May 21, 2008

Two new articles published

Two of my articles have been published recently. "5 Steps to Slide Design for Non-Designers" was published in the slideshare.net blog. This article provides guidelines for creating good-looking, effective slides to people who are not graphic artists -- which is most of us! In this article, I talk about the tell 'n' show system of slide design, which I first introduced in my tip, "Tell 'n' show slide design." Please tell your friends about this article. I'm trying to spread good design around the world!

Another article, "Use a Menu to Create an Audience-Centered Presentation," appeared in the PresentationXpert newsletter. I have a tip, Designing a web-style presentation, that briefly covers this topic, but in less detail. The article was based on a Web seminar that I gave. I think that you'll find the PresentationXpert article interesting and useful.

May 19, 2008

Create section markers

A complex presentation may be divided into several sections. In order to help your audience understand where the current slide sits in the whole structure, you can create section markers that appear throughout the presentation. Each slid displays all of the section names, but the current section is bold, or a different color, so that the audience always knows which section you're currently discussing.

In this slide, you can see at the bottom that the current slide is in the section on Images.

Cecile McKee asked me how she could create such a presentation, and here is the technique I used:

1. Add separate text boxes at the bottom, one for each topic. Use a color that's readable but not too obvious. Gray works well on a white background. Make sure they'll fit well on every slide and adjust as necessary.
2. Copy the text boxes to all of the section slides, that is, the 1st slide of each section.
3. For the 1st section, add animation to the first section name, choosing Emphasis>Change Font Color, and change it to black or another color that will stand out without being distracting. Use the With Previous start, so that the animation occurs when the slide is displayed. Set the speed to Very Fast. Another animation you could use is Bold Reveal.

Note: An alternative is to just bold the word for each section.

4. Copy the text boxes to the other slides in that section -- the animation will come along.
5. Go to the second section, and add the same animation to that section's name, with the same settings. Copy that to the other slides in the second section.
6. Continue until you've finished the entire presentation.

Below are slides in the Tables, Charts, and Diagrams sections.

May 10, 2008

Cool contour shadows

PowerPoint can create shadows that follow the contour of objects in an image. Here is an example (you can download this background at my Portfolio/Backgrounds page):

Here you see a close-up of the big tulip:

Do you see how the shadow is contoured around the shape of the tulip? Did you know that you can do this in PowerPoint? Here's how I did it:

1. First, I planted some tulips! That happened a few years ago, but the point is simply that you need to find something to photograph. Choose something fairly small. (However, if you have a perfectly blue sky, you could try a tree against the sky.)
2. Find something of a solid color to put behind your photo subject. In this case, I had an off-white table that I keep on my porch. I stood it on its side so that it was taller than it was wide and moved it behind the tulips. (If you're using the sky as your background, you can skip this step.)
3. Take your photograph, making sure that the subject is completely in front of your solid background. Good lighting helps -- I had a sunny day. Here you see the original photo; you can see the edges of the table at the top.

1. Upload your photo to your computer. If you're still using film, you'll have to develop it, and then scan it.
2. In PowerPoint, click the Insert Picture button on the Drawing toolbar or choose Insert> Picture> From File. (In PowerPoint 2007, choose Insert tab> Illustrations group> Picture.) Double-click your picture file.
3. Adjust the placement of the photo as desired. You may also want to resize it by dragging on the corner handles.
4. With the photo selected, choose Set Transparent Color from the Picture toolbar. (If the Picture toolbar isn't visible, right-click any toolbar and choose Picture from the list of toolbars.) (In PowerPoint 2007, choose Format tab> Adjust group> Recolor drop-down list> Set Transparent Color.) You'll see a special cursor.
5. Click anywhere on your solid background. The background becomes transparent. Here you see the result. You can now see the placeholder through the image. Notice that the area at the top that wasn't off-white is still there.

1. Crop any areas that you don't want. To crop, click the Crop button on the Picture toolbar. (In PowerPoint 2007, choose Format tab> Size group> Crop.) Then drag inward on the cropping handles as necessary. The result is beautiful as is, and would be worth a tutorial by itself, but there's more!

1. You're now ready to add a shadow. Select the image, and choose Shadow Style from the Drawing toolbar. Then choose one of the Shadow styles. (In PowerPoint 2007, choose Format tab, Picture Styles group, Picture Effects drop-down list> Shadow. and choose one of the styles.) PowerPoint draws the shadow around the object, ignoring transparent areas! Look at the first two images above for the results. With no transparent areas, the shadow would display around the rectangular shape of the entire image.
2. You can adjust the shadow to make it more dramatic. Click Shadow Style from the Drawing toolbar again and choose Shadow Settings. On the Shadow Settings toolbar, click the middle four buttons to move the shadow. The farther away the shadow is from the object, the more visible it is, and the more dramatic it becomes. You can also click the Shadow Color drop-down list and change the color of the shadow. (In PowerPoint 2007, choose Format tab, Picture Styles group, Picture Effects drop-down list> Shadow> Shadow Options, or click the dialog box launcher in the Picture Styles group to open the Format Picture dialog box, and then choose the Shadow category. There you can change the color, transparency, size, blur, angle, and distance of the shadow, for truly amazing flexibililty!) I used PowerPoint 2007's options for the shadow below, increasing the size, distance, blur, and angle, and giving it a blue color.

Here's another example, with the crabapple tree in my yard. It was taken against a blue sky, but the background on the slide is a blue gradient. Do you see the shadow around the details of the tree? Unfortunately, the sky wasn't all the same color blue, at least not enough for PowerPoint, so I used Photoshop Elements' Magic Wand tool, which selects areas of similar color. It's more flexible, because you can specify a tolerance (color range), whether or not you want continuous areas only (I didn't), and more.

Let's have another contest! To the first two people who submit a slide using this technique successfully, I'll send you a free copy of 101 Tips Every PowerPoint User Should Know (100+ pages, a $15 value), or 7 Steps to Great Images (22 pages, a $6.95 value), your choice. Click here to send me the 1-slide presentation. The contest is over June 15, 2008.

May 10, 2008

Congratulations to the winners of the Tell 'n' Show contest!

Debby Gilden and Raudhah Tunaim both sent in examples of Tell 'n' Show presentations. Remember that Tell 'n' Show is a way to create slides that are more effective by including a full sentence stating the main message of the slide in the title, and adding an image, chart, or diagram to explain or validate the point.

Remember these two points:

• The title of the slide clearly states the message of the slide; it actually says something
• The image validates the message

Both contestants will receive a free copy of 7 Steps to Great Images.

