word document presentation styles

• Presentation
• Presentation Agenda
• Presentation Design
• Presentation Outline
• Promotion Presentation
• Project Presentation
• Professional Presentation
• Process Presentation
• Organization Presentation
• Minimalist Presentation

Presentation Template in Word

Download Numerous Templates In Different File Formats Such As Microsoft Word Or Pdf. Use Template.net You Can Create Outputs Such As Marketing Templates To Word Cloud Handouts. These Are Templates That You Can Easily Edit And Use Even If You Do Not Have Any Adobe Illustrator Or Photoshop Experience.

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• Marketing Presentation
• Infographic Presentation
• Event Presentation
• Business Presentation
• Business Plan Presentation
• Basic Presentation
• Presentation Roadmap

There's nothing better than to have the perfect presentation to impress your audience. Create a professionally made presentations with our equally well-written presentation templates. We offer you 100% customizable documents with different designs and formats. All editable templates are suitable for any business and academic purposes—whether for company meetings, restaurant sales, research studies, thesis presentations, insurance agencies, etc. You will have our printable templates downloaded in your devices within minutes! These ready-made templates are made available for personalizing in any device you have with all versions of Microsoft Word. Stop wasting time and get your presentations done without any hassle with our presentation templates today!

How to Prepare Presentations with Microsoft Word

A presentation is a process of presenting a product or topic to an audience intended to inform and demonstrate that particular subject. Creating the perfect presentations will support your pitch and could get you to the next level of your objectives. Presentation materials could be a series of creative slides, brochures , flyers , or posters . The document is your key to impress your viewers. Don't have any idea on how to start one? Feel free to read further to find tips and steps on how to create a presentation effectively.

1. Determine the Presentation's Purpose

First and foremost, you should know the purpose of your presentation materials. Are you using it to present new products or  project proposals ? Do you want to show annual sales? You need to consider your intentions to deliver precise information to your audiences.

2. Choose a Layout Design

Presentations come in different layouts. You need to incorporate your design into the purpose of your material. Most presentation materials have simple arrangements with minimal designs. Others prefer their content to have beautiful backgrounds and a clean layout that makes it look appealing. For example, you are doing a presentation for annual sales report. You can choose designs that help you emphasize  datasheets  and numbers for your material to be readable.

3. Pick a Presentation Template

If you don't want to waste time creating presentations from scratch, look for presentation templates on our site that fits your preferences well. These ready-made templates come with unique and aesthetic designs that you can freely adjust. You will find different styles and themed materials to suit any field you are assigned. The editable templates are downloadable in any device you have, along with its graphic designs in file formats like Microsoft Word.

4. Come Up with Essential Details

Once you have your presentation templates with you, start filling in the details you need. Presentations need to be short and precise. You have to summarize your topics no matter how broad it is. Even if it's an annual business report or  proposals , your audiences won't be interested in it if you have wordy slides to present. Make sure you have displayed the critical areas of your topic and have it straightforward. 

5. Finalize Infographics 

It is better to add infographics like charts , timelines, and illustrations on your presentation to avoid making your material dull and boring. Audiences prefer visual content than texts. They take in more information expressed through figures and images than have it in paragraphs. Infographics will also help you summarize your topics and allow you to squeeze them in one graph or chart.

6. Make your Presentation Engaging

Presentations are more fun and enjoyable if you often interact with your viewers. Get your audience to participate in your discussion as much as possible—it prevents your viewers from getting bored. If you are doing a presentation for a product, it is better to bring in a prop like a physical sample, to entertain your viewers more. It's also the same if you are presenting services. Try handing our marketing brochures and flyers to your audiences to have them more engaged.

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55+ Best Microsoft Word Templates (Modern, Downloadable Word Documents)

Microsoft Word is a multipurpose tool you can use to create not just letters and documents but also resumes, brochures, flyers, and everything in between. This collection of Word templates will show you how versatile this software can be.

Whether you’re working on an important report for a client or making a simple flyer for an event, you can save a great amount of time by using a Word template. Templates come with pre-made designs so all you have to do is edit them to copy-paste your own content.

In this post, we share with you all kinds of Word templates you can use to quickly design professional documents without expert design experience.

6,000+ Word Templates & More With Unlimited Downloads

Discover thousands of Microsoft Word templates for your next project with an Envato Elements membership. It starts at $16 per month, and gives you unlimited access to a growing library of over 2,000,000 graphic templates, design assets, themes, photos, and more.

Report Templates

Multiple page styles.

Planner Layouts

Get organised.

eBook Templates

Readable layouts.

Letterheads

Simple & professional.

Resume & CVs

Unique & pro.

Magazine Templates

For word & indesign.

Explore Word Templates

Be sure to keep these Word templates saved on your computer so you can impress your team and clients with amazing document designs.

Brand Guidelines Word Business Template

This brochure template has one of the best designs for making brand guidelines documents. It has pages with clean layouts and beautifully organized structures for content. There are 20 pages in this template and it comes in Word and InDesign formats.

Annual Report Word Document Template

If you’re working on an annual report document with all the highlights of your company’s year, use this template to give your document a professional look. It has 20 unique page layouts with easily editable designs. It’s available in A4 size.

Project Proposal Document Word Template

With this Word template, you can design an attractive project proposal document that wins over your clients. You can easily edit this template using MS Word or InDesign to change the colors, fonts, and images. There are 16 pages in this template.

Professional Brochure Word Template

This is a multipurpose Word brochure template that can be used to create many different types of documents. It has a flexible layout with customizable colors and fonts. The template features 16 pages and comes in A4 and US Letter sizes.

Free Event Planner Word Brochure Template

A free Word brochure template for making a simple event planner. This template includes 6 page layouts, including pages for budget planning, expenses, guest lists, and many others. It’s perfect for creating a planner for a small event.

Company Annual Report Word Template

Design a professional-looking annual report for your company using this Word template. It has 40 different page layouts to choose from with lots of options for customizing the colors and fonts to your preference.

Company Profile Word & InDesign Template

This document template comes in both MS Word and Adobe InDesign formats. You can use whichever software you like to edit the design. The template includes 20 page layouts for making company profile brochures for various types of businesses.

Business Portfolio MS Word Template

Showcase your business portfolio in a professional way using this Word document template. It comes with 20 unique page layouts featuring auto page numbering, paragraph styles, and editable colors.

Brand & Business Profile Word Template

This is a high-quality Word template made for brands and businesses for creating company profiles. There are 20 pages in this template in A4 size. The template is also available in Adobe Illustrator format.

Free Simple Sales Planner Word Template

You can download and use this Word template for free to create a simple sales planner document. The template includes 4 page layouts with printable designs. It’s available in Google Docs and Apple Pages formats too.

Word Resume Template for Developers

This is an easy-to-edit Word resume template ideal for developers and designers looking to make a positive impression. With 100% editable elements, you can personalize colors and text to your liking. The downloadable file includes a resume and cover letter templates in MS Word, AI, and EPS formats.

Word Resume Template for Marketers

A fully customizable, professionally designed Word resume template ideal for freelancers and marketers. With clearly labeled layers and customizable text and colors, the template ensures ease of use. It also supports various file formats including MS Word and Illustrator.

Business Plan Brochure Word Template

A comprehensive Word brochure template for creating professional business plan documents. It’s customizable in both Microsoft Word and Adobe Indesign, with full editing capabilities for text, color, and objects. This A4 size, 36-page doc can be printed or turned into a digital document as well.

Creative Invoice Template for Word

A sleek and modern Word template for creating invoices. This A4 size template is fully customizable and print-ready, designed with well-organized layers and optimal 300 DPI, CMYK. The template is available in PSD and AI file formats as well.

Chic Invoice Template for Word

This Word invoice template features a unique blend of sleek design and functionality. Tailored to exude a chic, feminine aesthetic, this template ensures your invoices reflect your style. It’s set to A4 size, with neatly organized layers and a print-ready resolution of 300 DPI in CMYK.

Conference Agenda Word Template

This is a versatile Word template for constructing professional conference agenda documents. It’s compatible with Microsoft Word and Adobe InDesign and can be printed or converted to PDF. The 16-page, editable A4-sized document allows customization of text, color, and objects. It includes automated page numbers and paragraph and character styles.

Corporate Brochure Word Template

This Word brochure template is ideal for creating professional corporate documents. Supporting A4 size with a bleed area of 0.25 inches, this template offers 24 customizable pages, easy color, text, and image changes as well as page order adjustments. It’s compatible with InDesign, Photoshop, and MS Word.

Company Brochure Word Template

Another stylish Word brochure template for modern firms and companies for creating captivating documents. With it, you can tailor A4-sized, 16-page brochures in Indesign, Photoshop, or MS Word. You can also adjust colors, text, images, and page layout conveniently.

Product Catalog Template for Word

This is an editable brochure template suitable for print or digital use. It’s perfect for creating minimalist product catalogs for modern furniture brands. The template is compatible with Microsoft Word and Adobe InDesign, and also features A4 size, a 6-page document setup, and editable text, color, and objects.

Nonprofit Fundraising Flyer Word Template

This is a fully editable brochure template for Word, perfect for creating flyers for nonprofit fundraising events. It’s a two-page document that can be used for both print and digital flyers. The template offers the flexibility for customizing text, colors, and objects, utilizing paragraph and character styles, and comes with a detailed file guide for easy editing.

Professional CV & Resume Word Template

Designing a resume is not just about creating a document of information, it also needs to be attractive enough to grab the attention of the employer. With a beautiful template like this, you’ll have a higher chance of making a CV that lands you an interview. It comes in multiple file formats and includes a cover letter design as well.

Creative Word Resume Template

If you’re a creative professional applying for a job, this Word template will help you design a stylish CV that makes your application stand out from the rest. It comes in Word, Photoshop, and Illustrator file formats. And has a fully customizable design and layouts.

