Google Slides Tutorial: Themes, Animation and Recording

To learn Google Slides, start with themes, layout tools and animation timing. Google's help pages say new animations default to Appear on click, and that adding or editing animations and transitions needs slides.google.com on a computer. The guides below take each part of building and presenting a deck step by step.

I've sat through plenty of slide decks where the content was great and the slides got in the way. Google Slides makes it easy to build something clean, as long as you know where a few key settings live. I've set those out below from Google's own Docs Editors Help pages, and then listed every Google Slides guide I've written, grouped by what you're trying to do.

One thing to know before you start: Google says that to add or edit animations and slide transitions, you should use slides.google.com on a computer. The phone apps are fine for checking a deck or presenting it, but build the moving parts on a laptop or desktop.

Backgrounds and themes: making a Slides deck look consistent

The fastest way to make a deck look polished is to change things once, for every slide, rather than slide by slide. Google's steps for a background are to click Slide, then Change background, and pick a Color or click Choose next to Image. Then comes the choice that matters: click Done to change only the current slide, or Add to theme to apply it across the whole presentation.

If a deck looks patchy, mismatched backgrounds added one slide at a time are often the reason. Set the background through the theme, and every new slide you add will match. When you need to swap a picture without rebuilding the slide, Google says to right-click the image, click Replace image, choose a source and pick the new one.

Shapes, lines, diagrams and the Arrange menu in Google Slides

Google Slides has more layout tools than most people use. According to Google, Insert, Shape or Insert, Line adds shapes and lines to a slide. The Arrange menu then gives you Order, Align, Distribute, Center on page, Rotate and Group. Those options turn a pile of boxes into a neat layout in seconds, and they're far more accurate than nudging things by eye.

For process slides and timelines, try the built-in diagrams before you draw your own. Google's steps are to go to the slide, click Insert, then Diagram, and choose a style, the number of levels and a template. The diagram lands on the slide, and you can change the text and colours from there.

Choose your background and click Add to theme so every slide matches.
Use Insert, Diagram for timelines and processes before drawing shapes by hand.
Line things up with Arrange, then Align and Distribute, rather than dragging.
Group related items with Arrange, Group so they move together.
Swap pictures with a right-click and Replace image instead of deleting and starting again.

Animation timing in Google Slides: On click, After previous, With previous

Animation is where many decks go wrong, usually because things move at the wrong moment. Google lists three start options. On click starts the animation when you click or press the space bar. After previous starts it once the previous animation ends. With previous starts it at the same time as the previous animation.

Google also says new animations default to Appear, set to On click. The second dropdown changes when the animation starts, the slider changes its speed, and the By paragraph option animates a list one line at a time. That last setting is the one I'd use most: revealing points one by one keeps an audience listening to you instead of reading ahead.

Start option	What Google says it does	When it suits
On click	Starts when you click or press the space bar	Points you want to reveal as you talk
After previous	Starts when the previous animation ends	A short sequence that runs by itself
With previous	Starts at the same time as the previous animation	Two items that should appear together

Recording a talk with Google Slides and what Gemini can do

Slides can record you presenting, which is useful for training sessions or a pitch you can't deliver live. Google says recordings are saved in a My Drive folder called Slides recordings, and you can click Rec and pick one from the list to watch it back. Two limits are worth knowing: if you exceed your Drive storage quota you can't create more recordings, and recordings don't appear in Revision History. Check your Drive space before an important session.

Gemini in Slides can generate images, generate new slides, summarise a presentation, write or rewrite content and reference your Drive files, according to Google. The Generate a slide feature has clear limits on Google's page: it works on desktop only, supports English only and creates only one slide at a time. I'd treat it as a quick first draft for a single slide rather than a way to build a whole deck.

Google Slides guides for design, media and presenting

Each guide covers one job from start to finish. Pick the group that matches what you're working on.

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Design and layout

Removing image backgrounds and changing the slide size. Start here when you're setting up a new deck.

Animation, audio and video

Animations, transitions, GIFs, audio, video and looping a presentation. Useful when a deck needs to move or play media, and best done on a computer.

Presenting, sharing and exporting

Presenting, speaker notes, recording and converting PowerPoint files. Read these before the day you present.

More guides

Vertical slides, timelines and Gemini in Slides. Handy extras once the basics are in place.

How I'd approach your next Google Slides deck

Set the theme and background first, then add content, then animation last. If you animate early, you'll end up redoing it every time you move something. Keep animation to On click reveals for lists, use the Arrange menu to line things up, and test your deck on the computer you'll present from. If you're recording, check your Drive storage before you press Rec, because a full Drive stops the recording feature working.

Frequently asked questions

Can I add animations in the Google Slides phone app?

Google says to use slides.google.com on a computer to add or edit animations and slide transitions.

How do I change the background on every slide at once?

Click Slide, then Change background, choose a colour or image and click Add to theme. Google says Done changes only the current slide.

What does After previous mean in Google Slides animations?

According to Google, After previous starts an animation once the previous one ends. On click waits for a click or the space bar, and With previous starts at the same time as the previous animation.

Where are Google Slides recordings saved?

Google says recordings are saved in a My Drive folder called Slides recordings. You can also click Rec in the presentation and choose one from the list.

Can Gemini build a whole Google Slides presentation for me?

Google's page says the Generate a slide feature creates one slide at a time, works on desktop only and supports English only.

Published and maintained by the Lilach Bullock team, covering marketing, AI and business growth.