How to Break the Ice in Google Slides with Emojis

Have you ever thought of using emojis in your presentation but the tools didn’t really offer that? Well, let’s change that by showing you how to use Google Slides emojis!

You can’t hate emojis. You use them in everyday online life as a way to express emotions in a way that words often can’t. They can help you add a humorous note to your message and they’ve been extremely utilized by brands in their tone of voice. So just like the Egyptians told entire stories with hieroglyphs, today we can do the same with emojis.

Google Slides is considered a trailblazer in using emojis as part of the content you can add to your presentation slides. Most other presentation software are still catching up with providing this opportunity, so let’s show you how Google’s presentation tool lets you break the ice of formal business communication.

You can add an emoji pretty easy! As part of the text or even as bullets (well, we don’t recommend you doing this, but it is possible). For some special topics, they can be used as icons, too.

How to use emojis in slides

To insert an emoji in a text box:

1. You need to be in a writing mode (or simply select a text box)
2. Go to the Insert menu and choose Special characters

3. Select Symbols (the second dropdown) from the Special characters popup and choose Emoji

4. Choose the emoji you want and insert it in the selected text box

Once inserted in the text box, the emojis act like a normal text, so you can increase their size from the text size menu.

Emoji as bullet points

As we mentioned already, all those special characters can be used as bullet points, too.

1. Insert a text with bullet points and select it
2. Go to Format menu and Bullets & numbering
3. Go to List options and choose More bullets

4. Select the emojis you want to use as bullets
5. Select each individual bullet to turn it into a different emoji

Emojis as icons

All of our students and viewers are encouraged to use more icons in presentation slides. Imagine a presentation where instead of icons you see emojis that resonate with the audience’s personas.

This is a great way to break the ice and bring out some smiles and positive emotions along with your talk. Of course, use them wisely!

Best Practices for Using Emojis in Presentations

First of all – ask yourself about your audience. Is the group full of people who understand emojis so they will “get it” when the slides start coming up?

For example… if you’re presenting in front of high school students, you’re definitely in the right place to use emojis in your slides.

Secondly, is the topic suitable for a fun emoji twist?

For example… if you’re talking about serious social, environmental, national issues, then using emojis might not be ideal. Unless you know really well how to view serious topics from the lens of humor.

Finally, in case you actually do have some positive answers & solutions to complex questions, then you can definitely try following the steps above and give your Google Slides presentation an emotional twist.


So, now you know how to spice up your Google Slides presentation in an unusual way. Do your best to find the perfect emoji for each of your ideas, without overdoing it. Have fun!

Need help for a presentation?

I have read and understood the Privacy Statement of 356labs.