Kopec – Word Magazine Template

This Word document template is perfect for designing a modern magazine for a brand or business. It comes with minimal and stylish page layouts with a multipurpose design. The template is also available in Word, InDesign, and Illustrator file formats.

Skrup – Modern Magazine Word Template

Another magazine template for making documents and brochures for showcasing your business. This template comes in A4 size with modern page layouts that you can easily customize to your preference. It’s also available in multiple file formats.

Free Elegant Word Invoice Template

This is a simple free Word template you can use to create invoices. It has a clean and minimal design that’s ideal for creative professionals and freelancers. The template is free to download and use.

Event & Conference Flyer Word Template

If you’re working on promoting an event or conference, this Word template will help you craft a modern and attractive flyer to promote the event. It includes two versions of flyers with different colors. And it comes in Word, Photoshop, and InDesign file formats as well.

Company Brochure Word Document Template

With 32 different page layouts to choose from, this Word document template will allow you to design professional brochures for various types of companies. It has modern and visual page designs with editable paragraph styles. The template is also available in InDesign format.

Company Profile Word DOCX Template

This Word template is designed for making professional brochures for showcasing a company profile. It comes with 20 different page layouts with editable colors, shapes, paragraph styles, and much more.

Resume & Cover Letter Word Templates

A different style of a resume template that features a creative design. This resume lets you showcase your skills and experience in a visual way. It comes with a cover letter template as well. You can edit it using Word, InDesign, or Photoshop.

Free Word Resume CV Template for Freelancers

This is a basic resume template designed with freelancers in mind. It’s ideal for putting together a simple CV when applying for remote jobs. The template features free Google Fonts and a fully editable layout.

Modern Word Resume Template

This is one of the best Word resume templates we’ve ever seen. It features a truly one-of-a-kind design with many shapes and creative elements. If you want to create a resume that makes you stand out, this is the template for you. The template comes complete with a resume design, cover letter design, and portfolio template.

Classic MS Word CV Resume Template

Even though this resume template has a modern look, it also features lots of classic vintage design elements as well. This makes it ideal for creating a resume for a creative professional. In addition to the Word templates, it’s available in several other formats including Photoshop, Illustrator, and EPS. So you can edit it using any software you like.

Word Resume & Cover Letter Template Kit

Another modern and creative Word resume template kit that includes a CV template, cover letter template, and portfolio template. It has everything you need to create a unique resume that will highlight your application among hundreds of others. The template is fully customizable and comes in multiple formats.

Project Proposal Word Document Template

Many agencies and businesses still use the same old designs for creating documents. With this modern Word document template, you’ll be able to create brochures unlike anything your clients have seen before. It’s most suitable for creating project proposals but you can customize it to create other types of documents as well.

Business Plan MS Word Document Template

Looking for a Word document template to design a business brochure? Then this template will come in handy. It comes with 20 pages with multipurpose designs you can use to create business plan brochures, project proposals, company profiles, and much more. The template is available in both Word and InDesign formats.

Free Event Brochure Template for Word

You can use this Word template to create a tri-fold brochure to promote an event or a conference. The template is free to download and use. It also comes in multiple formats including Word, Apple Pages, and InDesign.

Free Tri-Fold Word Brochure Template

This free Word template is perfect for creating brochures for corporate agencies and businesses. It features a dark and modern design that attracts attention. The template is available in Word, Google Docs, Apple Pages, and Photoshop formats.

Creative Word Letterhead Template

Tired of using the same boring letterhead designs? Then this Word template will help you create a unique letterhead design for your brand. It features a very modern and creative design that will fit in perfectly for freelancers and agencies. You can easily edit the template to change colors and illustrations as well.

Word Letterhead & Envelope Template Kit

This is a complete stationery kit for Microsoft Word. It includes multiple letterheads and envelops templates in Word, Photoshop, and Illustrator file formats. The colorful and modern design of these templates makes them most suitable for creative agencies and brands.

Professional Newsletter Template for MS Word

This is a newsletter template that you can customize with Microsoft Word, InDesign, or Apple Pages. It comes with 16 page layouts with professional designs. You can customize each page to your preference to create an attractive newsletter for your brand or agency.

Minimal Word Newsletter Template

If you prefer to create a newsletter with rather a minimalist design, this template is made just for you. It features 4 different page layouts with editable layouts that are available in A4 and US Letter sizes. You can also edit the templates using both MS Word and Adobe InDesign.

Word Brochure Template for Agencies

A modern Word brochure template for making various documents for agencies. This template is perfect for crafting company profiles and agency portfolios. It includes 14 unique page layouts in A4 and US Letter sizes. The template is also available in Word and InDesign file formats.

Free Business Brochure Word Document Template

This is a free Word document template you can use to create a basic brochure for a business. It includes beautiful page layouts that you can customize to your preference. The template also comes in A4 and US Letter sizes.

Free Bi-Fold Word Brochure Template

You can use this Word template to create an elegant bi-fold brochure to promote a creative business. It’s most suitable for designers and photographers. The template can be customized with Word, Google Docs, Apple Pages, and InDesign.

Corporate Business Flyer Word Template

Did you know that you can design posters and flyers using Microsoft Word? Here’s proof. This template allows you easily make a flyer in Word. It features a professional design that’s ideal for printing flyers for a small business or agency. The template also comes in Photoshop and Illustrator formats.

Meetup Event Flyer Word Template

You can use this Word template to create a flyer for a meetup event. The bright colorful design will definitely help attract the attention of your audience more easily. The template is available in A4 and US letter sizes. You can customize it using InDesign, Photoshop, or Illustrator as well.

Trendy Word Letterhead Template

This Word template is perfect for creating unique letterheads for creative brands, agencies, and freelancers. It has a colorful design that will instantly grab the attention of your clients. The template is easily customizable and you can change its colors however you like.

Proposal Brochure Template for Word

Agencies and freelancers have to create project proposals all the time. Keep this Word template saved on your computer to easily make modern proposal brochures without effort. The template includes 26 unique page layouts in Word and InDesign file formats.

Modern Word Invoice Template

A good-looking invoice is a must for every creative business. This template will allow you to craft an attractive invoice design for your business. You can easily edit the template to change colors using Word, Illustrator, or Photoshop.

Clean & Minimal Word Invoice Template

Another beautiful invoice template with a minimal design. This Word template is perfect for making sophisticated invoices for freelancers and creative agencies. The template can be customized with InDesign or MS Word.

Free Word Resume Template

Looking for a resume template with a simple design? Then this Word template is perfect for you. It features a modern and creative resume design that you can customize using Word, Adobe XD, Sketch, or Photoshop.

Free Creative Resume Template for MS Word

Another creative resume template for crafting CV resumes for designers and freelancers. This template features seven sections for showcasing your details, skills, and experience. It’s also available in multiple file formats.

Modern Company Profile Word Document Template

If you want to create a brochure to showcase your company in an attractive way, this Word template will help. It includes 16 unique page layouts you can use to design different kinds of company profile brochures.

Elegant Word Letterhead Template

This letterhead template has a very elegant and classy design. It’s most suitable for high-end businesses and luxury brands. The template comes in light and dark color themes as well.

MS Word CV Resume Template

A creative and colorful resume template that’s ideal for freelancers. This template comes with a CV template, cover letter template, and portfolio template for creating a complete resume to showcase your skills.

Business Invoice Template for Word

You can use this Word template to design invoices for agencies, freelancers, or even corporate businesses. It’s easily editable and comes in Word, InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator file formats.

MS Word Stationery Templates Kit

This is a complete kit of Word templates you can use to design a branded set of stationery for your business. It includes templates for letters, contracts, business cards, project proposals, and everything in between.

If you’re looking for more templates, check out our best Word brochure templates collection.

How to Apply Styles in Word: A Step-by-Step Guide

Applying styles in Word can be a nifty way to make your document look more professional and consistent. Styles are predefined formats for different parts of your text, like headings, paragraphs, or titles. Instead of manually adjusting the font size, color, or spacing every time, you can just click a style and voila! Your text transforms instantly. Let’s dive into how to do this step by step, shall we?

Step by Step Tutorial: How to Apply Styles in Word

Before we get into the nitty-gritty, let’s understand what these steps will do. By following them, you’ll be able to apply various styles to your document, making it more visually appealing and easier to navigate.

Step 1: Open the ‘Styles’ Pane

Open the ‘Styles’ pane by clicking the ‘Home’ tab and then clicking on the ‘Styles’ group. The ‘Styles’ pane is like your control center for all things formatting. It’s where you’ll find a list of styles to choose from.

Step 2: Select the Text

Click and drag your cursor over the text you want to apply a style to. Make sure you’ve selected only the text you want to change. If you accidentally select too much, just click again to deselect.

Step 3: Apply a Style

Click on the style you want to apply from the ‘Styles’ pane. Your selected text will automatically update to match the style’s formatting. You can apply styles to anything from titles and headings to quotes and references.

Step 4: Modify a Style (Optional)

Right-click on a style in the ‘Styles’ pane and choose ‘Modify’ to change its formatting. This step is optional but handy if you want to tweak a style to better suit your needs. You can change things like font size, color, or spacing.

Step 5: Create a New Style (Optional)

Click the ‘New Style’ button in the ‘Styles’ pane to create your own custom style. Again, this is an optional step, but it’s perfect if you can’t find a preset style that fits what you’re looking for. You can name your style and set all its formatting options from scratch.

After you complete these actions, your document will have a cohesive look that’s easy on the eyes. The styles you’ve applied will make it simpler for readers to follow your train of thought and understand the structure of your content.

