How to highlight text in PowerPoint?

If you want to emphasize vital information when making a PowerPoint presentation, then highlighting those specific words may undoubtedly help. Highlighting can help your audience focus on the essential bits of information you want to deliver.

In this article, you will learn some of the best ways of how to highlight text in PowerPoint. So, if you want to highlight specific text to simplify the information on your slides, or to add an appealing visual effect to your presentation, read on to learn some of the best and easy ways to highlight in PowerPoint.

Top reasons to highlight certain text in PowerPoint

When you highlight crucial words, ideas, or phrases, you are helping your audience recall key information from your presentation. Below are some reasons why highlighting some information or text on your PowerPoint presentation can be useful:

• Puts the spotlight on relevant information or agenda items
• Makes specific words or a phrase stand out
• Simplifies the context of the presentation and points out the essential points
• Highlighting encourages your audience to think and formulate their response critically

The different ways to highlight text in a PowerPoint presentation

While Microsoft Word includes a highlighter tool, Microsoft PowerPoint doesn’t have the same tool except for PowerPoint 2019 and 365 users. Still, there are different ways to highlight text in PowerPoint. The steps are as follows:

Highlighting for PowerPoint 2019 and 365 users

If you’re an Office 365 user, the Text Highlight Color command is available in the ‘Home’ tab in the Ribbon in PowerPoint, as shown:

• Step 1: Choose the text you want to highlight.
• Step 2: Click the ‘Home’ tab.
• Step 3: Click the arrow next to the Text Highlight Color command in the Font group. A color gallery should appear.
• Step 4: Pick your desired highlight color from the gallery.

Highlight part of an image

Images and infographics are excellent ways to catch your audience’s attention. Here’s how to use PowerPoint to highlight text in an image:

• Step 1: Choose an image. ‘Insert’ > ‘Pictures’
• Step 2: ‘Insert Shape.’ Select the shape of your choice
• Step 3: Draw the shape around the portion of the image or text that you want to highlight.

• Step 4: Fragment and combine the Image and the Shape. Select the entire image in the slide then – ‘Shape Format’ > ‘Merge Shape’ > ‘Fragment.’ The image and the selected portion are now fragmented.
• Step 5: Blur the rest of the image. ‘Picture Format’> ‘Artistic Effects.’ If you want, you can also add color to the blur effect.

Highlight texts using shapes

Another way to achieve PowerPoint text in a highlight color is by using a shape, like a rectangle, around the text. Here’s how to highlight text by drawing a basic shape around it:

1. Display the slide with the text that you wish to highlight.
2. Click the ‘Insert’ tab in the Ribbon.
3. Click on ‘Shapes’ and pick a shape (such as a rectangle) from the gallery.
4. Drag to draw the shape around your text.
5. To fit the text, drag the shape sizing handles. You can drag the edge of the shape or use your arrow keys to move it.
6. With the shape selected, under the ‘Home’ tab, click ‘Shape Outline’ and choose ‘No Outline.’
7. Still, with the shape selected, click the ‘Drawing Tools Format’ tab again and select ‘Send to Back’ to send the figure behind the text. This way, the highlighted text will appear over the colored shape.

Conclusion

Highlighting can be an excellent way to draw the focus of your audience. After going through several different ways to highlight text in theme PowerPoint in this short tutorial, you should be able to try out a couple of techniques to make your next presentation stand out. Also, you will ensure your audience walks away, understanding the main points of your PowerPoint presentation.