Ubuntu – How to change text color in LibreOffice Impress

Replacing the template-based formatting should work, i've tried it with LibreOffice 3.4.3. Without any direct formatting (using the text formatting toolbar or right-click and select any of the formatting options), the new template is applied globally. But if there's any direct formatting, the new template's formatting rules won't affect that content.

If the new template isn't applied to some slides, you should check if there's any direct formatting defined for those slides, and remove it using Menu Format -> Default Formatting.

Click View > Notes in the menu bar (move the cursor to the top of the screen to reveal the menu bar). At first it looks like only something to be displayed if printing the slides, but after adding notes in the text section, press F5 to start the presentation, click the 'Notes' icon at the bottom of the presenter view, and you'll find the notes there to be read during the presentation.