Tips for Applying Styles in Word

• Always preview a style before applying it to see how it will look on your text.
• Use heading styles to create an automatic table of contents.
• Assign shortcut keys to your frequently used styles for quicker formatting.
• Remember to update all instances of a modified style in your document.
• Utilize the ‘Clear Formatting’ option to remove styles if you change your mind.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a ‘style’ and ‘formatting’.

A ‘style’ is a set of formatting attributes saved under one name, while ‘formatting’ refers to the individual attributes like font size or color.

Can I apply more than one style to a piece of text?

No, you can only apply one style to a piece of text at a time, but you can modify a style to include all the formatting attributes you need.

Can I save my custom styles to use in other documents?

Yes, you can save your custom styles to the ‘Quick Styles’ gallery for easy access in other documents.

Will the styles I apply in Word look the same on other computers?

Styles should look consistent across different computers, but there might be slight variations if the other computer doesn’t have the same fonts installed.

Can I share my custom styles with someone else?

Yes, you can share your custom styles by sending someone the document template that contains them.

• Open the ‘Styles’ pane.
• Select the text.
• Apply a style.
• Modify a style (optional).
• Create a new style (optional).

Applying styles in Word is not just about making your document look good; it’s about creating a structure that enhances readability and comprehension. Whether you’re working on a school assignment, a business report, or a personal project, mastering the use of styles can save you time and effort. It’s about working smarter, not harder. Remember, consistency is key in professional documents, and styles are your best friend to achieve that polished look. So, go ahead and give it a try. Experiment with different styles, modify them to fit your taste, or create your own. The possibilities are endless, and once you start using styles, you’ll wonder how you ever managed without them. Happy styling!

Matt Jacobs has been working as an IT consultant for small businesses since receiving his Master’s degree in 2003. While he still does some consulting work, his primary focus now is on creating technology support content for SupportYourTech.com.

His work can be found on many websites and focuses on topics such as Microsoft Office, Apple devices, Android devices, Photoshop, and more.

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Presentation templates

Captivate your audience with customizable business presentation templates. whether you're pitching clients, wooing investors, or showing off your latest wins, there are presentation templates that'll suit your next meeting..

Free slide templates for presentations

Presentation decks can make or break your speech—don't risk boring or unprofessional slides distracting from your message. Set yourself up for success with free, eye-catching presentation templates that don't require graphic design skills to use. Whether you're pitching to investors or sharing a class project, using presentation templates allows you to focus on the content of your work without worrying about the design. Explore presentation templates for pitch decks, annual reviews, and conference slides, and get ready to wow your audience. Choose a presentation template and customize it with your business's branding and logo. If you work in a creative field, don't shy away from bold designs and vivid colors . Presentation templates offer versatile options for personalizing—get creative by customizing your template or opt for adding your own text to existing designs. When you use a template at your next meeting, you'll turn a simple presentation into an opportunity to impress. To make presenting even easier, you can download your template in a variety of formats, like PowerPoint and PDF, or share it digitally with your colleagues.

The 8 Types of Presentation Styles: Which Category Do You Fall Into?

Updated: December 16, 2020

Published: September 24, 2018

Types of Presentations

• Visual Style
• Freeform Style
• Instructor Style
• Coach Style
• Storytelling Style
• Connector Style
• Lessig Style
• Takahashi Style

Everyone on the internet has an opinion on how to give the “perfect” presentation.

One group champions visual aids, another thinks visual aids are a threat to society as we know it. One expert preaches the benefits of speaking loudly, while another believes the softer you speak the more your audience pays attention. And don’t even try to find coordinating opinions on whether you should start your presentation with a story, quote, statistic, or question.

But what if there wasn’t just one “right” way to give a presentation? What if there were several? Below, I’ve outlined eight types of presentation styles. They’re used by famous speakers like Steve Jobs and Al Gore -- and none of them are wrong.

Check out each one and decide which will be most effective for you.

Types of Presentation Styles

1. visual style.

What it is: If you’re a firm believer slides simply exist to complement your talking points, this style is for you. With this speaking style, you might need to work a little harder to get your audience engaged, but the dividends can be huge for strong public speakers, visionaries, and storytellers.

When to use it: This style is helpful when speaking to a large audience with broad interests. It’s also great for when you need to throw together slides quickly.

Visual style presenter: Steve Jobs

2. Freeform Style

What it is: This impromptu style of presenting doesn’t require slides. Instead, the speaker relies on strong stories to illustrate each point. This style works best for those who have a short presentation time and are extremely familiar with their talking points.

When to use it: Elevator pitches, networking events, and impromptu meetings are all scenarios in which to use a freeform style of speaking. You’ll appear less rehearsed and more conversational than if you were to pause in the middle of a happy hour to pull up your presentation on a tablet.

Freeform style presenter: Sir Ken Robinson

3. Instructor Style

What it is: This presentation style allows you to deliver complex messages using figures of speech, metaphors, and lots of content -- just like your teachers and professors of old. Your decks should be built in logical order to aid your presentation, and you should use high-impact visuals to support your ideas and keep the audience engaged.

When to use it: If you’re not a comfortable presenter or are unfamiliar with your subject matter (i.e., your product was recently updated and you’re not familiar with the finer points), try instructor-style presenting.

Instructor style presenter: Al Gore

4. Coach Style

What it is: Energetic and charismatic speakers gravitate towards this style of presenting. It allows them to connect and engage with their audience using role play and listener interaction.

When to use it: Use this presentation style when you’re speaking at a conference or presenting to an audience who needs to be put at ease. For example, this style would work well if you were speaking to a group of executives who need to be sold on the idea of what your company does rather than the details of how you do it.

Coach style presenter: Linda Edgecombe

5. Storytelling Style

What it is: In this style, the speaker relies on anecdotes and examples to connect with their audience. Stories bring your learning points to life, and the TED’s Commandments never let you down: Let your emotions out and tell your story in an honest way.

When to use it: Avoid this style if you’re in the discovery phase of the sales process. You want to keep the conversation about your prospect instead of circling every point or question back to you or a similar client. This style is great for conference speaking, networking events, and sales presentations where you have adequate time to tell your stories without taking minutes away from questions.

Storytelling style presenter: Jill Bolte Taylor

6. Connector Style

What it is: In this style, presenters connect with their audience by showing how they’re similar to their listeners. Connectors usually enjoy freeform Q&A and use gestures when they speak. They also highly encourage audience reaction and feedback to what they’re saying.

When to use it: Use this style of presenting early in the sales process as you’re learning about your prospect’s pain points, challenges, and goals. This type of speaking sets your listener at ease, elicits feedback on how you’re doing in real time, and is more of a dialogue than a one-sided presentation

Connector style presenter: Connie Dieken

7. Lessig Style

What it is: The Lessig Style was created by Lawrence Lessig , a professor of law and leadership at Harvard Law School. This presentation style requires the presenter to pass through each slide within 15 seconds. When text is used in a slide, it’s typically synchronized with the presenter’s spoken words.

When to use it: This method of presentation is great for large crowds -- and it allows the speaker to use a balance of text and image to convey their message. The rapid pace and rhythm of the slide progression keeps audiences focused, engaged, and less likely to snooze.

Lessig style presenter: Lawrence Lessig

8. Takahashi Style

What it is: This method features large, bold text on minimal slides. It was devised by Masayoshi Takahashi , who found himself creating slides without access to a presentation design tool or PowerPoint. The main word is the focal point of the slide, and phrases, used sparingly, are short and concise.

When to use it: If you find yourself in Takahashi’s shoes -- without presentation design software -- this method is for you. This style works well for short presentations that pack a memorable punch.

Takahashi style presenter: Masayoshi Takahashi

Slides from one of Takahashi’s presentations:

Whether you’re speaking on a conference stage or giving a sales presentation , you can find a method that works best for you and your audience. With the right style, you’ll capture attention, engage listeners, and effectively share your message. You can even ask an  AI presentation maker  tool to create presentations for you in your preferred style

Don't forget to share this post!

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How to Format a Word Document to Look Professional

Last Updated: March 14, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Megaera Lorenz, PhD . Megaera Lorenz is an Egyptologist and Writer with over 20 years of experience in public education. In 2017, she graduated with her PhD in Egyptology from The University of Chicago, where she served for several years as a content advisor and program facilitator for the Oriental Institute Museum’s Public Education office. She has also developed and taught Egyptology courses at The University of Chicago and Loyola University Chicago. There are 18 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 27,873 times. Learn more...

Whether you’re writing a research paper for class, composing an article for a newsletter, or trying to create the perfect cover letter, you’ll want your Word doc to look as polished and professional as possible. Fortunately, Word gives you all the tools you need to make your documents stand out and look great. In this article, we’ll talk you through the basics—like how to adjust your font or pick the right paragraph style—as well as some more advanced tips and tricks, like turning on hidden formatting marks.

Formatting Basics

• To choose a font, go to the Home tab at the top of your document. Select the font you like best from the drop-down font menu at the right side of the menu ribbon.
• There are hundreds of fonts to choose from, but try to stick to fonts with a simple, classic look to keep your document looking professional and easy to read. Avoid anything overly elaborate or artsy.

• While Comic Sans is a popular and easy-to-read sans-serif font, it’s gained a bit of a bad rap for looking childish and unprofessional. Avoid using comic sans if you want your doc to have a polished and mature look.

• Type the text you’d like to use for a heading. For instance, you might write something like “Section 1” or “Introduction.”
• Select the heading text.
• Open the Home tab and go to the Styles section of the ribbon menu, at the top right side of the document.
• Select the heading style you want from the list of styles. For instance, if you’re creating a top-level heading, select Heading 1 . For subheadings, choose Heading 2 or Heading 3 .

