Category Archives: PowerPoint use

10 things to keep in mind to give a good (PowerPoint) presentation

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main-thumb-2358338-50-qbncmyromlwwvsuopzudyuzkygeqassi[1]  Mira Zaslove

I’ve given many presentations and some have been more successful than others. Even when it’s the same material. And very similar audiences. Something that I’ve learned: it’s easy to overlook one of the most crucial elements of giving presentations– make sure that your audience can easily focus on you and your slides. 


Don’t be in competition with your powerpoint for attention. When giving a presentation, audience engagement is critical. When you are talking, you want the attention on your message and not on the mechanics of the presentation.

10 things to keep in mind to give a good (PowerPoint) presentation:

1. Arrive early
Don’t even think about arriving late or cutting it close. Audiences will lose patience quickly if you waste valuable time at the beginning of the presentation fiddling around. If you are delivering the presentation in a new environment for your audience, arrive even earlier. Get comfortable and familiar with the space. It will help minimize distractions if you can easily answer commonly asked questions, like where the bathrooms and power outlets are. 
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How to Download PowerPoint Free Trial for Windows and Mac

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by Savio Kal

A slideshow has become the standard component of the majority of presentations around the world. Whether you’re in a business meeting or in a classroom, you probably have seen a slideshow presentation or you have made one or two yourself. When making those presentations you have probably used Microsoft’s PowerPoint. The popular slideshow presenter can be downloaded for free with Microsoft’s 365 trial offer for Windows or Macs. I will go over the necessary steps to access and download PowerPoint free trial.

Here is something unique you will learn by reading this article:

  • You will find out that you can no longer download old versions of the application online.
  • PowerPoint can NOT be downloaded as a single application.
  • You will also learn a method to avoid adding/using your credit card when signing up for the trial promotion.

What is PowerPoint

Microsoft PowerPoint is considered one of the most well-known programs that creates slideshow presentations. PowerPoint creates slides with written content, images, videos and graphics. The application is a visual aid tool that can be used to exhibit information in a visually pleasing way.

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The definition above is a technical way of defining the software but most of us know it as the tool we use during class and work presentations. PowerPoint is an application from a suite of apps from what is now called Microsoft 365. You’re more likely going to remember the bundled applications called Microsoft Office which included Word, Excel, Outlook and of course, PowerPoint.

The well-known slide presentation program was created in the early 90’s by Dennis Austin and Thomas Rudkin. Initially, PowerPoint was first called “Presenter” and was originally designed for Macintosh computers. The name was later changed due to copyright issues and the software was bought out by Microsoft for $14 million dollars in 1987. A few years later, the presentation software was launched to the public at the same time Windows 3.0 was released.

Fast forward to 2015 and PowerPoint is still the top searched presenter program online. On top of that, according to Wikipedia the program is also installed on over a billion computers worldwide. That’s a lot of slides.

Why use it?

Users rely on PowerPoint to create a professional presentation. The easy-to-use tools and functions can be used to create visually appealing slides. Each slide can have different attachments of graphics, animations, and multimedia. There are multiple ways you can present your slides to a group of people. Traditionally, a PowerPoint presentation is shown on a video projector but now, it is common to be seen during webinars.

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Besides the visual aid add-ons you can start off your presentation with unique templates making the slides stand out. There is no need to make a boring presentation for business meetings or class assignments. There a plenty of free templates you can download directly from Microsoft or from dedicated PowerPoint enthusiast websites like this one.

How much does it cost?

The PowerPoint application doesn’t come on its own but is part of the Office 365 suite. This suite from Microsoft comes at different price points based on various plans. You can no longer purchase the Office software without paying a yearly or monthly fee, unlike previous versions (2010, 2011, 2012). However, if you want to buy old versions of PowerPoint you can browse on Amazon or eBay. Many sellers list official product keys that can be purchased and redeemed online to download older versions of the suite.

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How can I present myself for a job interview using PowerPoint?

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by Joanna Miller

It’s easier than you can think.
First of all if you are not perfect in PowerPoint presentations DO NOT EVEN TRY to present yourself by PowerPoint. :) 
If not, go to any PowerPoint templates sites to find an appropriate template which is perfect to describe your CV. 

For example, if you wanna be the snowplow operator find something like thisSnow Shovel PowerPoint Template

But not like this Curriculum Vitae PowerPoint Template or this Job Interview PowerPoint Template 
Try be as specific as possible.

Show all your achievements using multimedia options of PowerPoint: does your potential  employer is  interested in your song? Just insert media file with your perfect aria in a shower.

Does he need to get perfect decorator? Just show him a video with you in your inspirational pose.


Use all 100% of your potential and fantasy to represent the most valuable person on Earth: you! 

