting it as a linked file means it will not become a part of the final presentation file. But you should always make sure that the linked file is with you and in the computer where you will run the presentation. Otherwise, the hyperlink won’t be working.
Insert >> Picture >> From File >> Select the image you want to insert >> Click the little down arrow besides Insert >> Link to File

The tips above are only the basic steps for reducing the size of a PowerPoint. In tip4, hyperlinks wouldn’t work if the computer where the presentation will be played is not connected to Internet, thus lots of inconvenient you may confront with.

In order to quickly and effectively compress your presentation to a minimum, converting the PowerPoint presentation to video with a third-party tool such as Acoolsoft PPT2Video Converter will be a good choice. And it is especially suitable for the presentations that contain lots of pictures. By doing so, the file size could be reduced to up to 90%.

Besides the advantage of reducing file size, converting your PowerPoint presentation to video also has many other benefits:

1. Enable you to view your PowerPoint presentations without the need of MS PowerPoint. Windows Media Player would be OK.
2. Podcast PowerPoint slide show to iTunes or your own blog for sharing.
3. Show your PowerPoint presentations on YouTube, Google Video, etc.
4. Review PowerPoint presentations on iPod/iPhone/Pocket PC.
5. Create mp4 video and view PowerPoint presentation on TV.

About Acoolsoft PPT2Video Converter:

It is an all-in-one PowerPoint to video converter. With only 3 clicks, you can convert PowerPoint presentations to video formats such as MPEG, AVI, MP4, WMV, MOV, 3GP with high quality.

Screenshots:

Recommended video settings:

Resolution: 640 * 480

Frame Rate: 20fps

After you have used the methods above, your PowerPoint presentation should now be light and more manageable. It’s now your time to share it with others and enjoy the fun that PowerPoint brings to you.

When preparing for a PowerPoint presentation, there is one key thing to consider before you even begin creating your slides. You need to determine what the key points are that you want your audience to take away from the presentation. Your whole presentation will then need to be organized around these key points. Once you have determined and clearly defined what the key points are, you can then focus on the layout details of the slides for the presentation itself.

Let us look at some of the specific things you need to consider when preparing for a PowerPoint presentation. One thing to keep in mind is how the PowerPoint will be delivered to your intended audience. Will you be giving an oral presentation, or will you be delivering the PowerPoint for the recipients to follow online. When discussing the following points, we will look briefly, at how the delivery method affects the strategy.

• Focus on the visual — The general rule of thumb is that you can never have too many visuals in a PowerPoint presentation. People tend to under utilize graphics and over utilize text on PowerPoint slides. Graphics are much more useful and memorable for the recipient. This holds true whether the PowerPoint presentation is viewed online or is given orally in front of a crowd.
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• Do not make it too long — Be conservative on the length of the presentation itself. You want to include just enough information to get your point across. You may be able to get away with a little bit longer presentation if you are preparing slides strictly for an online audience. They generally have more time to go through the slide presentation at their leisure. However, it is always a good idea to be as concise as possible.
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• Effectively introduce — This may seem like a trivial point, but it is not. Introductions are important. An effective PowerPoint introduction should clearly define the purpose of the entire presentation. It also gives you a means to point out the key things you want the audience to take away from the presentation.
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• Carefully review — This is critical no matter which method of delivery you will be using. You do not want to send out a PowerPoint with slides that are riddled with typos and grammatical errors. You also want to make sure that the slides are easy to read and follow. If you are presenting your PowerPoint orally in front of a crowd of people, you need to make sure you practice ahead of time. You want to make sure you stick to the key points, and stay within your designated time limit.

With a focus on the key points, and some careful attention to details you can prepare a powerful PowerPoint presentation that is sure to be well received.

And the next thing is you can use some creative tool like Acoolsoft PPT2DVD which can help you burn PowerPoint to DVD, then you can watch your PowerPoint on TV.
You can also use Acoolsoft PPT2Video Converter to convert your PowerPoint presentation to all kinds of video format, then you show your slideshow on mobile devices such as iPod, iPhone and so on.