• It works well to combine serif fonts in the headings with sans-serif fonts in the body of your document. For instance, you might use Didot for your headings and Gill Sans for the body text.
• If you don’t want to change the font of each heading manually, go to the Home tab and open the Styles Pane . Select the drop-down menu for the heading style you want, choose Modify Style… and select the font you want.

• You can also change the text alignment by going to the Format menu at the top of your screen and picking Paragraph from the drop-down list. Set the alignment to Left in the general settings menu.
• While left alignment looks best in most cases, there are exceptions. For instance, you will typically center the title and author lines at the top of a paper. You might also choose to center your headings.
• In most cases, it’s best to avoid using the “justify” alignment, which makes the text even on both the right and left sides. This formatting style works best in documents written in narrow columns, like brochures, magazine articles, and newsletters. [6] X Research source

• Word’s default combination of 12-point font size and 1 in (2.5 cm) margin size is required by a lot of professional citation and formatting styles, like APA and MLA. [8] X Research source If you’re completing a writing assignment for class or a publication, check the guidelines about margins and font size.
• While you can make your margins smaller, your document will be less readable and pleasant to look at if the text crowds the edges of the page.

• You can also use the Layout tab in Word to automatically indent each paragraph. Set the Indent setting in the middle of the ribbon menu to the desired size. For example, set the Left indent to .5 inches (1.3 cm). Every time you hit ⏎ Return to start a new paragraph, it will be automatically indented.
• You can also make these adjustments by opening up Paragraph… in the Format dropdown menu. Set the exact indent size you want in the Indentation section of the settings window.
• If you’d rather use Tab ↹ to indent each paragraph, you can also adjust the tab stop setting to change the size of the indent. Go to the Home tab and click the Increase Indent or Decrease Indent buttons in the central paragraph section of the ribbon menu. [10] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source

• You can also simply hit ⏎ Return twice after each paragraph to create an extra line space.
• To apply your preferred paragraph spacing automatically to the whole document, change the paragraph spacing settings in the Layout tab.
• Alternatively, go to the Design tab at the top of your document and select the Paragraph Spacing dropdown menu. Select the preset spacing you want to automatically apply the style to your entire document.

• If you’ve already started writing your document, you’ll need to select the text you want to format first. Otherwise, simply set your line spacing before you start writing.
• If your document doesn’t have any particular spacing requirements, you can still adjust the spacing to make it easier to look at. Open the Line Spacing menu in the Home tab to enter a custom amount of space between each line (such as 1.08 spaces). [16] X Research source

Advanced Techniques

• If you find a problem—such as a paragraph marker where there’s not supposed to be one—you can simply delete it to resolve any troublesome formatting issues. For instance, blank paragraphs can sometimes cause unwanted extra pages to appear in your document with no content.
• You can even fine-tune which formatting marks are visible, if you like. In Word for Windows, go to the File menu, then open Options and select Display . Go to the Always show these formatting marks on the screen section to select which marks you want to see.
• If you’re using a Mac, go to the Word menu, then open Preferences and select View . Select the marks you want to see under Show Non-Printing Characters .

• Open the Format menu and select Font . Select the Advanced tab and check the box next to Kerning for fonts .
• In the Points and above box, adjust the point size you want the kerning to apply to. It should automatically fill in the current point size for the font you’re using.

• Click the Autoformat as You Type tab.
• Go to the Replace as you type section.
• Check the box next to Straight quotes with smart quotes .
• While you’re at it, you can also adjust other autoformatting options, such as replacing double dashes (--) with a single long em-dash (–).

• Go to the Home tab and open the Styles Pane .
• Select the style you want, then open the drop-down menu for the style and select Modify…
• Make any adjustments you want to the style in the Modify Style window. For instance, you can change the font size and color, or make adjustments to paragraph or line spacing.
• You can also right-click the style you want in the ribbon menu (or use Ctrl -click if you’re on a Mac) and select Modify Style .
• If you want a different set of preset styles to work with, go to the Design tab at the top of your document and choose one of the themes from the ribbon menu. This will change the overall look of your document.

Expert Q&A

You Might Also Like

Expert Interview

Thanks for reading our article! If you'd like to learn more about making effective presentations, check out our in-depth interview with Vikas Agrawal .

• ↑ https://edu.gcfglobal.org/en/business-communication/choosing-fonts-for-business-documents/1/
• ↑ https://accessibility.psu.edu/legibility/fontface/
• ↑ https://iteach.msu.edu/my-campus-ties/groups/accessible-course-design-learning-community/stories/170
• ↑ https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/how-typography-determines-readability-serif-vs-sans-serif-and-how-to-combine-fonts-629a51ad8cce/
• ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/align-text-left-or-right-center-text-or-justify-text-on-a-page-70da744d-0f4d-472e-916d-1c42d94dc33f
• ↑ https://ontariotraining.net/to-justify-or-not-to-justify-text/
• ↑ https://www.ferrum.edu/downloads/careers/cover-letters.pdf
• ↑ https://columbiacollege-ca.libguides.com/microsoft-word/margins
• ↑ https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/paper-format/paragraph-format
• ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/set-tab-stops-and-paragraph-indents-in-microsoft-word-34361115-2b5a-9fcc-2d34-9d7c9e007b71
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/job_search_writing/job_search_letters/cover_letters_1_quick_tips/quick_formatting_tips.html
• ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/change-spacing-between-paragraphs-ee4c7016-7cb8-405e-90a1-6601e657f3ce
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_general_format.html
• ↑ https://edu.gcfglobal.org/en/word2013/line-and-paragraph-spacing/1/
• ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/show-or-hide-tab-marks-in-word-84a53213-5d02-404a-b022-09cae1a3958b
• ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/change-the-spaces-between-text-e9b96011-1c42-45c0-ad8f-e8a6e4a33462
• ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/smart-quotes-in-word-702fc92e-b723-4e3d-b2cc-71dedaf2f343
• ↑ https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/customize-or-create-new-styles-d38d6e47-f6fc-48eb-a607-1eb120dec563

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How to Create Professional Reports and Documents in Microsoft Word

This guide examines the elements of a professional report and reviews the structuring, styling, and finalizing of your document in Microsoft Word.

If Microsoft Office had been a country, it would have been the third most populous country in the world. 1.2 billion people using a single suite of apps is mind-boggling. And, they "speak" 107 languages!

But right now, you and I are speaking in English and we are going to talk about the most popular tool in the Microsoft Office arsenal -- Microsoft Word 2016 .

This document editor is used for writing a variety of documents. From a simple application to the necessary resume. From a plain bucket list to an office memo. We think we can work with Word. But it is when we sit down to write a serious professional report, we discover an important fact.

Professional report writing needs a different set of skills.

So, ask yourself this -- can you make the leap from a single document to a lengthy report? Do you know all the Microsoft Word features that will help manage this large scale document project? Can you collaborate on the work with other team members?

You may be a student, a small business owner, or an office worker...you will need to create a report or a professionally formatted document of some kind. This MakeUseOf guide will help you update your techniques and sharpen your design approach.

In this guide:

Writing a Report -- Introduction | The Report Checklist

Useful Microsoft Word Tools -- Paste Special | Researcher | Freeze Parts of Your Document

Work on the Layout & Design -- Intro | Cover Page | Table of Contents | Header and Footer | Page Numbers | Font Styling | Paragraph Styling | Page Breaks | Styles and Themes | Captions | Quick Parts | Page Borders

References and Collaboration -- Index | Bibliographies | Cross-Referencing | Comments

Finalize Your report -- Signatures | Watermarks | Read Only | Print to PDF

The Next Step -- Conclusion

Writing a Report

Report writing involves research and then publishing the outcome of that analysis. In the professional world, the "look" or appearance of what you publish is paramount. The eye-pleasing final result could burnish your reputation and enhance your personal brand.

The steps below will handhold you through the expert features in Microsoft Word 2016. Spend a lot of time on a plan. Start with these guidelines…

Step 1: Decide the Purpose

Before you begin the report, you must first know why you are writing it in the first place. Reports are of many kinds but they are either meant to inform or persuade. It can be meant for describing a technical process, sharing background information, or demonstrate progress on a project.

Ask yourself – What and Why . This will help you distill the purpose to the one main point and stick to it instead of rambling on with unnecessary details.

Step 2: Identify Your Audience

The second important consideration is to evaluate your audience. Will they be able to understand what you are talking about? Are there different levels of readers who will read the report? The reader's knowledge of the subject will greatly influence the information that you need to include.

Decide on the primary audience and then script the report at the adequate technical level. The secondary audience can be supported with supplemental information at the end of the report.

Step 3: Know Your Topic

You must know what you are talking about. So, research the topic, and include all the relevant information to prove your point. Make sure that you come to a conclusion based on facts and not personal opinion. The information must be correct, current, and well-referenced.

Also use a variety of resources such as journals, newspaper articles, books, websites, brochures, raw data, annual reports, and speeches to help support your point. Just don't stick to Wikipedia.

Step 4: Outline the Report

You have done the research. There's a ton of information that is waiting to be typed and printed. But wait! Don't drown before you enter the water. Prepare the final outline of the report which will be the chart of waypoints to help you navigate from start to finish. The outline is the blueprint. It will give you a bird's eye view of the land and also show you where you need to fill in the details.

The structure of an idea report can include the following elements:

• Executive Summary
• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• The Body of the Report
• Recommendations
• Bibliography and References

Microsoft Word's Document Outline is a powerful feature that can help you organize a document even before you start filling it with research. Take advantage of brainstorming and mind-mapping templates too.

Step 5: Write, Edit, Proofread, and Finish

Once you have structured your report, it is time to fill out the headers with content. I personally find it best to tackle a little bit of each section, and then bulk it up with information. You can do that if you want, or finish each section as you go down the report structure. Make sure you focus on presenting your ideas and using supportive evidence rather than spelling and grammar first. Outline your argument and write a few sentences that cast your main ideas. If you find something worth quoting, quote it.

