How to Add Fade After Animation in PowerPoint: Expert Guide

Are you looking to add some extra flair to your PowerPoint presentations? Using animations can help make your slides more engaging and memorable. One cool effect is to have an object fade out after it animates onto the slide. In this article, we’ll show you exactly how to add a fade after animation in PowerPoint using a few simple steps.

What is a Fade After Animation in PowerPoint?

A fade after animation in PowerPoint is when an object appears on the slide with an entrance animation effect, and then smoothly fades away after a certain amount of time. This creates a more dynamic and visually interesting presentation compared to having static elements just sitting on the slide.

Some common use cases for fade after animations include:

• Highlighting key points or data that you want to emphasize before moving on
• Adding graphics, images, or text that support what you’re saying but don’t need to remain visible
• Creating a more cinematic presentation style

Fade after animations can be applied to any object in PowerPoint, including text, shapes, pictures, charts, SmartArt, and more. You can control exactly how the object appears, how long it remains on the slide, and how it fades away.

Step-by-Step Guide to Adding Fade After Animation

Now that you know what a fade after animation is and why you might want to use one, let’s go through the process of actually adding it to an object in PowerPoint:

1. Select the object on your slide that you want to add the fade animation to
2. Go to the Animations tab on the PowerPoint ribbon
3. Click Add Animation to open the animation options
4. Choose an Entrance effect for how you want the object to initially appear on the slide. Some good options that work well with fading include Appear, Fade, Fly In, and Float In.
5. With the object still selected, click Add Animation again
6. This time, go to Exit effects and choose Disappear or Fade
7. Use the Start drop-down menu to select “After Previous” (this will make the exit effect start after the entrance effect finishes)
8. If needed, adjust the Duration for how long you want the exit animation to last

And that’s it! Your object will now appear on the slide with an entrance animation, remain for a certain time, and then fade out with the exit animation. You can preview the animation by clicking the Preview button on the Animations tab.

Customizing Your Fade After Animation

There are a few ways you can further customize your fade after animation:

Changing the Start Time

By default, the exit fade animation will start immediately after the entrance effect finishes. But you can add a delay if you want the object to remain on screen longer before fading out.

To do this, select the exit animation in the Animation Pane, click the small downward arrow, and choose Timing. Increase the Delay time to however many seconds you want.

Adjusting the Fade Speed

You can also control how quickly or slowly the object fades out during the exit animation. A shorter duration will make it fade quickly, while a longer duration creates a slower, more gradual fade.

Click on the exit animation, go to the Timing section as explained above, and adjust the Duration setting to change the fade speed.

Grouping Objects to Animate and Fade Together

Sometimes you might want to have multiple objects appear and fade out together, such as a graphic with an accompanying caption. To do this, select all the objects you want to group, right-click, and choose “Group.”

Now when you apply entrance and fade after animations, they will be applied to the entire group as a single element instead of each object independently.

Triggering Fade Animations with a Click

Instead of having the fade happen automatically after the previous animation, you can set it to happen on-click so you have more control over the pacing. Select the exit fade animation, go to Timing, and change the Start setting to “On Click.” Now the fade will only occur when you click the mouse or hit an arrow key.

Best Practices for Using Fade After Animations

When using fade after animations, there are some best practices to keep in mind:

• Use them sparingly – Animations should enhance your content, not distract from it. Stick to 1-2 key animations per slide.
• Keep timing consistent – Use similar timing and pacing for your animations throughout the deck so it feels cohesive.
• Make it meaningful – Animations should serve a purpose, like emphasizing an important point, not just be flashy for the sake of it.
• Don’t overdo the duration – Typically entrance animations look best at around 0.5-1 second, and fade exit animations around 1-1.5 seconds. Going too slow can lose your audience’s attention.
• Preview and test – Always preview your animations to make sure the timing looks right and they convey the meaning you intended. Test them out on the equipment you’ll be presenting on as well.

Fade After Animation Example Scenarios

To help illustrate how you can effectively use fade after animations, here are a few example scenarios:

Example 1: Displaying a Statistic

Let’s say you have a slide presenting some key data points about your company’s growth. You want to reveal each number one at a time for emphasis. You could have the numbers fly in individually, and then fade out after a couple seconds before moving on to the next one.

This fading helps keep the focus on one figure at a time, rather than having them all pile on top of each other and overwhelm the viewer.

Example 2: Transitioning Through Steps in a Process

Imagine you’re explaining a multi-step process to your audience. You have a SmartArt graphic illustrating the steps.

You set each step to fade in one at at a time as you talk through them, and after you elaborate on each one, you have it fade out before the next one appears. This creates a logical progression that’s easy for the audience to follow.

Example 3: Animating a Quotation

For a more cinematic scenario, picture you have a slide with a powerful quote. You want it to make an impact.

You could have the quote slowly fade in, remain on the screen for several seconds, and then gently fade out to a black background. Coupled with a well-timed pause in your speaking, this could be quite moving and memorable for your audience.

Final Thoughts

Used effectively, fade after animations are a great technique to add polish, emphasis, and cinematic flair to your PowerPoint presentations. The key is applying them purposefully, keeping the timing concise, and using them consistently throughout your slides.

By following the steps in this article, you should now be able to easily set up fading animations, customize them to your needs, and use them to enhance your message. Go ahead and experiment with fading in your next presentation!

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Trish Dixon

Trish Dixon is the founder of PPTBliss and a PowerPoint expert with over a decade of experience in presentation design. Passionate about visual storytelling, Trish shares her expertise through easy-to-follow tutorials on slide design, animations, transitions, and best practices, helping professionals create impactful presentations across industries.

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