Interactive Google Slides Presentations
9 minutes read
It’s common to send a Google Slides presentation to a list of recipients. After all, it might not be possible to gather everyone in a room to review the slides. When you send your slides, engage your audience by learning how to make interactive Google Slides.
In 2021, it pays to know how to create an interactive Google slide deck. These slides help you connect with your audience and engage with them on a personal level.
Avoid creating flat and “read-only” slides. Learning how to make Google Slides interactive helps your users feel engaged and play an active role in moving the slide along.
We’ll teach you how to make interactive Google Slides using templates. Discover how to easily implement interactivity when you lean on designs from others and pair them with the techniques you’re going to learn.
How to Make Interactive Google Slides Presentations Quickly
As you think about making Google Slides interactive, it’s helpful to first understand the power of premium templates. These save you precious time and effort by automating the creative process. Instead of building slide designs from scratch, you’re simply dropping in your own content.
When considering how to create drag and drop functions in Google Slides, adopting this same approach in your design process can pay off by giving you professional styling with minimal effort.
Elements is an unmatched value because of its powerful offer: unlimited downloads. For a flat rate, you can download as many templates and other creative assets as you want. This gives you unlimited opportunities to make a great impression.
Now, let’s learn how to make interactive Google Slides using a premium template from Envato Elements. In the first step of our tutorial, we’ll download a top template that makes it easy to follow the steps to create interactive slides.
Plus, Elements includes resources like fonts and stock photos. These creative designs are the perfect companions to your work. When you think about creating drag and drop features in Google Slides, consider Envato Elements first.
In this tutorial, we’ll be using a premium template from Envato Elements. However, Elements isn’t the only option available when you wonder how to make interactive Google Slides.
Envato also offers the GraphicRiver marketplace. On GraphicRiver, you can buy amazing interactive Google slide deck templates individually. This is a great way to benefit from professional designs while keeping costs lower.
No matter which marketplace you choose, a template is the quickest way to see how to make an interactive Google Slide. Start with a design, add the tweaks we show below, and you’re on your way!
How to Make Interactive Google Slides
Follow these steps to create interactive slides.
1. Why Make Interactive Google Slides?
Before diving into how to make Google Slides interactive presentations, it’s essential to understand the reason behind it: engagement. No audience wants to be talked at; they want to be talked with. In other words, interaction is the key to success when you present.
Interactive Google Slides also enhance retention. Let’s face it: if you read a fact or statement, you’re likely to forget it. But if you engage and participate in the conversation, you’re much more likely to remember the information.
The best approach is to select a premium Envato Elements template and then edit it to fit your needs. In this tutorial, we’ll use the amazing Wohnhaus - Clean Business Presentation from Envato Elements.
Wohnhaus includes over 30 unique slides with various themes, making it a top choice for interactive Google Slides presentations, thanks to its modern style. Every design element is fully customizable.
2. How to Create Drag and Drop in Google Slides
One of the simplest yet effective interactive Google Slides features is drag-and-drop activities. These allow audiences to move content around your slide. To build a drag-and-drop activity, navigate to slide 4 in the deck.
This slide has a series of icons with labels directly below them, making it a good candidate for a matching activity where users can drag the labels to match them with images.
First, add custom text to the text boxes. Click into any of them, select the placeholder text, and type your own words. Repeat this process throughout the slide deck.
For instance, you might title the activity Drag to Match. Then click on any of the four descriptor text boxes to select it. Click and hold to drag it to the top of the slide, and do the same for the other three text boxes.
Audiences can repeat these steps, moving the text down to match the images. It’s an easy and enjoyable interactive Google Slides activity.
3. How to Add Interactive Buttons in Google Slides
Interactive buttons enable your audience to engage with your slide content. These buttons can take many forms, commonly as hyperlinks that redirect users to other websites. Here’s how to create an interactive button in Google Slides.
Buttons often take the form of shapes, which are easy to insert into Google Slides. For this example, we’ll use the computer icon on slide 7. First, right-click on the shape and click Ungroup.
Then, click in the circular area to select the shape. Go to the Insert menu on the Google Slides menu bar. Click on it to reveal options, and select Link at the bottom.
Here, you can paste a URL and click Apply. Alternatively, you can link within your slide deck by selecting options below.
When completed, your shape will link to a website or another slide. Clicking it will send users to the linked destination, adding an excellent interactive feature to your Google Slides.
4. How to Add Amazing Interactive Animations
Interactive animations offer two significant advantages:
- They drive engagement by allowing audiences to click through presentations at their own pace.
