Are PowerPoint Bootcamps Worth It?

After nearly 40 years on the market, PowerPoint is still the industry-standard presentation software, used in areas as diverse as education, nonprofit, FinTech, government, and media. People also use the software outside of the professional sphere: it’s become a go-to resource for children who need to create school projects, families who want to memorialize occasions, and volunteers who’d like to share materials in the context of civic and religious organizations. The uses of PowerPoint are seemingly endless--and the software is surprisingly easy to begin using. Anyone with a background using the Microsoft suite will notice how many similarities the program shares with Excel and Word, which means that even complete PowerPoint beginners are likely to feel comfortable with the format of the program itself.

For some people, then, the basic functions of PowerPoint will be enough. Those who are using it outside of the workplace may not want to invest time or money in a bootcamp when their uses of the program are either simple or sporadic. This article speaks to those who need to use PowerPoint regularly and well, and who may benefit from the concentrated study of the software inherent in a PowerPoint bootcamp.

Consider the Costs

A PowerPoint bootcamp, of course, will not be free. It’s important to keep your end goal in mind: if implementing the skills you learn in a bootcamp will mean increasing engagement in ways that translate to higher sales, easier access to grant money, or even a salary raise, the investment will very likely be worth it. Investing in yourself and your own skillset isn’t necessarily just about money, either--a bootcamp may give you the confidence you need to reenter the job market or take on roles in your current position that you might have been hesitant to consider otherwise.

One factor when thinking about bootcamps is that they are often designed to be less expensive in the long run than taking individual classes over a period of months or years. Many course providers who bundle those same classes into a bootcamp actually shave off hundreds of dollars. This kind of bundling can help your bottom line and can be a way of encouraging your employer if they are footing the bill--and that savings might also be a justification for taking a few days away from the office.

Advantages of a PowerPoint Bootcamp

Immersion

Total immersion is an excellent way to learn a new language--and it can be helpful when learning a new computer program, too. Taking a PowerPoint bootcamp means a concentrated window of time in which to master new skills. This sort of singular focus can be a big advantage: in a society that increasingly rewards multi-tasking, it’s still a huge benefit to put aside other distractions and do a deep dive. As a general rule, people don’t do well when they are asked to take on more than one task at a time, even seemingly simple tasks--and there’s research from Stanford University that proves it. A PowerPoint bootcamp is a great way to focus your brain on one thing, which may mean learning the skills more efficiently in the long run.

Skill Building

Taking a single PowerPoint class can be a good way to learn the basics and then begin to implement those skills when creating your own projects. At a certain point, though, you might hit a ceiling. A PowerPoint bootcamp will allow for scaffolding: learning those basics will be quickly followed by an introduction to more advanced skills, so that you’ll have everything you need to take your presentations to the highest level by the time the bootcamp is done. The bootcamp structure can be especially helpful if you are a quick learner, since taking individual classes over a longer period of time might feel as though it’s slowing you down.

Live Instruction

One incomparable aspect of an in-person or live online bootcamp is the presence of an instructor. An online tutorial may involve the smiling face of a professional, but that person isn’t available to help you tweak your project or provide feedback when it’s done. The very presence of a teacher can also encourage you to work harder, implement what you’ve learned, and submit your projects on time, for fear of disappointing the instructor. Even the way a teacher explains things can be sticky enough to stay with you: you may find you’re hearing their voice in your ear when creating PowerPoint presentations long after the bootcamp is over.

The Presence of Peers

There is a special kind of energy in a classroom, whether in-person or virtual, and it’s not something that can be matched by a series of videos or slide decks. Sometimes, for example, a fellow student may ask a question you didn’t even know you had, or give an answer that provides a slightly different perspective from the instructor’s. PowerPoint bootcamps tend to boast small enrollment, so you can be assured of that perfect balance between peer engagement and personal attention.

Bootcamp vs. Free Training Resources

For many people, the first stop when considering learning a new skill is the internet. Free tutorials in all kinds of subjects proliferate online, and sometimes they can be enough. Again, consider your individual needs. There are people for whom free online training resources will be enough, and those are the people who need only the most basic uses of PowerPoint. A short, simple slide deck with minimal graphics, made for personal use or in a low-stakes professional or volunteer context (a video slideshow for a retiring colleague, or a presentation for the PTA at your child’s school) will be straightforward to produce; it would be a waste of time and money to invest in a bootcamp for that level of PowerPoint use. 

If you are planning to use PowerPoint at a professional level, in a context where your reputation or that of your company is on the line, and you need to impress clients, employers, or others with the power to affect your bottom line, however, free resources may not be enough. The reason for this is that cobbling together YouTube videos and Microsoft support tutorials will likely lead to gaps in PowerPoint knowledge, which can be frustrating and occasionally debilitating. You may find that you learn to use one tool moderately efficiently, only to discover that there is a better option you could have been using all along. Free resources can only take you so far: you may not be able to learn the high-level skills that would be taught in a bootcamp, since you won’t have an instructor to turn to when you have questions or hit a roadblock.