Once the majority of your text is written, it is now time to read through it and make sure it flows well. Make sure you guide the reader's understanding with transition words such as "This information shows…", "In other words…", "Similarly…" and do highlight relevant and key points.

Finally, spend time to proofread, check for grammar and spelling , and double-check all relevant information and its logical flow. It is best to leave at least one day to check and proofread your work. Don't try to edit it straight after you think you have finished, as you will tend to miss read what you have written. Get some sleep, and proofread it the next day.

The Report Checklist

Before you go and submit or hand in your report that you have worked so hard on, make sure you have done the following:

• Completed the title page with the Title, Your Name, Date, Who the report is for, and a possible description of what the report is about.
• The contents page has appropriate headings and pages numbers are correct.
• Make sure the introduction covers key points, the scope of the report, and the objective it wants to meet.
• You have added captions above tables and below images/graphs.
• Does the content of the report present the information in a clear way, logical, factual, stay on topic, is to the point?
• Does the conclusion state the results, restate main idea's, and does not include any new information?
• Are the headings and sub headings clearly labeled?
• Are quotes relevant, up-to-date, and correctly referenced?
• Have you used page breaks where appropriate?

Now, let's launch Microsoft Word and take you through the features that will help piece together the draft of your report and present it as a professional document.

Useful Microsoft Word Features for Report Writing

Take these as bite-sized tips and master them one by one.

Microsoft Word is a big howitzer with many nuts and bolts. Let's focus on the key skill sets and the tools you will need to plan, prepare, and present the professional report. The Microsoft Word features we will cover below are also productivity shortcuts that will make your job easier.

Tip: Use Microsoft Word 2016's "Tell Me" assistant to learn more about new features in the Office suite.

Let's start with three preliminary tools...

Use Paste Special

For most of us, when we need to copy text or an image into Word, the CTRL+V shortcut does just fine. But sometimes we might want to paste the copied data into another format, such as Excel data as an image. With the Paste Special command you can discard or specify the format when you paste a picture, presentation data, table, or object from any other program into Word.

You will work a lot with Excel tables and charts in a professional document.

If you just copy what you want and click paste, you will notice that it will insert the data as tables. But, if it is a large area of cells you want to paste, and you do not want to edit it, you may want to paste it as an image, with the extra option to edit it.

In Microsoft Excel: Select and highlight the cells that you want to copy > Press CTRL+C.

In Microsoft Word: Go to Home > Paste > Paste Special . Select Paste Special and from the dialog select Microsoft Office Excel Worksheet Object .

You can resize the data as it was an image, and if you double click, you will be able to edit the values. You can change the table or chart and redesign it. And, if you update the data in the chart or table in Excel, you can automatically refresh the chart in Word.

Try the right-click context menu too. The Paste Special menu pops up:

There are more options to import data from Excel into Word . The Microsoft Office Support page also describes them in detail.

Use the Researcher

Yes, there is Google and Wikipedia. But constantly switching from Word to your browser can hamper your productivity. Office 2016 brings in powerful research integration to this grunt work. The Researcher can not only help you find content from within Microsoft Word but also help you quickly add citations. It uses the Bing Knowledge Graph to find the right content to support your document.

Go to Ribbon > References tab and c Choose Researcher . A pane will open on the right with the search options.

Type a keyword for the topic want to search for and press Enter.

The Results pane shows a list of sources you can use in your document. Choose a topic to explore in detail.

Add the topic to your Microsoft Word document with a click on the plus sign on the top-right. You can also click the plus sign on any result to cite the source in your research document. The cite source helps you support your research with web sources and books.

As we will see later, an annotated bibliography is one of the toughest parts of a document. The Researcher is an intelligent assistant who steps in.

Freeze Part of Your Word Document

Let's take for granted that your professional report will be a long and complex work. You can split the Word window into two panes so that you can view two different parts of a document at the same time. It is a valuable time saver when you want to copy and paste parts from one place to another or refer to one part of the document while working in another.

Go to Ribbon > View tab > Split .

To remove the split, click on Remove Split in the same tab.

The Windows group gives you several options to change the way you work with two or more documents. The features are self-explanatory.

To scroll both documents at the same time, click Synchronous Scrolling in the Window group on the View tab. You can also click on View Side by Side to put two parts of the document next to each other.

Tip: Use Split View to display two different layouts – for instance, Print and Outline. Set the split. Then, click in the pane that you want to change, and then select a different layout on the View tab.

Work on the Layout & Design

The presentation of a report is what gets someone to read a report in the first place, and that is why it is crucial that your report is well presented. If you had the choice of four reports to read, what will you choose?

• A hand written report.
• A document printed in black and white.
• A report printed on normal A4 paper in color.
• A report printed in color, with a catchy title page, neatly bounded, and slick?

You will pick up the fourth report because it will pull you towards it by the visual appearance alone.

The front cover is not the only reason. A well-designed report is easier to read. It is also easier to scan when you don't have time to read. That is why you need to spend some time on your headers and footers, and the different styles and themes. In short – the formatting of every element in the report.

Formatting may seem like a difficult chore, but it is a fun exercise that will exercise all your creative muscles. The key takeaways will be the skills you can apply to anything in Microsoft Office going forward. And the time you will save with all the productivity tips learned here.

Microsoft Word 2016 has a wealthy set of features. These are only some of the ways that your report design can stand out from the rest and be professional. So, let's break down the layout and design skills.

This section will cover these features step-by-step:

• Start with a Cover Page
• Make a Table of Contents
• Create Your Header and Footer
• Add Page Numbers

(Format the Content)

• Pick the Right Fonts
• Style the Paragraphs
• Control Page Breaks
• Use Styles and Themes
• Use Quick Parts
• Decorate with Page Borders

1. Start With a Cover Page

The first page is the first point of contact with your reader. It is also your opportunity to make a favorable impression. Don't let your lack of artistic skills be an excuse because Word takes up the job with its in-built gallery of title pages. All you have to do is marry one to the theme of the report.

Microsoft Word 2016 offers you 16 pre-formatted templates and three more on Office.com.

Go to Insert > Pages Group > Cover Page .

The cover page appears at the beginning of the document by default.

As there are only 16 "official" templates on offer, you may find that all your other peers have the same cover page. So, why not customize it, and make it a bit more unique.

You can design a title page (or cover page) in Microsoft Word that can be an original in the stack. Save it as a template or easily change the design on the fly.

2. Make a Table of Contents

Casual readers scan. Good readers scan first and then dive deep. A table of contents provides the waypoints that help both. When it is a long and complicated document, wouldn't you rather check the lay of the land before you head to the section that interests you?

Consider a Table of Contents (TOC) if your document is more than 10 pages long. You should first make sure you don't need to rearrange any pages in your document before creating the TOC.

In Microsoft Word, you don't have to write the entire TOC by hand. There's a Table of Contents automatic tool under the References tab which takes your outline and designs it for you. Also, you can easily keep it updated when you want to change something.

There are also templates you can download and fit it around the nature of the content. For instance, a TOC for a thesis will look different from that of a company's annual report.

We have a complete tutorial on how to create a table of contents page in Word .

The gist of it is this:

Create the outline and use heading styles to organize the hierarchy. Apply the automatic TOC tool to the heading styles. Word 2016 searches for those headings and then inserts the table of contents into your document. Then you can automatically update your TOC if you make changes in your document.

For more hands-on control, you can also use the Manual Table of Contents style. Word inserts placeholder text and you have to insert and format each content in the list.

3. Create Your Header and Footer

Headers and Footers are important in reports as the main purpose is to provide information about the report on every page. They are the common display areas for page numbers. The header of the document should contain the title of the report, and possibly the name of who created it. The title of the current section is helpful.

The footer, on the other hand, should include the page numbers, date of publication, and other administrative information that is required. Do note that some style guides have special guidelines for headers and footers .

Let's start with the header in your document and give it a unique look.

Select Insert , then select either Header or Footer from the group. The built-in gallery shows you several options you can choose from.

The header and footer space is inserted in your document with placeholder text or table. The Header & Footer Tools opens on the Ribbon for other formatting work like the date, time, or picture.

Enter your text and then select Close Header and Footer .

You can start with a blank header and footer. If you have the design skills, use the Header & Footer Tools to design your own. Master the header and footer space if you want to create custom letterheads for your organization. You can use brand elements like company or organization logos at the top and neatly formatted footnotes at the bottom

Let's try with and modify one of the inbuilt headers. I selected Facet from the gallery.

The final look took two minutes to put together with simple text effects and an icon sourced from the Microsoft Office icon gallery.

The header and footer are in place. But, how do you know where you are in the document? Insert page numbers as the next important signpost.

4. Add Page Numbers

Page numbers look best in the footer (unlike in the header as in the image above). You can add a basic page number from the Insert > Page Number button on the Ribbon. You can also add it from the Design tab that appears when you add the header and the footer.

You have a lot of control over page numbers. Choose from a wide range of number formats and customize them to your needs. In this case, we are adding the number to the footer, but you can put them at the top or even at the margins. In this example, I have placed the page number at the bottom left. But, I would like to change the default look and the format.

For example: Using a "Page X of XXX" makes for a better indicator on a long document.

Select the page number. Go to Insert > Quick Parts . From the drop-down menu, select Field . You can also reach the Field dialog from the Header and Footer Design tab.

Choose NumPages from the long list of field names. From the box on the right, you can pick a specific format. I selected the usual 1, 2, 3. Click OK , and the number of the number of pages will appear. Now all you have to do is add your text such as Page X of XXX, and change the look of the numbers with the usual text formatting tools available from the Home tab.