April 27, 2008

April, 2008 Background of the Month

Charismatic is a template (.pot file, zipped) with a sunburst on the title slide and a sky-blue gradient for the slide master. You can use it in PowerPoint 2002/2003 as well as PowerPoint 2007. Excellent for inspirational topics.

April 27, 2008

April, 2008 Resource of the Month - Echo's Voice

Echo's Voice- Echo is a PowerPoint MVP and her Web site contains a series of in-depth articles and tutorials that everyone will find useful. Look for her excellent PowerPoint 2007 tutorials.

April 27, 2008

Best practices for PowerPoint presentations in Second Life

Based on my experience with the grand opening of Virtualis (see my review), the conference center in Second Life, I’ve put together what I believe to be the first set of guidelines for creating and delivering PowerPoint presentations in Second Life. I’ll add to this as I get more experience.

1. Use a plain, white background
In real life, a slide projected onto a screen has its own light coming from the projector. In Second Life, everything is pixels on your computer screen. As a result, resolution and contrast aren’t as high. Light text on a dark background “bleeds,” making it hard to read.

Forego your usual background and stick to the default white. If you need some decoration, make it bold. Fine lines and detail won’t show up. Decoration should not take up very much space, because of point #2.

Here you see an example of two types of slides. It’s obvious that the white background works best.

Light text on a dark background

Dark text on a white background

2. Use very large text
Your text needs to be larger than usual. Screen resolution isn’t very high; therefore, text isn’t as clear as in real life. Also, the audience may not be directly in front of the screen and therefore be viewing it from an angle. You can see this effect in the above images. To give yourself more room for text, reduce space relegated to the background to a minimum.

3. Make text and images plain and clear
Use a simple sans-serif font, such as Arial or Verdana. Don’t apply a shadow, because it will reduce legibility. Images should be simple and bold, rather than detailed.

4. Wait until the image is clear
In Second Life, your PowerPoint presentation won’t actually be PowerPoint; instead it will probably be JPG images of your slides. As each slide appears, it takes a few seconds to resolve into clarity. Wait until the slide “reses” before speaking about it. It’s frustrating when you speak about something that the audience can’t see. You can use this time to introduce the topic, as long as what you say doesn’t require any visual context.

5. Test your venue
This advice applies to real life as well, but may not be as obvious in Second Life. Go through a test run, and try sitting in the back where some of your audience may be. Can you read the text? Can you make out the images? If not, make the text and images bigger.

Also, if you plan to stand at a podium, can you see both the podium and the screen at the same time? Remember, in real life, it’s easy for people to turn their head; in Second Life, they have to press keyboard buttons, or click onscreen navigation to change their viewpoint. Looking back and forth is much harder, so make sure people don’t have to do it. Perhaps you can move the podium, or simply stand near the screen and give up the podium altogether. (That’s a good technique in real life, too.) I encourage you to walk out into the audience as you speak; this will engage them just as it does in real life.

6. Ask for a larger screen
If your venue test doesn’t work out very well, perhaps your hosts can make the screen bigger. It’s just a matter of programming!

7. Ask if everyone can see the screen
When you deliver your presentation, ask if people can see the screen. They may need instructions for adjusting their view. If so, take the time to explain how to do so. Most people are still new at Second Life.

You can find technical instructions for creating a PowerPoint presentation in Second Life here.

Second Life offers a great new possibility for presenting in virtual reality. However, the same principles of presenting apply. Consider your audience and make sure that your slides are meaningful and clear.

April 27, 2008

Amazing! Grand opening of Virtualis conference center in Second Life

On April 23 and 24, 2008, I attended the grand opening of Virtualis, an amazing new conference center in Second Life. I was new to Second Life until about 3 weeks ago, so there was that amazement to get past. If you don't know, Second Life is a 3D virtual world that lets you build practically anything, script objects (using Second Life Script, or SLS), interact with others using an avatar (your persona in Second Life), by text or speech, and even conduct business! You can purchase virtual land and create your own world, keeping it private or making it public, as you choose.

In fact, many businesses have locations in Second Life. Here's a short list:

You can find a more complete list at New Business Horizons. I've also read that many universities teach classes in Second Life.

The people of Virtualis

Virtualis is the dream-come-true of Dan Parks, its owner. Dan is President / Creative Director of Corporate Planners Unlimited, Inc. and a member of MPI (Meeting Professionals International) and several other meeting/ conference/ travel-related organizations. Working closely with Dan is Gloria Nelson, CSEP (Certified Special Events Professional), who has her own event design and meeting management company, Gloria Nelson Event Design, LLC. Several other people are involved as well, but I can't list them all.

Over the last couple of years, the team has designed, built, and programmed the most incredible conference center, one that can hold many types of events. They've created both traditional (as traditional as something can be in Second Life) and outrageously creative meeting places. The facility can be used for conferences, meetings, parties -- practically any type of get together you can think of. They've already done a priviate birthday party, with live music, dancing, and virtual food!

What you could do with Virtualis

Do you arrange meetings or conferences? Imagine the possibilities! People who can't travel can attend via the Virtualis conference center. They can see live streaming video of the live conference. You can even do the opposite -- stream a video of the Virtualis group into your live conference. People from around the world can meet there for smaller meetings. They even have a yacht! Virtualis can set up an exhibition hall, highlighting speakers, with working links to their Web sites. After the meeting, attendees can enjoy entertainment such as music, dancing, even fireworks!

If you have a chance to present in Virtualis, or any place in Second Life, first read my tip on best practices for presenting in Second Life.

The grand opening

The grand opening included presentations throughout the two-day period. Here's a partial list of the speakers:

• Joan Eisenstodt, Chief Strategist with Eisenstodt Associates, LLC
• Jim Carroll, futurist
• James Hogg
• B. Joseph Pine II
• John Foster
• Barbara Dunn

Look at the gallery of screenshots I took, and be amazed. I was!

That's me in the foreground (my avatar, actually), watching a slide in the ballroom.

Me again, but now you're looking the other way, so you can see the rest of the ballroom. Each avatar's name floats above his or her head.

The ballroom again, from a different angle. The speaker is at the podium and a slide is on another screen.

A special breakout room with the theme of creativity. On the ladder is Joan Eisenstodt, the speaker. I'm sitting on a palette, listening. The screen is to the left.

Here's another view of the creativity meeting room.

Joan Eisenstodt on the ladder, speaking on the topic "Is PowerPoint Evil? I had to include that one!

Gloria Nelson speaking from the floor. A flower arrangement is in the foreground.

Here I am "reading a book" outside the conference center, under a tree.

Here we're watching live, streamed video on the screen.

Time for some entertainment! I changed the world setting to midnight to show you the fireworks.

