Keys to an Enchanting Presentation
Mar. 8 2011 - 3:14 pm | 886 views | 0 recommendations | 0 comments
By CARMINE GALLO
Former Apple evangelist, entrepreneur and venture capitalist, Guy Kawasaki, has published a new book on the art of changing hearts, minds and actions. As I was reading Enchantment I realized that many of Kawasaki’s techniques apply to all manner of public speaking and business communications, especially in the area of presentation skills. Here are several of Kawasaki’s tips that you can use to improve your very next presentation and to change a few more minds.
Kawasaki defines enchantment as the process of delighting people with a product, service, organization, or idea. In order to accomplish that feat, you must be likable. According to Kawasaki, there are four factors that create a likable first impression: your smile, your dress, your handshake, and your vocabulary. On the topic of vocabulary, Kawasaki says “Words are the facial expression of your mind: they communicate your attitude, personality, and perspective.” Kawasaki offers several tips for a persuasive vocabulary:
Use simple words. When you use words people have to look up in a dictionary or search for in Wikipedia, you’ve failed.
1. Use the active voice. Consider the impact of two phrases: “Use the right words” versus “the right words should be used by you.” The passive voice is “wimpy,” says Kawasaki. Enchanters use the active voice.
2. Keep it short. “In ten years of listening to entrepreneurs’ pitches, I’ve never heard one that was too short,” says Kawasaki.
On the topic of PowerPoint slides, Kawasaki has a technique that I think is very effective if only because I see it used so rarely and yet it is very personal and makes an immediate connection with an audience. Kawasaki’s advice: Customize the introduction with pictures. For example, when Kawasaki spoke to HP’s printer division, he showed a picture of HP printers and faxes in his home office. When he speaks in a foreign city, he gets there early and tours the city to expand his horizons, finds out what enchants him about the city, takes photos, and incorporates the pictures into his presentation. Nice touch.
Kawasaki and I both agree that shorter, simpler, and more visual slides are far more enchanting – or delightful—than slides full of text. “Use evocative pictures to make your presentation exciting,” says Kawasaki. “The goal is to provide inspiring information that moves people to action.” Slides full of words and text seldom enchant. The fewer words, the better.
I’ve known Kawasaki for several years and I’m always pleasantly surprised to see that he and I agree on every area of communications. I come from journalism and Kawasaki comes from marketing but we agree on presentation techniques because the same concepts apply to both journalism and business – the person who tells the best story wins.
Carmine Gallo is the communications coach for the world’s most admired brands. He is a popular keynote speaker and author of several books including the bestsellers, The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs and The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs. Follow him on Twitter: carminegallo
MY THOUGHTS
well said! go and use these tips. they are very good tips. especially the use of more visuals on your slides. bullets are becoming obsolete.
Showing posts with label elements of presentations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label elements of presentations. Show all posts
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Saturday, January 22, 2011
SLIDE PRESENTATION AND DELIVERY TIPS
Top Ten Slide Preparation and Tips Delivery Tips
PowerPoint uses slides with a horizontal or "Landscape" orientation. The software was designed as a convenient way to display graphical information that would support the speaker and supplement the presentation. The slides themselves were never meant to be the "star of the show" (the star, of course, is your audience). People came to hear you and be moved or informed (or both) by you and your message. Don't let your message and your ability to tell a story get derailed by slides that are unnecessarily complicated, busy, or full of what Edward Tufte calls "chart junk." Nothing in your slide should be superfluous, ever.
Your slides should have plenty of "white space" or "negative space." Do not feel compelled to fill empty areas on your slide with your logo or other unnecessary graphics or text boxes that do not contribute to better understanding. The less clutter you have on your slide, the more powerful your visual message will become.
Your presentation is for the benefit of the audience. But boring an audience with bullet point after bullet point is of little benefit to them. Which brings us to the issue of text. The best slides may have no text at all. This may sound insane given the dependency of text slides today, but the best PowerPoint slides will be virtually meaningless with out the narration (that is you). Remember, the slides are meant to support the narration of the speaker, not make the speaker superfluous.
Many people often say something like this: "Sorry I missed your presentation. I hear it was great. Can you just send me your PowerPoint slides?" But if they are good slides, they will be of little use without you. Instead of a copy of your PowerPoint slides, it is far better to prepare a written document which highlights your content from the presentation and expands on that content. Audiences are much better served receiving a detailed, written handout as a takeaway from the presentation, rather than a mere copy of your PowerPoint slides. If you have a detailed handout or publication for the audience to be passed out after your talk, you need not feel compelled to fill your PowerPoint slides with a great deal of text.
We’ll talk more about this in the delivery section below, but as long as we are talking about text, please remember to never, ever turn your back on the audience and read text from the slide word for word.
Top Ten Slide Tips Preparation Tips Delivery Tips
PowerPoint uses slides with a horizontal or "Landscape" orientation. The software was designed as a convenient way to display graphical information that would support the speaker and supplement the presentation. The slides themselves were never meant to be the "star of the show" (the star, of course, is your audience). People came to hear you and be moved or informed (or both) by you and your message. Don't let your message and your ability to tell a story get derailed by slides that are unnecessarily complicated, busy, or full of what Edward Tufte calls "chart junk." Nothing in your slide should be superfluous, ever.
Your slides should have plenty of "white space" or "negative space." Do not feel compelled to fill empty areas on your slide with your logo or other unnecessary graphics or text boxes that do not contribute to better understanding. The less clutter you have on your slide, the more powerful your visual message will become.