It now looks like this:

Design the look on any page number in your document and Word updates all the remaining automatically. Page numbers are the most common elements in a footer, but it can also hold any other information like the header. From the options in the Insert group, you can add the date and time, document info, pictures, and more to your header or footer.

Next, we're heading into formatting the content.

The visual draw of your professional report comes together with the "beautification" you apply to the content. Formatting is also an essential step for a document that flows well. So, you must focus a lot of energy on picking the right font, paragraph space, and the colors.

Don't worry. Even, the artistically challenged will find this part easy because Microsoft Word comes packaged with default themes and visual styles. Let's start with the most basic element of a document.

5. Pick and Style the Right Font

Your choice of font in a professional Word report not only determines how the text stands out but also how it is printed. You want both for maximum impact.

You can apply a typeface (i.e. the visual look of the font) to either an entire document or to specific parts of a document. All font choices are available from the Home tab. Go to Home > Font .

The default font in Microsoft Word 2016 is Calibri. Look beyond that as you have lots of others to choose from. If you choose Times New Roman, you may be considered lazy, if you choose Windings, well… I don't think I need to explain that. So make sure you choose a font that is easy to read and suits the report. To play it safe, pick from one of these professional-looking Google fonts ; they're available for free.

Tip: Baskerville and Georgia are good alternatives to the over-used Times New Roman

Try different font pairing for the body text and Headings (and Subheadings). Several websites like FontJoy and TypeWolf will help you experiment with font pairings. You can download and use custom fonts too. But remember the thumb-rule -- never use more than three different typefaces in a document.

For that extra bit of pizazz, try a drop cap to enhance your text .

6. Style the Paragraphs

If you want to have your lines double spaced, or single spaced, you need to change the format of the paragraphs. By changing the spacing, you can make a document easier to read or give the impression that it is longer and that you have put more work into it.

To change the paragraph for the whole document, it is best that you select each block of text; otherwise, if you are using headers in your report, they will change too. Another better option is if you customize the particular style you are using to format the paragraph.

To do this, go to Home > Styles . Right click on the style you want to change and select Modify . Click on Format > Paragraph which is at the bottom of the dialog box. Now, change the spacing, indentation, and alignment for the paragraph. Click OK to close the dialogs.

When you want to change a smaller portion of the document , select what you want to change. Right click on the highlighted text and select Paragraph . The same dialog box as above will appear.

7. Control Page Breaks

A page break -- by its very name -- splits a continuous block of text across two pages. Page breaks are important structural elements for long documents. Word automatically inserts a page break at the end of the page. But in a long document, you can place page breaks where you want them.

To insert a manual page break, click Insert > Page Break. (Keyboard shortcut: CTRL + Enter)

A page break looks like this when you click on the Show/Hide command in the Paragraph group .

But what if you want to keep a bunch of lines together on a page or column and not have them separate because of a page break? The layout is in your control. Click the tiny arrow you see in the bottom right of the Paragraph group.

In the Paragraph box, click Line and Page Breaks. Select from these four pagination options:

• Widow/Orphan control places at least two lines of a paragraph at the top or bottom of a page.
• Keep with next prevents breaks between paragraphs you want to stay together.
• Keep lines together prevents page breaks in the middle of paragraphs.
• Page break before adds a page break before a specific paragraph.

We've also shown how to remove page breaks when necessary.

8. Use Styles and Themes

Styles and themes are perhaps two of the more underused features in Microsoft Word . But I think you should use them at every opportunity to save a lot of time.

But what is the difference between a theme and a style? Microsoft says:

Themes provide a quick way to change the overall color and fonts. If you want to change text formatting quickly, Word Styles are the most effective tools.

So, as themes control the general look with color, effects, and fonts – start with a good theme for your document first. Then , use Styles to dig into the specific portions you want to change the appearance for.

For Themes: Go to the Design tab. Pick a theme from the gallery. You can see previews of what the color combination is like.

For Styles: Select the part of the text you want to change. Go to the Styles group on the Home tab. You can see previews of what they look like. Choose the Style that is suitable for your content. For instance, choose a heading style for the headings in your document. Or, a particular style for any quotes. You can also modify an existing style and create new styles from scratch.

9. Captions

Every picture, chart, or illustration needs a caption to clearly describe it. It is a single line of text, usually located below a graphic. Captions are also an important reference when you need to mention them in another place. Many documents omit this small detail.

It is easy to add a caption. Right-click the illustration you want to add a caption to. Select Add Caption .

In the dialog box, add your caption text and configure the remaining options. Captions can be automatically referenced in Word.

10. Use Quick Parts

Professional documents can get repetitive. This is why you should start using Quick Parts for boilerplate content you reuse all the time. For instance, let's say there is a contract clause you include with every document. Or, some introductory information. Instead of repeated copy-paste, save them as Quick Parts and re-use them again and again.

Quick Parts is also a type of building block . You can see the gallery of all reusable blocks of content in the Building Block Organizer .

Save and reuse your own Quick Parts in two steps:

• Select the phrase, sentence, or other portion of your document that you want to save to the gallery.
• Go to Insert > Text group > Quick Parts > Save Selection to Quick Part Gallery . Change the name and add a description if you like. Click OK .

Just as easily, you can re-use the saved snippet of content.

Place your cursor where you want to insert a selection from the Quick Parts Gallery. Go to Insert > Text group > Quick Parts . Then click the sentence, phrase, or other saved selection you want to reuse.

You will notice three other categories in the Quick Parts menu.

AutoText: Word 2016 has retained the old AutoText feature. It works like Quick Parts for any block of text that you use a great deal. Example: A note you want to use with every document.

Document Property: A set of constant properties that you can include with every document. Example: Company name or author.

Fields: These are predefined elements that update automatically. Example: Date, time, page numbers etc.

Remember, entries for document property can sometimes include information you wouldn't want to share with everyone. So, keep a close eye on these fields and remove the hidden personal data whenever required.

11. Decorate With Page Borders

Page borders look good not only on flyers and invitations. If done right, they can add a touch of class to a document. A variety of line styles and widths and art borders are available from the Design menu on the Ribbon.

Go to Design > Page Borders.

In the Borders and Shading box, use the Page Border tab to design your border.

The settings are self-explanatory. Try Shadow or 3-D with the right colors to add a subtle but elegant border. The Art styles with their clip-art borders might be too garish for professional documents.

Use the four corner buttons in the Preview window to select the sides of the page to draw borders. Click these buttons to remove or add borders, as you wish.

Place the cursor on the first page of a document if you want to put a border around only the first page. You can also put borders around certain pages in a section. Place the cursor in the section — either in the first page of that section or in a subsequent page.

References and Collaboration

A Word report can seem like an unmanageable chore. It's like organizing a million piles of hay into neat little stacks. The idea is to know precisely which stack has the pin you are looking for. These features are meant to make it easier.

1. Create an Index

When writing large documents such as a report that contains a lot of information, a contents page may not be enough. An Index should appear at the end of the document, with page numbers to keywords and information in the report. Create an index to help the reader reference the right information with just the page number.

Make an index if your document has more than 20 pages. Microsoft Word 2016 doesn't let the process overwhelm you. It basically has two parts:

• Select the words or information you want to include in the index.
• Place the index at the right place in your document.

You can scroll through the finished document and mark the words or phrases you want to include in the index or mark them as you go along. Either way, select the text you'd like to use as an index entry or click where you want to insert the entry.

1. Click References > Mark Entry .

2. Edit the text in the Mark Index Entry dialog box. You can also add a sub-entry which further defines the main word you used in the index. You can add multiple levels and each appears indented under the main entry.

3. Under Options , you can also create a cross-reference to another main entry. A reader can use this to refer related information elsewhere in the same document.

4. Use the Page number format to decide on the appearance of the page numbers in the index.

5. Click Mark to mark the index entry. To mark this text everywhere it shows up in the document, click Mark All .

6. Repeat the process for all the words and phrases you want to include in the index.

You have now built your index. Insert it at the right place towards the end of the document.

1. Click on the page where you want to insert the index.

2. Click References > Insert Index .

3. The Index dialog box is displayed. Here you can choose to format the text entries, page numbers, tabs, and leader characters.

4. Choose the appearance from the different formats in the list and check the Preview window on the right. Remember, the Preview window doesn't show you actual index. It is just a "simulation" of how it will look like.

5. Click OK . Your Index is now ready.

Sometimes, you may need to add more entries to the index after you have inserted it on the page. Mark the entry and go to References > Update index to include the new mentions.

Also, add a heading for the index because Word doesn't do it automatically.

2. Creating Bibliographies

Your document is almost done. Now, you need to credit all the other research work and ideas which you have referenced in your document. It's time for a bibliography.

A company report might not need a bibliography but an academic paper isn't finished without one. The bibliography is one of the most painstaking jobs in an academic report. You need to have all your citations in order before you sit down to frame the bibliography. Also, decide on the citation style (typically MLA, APA , or Chicago-style ) as per the guidelines of your subject.

Don't hesitate to take advantage of third-party citation and bibliography generators for constructing this section.

But, Microsoft Word 2016 has a complete toolset to make this process as painless as possible. So, go to the point in the document where you would like to place the bibliography. It's good if you have at least one citation to include, but even if you don't, Word 2016 lets you use a placeholder citation and fill in the sources later.

Click References > Bibliography .

Word offers a few bibliography styles that differ only in their heading names. Choose the appropriate style and then insert citations from the button in the Citations & Bibliography group .

The bibliography tool has a few steps to it. For the sake of brevity, I will direct you to the excellent Microsoft Office help page which is a step-by-step guide.

Some academic papers will ask you to create an annotated bibliography . It is a more fleshed out version of a bibliography with a list of citations to journals, books, articles, and other documents followed by a brief paragraph. The paragraph is a description of the source and how it supports your paper.