Partying on the outdoor dance floor. The lights swirl continuously. The music can be recorded or live. By clicking a scripted ball, you can make your avatar dance!

Here's a movie (4 sec.) of Jodiah Jensen, a programmer, showing on the spot how he can rotate a cube in the air.

Here's another movie (13 sec.) showing the dance party. Note that the movie is"laggy" because of the process of capturing it. When I viewed it at the time, the motion was smooth and up to speed.

If you're interested in using Virtualis for a conference, meeting, or party, contact Dan Parks.

April 22, 2008

Review of PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit

A new book by Geetesh Bajaj and Echo Swinford, PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit, is both unique and uniquely useful. PowerPoint 2007's interface, the ribbon, is so different from what we're used to, that running through a tutorial like this one will make the difference between tearing your hair out while staying up until midnight and smoothly, efficiently getting the job done on time.

Both authors are PowerPoint MVP's (Microsoft Valuable Professionals) and experts in their field. If I could distinguish the two, I'd say that Echo is the technical expert and Geetesh is the design expert. The individual talents that each author brings to the book is part of what makes it so valuable. Each makeover combines both workflow magic and design artistry so that you'll learn much more than you expect.

Warning: Don't try to read this book on your morning commute! I tried reading the book on its own and it wasn't very satisfying: the authors don't always show you before and after for each and every step. This book is a tutorial and you need to put the excellent CD in your CD drive and do the exercises. It's in the actual execution of the makeovers that you see the results on your screen. Meanwhile, you get a feel for the fastest way to correct major problems in a presentation and how to make it look much better.

The book has an easy humor which I found appealing. Here's a quote from p. 87:

"Every company has folks who are either too busy or too lazy. They don't want to do anything until the last minute, and the third presenter in our group presentation—Dan Klipkoos—is one of them! His slides look like a hurried, five-minute job. His reasoning is that he'll add the content after the presentation has been through the makeover that the design agency is doing!

"So, yes, you could fret and insist that Dan send the content now, but that won't help. Therefore, in this section, we'll show you how you can work with incomplete slides."

The CD includes all of the presentations that you'll work on. The authors have done something pretty amazing: they've saved each presentation at every step of every chapter so you can start at any point. This means that you don't need to go through an entire chapter if you don't want to. But I encourage you to do so, because the transformation that you'll see is very satisfying.

The CD also includes images, music tracks, templates, and themes.

If you go through this book, not only will you know PowerPoint 2007 a whole lot better, but you'll never look at a presentation in the same way again. You'll learn to apply a broad viewpoint that will enable you to vastly improve all of the presentations that you deal with.

Another plus is that the book is in full color! I'm very jealous, as none of my publishers has let me create a book in color. At least not yet. But for PowerPoint, the result is stunning. You really can see the difference between that blue and that gray.

If you've recently upgraded to PowerPoint 2007 and want to not only learn how to use it well but to improve your presentations, I highly recommend this book.

April 21, 2008

Turn off pop-ups when presenting

In a given day, or week, or month, how many messages pop up on your computer to:

• Update Java, RealPlayer, or Windows?
• Connect to a wireless network?
• Remind you of an upcoming meeting or birthday?
• Keep you up to date on your subscribed RSS feeds?

Warning: Some of these pop-ups may appear while you're presenting in slide show view! Not a pretty picture!

After a few minutes of inactivity (let's say you're answering questions), does your screen saver kick in, or does your computer go into hibernation mode?

Before you get into such a situation, right now, start making a list of the pop-ups that you see, and research how to turn them off. It's not always easy to find the answer, because the software companies want you to see those pop-ups!

One possible solution may be to disconnect from the Internet, or disable your wireless connection, if you don't need it during the presentation. Remember that many meeting venues have wireless networks, so your computer may try to connect during your presentation. And disconnecting may disable many other pop-ups. The method depends on your operating system.

In Windows XP, you would probably choose Start> Control Panel> Network Connections. In Windows Vista, try Start> Control Panel> Network and Sharing Center.

You can configure Windows updates by choosing Start> Control Panel> System and clicking the Automatic Updates tab. In Windows Vista, choose Start> Control Panel> Security or Security Center> Windows Update. If you turn them off during your presentation, remember to turn them back on afterwards!

However, some pop-ups don't depend on an Internet connection or may still pop up a message asking you to connect! For example, Outlook reminders may use your computer's internal clock. Therefore, you should try disconnecting from the Internet and see whether or not you still get some pop-ups. Of course, you can't do that for several times just to make sure -- that would probably be going too far! But the more planning and testing you do, the less likely that embarrassing pop-up will show its ugly face during your presentation!

April 12, 2008

Tell 'n' show slide design

A number of communication experts have recommended slide design as follows:

• A slide title that makes a complete statement (often suggested to be a complete grammatical sentence)
• An image that provides evidence of the statement

In an article, "Rethinking the Design of Presentation Slides," the Pennsylvania State College of Engineering discusses the concept of assertion-evidence design. This means that the slide title is an assertion, a statement, and the body of the slide provides some evidence for that assertion. The article's context is technical presentations and includes a study showing that students did better on an exam when the presentations were done using assertion-evidence design.

Actually, most teaching follows this scheme. For example, I just made a assertion that assertion-evidence led to better student exam results, and then showed you the slides as evidence.

I call this tell 'n' show. It's the opposite of the show 'n' tell that you may remember from 6th grade, because first you tell (in the slide title and by speaking out the statement), and then you show (by using a visual, and explaining it).

The visual can be a graph, a photo, or a diagram.

Here's a before and after slide from the article:

Before:

After:

The topic may be too technical for you (it is for me), but when you look at both slides, two conclusions are clear:

• Making an actual statement in the title is very helpful for understanding the point of the slide
• Images are helpful for making concepts clear

The tell 'n' show principle applies to business use, not only teaching technical topics. In a business environment, you want your audience to clearly understand what you're saying. Whether you're giving a persuasive presentation or not, audience comprehension should always be your first goal.

Here's a slide that I sometimes use when discussing how to create effective presentations, shown in 2 versions. Which is more effective?

Do you see how the statement at the top is clearer in the second example? And how the 3 components catch your attention much more when they're in a diagram? (Note: You can create this type of diagram very easily with PowerPoint 2007's SmartArt feature.)

This slide comparison brings out a third point, namely that bullets can't show relationships By turning the bulleted text into a diagram, I'm making clear that you a presentation involves starting with your content, then designing the slides, and finally delivering.

