Episode Details

PowerPoint is one of the most widely used business applications in the world — but many professionals are only scratching the surface of what it can actually do.
In this episode of the M365 FM Podcast, Mirko Peters talks with Microsoft PowerPoint MVP Fiona Walsh about the PowerPoint features that experienced users still overlook, how organizations can build better corporate templates, and where Microsoft Copilot genuinely helps — and where it still has work to do.
Fiona brings more than 20 years of experience helping organizations improve presentations and presentation skills. Her central point is simple: many PowerPoint problems aren't caused by PowerPoint itself. They're caused by people using the same type of deck for completely different purposes. A presentation designed to be read as a PDF should not look the same as slides supporting a speaker on stage.
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POWERPOINT FEATURES YOU'RE PROBABLY NOT USING
Some of PowerPoint's most valuable capabilities aren't new at all. Fiona explains why even experienced users regularly miss features that have existed for years and how understanding the fundamentals can dramatically speed up everyday presentation work.
The conversation dives into alignment and distribution tools, grouping, the Selection Pane, object layers, and practical ways to understand complex slides created by someone else. Fiona explains why the Selection Pane in particular can become indispensable when dealing with layered objects, grouped elements, maps, diagrams, and complicated corporate slides.
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BUILDING CORPORATE POWERPOINT TEMPLATES THAT ACTUALLY WORK
A corporate template shouldn't simply enforce brand colors and logos. It should make it easier for employees to create good presentations.
Fiona discusses why the Slide Master and available layouts form the foundation of an effective corporate PowerPoint environment. Templates need enough flexibility for different presentation scenarios, including useful title-only layouts, blank layouts and strong image placeholders. Overly restrictive templates often force users to delete placeholders or work around the template instead of benefiting from it.
Good templates also become increasingly important as organizations adopt Copilot. Copilot relies heavily on the layouts available within the presentation template, meaning a poorly designed template can directly limit the quality of AI-generated slides.
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SMARTART WITHOUT THE OUTDATED LOOK
SmartArt has been part of PowerPoint for years, but it doesn't have to look dated.
Fiona explains how to keep SmartArt cleaner and more modern, including avoiding unnecessary 3D effects. The discussion covers newer SmartArt options such as timelines, Meet the Team layouts and text cards, as well as converting ordinary text into SmartArt.
One particularly useful workflow is converting SmartArt into grouped shapes. This gives users much greater control when creating organization charts and other custom diagrams while still benefiting from SmartArt during the initial design process.
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POWERPOINT SHORTCUTS THAT SAVE REAL TIME
You don't need to memorize dozens of keyboard shortcuts to become faster in PowerPoint.
Fiona highlights Ctrl+D for duplicating objects and slides, Ctrl+G for grouping content, and the often-overlooked Quick Access Toolbar. By placing frequently used commands such as alignment tools and the Selection Pane directly on the toolbar, users can dramatically reduce repetitive navigation through PowerPoint's menus.
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WHERE COPILOT IN POWERPOINT ACTUALLY HELPS
Copilot isn't only about asking AI to generate an entire presentation.
Fiona sees significant value in using Copilot before slide creation begins. Users can brainstorm verbally, perform a "brain dump," describe their audience and objectives, and ask Copilot to help structure the presenta