- They help you control the pace of the narrative by displaying content at your preferred speed.
Consider slide 9 in the deck, where each yellow bar contains a different concept that you’ll address in more detail. By default, all elements display simultaneously; however, you’ll likely want to introduce them one by one.
Start by clicking on the first text box in the uppermost yellow bar. Go back to the Insert dropdown and select Animation. You will see an Animation sidebar open on the right side of your Google Slides screen.
In the Object Animations section, choose an effect to add to your slide. Common options include Appear, Fade In, and more.
Be cautious with your choices here; subtle animations are best. Overly flashy effects can be distracting rather than engaging.
Select your preferred style, and specify how to trigger the animation. The On Click option is a great choice, allowing you (or another user) to start the animation by clicking the mouse or a remote when presenting.
To preview your animation effect, click Play at the bottom of the sidebar.
Repeat the animation steps for the remaining objects on your slide. This method enhances interactivity and allows audiences to navigate through your slides at their own speed.
How to Make Google Slides Interactive (With Envato Elements Templates)
Are you a professional designer who knows how to create an interactive Google Slide deck? Chances are, you may not have the time to design interactive templates from scratch.
Your best bet is to turn to pre-built premium templates. These templates are created by design experts with your needs in mind. Here are five top Google Slides templates for interactive presentations:
1. Meier - Clean Business Presentation Template
Meier features a sleek modern design packed with interactive features. Choose from 30 custom slides designed for easy editing, allowing you to quickly build your own interactive features.
2. Diagram Collection Google Slides Infographic Template
Wondering how to create interactive graphics for your audience? The Diagram Collection is an ideal option, offering an interactive layout filled with custom infographics. Customize each slide with your data, allowing your audience to explore over 30 slides in beautiful widescreen format.
3. Bizniz - Vertical Business Presentation
Bizniz streamlines the design process with its modern look. The slides are built around master layouts, allowing for quick bulk edits. This template features free fonts and resizable graphics, making it an excellent choice with many built-in interactive features.
4. Ushop Imoet Creative Google Slide
If you seek complete creative flexibility, this template is for you. With over 150 custom slides, you’re bound to find the perfect design. It includes drag-and-drop image placeholders, portfolios, and more, making it easy to customize interactive features for any topic.
5. Education Presentation
To maximize impact in educational settings, consider using interactive Google Slides. This presentation template includes dozens of interactive slides that you can adjust to fit any subject matter.
Common Google Slides Questions Answered (FAQ)
As you progress through learning how to make interactive Google Slides designs, you may have some questions. Google Slides is a powerful tool with numerous features, so it’s natural to seek clarification.
1. Does Google Slides Support Importing PowerPoint Templates?
There’s nothing more tedious than recreating work from scratch. Fortunately, Google Slides supports importing PowerPoint templates. Convert your template, then use the techniques you’ve learned to create interactive Google Slides.
2. Does Google Slides Support Exporting PowerPoint Files?
Once you’ve finished your interactive Google Slides, you may want to save it as a PowerPoint file. Don’t worry - Google allows you to export your design. Learn how to do this in the following tutorial:
3. How Do You Add Multimedia to Google Slides Presentations?
To enhance your interactive Google Slides, you might want to add multimedia like music or sound. Google Slides supports this feature. Learn how to add these elements in the tutorial below:
4. Does Google Slides Work Offline?
A common misconception is that as a browser-based tool, Google Slides doesn’t work without Internet access. However, Google has made provisions for offline usage. Learn how to use Google Slides offline in the following tutorial:
5. How Can You Collaborate With Google Slides?
Creating the best presentations often requires teamwork. It’s easy to invite others to edit your Google Slides presentation. Learn how to collaborate effectively within Google Slides:
Keep Learning More About Google Slides
You’ve learned how to make your Google Slides interactive. With just a bit of work, your presentations can be far more engaging than flat, static designs. But don’t stop learning now.
Explore additional tutorials to enhance your Google Slides skills:
-
[]{.roundup-block__content-link} ![image]
You Just Learned How to Make Google Slides Interactive
It’s time to rethink how we create presentations. Instead of the read-only presentations of the past, consider “interactive” first when crafting slides.
With the help of the best templates from Envato Elements, you can master the art of creating interactive Google Slides. You can also opt for a pay-as-you-go download from GraphicRiver to learn how to implement drag-and-drop designs in Google Slides.
Both marketplaces provide a significant advantage as you work to transform a boring slide into an engaging one. Start with a template today and add interactivity. Your audience is sure to appreciate it!