I'm not a purist when it comes to full sentences in the title. I could have said, "A presentation's 3 components" and it would also be clear. I think that "Annual sales up 7%" is as clear as "Annual sales were up 7%." The difference is only a matter of adding a verb, or not. The important point is that the title should say something, not be just a heading. So, "Annual sales" would not be a good title.

Try doing a makeover of an existing presentation that has lots of bullets. For each slide, use the slide title to tell your main point, and then use the body of the slide to show it visually. You'll be amazed at the results!

Special Offer!

If you send me a before and after presentation ( no more than 3 - 5 slides please!) by May 10th, I'll pick the 3 best examples and send you each a free copy of my new e-booklet, "7 Steps to Great Images." Click here to send the e-mail.

April 5, 2008

Create a drop-down menu

In the PowerPoint discussion group, in response to a request, Shyam Pillai shared a presentation that has a drop-down menu. Shyam is one of the best PowerPoint programmers around and his "proof of concept" is very elegant.

However, you can create a drop-down menu using animation. It will be less elegant, but doesn't require programming. The main menu button is used as a trigger, so that when you click it, the animation starts. If you want the dropped-down menu to disappear for the next use, the method is a little more complex.

Look at a drop-down menu in PowerPoint 2003 or other program. You'll notice that the drop-down menu just appears under the menu name. If there's some animation involved, it's too fast for me to see. However, I liked the effect of a wipe down animation, so that's what I used. You can use the Appear animation instead.

1. Insert an AutoShape/Shape. Add some appropriate text, such as Main Menu.
2. Then create your submenu items on AutoShapes/Shapes, just below the Main Menu button. Add text for the topics that you want to cover.
3. Select all of the submenu buttons and group them, by choosing Draw on the Drawing toolbar>Group. (In 2007, press Ctrl+G to group the selected buttons.) You do this so that all of the buttons drop down at the same time.

4. Choose Slide Show>Custom Animation. (In 2007, choose Animations tab>Animations group>Custom Animation.)
5. Select the grouped submenu buttons, and choose Add Effect> Entrance> Wipe. Set the Direction to From Top. Set the Speed to Very Fast.
6. You want the menu to wipe down when you click the Main Menu. In the Custom Animation task pane, click the submenu's drop-down arrow and choose Timing.
7. Click Triggers, then choose Start Effect on Click Of. From the drop-down list, choose the Main Menu object. Click OK.
8. It's nice if the submenu buttons disappear so that the next time you display the menu slide, you again have to click the Main Menu button to drop them down. This takes some finagling. (If you don't want the submenu buttons to disappear the next time you display the menu slide, skip to Step 11 and hyperlink to your Main Menu slide.) Select the grouped submenu buttons, and choose Add Effect> Exit> Disappear in the Custom Animation task pane. The new animation should appear above the trigger; if not, drag it up.

Note: If you now create links on the other slides to go back to this slide, you'll find that the submenu doesn't disappear. It may disappear once, but try again, and the Disappear animation won't work any more! that's because PowerPoint disables certain features when a slide is displayed more than once.

9. To make sure that the submenu disappears each time, click the Main Menu Slide in the left Slides pane and press Ctrl+D to duplicate that slide. Then select the first of the two identical slides. On that first slide, delete the submenu so that only the Main Menu button remains.
10. With that first slide still selected, choose Slide Show> Slide Transition. (In 2007, choose the Animations tab.) Uncheck the On Mouse Click check box and check the Automatically After check box, which should say 00:00.
11. Select the topmost of the submenu AutoShapes. Because the submenus are grouped, this selects all of them. Now click the edge of the top submenu. Choose Insert> Hyperlink. (In 2007, choose Insert tab> Links group> Hyperlink.) In the Hyperlink dialog box, choose Place in this Document, and choose the slide that the topmost submenu should link to. Do the same for the other submenu AutoShapes.
12. Display the first slide that your first submenu button links to. Add an AutoShape and choose Insert> Hyperlink. (In 2007, choose Insert tab> Links group> Hyperlink.) In the Hyperlink dialog box, choose Place in this Document, and choose the first of the two duplicate slides. This will ensure that the Disappear animation always works. No one will notice that you're going to a "dummy" first slide because the slide timing moves you immediately to the next slide -- which is your real menu slide. (If you don't want the submenu to disappear, just link to the menu slide.)
13. Copy your hyperlinked button onto the other slides that you're linking to. These buttons get you back to the Main Menu.

Here's how the presentation looks:

Watch a movie of the drop-down menu.

Download the presentation.

March 26, 2008

Top 3 tips for February, 2008

My site has so many tips on it now, that I'm aware of the fact that they can be hard to find. Don't forget that the Tips menu has a Search box where you can search for tips that meet your needs. Another way to discover new tips is to find out what other people are looking at. Here are the top 3 tips from February, 2008:

• Putting Flash animation in PowerPoint - This tip shows you how to add Flash movies (SWF files) to a PowerPoint presentation. I recently gave a webinar on this topic. Watch for an update to this tip!
• Create a timer - This tip shows you how to create a timer for breaks from 1 minute to 1 hour and anything in between. There are a lot of steps, but the whole process will take about 5 minutes.
• Easily create a quiz in PowerPoint using Visual Basic for Applications - There are many ways to create quizzes in PowerPoint (and I gave a webinar on this topic a few months ago), but this tip shows how non-programmers can use some easy VBA to create quizzes.

March 25, 2008

New e-booklet! "7 Steps to Great Images"

My newest work is a 22-page e-booklet that describes 7 steps, or techniques, that you can use to banish unprofessional images in your presentations and replace them with images that really pack a punch! The e-booklet is based on content from my webinars and on principles I've developed over the years. At only $6.95, you can buy one for yourself and another for that colleague who really, really needs it.

E-books make great take-homes for conferences and meetings. Recently, a conference organizer bought 40 copies of my 101 Tips Every PowerPoint User Should Know, to give each attendee one on a flash drive. What a great idea! And more useful than the tee shirt you usually get.

Read more about it!

March 25, 2008

March 2008 Resource of the Month - Presentation Zen

Presentation Zen is Garr Reynold's blog on on presentation design from the Zen perspective. His articles and ideas are always interesting and right on. His designs are inspiring.

March 24, 2008

Free Background of the Month - Tiles

This sophisticated tiling reminds you of a mosaic. Of course, you should change the photos to suit your situation. The photos are AutoShape fills. The download file contains both PowerPoint 2003 and 2007 versions.

March 24, 2008

In my Putting Flash animation in PowerPoint tip, I explain how to bring a Flash movie into PowerPoint, but how about bringing a PowerPoint presentation into Adobe Flash? You can't do it directly, but you can save the files in WMF format and import them into Flash.

