PowerPoint Content Publishing Team

Each of us has expertise in different areas of PowerPoint and also in certain content types, such as training (Shellie) or templates (Jen). We like to keep our options open when choosing the best content type for a given subject matter. For example, we think showing someone (by demoing) how to use PowerPoint animations is much more effective than writing an article on how to do it.

Creating one source of content for two (or more) different user levels can be tricky but we try to address this by creating different content types. An article with step by step procedures to change theme colors may help an entry level user, whereas a quick demo on SmartArt graphics can quickly help an advanced user move ahead on their presentation. Plus, as we introduce new types of content, we realize that more complicated features or procedures might best be absorbed (or learned) if we package together a demo with an article containing step-by-step procedures. We’re experimenting with new ways to present our content that will hopefully make it easier for people to learn the product more quickly. We’re still learning which types of content work best for different customer aptitudes and how to best cover different levels of feature complexities.

In training courses, there are certain things that people get especially passionate about. One of them is course audio. Early on, we didn’t provide audio narration throughout, but we got persistent pleas to have the full course read aloud, so we implemented full-course audio (that you can turn off if you prefer.) But there will always be people who dislike audio and offer comments such as “I don’t need you to act like my mother and read the text for me.”

Office Online receives over 80 million unique visits per month, so one thing that we did was make it easy for customers to see what other people are reading or looking for. On the PowerPoint home page, you’ll see 3 new tabs: Most Read, Most Searched, and Top Issues. These tabs are populated based on what customers are viewing.

We’ve also received a lot of customer questions about pricing (How much?) and purchasing (Can I buy now?). So, we’ve added links at the top of the page to make it easy for people to try or buy PowerPoint and other Office programs.

In response to customer requests to see how to do something, we’ve started creating more demos. You can see the PowerPoint demos at the Office showcase.

We’re also trying to build a PowerPoint community and make it easy for people to share great Office content. You can now submit your own templates for PowerPoint, Word, Excel, Access, and Publisher 2007 or use the Community clips tool to create and submit your own help video. We’d love to see your PowerPoint tips and tricks!

Another challenge is to be in touch with customers’ needs and pain points. Working closely with those who are developing and testing Office gives us access to the software in an inside way—but it doesn’t always show us what customers need from us or how they use our products in “real life”. The PowerPoint MVPs are an invaluable asset to us in this regard. They show us reality, in a good and vital way.

Another big challenge is, how can we continuously make our content useful and engaging to our customers. The Web is constantly changing, and we strive to continually think outside of the box to keep up with what is going on outside Microsoft. One thing that we’ve done recently is start an Office group on Facebook, Office 2007: Help! I'm lost!. If you use Office 2007, feel free to join our group or send mail to:

We’re aware of the language and cultural differences among the people worldwide who use PowerPoint. We realize that we can’t produce help content for a worldwide audience in one sitting, so we break it down. We produce content for the English-only audience first and then work with our international partners to localize the text and images so that all cultures are embraced and everyone has access to similar information.