Using keyboard shortcuts is a major step towards becoming a PowerPoint power user. Below is the list of most keyboard shortcuts. Take a moment to learn them once, it will give you extra productivity that will be really worth it in the long run.
Rule to read shortcuts:
Keys are separated by a "+" sign if they need to be pressed simultaneously
Keys are separated by a "-" sign if they need to be press successively
File management
CTRL+N : Create new presentation
CTRL+O : Open new presentation
CTRL+S : Save
F12 : Save as
CTRL+W : Close presentation
ALT+F4 : Close application
CTRL+NextPage / PreviousPage : Move to the next / previous slide
CTRL+M : Insert new slide
Copy and paste
CTRL+C : Copy
CTRL+V : Paste
CTRL+X : Cut
CTRL+D : Duplicate
Cancel and repeat
CTRL+Z : Cancel
CTRL+Y : Cancel cancellation
F4 : Repeat last action
Formatting shortcuts
CTRL+B : Bold
CTRL+U : Underline
CTRL+I : Italic
CTRL+SHIFT+" + " : Superscript
CTRL+SHIFT+C : Copy selection format
CTRL+SHIFT+V : Paste copied format
SHIFT+F3 : Change letter case
CTRL+^ : Increase font size
CTRL+] : Decrease font size
Selection shortcuts
CTRL+A : Select all
CTRL+Left/Right Arrows : Move one word to the left/right
CTRL+Up/Down Arrows : Move one paragraph up or down
SHIFT+Left/Right Arrows : Extend selection by one character to the left/right
SHIFT+Up/Down Arrows : Extend selection by one line up/down
CTRL+SHIFT+Left/Right Arrows : Extend selection by one word to the left/right
CTRL+SHIFT+Up/Down Arrows : Extend selection by one paragraph up/down
ALT+SHIFT+Up/Down Arrows : Move items up or down in a bulleted or numbered list
ALT+SHIFT+Right/Left Arrows : Move text to the sub/up levels defined in the placeholder
F8 Activate : Selection Mode
Text shortcuts
CTRL+F : Find
CTRL+H : Replace
Backspace : Delete one character to the left
CTRL+Backspace : Delete one word to the left
SHIFT+F10 : Contextual menu (=right click)
F7 : Run a Spelling and Grammar Check
Shape shorcuts in ppt
SHIFT+Arrows : Resize selected shapes (big change)
SHIFT+CTRL+Arrows : Resize selected shapes (small change)
Alt+Right Arrow : Rotate clockwise (big change)
Alt+Left Arrow : Rotate counterclockwise (big change)
Alt+CTRL+Right Arrow : Rotate clockwise (small change)
Alt+CTRL+Left Arrow : Rotate counterclockwise (small change)
CTRL+G : Group shapes
CTRL+SHIFT+G : Ungroup shapes
Slide show shortcuts in ppt
F5 : Launch slide show
SHIFT+F5 : Launch slide show from current slide
B : In slide show mode, this will turn the screen black
G : In slide show mode, show all slides as miniatures
Windows shortcuts
Windows+D : Go to desktop
Windows+E : Open Computer
Windows+V : Open Clipboard history
Windows+L : Lock computer
Windows+H : Launch speech-to-text
Windows+SHIFT+S : Launch screen snipping tool
Windows+V : Open clipboard
Windows+Arrow : Move a window to corresponding corner of the screen
Windows+. : Insert emoji and animated Gifs
Alt+Left Arrow : Move to previous folder
Alt+Up Arrow : Move to parent folder
CTRL+T : Open new tab
CTRL+W : Close current tab
CLTR+SHIFT+T : Re-open the last closed tab
Alt+F4 : Close current program
CTRL + P : Print
Final tip#1: check also our list of the best keyboard shortcuts for Excel and for Word.
Final tip#2: remember these shortcuts with the Power-user add-in for PowerPoint, Excel and Word. Among other features, it adds a list of keyboard shortcuts directly into PowerPoint but also tons of templates, icons, maps, diagrams and more!