This method does not preserve any animation or transitions. However, you can, of course, add animation in Flash.

Here's how:

1. In PowerPoint, choose File > Save As. (In PowerPoint 2007, click Office button>Save As.)
   
2. In the Save as Type drop-down list, choose Windows Metafile (*.wmf) and click Save.

Note: WMF is a vector format, which means that the images are defined by equations rather than dots. WMF images can be resized without losing their resolution. Flash uses vector graphics.

3. You see a message asking if you want to export every slide or just the current slide. Click the Every Slide button.

4. You see a message stating the folder where the slides were saved. PowerPoint creates a subfolder in the current presentation's folder.
   

5. Open your Flash movie and click the first keyframe where you want to start.
6. Choose File > Import>Import to Stage. Find the files in the folder and click the first one. They'll be named slide1.wmf, slide2.wmf, and so on. Click Open.

7. Flash asks you if you want to import the entire sequence; click Yes.

8. Flash imports each slide onto consecutive frames and makes each frame a keyframe. Save the file. Because you're importing a vector format, you can edit all the objects and the text in Flash!

9. To make use of your Flash movie, you'll need to make some changes. Remember that Flash defaults to 12 frames a second and you don't want your slides to go by that quickly! You can change the frame rate to create the equivalent of a timed PowerPoint presentation. For example, to display each frame for 4 seconds, set the frame rate to .25 fps. To do so, double-click the framerate box at the bottom of the timeline to open the Document Properties dialog box.

10. However, a more common technique is to add a button on each frame linking to the next frame. You can also add buttons to link to the previous frame and the first frame, thereby providing a navigation system to the user. The instructions for doing so are beyond the scope of this tutorial and will vary based on the version of Flash that you're using.

March 24, 2008

Use materials and lighting for interesting fills

You can fine tune the fills of your AutoShapes (Shapes, in 2007) by applying a variety of surface materials and lighting treatments. The differences are subtle but can impart a more professional result and create a realistic 3D look. PowerPoint 2007 has added many additional material and lighting settings. I've covered PowerPoint 2007 separately below.

For PowerPoint 2002/2003

In PowerPoint 2002 & 2003, you have a few options for changing the surface characteristics of an AutoShape by choosing one of 4 surfaces. You can also change the direction of the light and its brightness. These settings are all on the 3D Settings toolbar.

To start experimenting with these settings, follow these steps:

1. Insert an AutoShape on a slide. Even better, insert several identical AutoShapes so that you can try out variations and compare them.
2. Select on of the AutoShapes.
3. Click the 3-D Style button on the Drawing toolbar.
4. The 3-D Style menu pops up. For this exercise, choose the upper-left button, called 3-D Style 1. You need to choose a 3D style to use these features.

5. Click 3-D Settings at the bottom to open the 3-D Settings toolbar.

6. Click the Surface button to open the Surface menu.

7. Choose the surface that you want:

• Wire Frame: Doesn't fill in the AutoShape, just showing the outlines
• Matte: The default. Doesn't show highlights
• Plastic: Has slightly more highlights than Matte
• Metal: Has the most highlights, but appears darkest

8. Click the Lighting button on the 3-D Settings toolbar.

9. Choose a direction.
10. Click the Lighting button again and choose Bright, Normal, or Dim.
11. Apply the 3D, surface, and lighting effects to other AutoShapes.

Here are some results:

For PowerPoint 2007

PowerPoint 2007 has added to the number of options that you have for surface and lighting effects. Follow these steps:

1. Insert a Shape on a slide. Even better, insert several identical AutoShapes so that you can try out variations and compare them.
2. Select a Shape.
3. Choose Drawing Tools Format tab>Shape Styles group >Dialog box launcher button (Format Shape dialog box)>3-D Rotation.
4. Click the Presets drop-down list. Choose the Perspective Above rotation, or another rotation that you like. This is equivalent to choosing a 3-D Style in PowerPoint 2003.
5. Click the 3-D Format category.

6. In the Depth section, enter a depth for the object, to make it 3D. In this example, I set the depth to 11 points.
7. In the Surface section, click the Material drop-down list, and choose a material. You can see that there are many more options than in PowerPoint 2003. Of special interest are the Special Effect and Translucent materials.

8. Click the Lighting drop-down list and choose a lighting option. Note that lighting affects the entire slide, not just the selected object.

Tip: For a description of the various materials and lights, click the ? at the top of the Format Shape dialog box.

9. Try out other settings on other shapes, and then click Close.

This slide displays all of the materials, with assorted lighting settings.

March 16, 2008

People often ask, "How many bullets should I put on a slide?"

First I'll tell you what others are saying. Then I'll give you my answer.

"6 lines or less per slide, 6-8 words per line"

"6 words per line, 6 lines per slide"

"Limit the number of bullets per slide to five or fewer."

You get the picture.

I think that rules like this are nonsensical.

It's not that they're are totally wrong. It's true that you shouldn't have too much text on a slide. Why? When you display the slide, people start reading it. They can't read the slide and listen to you at the same time. You might as well shut up for 2 minutes while they read, because they aren't listening to you.

But bullets have other problems: (Caution: Here come a couple of bullets!)

• People associate them (from long experience) with boring presentations
• They represent an outline or list format
• They're a text-based, non-visual method of communicating

Bullets are boring

The truth is, people have had bad experience with presentations that have too much text and too many bullets. So you start out on the wrong foot when you use slides of bulleted text. People immediately tune out.

Bullets are for outlines or lists

What' wrong with outlines? When you present, you should be developing your message logically. For example, you might state the premise that most people waste a huge amount of money paying interest to the bank for their mortgage. Then, you need to back up that premise with fact, figures, examples, anecdotes, and so on. Your presentation shouldn't be an outline. It should be a full development of ideas.

Of course, that full development should be expressed in what you're saying. But bullets give the impression that what you're saying is just an outline, rather than a well-developed presentation.

Bullets are text based, non-visual

The purpose of PowerPoint slides is to add a visual aid to your speaking. So, let it be visual! Remember that your talking is the presentation; the PowerPoint slides are not the presentation.

A great deal of research shows that people will remember effective images more clearly and longer than text. And you do want people to understand and remember what you're saying, don't you?

However, the images need to be related to what you're saying. They should either add to the understanding or create a relevant emotional impact. Irrelevant images actually hinder remembering, according to research.

What do I use instead of bullets?

If you have a lot to say, how do you avoid bullets? An easy way is to put one concept on a slide. Just break up those 6 bullets into 6 slides. And add relevant, powerful photographs. If you want to tie up the ideas into a conclusion, then you can put them all on the 7th slide. At that point, your audience will be familiar with the concepts and can integrate them more easily.

