Helping you with presenting, PowerPoint, and speaking
Microsoft is actively working to make the user interface and features of PowerPoint easier to use. This is good news!
One new feature is the Edit Picture dialog box.
With a selected image, you get to it by clicking the Picture Format tab and then choosing the Edit Picture icon.
However, two of the features in the Edit Picture dialog box have their own icons: Remove Background and Erase.
Here is the full Edit Picture dialog box…
[Read more…]
From my perspective, you can use images on a slide in 3 ways:
How do you decide how to size, place, and format an image on a slide? It depends on your goal, your purpose.
There is no right way to use an image, but understanding these 3 ways will help you design better slides. You’ll learn how to use images purposefully so that they help you reach your goal for your presentations. At the end, I’ll give you a quick exercise that has helped others choose the best way to use an image on any slide.
I’ll describe all three ways of using images and give you examples, but I also want to focus on #3 because I think it is underused. So let’s get started!
By the way, these are all from my course, Power of Storytelling. [Read more…]
PowerPoint is adding new types of graphics and expanding existing ones. These are all available in Office 365, because they are constantly being updated.
One of the most recent additions is called Illustrations. Here are two examples on a slide…
They are in grayscale with a pop of yellow but you can:
To insert illustrations, choose Insert, Pictures, Stock Images. In the dialog box that opens, choose the Illustrations tab.
You’ll see a variety of topics to choose from but you can also search by keyword.
Select the illustration or illustrations you want and click Insert.
Do you need to create striking graphics for company newsletters, blog posts, posters, training materials, and so on?
A nice way to do this is with one of the burst or star shapes. Here you see an example.
This is easy to create: [Read more…]
I see lots of presentation files and have started to notice that when people start designing slides, they go into a formal mode that makes the presentation less personal — and less effective. The negative impact is especially pronounced when the presentation is put online, because the audience doesn’t see the presenter (although there might be narration).
Some presentations cry out for a personal touch. If you’re inviting the audience to join you in some way — join your company or participate in a program — you need more than words. Here are a few ideas to connect more effectively with your audience:
I have particularly noticed the effect of eyes in a photograph. Here’s a photo (from Microsoft’s ClipArt Gallery) that is effective if you’re talking about listening or connecting.
Because she is looking right at you, you feel that she is connecting with you.
What do you do to create visuals that connect with your audience, especially if you’re presenting online — via webinar or a slide-sharing site?