Have a nice day :)

The Art Of Making A Brilliant Presentation

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by Srininvasan R

You never get a second chance, to make a first impression! The same rings true for presentations. As a leader, you have to deliver your messages with laser guided precision. So how do you ensure that you

You never get a second chance, to make a first impression! The same rings true for presentations. As a leader, you have to deliver your messages with laser guided precision. So how do you ensure that you ace that presentation? Well, for starters, you leave nothing to chance. But, that’s perhaps, easier said than done. Here are a few key pointers that could help you make that brilliant presentation.

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Five Tips for Planning a Presentation

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Jill Robbins

Editor’s note: When teaching public speaking, Professor Charles Lebeau divides presentation into three aspects. The three aspects of a presentation are: the physical message, the visual message, and the story message. In this article, we will look at the visual and story messages.

English is the language of many international conferences.  Sometimes a speaker might use a kind of “World English” that audience members do not understand. This can be true even for listeners who are native speakers of English.

For this reason, Professor Charles Lebeau says the visual message is important. The visual message includes pictures, charts and other aids a speaker presents during the talk. A non-native speaker ofEnglish can understand a picture. It can help  carry the message when the presenter’s words are hard to understand.

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4 Easy Tips to Manage Your PowerPoint File Size

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SlideJenius

You finally finished your PowerPoint deck! Following all the best PowerPoint practices, you were able to incorporate interesting visuals and make use of minimal but creative animations. You’re confident that it looks great, and you’re sure that your slides will definitely enhance the message you want to deliver. After some final adjustments, you’re ready to share your PowerPoint file online, transfer it to another device, or run a test drive.

And then your laptop starts to lag. The program starts to crash. If you’re sharing the presentation online, you’re met with an upload that’s expected to run for hours. The culprit? A PowerPoint file that is too large. If you want a seamless presentation experience, you need to learn how to shrink your PowerPoint file to a manageable size.

Lucky for you, there are 4 simple ways you can fix PowerPoint file size issues. Take note of the following tips and find the most applicable solution to your dilemma:

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How valid is Edward Tufte’s argument that PowerPoint is “evil”?

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By Robert Frost

It’s total nonsense.  Tufte has a bug up his butt about PowerPoint and can’t see straight where it is involved.  I found his negativity about the application to taint his seminar.

There used to be a video game called Chuck Yeager’s Air Combat.  In that game, audio recordings of Yeager were used to provide mission feedback.  A line he often said was “Remember, it’s the man, not the machine.”

I use that line, with my best Yeager impression, every time I teach lessons on effective presentations, because it is such an important point.  PowerPoint is not a poor tool.  People use PowerPoint poorly.  And it is an easy thing to fix.  PowerPoint is quite powerful and PowerPoint is easy to use to create effective visuals.

Tufte is old enough to remember the pre-PowerPoint days, when presenters often provided no visuals or if they did, they used horrible text-filled acetate overheads.  PowerPoint didn’t create bad presentations.  It did make them easier to produce, just as word processors have made it easier to write terrible books.

With each revision, Microsoft has improved their application.  SmartArt allows, with just a few clicks, a user to take a flat, contextless, near useless list of bullets and convert them to a graphic that has context, is more engaging, and easier to remember.
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Just Do It: Put The Clicker Down

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Just Do It: Put The Clicker Down

by Brad Phillips

When we conduct our presentation training sessions, almost every speaker begins their presentation with a PowerPoint remote in their hand. By doing so, they send a signal to their audience right from the start: Boring PowerPoint show about to begin! The vast majority of presentations shouldn’t open with a slide. The opening moments are a critical opportunity to forge a connection with your audience, which is best accomplished by speaking directly to your audience, not by clicking to a boring agenda slide. That being the case, there’s no need to keep the remote in your hand at the beginning of a presentation. If you’re using PowerPoint, you can pick up the remote when you’re about to click to your first slide, which may not occur until several minutes into your talk. And if there are long gaps between slides, you should put the clicker down during those gaps as well.

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Creating Quote Mark Graphics in PowerPoint 2013

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by Troy Chollar

PowerPoint 2010 introduced the very great ‘Merge Shape’ tools (see this post for details). With this toolset editable, vector, shapes can be can be created direct in PowerPoint – something I refer to as “Illustrator 2.0″. With PowerPoint 2013 it includes the ability to convert text to vector, which is what we will use to create the stylized quote marks for a complete PowerPoint workflow.

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Adding PowerPoint presentations to your story map map tours

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by Bern Szukalski

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When someone mentions “presentation” invariably Microsoft’s PowerPoint comes to mind. PowerPoint slides, and even entire presentations, can be easily incorporated into story map map tours, and can provide some extra context for your tour. In this post we’ll cover adding static “slides” as well as using Slideshare and Box for hosting the presentation used in your tour.

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