Monthly Archives: February 2015

4 Easy Tips to Manage Your PowerPoint File Size

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”?

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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How To Make Public Speaking Easy And Painless

By Megan Ingenbrandt

There’s two types of people in this world. People who are comfortable speaking in front of a crowd, and people who aren’t. Some people enjoy getting up in front of a large group of people, and other people dread it. My twin sister, Nicole, is the latter.

I’ll never forget it. We were in our high school Honors English class, and the assignment was to recite a monologue from a Shakespearean play. Alphabetically, Megan comes before Nicole, so I went before my beloved twin. I recited my speech no problem, because I enjoy speaking in front of a large group. We’ll just say I’m a big ham.

For my sister, it was a different story. She walked over to the podium, and froze. You could almost see the beads of sweat forming on her forehead. She then got visibly upset, almost to the point of tears, rushed through her speech, and quickly sat down. It was pretty obvious that Nicole hated this.

This type of reaction is normal amongst people who do not like to be the center of attention. But when you’re a leader, it comes as part of the territory.

So for those of you who hate public speaking as much as my sister, here’s a few tips to make the experience less painful.

Preparation.

Instead of stressing out about giving a presentation in front of a large group, turn that negative energy into a positive. How do you do this?

With preparation.

Get a good night’s sleep the night before. I know this can be hard with that nervous energy you’ve got brewing inside of you, but trust me. This works. Start your bedtime routine an hour or so earlier, unplug from your devices, and relax.
Eat a healthy meal beforehand. Any personal trainer will tell you, food fuels your performance. Eat a healthy and hearty meal before your speech. You’ll stay full and focused throughout the presentation. And you’ll feel a lot better than if you ate a greasy cheeseburger.
Don’t read your presentation, know it. A mistake a lot of speakers make it relying too much on their powerpoint. Know what points you are going to make, and where each one is in your presentation. Use a notecard if you have to, but don’t turn around too much to see what’s in the powerpoint. Know what points you’re trying to make. Then, recite them to the audience. Talk to them, not the back wall.
Have a back-up plan. Nothing is more upsetting than when things don’t go as planned. If you can’t prevent it, have that back-up plan ready. If possible, send your presentation to someone at the venue ahead of time, or make sure you have a backup copy on a flash drive. (Bonus points if you do both!)

Don’t forget to sure all electrical equipment you’re going to use is working. You want the audience to hear as well as see you, so make sure your mic is working properly. That should help you avoid having technical difficulties come showtime. If the equipment isn’t working, the show must go on. Speak loud enough for everyone to hear you, and don’t stress out about it.

Remember, bad things are going to happen sometimes, but that’s why you should always have a plan B.

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