Time for some visuals!

For example, you could take this slide...

... and expand it to these three slides.

Then, if you want to review the three ways to help audiences understand, use the bulleted slide as the 4th slide. By then, they'll understand the 3 items and the slide will have more meaning.

When are bullets OK?

Besides summarizing, is there ever another good time to use bullets? Bullets are lists, and sometimes you want a list. For example, an agenda slide is a good place for bullets.

There's nothing wrong with this slide. No images are necessary. It's meant to be a list. You're not developing any ideas. There are no concepts to wrap one's brain around.

Garr Reynolds in his blog, Presentation Zen, says the following:

"People often ask me how many bullet points is enough for their presentation. My answer is always the same: as few as possible...how about zero? In general, the more bullets your PowerPoint has, the less effective your presentation will likely be."

Here are two more of my tips that discuss the issue of bullets:

Beyond words

Quickly get rid of bullets

March 8, 2008

You can send potential clients or friends a CD that contains a presentation that runs automatically when they put the CD in their CD-ROM drive. If you add narration, the presentation will start automatically and run from beginning to end by itself.

This technique works well for sales brochures that you create in PowerPoint, for a narrated slide show of your vacation pictures, or any other use you can imagine. The beauty of it is that the receiver doesn't even have to have PowerPoint.

You can also create many variations on the steps below. For example, you can add music instead of narration. Or, you don't need to add timing to slides; instead, you can add an instruction to click on the slide to go to the next slide.

These steps show you how to create a presentation with narration and then save it to an auto-run CD. You'll need the following:

• A microphone or Web cam (better quality will provide better results)
• A blank CD-R (readable, not writable)
• A CD burner driver, with its accompanying software

Follow these steps:

Create the slides for the presentation.

Write a script and print it out. Practice delivering the script in Slide Show view.

In Normal view, choose Slide Show > Record Narration. (In PowerPoint 2007, choose Slide Show tab>Set Up group>Record Narration.

In the Record Narration dialog box, click Set Microphone Level and follow the instructions. You should see a green indicator in the volume bar as you speak. If necessary, use the slider to adjust the volume. If you don't see the green indicator, you need to check your microphone settings. When you're done, click OK to return to the Record Narration dialog box.

Click OK to start narrating, according to your script. You'll automatically go into Slide Show view. As you talk, click to advance to the next slide. By doing this, you'll be adding timings to each slide.

When you get to the black slide after the last slide, click to exit Slide Show view.

You'll see this message, asking if you want to save the slide timings. Click Save. What this does is save the timing for each slide so that it exactly matches the time you needed for each slide's narration.

Go into Slide Show view and review the presentation to make sure it's what you want. My main experience was that the sound wasn't very good, indicating that I should probably buy a better microphone.

When you're satisfied, switch to Normal view, save the presentation, and choose File>Package for CD. (In 2007, choose Office button>Publish>Package for CD. In 2007, you'll see a message about formats, because there isn't a 2007 PowerPoint viewer. Click OK)

In the Package for CD dialog box, name the CD. If you want to add other presentations, click Add Files, browse to them, and click Open. If you want to change the options, click the Options button. Here you can add a password, if you want. By default, the PowerPoint Viewer is included, which allows people without PowerPoint to view the files.

Click Copy to CD. You may see one or more messages. Some that I've seen are:

A message about including linked files in the package. If you have linked files, such as audio or video files, click Yes.

A message about about macros, linked objects or embedded objects not working in the PowerPoint Viewer, and asking if you want to continue. Click Continue. This won't be a problem if your viewers have PowerPoint.

A message about ActiveX controls. This is an unusual situation, but if you have added an ActiveX control to your presentation, the receiving computer must also have the control to view it. However, in my experience, the Viewer just doesn't play an ActiveX control.

Your CD-burning software may pop up, but in my experience, you can ignore it You'll now see a Copying Files to CD window that shows you the progress.

You see a window asking if you want to copy the files to another CD. If you just want one CD, click No. Otherwise, put in another CD and click Yes. Your CD should eject from your CD-ROM drive.

In the Package for CD dialog box, click Close.

Put the CD back inside the drive.

The Viewer opens and you need to click Accept to accept the license.

After that, your presentation plays.

The PowerPoint Viewer has some limitations:

• It won't play macros
• It won't play ActiveX controls
• To avoid problems, it's suggested that you embed sounds.
• Picture bullets & animated GIF pictures may not work

February 29, 2008

February, 2008 Resource of the Month - TED - Ideas worth spreading
TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and it's a conference that brings together thinkers and doers from those fields, and more to "give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes). The site presents the best talks and performances, all for free. It's a great resource for viewing top-notch talks and presentations.

February 29, 2008

Prezvision: An interview with Wataru Sugawara, CEO of SoftAdvance

Prezvision (actually, prezvision, with a lower-case "p") is an exciting new 3D animation program that starts with PowerPoint content and creates an amazing transformation. Because you start with PowerPoint, you can easily create 3D animation that would otherwise involve very expensive software and a huge learning curve.

Wataru Sugawara, CEO of SoftAdvance, the company that created Prezvision, and Ron Radcliff, VP of Business Development, showed off the software's capabilities at PowerPoint Live in New Orleans, in October, 2007.

Wataru Sugawara agreed to be interviewed by e-mail.

EF: What gave you the idea to create prezvision?
WS: The motivation to develop 3D presentation software was for my use first. I had been selling my products, including system integrations professional services. I could not well explain what I wanted to say with 2D drawings, because 2D is not natural as our physical world. We need 3D with motion and with multimedia including video, audio and picture to explain well whatever new idea, plan, vision, product, etc. we have. I always imagine everything with 3D and the time dimension. There was no software in the world that provided what I needed.

EF: Give us a brief overview of the features of prezvision.
WS: It is 3D multimedia presentation software. It helps you to present your plan, idea, product, etc. visually instead of with text. Here's a list of the major functions that you can do with prezvision software:

• Create 3D animation: You can easily develop 3D animation without learning or using Adobe Flash.
• Incorporate Motion: You can demonstrate movement & state of change, like a door opening / closing.
• Add special effects with "Zooming" features: You can incorporate a zooming effect which includes depth and motion (small-to-big, deep-to-front or hide-to-appearing) in order to keep your audience focused and engaged.
• Customizable 3D Slide Designs: You can design 3D images, with varied shapes, sizes, directions and depth on a slide canvas.
• Develop creative picture shows: You can develop an unique album with 3D pictures & special effects.
• Build Multimedia presentations: You can incorporate pictures, videos, sound and other input sources into your presentations. You can export your presentations as Quicktime Movies, SnapShots, Image sequences & PDF.