On top of that, typing individual queries into a browser every time a question arises will also slow the process dramatically. This plodding approach to learning PowerPoint could mean you end up throwing in the towel: either simplifying your presentation to make it easier on yourself or giving up on the project altogether. A PowerPoint bootcamp will provide the expert-level skillset you need to create slide decks that look professional (and make you look good), which isn’t something you necessarily want to leave in the hands of amateur content creators.

Bootcamp vs. Self-Paced Courses

Self-paced courses fall somewhere between free tutorials and a live class, and they can include anything from lecture series to on-demand programs. This type of class can be a boon to busy people who don’t necessarily have time to enroll in a PowerPoint bootcamp, whether because of erratic schedules or personal obligations. Students still cover the basics, often through a suite of bespoke videos (and PowerPoint presentations, of course), and they can walk away with a toolkit that will serve them well as they begin to design slide decks for their own work or personal purposes.

One benefit of self-paced courses is the price tag, which tends to be lower than that of live classes. The fact that there is a fee, even if it’s a modest one, can help some students to commit: using free resources exclusively may mean there’s less incentive to get your money’s worth. The flexibility of working at your own pace can allow many students to access the training they’re looking for in a way that works for them, and fast learners or those with some PowerPoint experience may find it helpful to be able to skip ahead when they come to a unit they understand. On the flip side, slower learners may fall behind without the directed training they’d receive in a more hands-on, instructor-led environment.

This brings up a major drawback to self-paced courses: the lack of instructor oversight and feedback. When issues pop up along the way in a live PowerPoint class, whether technical or design-related, an experienced teacher can be relied upon to support students and help them get back on track. In a self-paced course, students may find themselves scrambling to troubleshoot and having a hard time finding accurate and up-to-date information. This stands in stark contrast to an in-person or live online bootcamp, where problems can be solved right away, leading to less frustration in the long run.

Bootcamp vs. Individual Courses

Bootcamps are designed to be intense and fast-paced, providing students with hands-on experience starting with the basics and moving up to advanced PowerPoint skills. It would be very possible to achieve the same level of mastery over weeks or months by taking multiple PowerPoint classes, slowly gaining the same skillset that boot camp participants get in a short timeframe. The slow build of these individual classes might work well for some people, particularly those for whom it’s a challenge to commit to several days in a row (or more) away from the office or familial responsibilities. Some people may also prefer to complete one level and then work on the basics of PowerPoint on their own, fine-tuning their skills by working on independent projects before returning to the classroom.

For many, though, the benefits of a bootcamp outweigh the negatives. For one thing, a PowerPoint bootcamp provides students with everything they need to create expert slide decks, so they walk away from class fully prepared to go all the way with PowerPoint. There’s also the savings: course providers often incentivize bootcamps by cutting the costs, so that taking level one and level two individually would ultimately be more expensive than covering exactly the same material in a bootcamp.

Accountability is a factor, too. Between your instructor and your classmates, you’ll know that a supportive group is looking forward to your contributions to class and to seeing the projects you create. The high-energy environment of a live online or in-person PowerPoint bootcamp can be a powerful incentive to keep going when the material gets challenging. The class can act as your ultimate audience, cheering on the design choices you make and the way you choose to present your material--all of which can be a great introduction to presenting in a real world setting.

A bootcamp will incorporate both an understanding of the technical aspects of PowerPoint such as transitions, features, and add-ins, as well as gaining competency with design elements like typography, color, graphics, illustrations, and animation. Individual classes may focus more on one than the other, or may gloss over design in attempting to teach the nitty gritty of the tech aspects of PowerPoint in a limited amount of time. Learning both can lead to better integration. While the commitment level of a bootcamp--and the amount of material covered in a relatively short period of time--could be a deterrent for some, ultimately it may be the best way to ensure you learn enough about PowerPoint to implement it seamlessly in your work life.

Learn PowerPoint with Noble Desktop

Noble Desktop's PowerPoint Bootcamp is an accelerated class that starts with the fundamentals of how to design a presentation, and also teaches more advanced features like custom themes, animations, and managing larger presentations. You’ll be working on hands-on projects from the moment the class begins, and over the course of two days you’ll cover what could take weeks or months in a less immersive setting. The class will begin by covering basic layouts and how to incorporate text, shapes, graphs and charts, and SmartArt. On day two, you’ll learn the skills to take your presentations to the next level, by creating a reusable Theme/Template, adding animation and video, and using sections and custom shows to manage large presentations.
Noble Desktop’s PowerPoint Bootcamp is offered live online via Zoom or at in-person at their New York City campus, and the instructors are industry professionals with years of PowerPoint experience. You’ll have access not only to instructor direction and feedback, but to a supplemental refresher video suite, self-paced training videos, and proprietary workbooks--so you can refer back to your course materials long after the bootcamp has ended. You’ll even be able to retake the class for free within a year if you’d like to refresh your memory and polish your skills. Noble Desktop provides you with a certificate of completion, so you can let your higher-ups know that you’re taking professional development seriously--and that you’ve leveled up with PowerPoint.