3.2Animations: entry, emphasis, exit & trajectories
The essentials in 30 seconds
- The animation serves the discourse (progressively revealing) — never the decoration.
- Appear or Fade “by paragraph”: the #1 useful animation, and often the only one necessary.
- The Animation pane controls everything: order, triggers, durations.
Spun mini-case — Animations: entry, emphasis, exit & trajectories
Amel animates the key points: showing the arguments one by one, highlighting a figure, then leaving the conclusion visible. She must remain sober and not delay speaking.
Continuation of the common theme: the Blida agri-food SME is preparing its market launch.
1. Four families, one goal: to guide the eye
In (Appear, Fade: reveal), Emphasis (Change color, Grow: emphasize), Exit (Fade: clean), Trajectories (move: show a path). We animate to sequence an explanation, never to decorate.
2. The Animation pane: order and triggering
Animation → Animation Pane: order, On click / With previous / After previous, duration, delay. Lists in “Appear by paragraph” (one point at a time, the previous ones blurred): the public follows, they do not read in advance.
3. Sobriety as a signature
References: Appear, Fade, Fade. Ban: bounces, rotations, animation sounds, acrobatic trajectories. Rule: if the animation delays comprehension, we delete it. A presentation without animation is better than an animated presentation anyhow.
🔎 Concrete example — Concrete example — List that reveals itself without spoilers
1. Select list → Appear → By paragraph
2. Effect options → After animation: fade (light gray)
3. Trigger: On click (you keep the rhythm)
4. Test: the public never reads in advanceReading: each click reveals, fading keeps the thread.
Lesson: “With previous” synchronizes, “After” continues.
Section vocabulary
- Effect families
- Entry (green), Emphasis (yellow), Exit (red), Trajectories: each object can have several.
Simple example: Amel mobilizes “Families of effects” in preparing for the launch.
What it is not: treat “Effect families” as a detail unrelated to the message.
Reflex: Does this choice make the presentation clearer for the audience?
- Animation Pane
- The control panel (Animations → Animation Pane): order, durations, triggers, preview.
Simple example: Amel uses “Animation Pane” while preparing the launch.
What it is not: treat “Animation Pane” as a detail unrelated to the message.
Reflex: Does this choice make the presentation clearer for the audience?
- Start: on click / with / after
- The trigger for each effect: on your click, at the same time as the previous one, or just after it.
Simple example: Amel mobilizes “Start: on click / with / after” in preparation for the launch.
What it is not: treat “Start: on click / with / after” as a detail unrelated to the message.
Reflex: Does this choice make the presentation clearer for the audience?
- By paragraph
- List effect option: bullets appear one by one (instead of the entire block).
Simple example: Amel mobilizes “Par paragraph” in the preparation of the launch.
What it is not: treat “Per paragraph” as a detail unrelated to the message.
Reflex: Does this choice make the presentation clearer for the audience?
- Overview
- The Preview button (or Shift + F5): test the sequence without launching the entire slideshow.
Simple example: Amel mobilizes “Aperçu” in preparing for the launch.
What it is not: treat “Preview” as a detail unrelated to the message.
Reflex: Does this choice make the presentation clearer for the audience?
In practice — The list that follows your speech
- On a 4-bullet slide: Select the text box → Animations → Appear.
- Effect Options → Per Paragraph: Each click will reveal a bullet point.
- Open the Animation pane: switch bullet 2 to “Start after previous” with a delay of 0.5 s — observe the difference in the test.
- Add emphasis (Pulse) to the key figure of the slide, triggered on the final click. Test with Shift + F5.
Script ready to say — Animations: entry, emphasis, exit & trajectories (25 s)
“Animate objects (Animation pane), chain effects and create custom trajectories. Concretely, I check this point before projecting: the animation serves the discourse (progressively revealing) — never the decoration. »
Short wording, to be adapted to the audience and the context of the meeting.
Copy and paste template — “Animations: entry, emphasis, exit & trajectories” checklist
CHECKLIST — Animations: entry, emphasis, exit & trajectories
1. Animation serves the discourse (progressively revealing) — never decoration.
2. Appear or Fade “by paragraph”: useful animation #1, and often the only one necessary.
3. The Animation pane controls everything: order, triggers, durations.
4. Doubt about an animation = delete it. A presentation without animation is always correct, the opposite is not.
EXPECTED RESULT: A controlled progressive revelation: the audience reads what you say, not three bullet points in advance.Express version
Apply only the essentials and the first key point, then check the rendering in projection.
Remote
Share the file and check fonts, contrasts and text size before the video conference.
As a team
Lock in the common model and document choices to keep colleagues consistent.
Printed version
Keep the message titles and the text outline; remove animations that are no longer needed.
✓ Best practices
- Appear/Fade + fade, the winning trio.
- Animate to sequence, not decorate.
- Animation pane: order + trigger checked.
✗ Common pitfalls
- Bounces and spins on serious text.
- All in “With the previous one” (machine gun).
- Animate each bullet differently.
Key takeaways
- The animation serves the discourse (progressively revealing) — never the decoration.
- Appear or Fade “by paragraph”: the #1 useful animation, and often the only one necessary.
- The Animation pane controls everything: order, triggers, durations.
- Doubt about an animation = delete it. A presentation without animation is always correct, the opposite is not.
48 hour challenge — apply tomorrow
Take the list that follows your speech on Amel's launch presentation: On a 4-bullet slide: select the text box → Animations → Appear.. Time 20 minutes and note what has changed for the audience.
- I can explain and apply: Animation serves the discourse (progressively revealing) — never decoration.
- I can explain and apply: Appear or Fade “by paragraph”: the #1 useful animation, and often the only one necessary.
- I can explain and apply: The Animation pane controls everything: order, triggers, durations.
Frequently asked questions
How to copy an animation from one object to another?
The “Reproduce Animation” tool (Animations tab) works like the formatting brush: select the animated object, click the tool, click the target.
My already seen fleas remain too present, can we reduce them?
Yes: Animation pane → effect arrow → Effect options → “After animation” → choose a faded color (light gray): past bullets are visually erased in favor of the current one.
What use is legitimate for an animation?