Here are two other important features:

• Offers Microsoft PowerPoint compatibility: You can import data from PowerPoint (today) and in the future you'll be able to export data into PowerPoint presentations.
• Utilizes a user friendly, defacto, graphical user interface: You will find prezvision's GUI is based upon an industry defacto standard. The user friendliness makes it easy to create and manage the prezvision 3D multimedia presentation software.

EF: How is Prezvision unique?

WS: Prezvision is unique in several ways:

1. It's easy to create animations, 3D and multimedia presentations. The moving slide-show like telop used in TV news shows can be created with the same result and working time in PowerPoint. [Editor's note: "telop" is a projection device that projects and superimposed images or text over the TV image.]
2. Prezvision automatically recognizes any difference in two consecutive slides and creates a motion transition as animation. This function is called 'Seamless transition." There are a lot of functions that make this type of animation easy to create. For instance, all shapes on a slide are named by ID. The shape of the same name on two slides is changed. The user can freely rename a shape to control the animation. We are applying for an international patent for this feature.
3. Meaningful animation: The essence of animation of prezvision is different from the animation of PowerPoint. It is not eye-Candy. It makes an animation of your product, result, plan, idea, etc. All animations created by prezvision are meaningful.

EF: How do you envision people using Prezvision? By that I mean, for what purpose?

WS: We are targeting all types of people who must impart to others a clear visual message in a short time. For instance, you can imagine the following people:

• A teacher at an elementary school who wants to develop original teaching material with 3D and seamless transitions. This can help the kids' imagination. Instead,a teachers now show pictures in 2D and reduce the kids' creativity because they translate from the natural 3D world to artificial 2D pictures.
• A marketing expert who must communicate with the media to introduce a new product without misunderstanding.
• A CEO who must communicate his plan, target, vision, schedule of the future with visualization to the stockholders or market.
• Officers or managers who wants to explain a new business model to concerned parties.
• The salesperson who wants to propose a new service to a customer.
• Postgraduate students or professors who wants to rouse the audience's attention at an academic conference.

EF: What are your future plans for the software?
WS: First of all, prezvision must be used by users in U.S. After we achieve this, I want to achieve the following.

• Improved of power of expression: Power of expression can be improved more if we use latest technology of real-time 3D. The critical point is to balance the power of 3D acceleration of mobile PCs.
• Improved convenience: Especially, I want to improve cooperation with office software.
• Strengthening of network functioning : I want to enable prezvision to operate, and to refer to the created file, in a Web browser. However, I must wait for a standard and efficient 3D rendering platform to appear.
• Correspondence to business solution: It will be important that prezvision be equipped the interfaces with solution packages as a front end of visualization of business applications. This story might exceed the frame of prezvision.
• Internationalization: Action on the world-wide market. Language localization itself is not a big problem. I want to make software that corresponds to the difference of culture in each country.

EF: Do you have some samples on your Web site?
WS: The latest information is at the following URL. http://www.prezvision.com/en/. In addition, you can see it on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAfLj5uqb90.

EF: What background do you have and what previous work have you done?
WS: I am a software designer, system integrator, and professional IT consultant who leads the IT strategy from management strategy. My boast is that I was the lead programmer of a system integration project using NeXT-computers. Perhaps it was the first case in Japan. It was exciting every day as the lead programmer.

Note: Version 1 is available now from www.prezvision.com/en. Version 2, which has more features like Graph from Excel, CAD import and so on, is due out in April.

February 29, 2008

Use an audience-centered structure

In my webinar, "Create audience-centered presentations," I covered many ways to organize, design, and deliver a presentation around the needs of the audience, and in turn, get better results.

If you missed it, I can share one of the concepts in the area of organization.

First, why create a presentation around the needs of the audience? You'll be able to keep your audience on the same page as you, resulting in better understanding, more retention of the material, and greater motivation to act. Remember that if you present what you want to say instead of what the audience wants to hear, you may miss the mark completely.

Most people start and end the wrong way, especially in a sales-type presentation. They start by telling the audience about themselves, perhaps with a history of the company and a list of other clients. Then they start to talk about their product or service. Finally, they mention the problems that it solves.

But the audience cares first and foremost about a solution to their problem. They want to know how you can solve the issues that keep them up at night. So, that's where you should start -- with the problem.

Researching your audience's situation in advance is very helpful for knowing what the problem is. It may not be obvious. You may think that the quality of your product and its excellent price are important. Your potential client might be more concerned about service.

Here is a better order for structuring your presentation:

1. Explain the problem. Review the difficulties of the current situation.
2. Explain how your product or service can solve the problem.
3. Validate your solution. Here's where you can talk about yourself and your company, and explain why you are the best person to solve the problem.
4. State a call to action, if appropriate.

By considering your audience first, you've turned the presentation upside down. The next time you prepare a presentation, think about this order. Your audience will thank you for it.

February 29, 2008

Recolor graphics in PowerPoint 2007

PowerPoint 2007 introduced the ability to recolor and adjust bitmap graphics. Bitmap files types include GIF, JPG, and PNG. You can recolor both inserted images and background images. These are exciting, new capabilities. Previously, you had to use third-party software to accomplish this task.

To insert a picture from a file, choose Insert>Picture and choose the picture file. To insert a picture from the clip art collection, choose Insert>Clip Art In the Clip Art task pane, enter keywords. Be sure to specify the type of clip art that you want from the Results Should Be drop-down list; you can specify photos only, for example.

You can make minor adjustments to brightness and contrast, or completely recolor an image.

The subject in this image is a little dark, because the sun was so bright. To make it brighter, double-click the image to display the Format tab. In the Adjust group, click Brightness to open the Brightness gallery.

Choose one of the positive values. You can see the difference in your photo immediately.

To increase contrast, click the Contrast button and do the same thing.

Of course, you can decrease brightness and contrast as well. Make your choice depending on the requirements of the image.

You can make more exact changes by choosing Picture Correction Options at the bottom of the Brightness or Contrast gallery to open the Format Picture dialog box, with the Picture category displayed.

Here, instead of choosing from 10% increments, you can enter any value you want for Brightness or Contrast. You can also reset the picture to its original settings.

You can recolor a photo, too. Recolored photos display one color predominantly and they're great for creating backgrounds, because text shows up well against them.

Here's a slide using a clip art photo (use sunrise as a keyword to find this one).

Let's say that you want to cover the entire slide with this photo. The problem would be that text wouldn't show up very well in front of it.