3. Cross-Referencing

You can use a cross-reference to help the reader navigate through a long document. At any point in a document, you can tell the reader to refer back to a heading, page number, image, chart, footnote, endnote, and paragraph. A cross-reference link is a neat way to connect related information together. The reader just has to click on the link to go that snippet of information.

Here's how you begin:

1. Select the place for the cross-reference and type the text that tells the reader about it. For instance: "Refer to Chart 3 for future trends."

2. Go to Insert > Cross-reference .

3. In the Reference type box, click the drop-down list to select what you want to link to.

4. The options in the Insert Reference to drop-down will change according to your choice above.

5. In the For Which field, go through the choices and tell Word the exact information to link to.

6. Check the Insert as hyperlink box to create the hyperlink for the referenced information.

7. Click on Insert to include the cross-reference in the document.

Remember, our mention of captions? You can make cross-references to equations, figures, graphs, and tables if you used captions below them.

Word cannot create a cross-reference for something that does not exist. Word will let you know about these errors and also update the cross-references automatically when you change the page number or text of the referenced item.

4. Using Comments

A professional report can be a solitary job or you can take the help of a team to prepare the first draft. The humble Comment is one of the most underused tools of a Word document. It is displayed as a rectangular colored balloon in the margin or in the Reviewing Pane.

You can use comments as small "stickies" or self-notes. Leave little notes to yourself in the margins as you write, edit, and revise your way through a report or a manuscript. Be creative – add extra links to other resources, use them for tips and pointers, link to different parts of a document, or set up a feedback link for your readers. And when you finalize, you can easily remove all comments in Word .

Microsoft Word 2016 is also an enhanced collaborative writing tool. Comments play a huge role in communicating feedback across a team. Here's how the comment system works...

1. Highlight the text you want to add a comment to or click at the end of a text block.

2. Go to Insert > Comment . Type your comment in the box. The comments appear in the markup area on the right. The Print Layout view is usually the best way to see the comments alongside the text.

3. Go to the Review tab and see more options for comments. This tab also shows all the controls for tracking changes and comments in a collaborative document. Use the Markup options to display or hide the comments. For instance: No Markup will hide the comments and the markup area on the right.

Finalize Your Report

Once the bulk of your report is completed and saved, it is time to finalize your report. When I say finalize, I don't mean proofread it. That should be done too. Now, you have to take the security measures to protect the report from unauthorized changes and plagiarism.

These security measures will give an extra level of authenticity to your electronic file before you share it.

This section will cover:

• Insert watermarks
• Make the document 'read only'
• Password protect your document
• Print your document to PDF

1. Signatures

You can add text signature for a personal touch to the report. But a simple text signature does not need any authentication. A digital signature is the better way to protect your document from unauthorized access. A digital signature confirms that the document came from the signer and hasn't been tampered in any way.

Let's create a signature line in Microsoft Word 2016.

In the document, place your cursor where you want to create a signature line.

1. Go to Insert > Text group > Signature Line and click Microsoft Office Signature Line .

2. The Signature Setup dialog box is displayed. Fill the fields as indicated. If you are sending the document to someone else for signing, add instructions for the signer in the field reserved for it ( Instructions to the signer ). The signer can also add give the purpose for the signing if the Allow the signer to add comments in the Sign dialog box is checked.

3. Click on OK and the document will now display a placeholder for the signature.

Enter a signature:

When you need to sign a document with a digital signature, go to the signature line and right-click on it.

You will be prompted to sign with a digital ID. If you don't have one, Microsoft will tell you to get one from a signature service partner.

If you don't have a digital ID, you can just insert a textual representation of a signature line . You can use a written signature or an image that doesn't require authentication.

2. Insert Watermarks

A Microsoft Word watermark is a "fake" but still useful visual indicator for the status of the document. For instance, you can use a watermark that says "Drafts" to differentiate it from the final version of the document. Or, use the watermark to suggest the document is "Copyrighted" or "Confidential".

The "Draft" mark is the most common. But, Microsoft Word gives you several other watermarks to choose from.

1. Go to Design > Page Background and choose Watermark . The Watermark button will be enabled in the Print view only.

2. You can choose a picture or a text watermark from the gallery. Both horizontal and diagonal versions are available. The dialog box gives you all the customization options for the final look of the watermark. Try different fonts, layouts, sizes, and colors.

3. You can type your own text in the Text field to create your custom watermark.

4. Choose OK to apply the watermark to your document. Word automatically applies the watermark to every page except the title page.

3. Make Documents "Read Only"

A professional report by its nature should not need to be edited by its readers. Converting the document to a PDF is one way. But, you can also apply a few more restrictions in Microsoft Word and prevent accidental modification or omission of any kind.

There are three ways to protect a document.

First -- Make your document "read only".

This ensures that your document can only be read or copied. It won't prevent anyone from copying the file and making changes to the copy.

1. Go to the File tab > Info > Protect Document > Mark as Final.

2. When readers open a document, a bar on top will prompt readers to treat this document as read only. But, they can click on "Edit Anyway" to open the document in Edit mode.

Second -- Password Protect Your Document.

Protect your document from unwanted edits with a password barrier.

1. Under Protect Document , choose Encrypt with Password . Type a password and click OK .

2. In the Confirm Password box, type the password again, and then click OK . The document will open with the reader prompted for a password.

Microsoft uses the AES (Advanced Encryption Standard), 128-bit key length, SHA1 (a cryptographic hashing algorithm which generates an almost unique 160-bit key to replace the plaintext), and CBC (cipher block chaining) to give a hacker a well-deserved headache.

Third -- Restrict Editing.

This control feature helps you as the author decide which parts of the document others can edit and which will be locked out. Think of it as the bouncer who lets the VIPs in but otherwise bars the door for the common folk.

1. Go to Review > Restrict Editing .

2. Under Editing restrictions , check Allow only this type of editing in the document , and make sure the list says No changes (Read only) .

No changes (Read only) is the default restriction type. For a different restriction level for the document, click the menu and select from Tracked changes, Comments, or Filling in forms.

3. To free some sections from the editing blockade, select the sections for editing without restrictions. To select more than one area, click CTRL while selecting the area using the mouse.

4. You can check Everyone under Exceptions (optional) in the Restrict Editing panel. Or, click More users … and allow only specific users to modify the sections. The allowable areas will be marked with square brackets.

5. Click Yes, Start Enforcing Protection .

Now, type a unique password in the box that opens. You have to type it again to confirm it.

The password is optional. But it ensures that no one can just click Stop Protection and edit the document. If you are still paranoid, go ahead and encrypt your Microsoft Word document as we did in the second process above.

4. Print Your Report to PDF

The Portable Document Format comes with many advantages. Not least is its cross-platform compatibility across all computers. Your document is ready and now you need to share it or send it across to be printed. Many professional reports -- for instance, a legal document -- need to retain the format as intended.

Save or convert a copy to PDF. Microsoft Word 2016 does not need any third-party add-ins.

Go to File > Export > Create PDF/XPS .

Remember, your Word document may contain sensitive information that you do not want to be included in the PDF. Remove it before you publish to PDF. In the Publish as PDF or XPS window, choose Options . Then select Document and clear Document properties . Set any other options you want and choose OK .

Browse to where you want to save the file and click on Publish .

The Next Step...

You are close to the finishing line. The report is ready to be handed over to your readers. But there's one last job left.

Turn the pages and make sure (again) that your report is reader-friendly. Approach it with the eye of the reader. Have you organized your thoughts and written persuasively? Does the information flow well with the charts and illustrations? Can they skim through and find the information quickly? Is the text readable? Use the readability score to gauge the readability level of your documents as a final step.

You also might have noticed we didn't cover some aspects of Microsoft Word. For instance, Microsoft Word Tables are an important tool for data display. Or, the power of lists in information management.

Microsoft Word is more than a quarter of a century old, and packed with little features. At MakeUseOf, we have covered every nook and cranny of this beast. So, do use our resources to learn more about this software for free. Each new feature of Microsoft Word learned will make your life easier.

Make Your Report Shine

As author Nathaniel Hawthorne said,

Easy reading is damn hard writing

Isn't this true for professional report writing too? After all, if given a choice, no one may want to read it. Writing a business report and using it to communicate are two different things. Microsoft Word is just a tool -- it's your job to engage.

For some alternatives, check out the best online word processors . And for more help with professional writing, take a look at how to apologize in an email and mean it .

What are the best practices for writing professional business reports? Tell us in the comments.

How to Incorporate Graphics into Your Word Document for a Stunning Presentation

In today’s digital age, visual content has become increasingly important in capturing and retaining the attention of readers. Incorporating graphics into your Word documents can significantly enhance the visual appeal and overall impact of your presentations. Whether you’re creating a report, proposal, or any other type of document, the strategic use of graphics can make your content more engaging, memorable, and persuasive. In this article, we will explore various techniques and best practices for incorporating graphics into your Word documents to create stunning presentations.

Why Use Graphics in Your Word Documents?

Before we delve into the practical aspects of incorporating graphics, let’s first understand why it is essential to use them in your Word documents. Here are a few key reasons:

1. Enhances Visual Appeal

The human brain processes visual information much faster than text. By incorporating graphics, you can make your documents visually appealing and capture your audience’s attention instantly.

2. Improves Comprehension and Retention

Graphics, such as charts, graphs, and infographics, can simplify complex data and concepts, making them easier to understand and remember. Visual representations help convey information more effectively than plain text.

3. Engages and Persuades

Visuals have the power to evoke emotions and create a connection with your audience. Well-designed graphics can help convey your message more persuasively and make a lasting impression.

