Beyond an empty background, the most simple background you can add to your Powerpoint presentation is a flat color, or a gradient from one color to another. Here's how to do it.

This PowerPoint technique is incredibly simple, considering the “wow!” effect it produces. However, whenever contemplating a PowerPoint slide, I like to work from a simple outline.

Launch Microsoft PowerPoint, and open the PPTX file for which you want to use a GIF as the background. Select the appropriate slide. Click the "Design" tab, and locate the "Background" section.

You could also manually erase the background from an image with a simple paint tool. However, if you use PowerPoint regularly, you should know that there’s a tool that allows you to remove the ...