Here, I've reset the photo (I had cropped it to fit it on the right side of the slide), then recropped it to fit the entire slide. I've changed the text to white. It isn't terrible, but the clouds are pretty busy behind the text.

Reducing the contrast helps, but you don't want to dampen the drama of the photo too much. Instead, you could infuse the photo with a color. To do so, double-click the photo to display the Format tab. In the Adjust group, choose Recolor to display the Recolor gallery.

Hover the cursor over a color to see the results immediately. Continue to do this until you find a color you like and click. Or choose More Variations to see the theme colors, where you can choose More Colors to choose any color you like. Here I chose orange.

Here's a photo from clip art that I use a lot because of its presentation theme.

Here it is again, recolored in a teal color, and reduce the contrast by 10%

Usually, I blur it a little too. Then it makes a great background. But that's another tip!

A wonderful new capability is being able to make the same brightness, contrast and coloring changes to a background.

To insert a photo as a background to an individual slide or the slide master, right-click any slide or the slide master, and choose Format Background. In the Format Background dialog box, choose Picture or Texture Fill, and then click the Picture button to choose the file you want to use.

Then, click the Picture category on the left, to display the exact same controls you have for the Picture category of the Format Picture dialog box (shown earlier in this tip). You can now change the brightness, contrast, and coloring of the background!

Don't forget that you can right-click any image that you've inserted, let's say from clip art, and choose Save as Picture to save it. Then you can insert it as a background.

February 28, 2008

Use advanced animation to show growth & motion

You can create the illusion of growth and motion using the technique of frame animation. Frame animation duplicates the same object in slightly different positions or sizes and then quickly displays one after the other. This is how old-fashioned movie animation was done. Remember, though, that this process was very labor-intensive. Good animation is usually 15-30 frames per second, meaning that you need to create at least 15 images for each second of animation!

You can create a simpler version in PowerPoint fairly easily. You can use this process for anything that moves or grows and that you can draw in PowerPoint using AutoShapes. Here's the basic process that I use:

1. Create the first shape.
2. Duplicate the shape and move it to the side.
3. Make the desired changes. The examples I created were a tulip blossoming and a bird flying, so I moved the petals and the wings in those images, respectively.
4. Continue until you have one full set of animation. You can repeat the set later, creating a loop. I did this with the bird flying. The bottom-most bird is the same as the second one (both show the wings at mid-point) and the next step would return to the first position; thus I can repeat the 4 birds over and over.

5. Choose Slide Show>Custom Animation. (In PowerPoint 2007, choose Animations>Custom Animation.)
6. Select the first step of the animation. If you want it to appear, choose Add Effect>Entrance>Fade. Set the Start type, either On Click if you want to control the timing, or With Previous if you want it to start on its own. Set the Speed. For the tulip, I left the default Medium. For the birds, I started with Very Fast. If you want this object to be on the slide when you start, omit this step.

Tip: Very Fast, the fastest option in the Speed drop-down list, is .5 seconds, or 2 frames per second. This may work for you but is slow for a real animation effect. You can't make it faster in the Speed box in the Custom Animation task pane, but after you create the animation, you can make it faster. Select the animation item that appears in the task pane's list, click the drop-down arrow, and choose Timing. In the Speed text box, type a new speed. You can set the speed to a precision of 2 decimal places. For example, .07 seconds would be approximately 1/15 of a second. Click OK.

7. With the object still selected, choose Add Effect>Exit>Fade. Set the Start to After Previous and set the speed that you want.
8. Select the next object in the process, choose Add Effect>Entrance>Fade. Set the Start to With Previous and set the same speed as before. The With Previous start is very important, because then the second object fades in at the same time as the first object is fading out.
9. With the second object still selected, choose Add Effect>Exit>Fade. Set the Start to After Previous and set the speed that you want.
10. Repeat Steps 8 & 9 for all of the objects.
11. Usually, you don't want the last object to disappear, so don't add an exit animation to the last object.
12. Move the objects to the desired position. While animating, it helps to have them far enough apart for easy selection, but afterwards you may want to move them closer, or even on top of each other. The tulip is an example of putting all of the objects on top of each other. However, I wanted the bird to move forward as well as flap its wings, so I staggered the birds.
13. If you want to create a loop, select all of the objects and duplicate them. The duplicates retain the animation!
14. Add a pretty background and you're done!
15. Test your animation. You may find adjustments that you want to make, such as fading in fast but fading out more slowly.

Here's the tulip animation, which uses medium and slow speeds. After all, tulips don't open that quickly.

Here's the bird animation, which uses a speed of .3 seconds, or 3 frames per second.

You can download the presentation here.

February 28, 2008

Results of poll on PowerPoint versions

With 97 people voting, here are the results of the poll on which version of PowerPoint you're using:

The percent of people using PowerPoint 2007 is steadily rising. Some people are upgrading, but others are buying new computers that come with Microsoft Office 2007 and thus upgrade by default. I've been including instructions for PowerPoint 2007 for months, but now I'll start including an occasional tip that applies specifically to 2007.

January 31, 2008

• Wed., February 13th: Use PowerPoint to Bring the Audience into Your World with an Audience-Centered Presentation. Learn how to design an audience-centered presentation from the ground up and discover a simple formula to determine what content comes first, second, and so on. Find out how to incorporate audience input and convey ideas visually. And much more! Your 10% discount code is 10%offppt.
• Wed., March 19th: Add Pizzazz to your PowerPoint Presentations with Flash Animation. Learn why Flash animation is so powerful and how to add it to your presentations. Discover where to find Flash animations and how to control them in PowerPoint. Find out how to convert an entire presentation to Flash animation format. Your 10% discount code is 10%offppt.
• Wed., April 9th: Stop Force-Feeding Your Audience: Create Interactive and Flexible PowerPoint Presentations. This webinar will show you how to create a non-linear presentation that meets the unique needs of your audience. You'll learn how to create a menu as the front end for a presentation or to jump-start questions at the end. Your 10% discount code is 10%offppt.

January 31, 2008

January 31, 2008

January, 2008 Resource of the Month - Six Minutes: A Public Speaking and Presentations Blog
Six Minutes is a Andrew Dlugan's blog on public speaking and presenting. He writes often and is truly informed about all that is going on in the field.

January 31, 2008

Free Background of the Month - Fireworks! Great for any celebration or to generate excitement about a project.

January 27, 2008

Add flexibility with custom shows

You may need the flexibility to vary your presentation, depending on the audience, last minute decisions, or the amount of time you have available. Building this flexibility into your presentation can avoid embarrassing time overruns, last minute corrections, or not having the information an audience member asks for.

There are several ways t