Types of Graphics to Incorporate

Now that we understand the importance of using graphics, let’s explore the different types of visuals you can incorporate into your Word documents:

1. Images and Photographs

Adding relevant images and photographs can enhance the aesthetic appeal of your document and provide visual context to your content. They can be used as headers, section dividers, or to illustrate specific points.

2. Charts and Graphs

For presenting data and statistics, charts and graphs are highly effective. They help visualize trends, comparisons, and patterns, making complex information more accessible.

3. Infographics

Infographics are a creative way to present information visually. They combine text, images, and graphics to convey complex concepts in a concise and engaging manner.

4. Icons and Symbols

Icons and symbols can be used to represent ideas, actions, or objects. They add visual interest and help break up text-heavy sections of your document.

5. SmartArt Graphics

SmartArt graphics offer a range of pre-designed visual representations, such as organizational charts, process diagrams, and timelines. They are a convenient way to present hierarchical or sequential information.

Best Practices for Incorporating Graphics in Word Documents

Now that we know the types of graphics we can use, let’s explore some best practices to ensure seamless integration of visuals into your Word documents:

1. Choose Relevant Graphics

Select graphics that are directly related to your content and support your message. Irrelevant or generic visuals can dilute the impact of your document.

2. Maintain Consistency

Use a consistent style, color scheme, and font throughout your document. This helps create a cohesive visual identity and enhances the overall professionalism of your presentation.

3. Optimize Image Sizes

Ensure your graphics are appropriately sized for the document. Large images can slow down the loading time and disrupt the layout. Use image editing tools to resize and optimize your visuals.

4. Use Captions and Labels

To provide context and clarity, include captions or labels for your graphics. This helps readers understand the purpose and relevance of each visual element.

5. Align Graphics with Text

Position your graphics near the relevant text to establish a clear connection between the visual and the accompanying information. This improves readability and comprehension.

6. Use Alt Text for Accessibility

For visually impaired readers, it’s crucial to include alternative text (alt text) for each graphic. Alt text provides a description of the visual content, allowing screen readers to convey the information accurately.

7. Avoid Clutter

Don’t overcrowd your document with too many graphics. Maintain a balance between text and visuals to ensure a clean and organized layout.

8. Test Compatibility

Before finalizing your document, check its compatibility across different devices and platforms. Ensure that your graphics are displayed correctly and that the overall document layout remains intact.

How to Incorporate Graphics in Word

Now that we have covered the best practices, let’s explore how to incorporate graphics into your Word documents step-by-step:

1. Inserting Images and Photographs

To add images or photographs to your Word document, follow these steps:

• Place your cursor at the desired location in the document.
• Go to the Insert tab in the Word menu.
• Click on Pictures or Online Pictures to insert an image from your computer or search for images online.
• Select the image you want to insert and click Insert .

2. Adding Charts and Graphs

To include charts or graphs in your Word document, follow these steps:

• Click on Chart to open the Chart dialog box.
• Choose the desired chart type and input your data in the Excel-like spreadsheet.
• Customize the chart appearance and click OK to insert it into your document.

3. Creating Infographics

To create infographics for your Word document, you can use various online infographic tools such as Canva, Piktochart, or Adobe Spark. Here’s how you can do it:

• Open the infographic tool of your choice.
• Select a template or start from scratch.
• Customize the layout, colors, icons, and text according to your content.
• Download the infographic as an image file.
• Insert the downloaded infographic into your Word document using the steps mentioned earlier.

4. Incorporating Icons and Symbols

To add icons or symbols to your Word document, follow these steps:

• Click on Icons or Symbols to access the available libraries.
• Choose the desired icon or symbol and click Insert .

5. Using SmartArt Graphics

To insert SmartArt graphics into your Word document, follow these steps:

• Click on SmartArt to open the SmartArt dialog box.
• Choose the desired SmartArt graphic type and click OK .
• Enter your text and customize the SmartArt graphic as needed.

Remember to follow the best practices mentioned earlier while incorporating these graphics into your Word document.

Incorporating graphics into your Word documents can transform them into visually stunning presentations. By choosing relevant visuals, maintaining consistency, and following best practices, you can create documents that are engaging, persuasive, and memorable. Experiment with different types of graphics, such as images, charts, infographics, icons, and SmartArt graphics, to find the ones that best complement your content. With the right combination of textual and visual elements, you can captivate your audience and deliver impactful presentations. So, start exploring the world of graphics and take your Word documents to the next level!

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How-To Geek

How to convert a word document to a powerpoint presentation.

You can get a great jumpstart on your next slideshow.

Quick Links

What you need to know, how to convert word to powerpoint on the web.

You might have converted a PowerPoint presentation to a Word document before so that you could edit it. But did you know that you can do the reverse? Take your Microsoft Word document and turn it into a Microsoft PowerPoint slideshow.

Related: How to Convert a PowerPoint to Word and Make It Editable

Maybe you want a jumpstart on creating your presentation using the text that you've saved in Word. Or maybe you've realized that your document would be better presented as a PowerPoint slideshow. With Word on the web, you can convert your document easily.

Here are a few things to keep in mind in terms of converting Microsoft Word documents to PowerPoint presentations. These points might be updated over time. The feature began rolling out in early 2021 :

• The ability to convert PowerPoint presentations is currently only available in Word for the web.
• The option is currently only available in English.
• The feature is not currently available when using Safari or Internet Explorer.
• At the time of writing, text content is available for export. If you have media content in your Word document, you'll need to add it to the PowerPoint presentation separately.

Now, if you're ready to give this feature a try, let's get to it! Head to the  Microsoft Office online  website, sign in to your account, and open your document in Word. You do not have to open PowerPoint in another tab or window.

Click File > Export and choose the "Export to PowerPoint Presentation" option.

You'll see a pop-up window with a collection of themes. Select the theme that you want to use and click "Export." You can change the theme in PowerPoint once it's exported if you like.

After several moments, you'll receive a notification that your newly converted presentation is ready. Click the "Open Presentation" button.

The slideshow will open in Microsoft PowerPoint for the web in a new tab.

The presentation will be saved to OneDrive automatically with the same name as your Microsoft Word document. If you haven't named your document, the slideshow will have a default name, such as Document 1. Click the name in the top-left corner and give it a new file name.

Styles like headings and bullet points should transfer as such. However, this could change depending on the theme that you select. Keep in mind that you might need to make some adjustments to the slideshow after you export it.

Check out some of our tips for making great PowerPoint presentations !

Related: 8 Tips to Make the Best PowerPoint Presentations

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Word 2016  - Applying and Modifying Styles

Word 2016  -, applying and modifying styles, word 2016 applying and modifying styles.

Word 2016: Applying and Modifying Styles

Lesson 29: applying and modifying styles.

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Introduction

A style is a predefined combination of font style, color, and size that can be applied to any text in your document. Styles can help your documents achieve a more professional look and feel. You can also use styles to quickly change several things in your document at the same time.

Optional: Download our practice document .

Watch the video below to learn more about using styles in Word.

To apply a style:

To apply a style set:

Style sets include a combination of title, heading, and paragraph styles. Style sets allow you to format all elements in your document at once instead of modifying each element separately.

To modify a style:

When you modify a style, you're changing every instance of that style in the document. In the example below, we've modified the Normal style to use a larger font size. Because both paragraphs use the Normal style, they've been updated automatically to use the new size.

To create a new style:

You can also use styles to create a table of contents for your document. To learn how, review our article on How to Create a Table of Contents in Microsoft Word .

• Open our practice document . If you already downloaded our practice document, be sure to download a fresh copy by clicking the link again.
• On page 1, select the first line of text Shelbyfield Animal Rescue and change the style to Title .
• Select the second line that says August Volunteer Update and change the style to Heading 1 .
• Select the third line that says A Message From Your Director and change the style to Heading 2 .
• In the Design tab, change the s tyle set to Casual .
• Modify the Normal style so the font is Cambria and the font size is 14 pt .

• Optional: Modify the Heading 3 style any way you want. You can change the font, font size, color, and more. This heading appears throughout the document, so try to choose formatting that complements the body text.

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• Share a Document
• Collaborate on Word documents with real-time co-authoring
• Insert or delete a comment
• Track changes in Word
• Accept tracked changes
• Use Word on a mobile device

Add and format text

• Create a bulleted or numbered list
• Change the line spacing in Word

Apply styles

• Apply themes
• Modify or create headings
• Change margins
• Create newsletter columns
• Change page orientation to landscape or portrait
• Add a border to a page
• Insert a header or footer
• Insert page numbers
• Insert a page break
• Create a table of contents
• Insert a table
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• Add a watermark
• Show or hide the ruler
• Rotate a picture or shape
• Wrap text around a picture
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Modify or create headings and other styles

Styles in Word allow you to choose the look for headings, regular text, and even callouts or other custom text needs. You'll be able to choose the font, size, color, paragraph alignment, spacing, and more. No matter where you use the styles in your document, they will have the same consistent look every time. If you change your mind later, you can customize the style and the change will show up throughout your document, in all the places you used the style. You can also create new styles. 

Note:  The steps for using styles may be a little different, depending on whether you're working from a document saved to your Windows desktop or if you're using Word in a browser.

Modify an existing style

To modify existing styles to suit your needs:

In your Word document, format text to look the way you want for the style, then select it.

In the Home tab, expand the text styles list. 

In the styles list, right-click the style you want to update, then select  Modify .

Type a name for your modified style and if you want quick access to the style, make sure the Add to the Styles gallery box is selected.

Select OK . 

Create a new style 

You can create a custom style if you don't see one you want to modify.

Select  Create a Style .

Select Modify , then name and format the style. If you want quick access to the style, make sure the Add to the Styles gallery box is selected.

Select  OK .

Modify and rename an existing style

You can easily modify existing styles to suit your needs.

Note:  You can see the preview of style formatting below the name in the box. 

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