Your presentation is for the benefit of the audience. But boring an audience with bullet point after bullet point is of little benefit to them. Which brings us to the issue of text. The best slides may have no text at all. This may sound insane given the dependency of text slides today, but the best PowerPoint slides will be virtually meaningless with out the narration (that is you). Remember, the slides are meant to support the narration of the speaker, not make the speaker superfluous.
Many people often say something like this: "Sorry I missed your presentation. I hear it was great. Can you just send me your PowerPoint slides?" But if they are good slides, they will be of little use without you. Instead of a copy of your PowerPoint slides, it is far better to prepare a written document which highlights your content from the presentation and expands on that content. Audiences are much better served receiving a detailed, written handout as a takeaway from the presentation, rather than a mere copy of your PowerPoint slides. If you have a detailed handout or publication for the audience to be passed out after your talk, you need not feel compelled to fill your PowerPoint slides with a great deal of text.
We’ll talk more about this in the delivery section below, but as long as we are talking about text, please remember to never, ever turn your back on the audience and read text from the slide word for word.
Use object builds and slide transitions judiciously. Object builds (also called animations), such as bullet points, should not be animated on every slide. Some animation is a good thing, but stick to the most subtle and professional (similar to what you might see on the evening TV news broadcast). A simple "Wipe Left-to-Right" (from the "Animations" menu) is good for a bullet point, but a "Move" or "Fly" for example is too tedious and slow (and yet, is used in many presentations today). Listeners will get bored very quickly if they are asked to endure slide after slide of animation. For transitions between slides, use no more than two-three different types of transition effects and do not place transition effects between all slides.
Use high-quality graphics including photographs. You can take your own high-quality photographs with your digital camera, purchase professional stock photography, or use the plethora of high-quality images available on line (be cautious of copyright issues, however). Never simply stretch a small, low-resolution photo to make it fit your layout - doing so will degrade the resolution even further.
Avoid using PowerPoint Clip Art or other cartoonish line art. Again, if it is included in the software, your audience has seen it a million times before. It may have been interesting in 1993, but today the inclusion of such clip art often undermines the professionalism of the presenter. There are exceptions, of course, and not all PowerPoint art is dreadful, but use carefully and judiciously.
MY THOUGHTS
speakers use bullet points because they use the powerpoint presentation as a crutch. if you're a good presenter, you'll use your slides as an aid. i love pictures. and a story line. my own story. so, my slides won't be any use for others. unless they're interested in the photos. i love cartoonish images though. but not when the presentation are for board members.
PowerPoint uses slides with a horizontal or "Landscape" orientation. The software was designed as a convenient way to display graphical information that would support the speaker and supplement the presentation. The slides themselves were never meant to be the "star of the show" (the star, of course, is your audience). People came to hear you and be moved or informed (or both) by you and your message. Don't let your message and your ability to tell a story get derailed by slides that are unnecessarily complicated, busy, or full of what Edward Tufte calls "chart junk." Nothing in your slide should be superfluous, ever.
Your slides should have plenty of "white space" or "negative space." Do not feel compelled to fill empty areas on your slide with your logo or other unnecessary graphics or text boxes that do not contribute to better understanding. The less clutter you have on your slide, the more powerful your visual message will become.
Your presentation is for the benefit of the audience. But boring an audience with bullet point after bullet point is of little benefit to them. Which brings us to the issue of text. The best slides may have no text at all. This may sound insane given the dependency of text slides today, but the best PowerPoint slides will be virtually meaningless with out the narration (that is you). Remember, the slides are meant to support the narration of the speaker, not make the speaker superfluous.
Many people often say something like this: "Sorry I missed your presentation. I hear it was great. Can you just send me your PowerPoint slides?" But if they are good slides, they will be of little use without you. Instead of a copy of your PowerPoint slides, it is far better to prepare a written document which highlights your content from the presentation and expands on that content. Audiences are much better served receiving a detailed, written handout as a takeaway from the presentation, rather than a mere copy of your PowerPoint slides. If you have a detailed handout or publication for the audience to be passed out after your talk, you need not feel compelled to fill your PowerPoint slides with a great deal of text.
We’ll talk more about this in the delivery section below, but as long as we are talking about text, please remember to never, ever turn your back on the audience and read text from the slide word for word.
Top Ten Slide Tips Preparation Tips Delivery Tips
PowerPoint uses slides with a horizontal or "Landscape" orientation. The software was designed as a convenient way to display graphical information that would support the speaker and supplement the presentation. The slides themselves were never meant to be the "star of the show" (the star, of course, is your audience). People came to hear you and be moved or informed (or both) by you and your message. Don't let your message and your ability to tell a story get derailed by slides that are unnecessarily complicated, busy, or full of what Edward Tufte calls "chart junk." Nothing in your slide should be superfluous, ever.
Your slides should have plenty of "white space" or "negative space." Do not feel compelled to fill empty areas on your slide with your logo or other unnecessary graphics or text boxes that do not contribute to better understanding. The less clutter you have on your slide, the more powerful your visual message will become.
Your presentation is for the benefit of the audience. But boring an audience with bullet point after bullet point is of little benefit to them. Which brings us to the issue of text. The best slides may have no text at all. This may sound insane given the dependency of text slides today, but the best PowerPoint slides will be virtually meaningless with out the narration (that is you). Remember, the slides are meant to support the narration of the speaker, not make the speaker superfluous.
Many people often say something like this: "Sorry I missed your presentation. I hear it was great. Can you just send me your PowerPoint slides?" But if they are good slides, they will be of little use without you. Instead of a copy of your PowerPoint slides, it is far better to prepare a written document which highlights your content from the presentation and expands on that content. Audiences are much better served receiving a detailed, written handout as a takeaway from the presentation, rather than a mere copy of your PowerPoint slides. If you have a detailed handout or publication for the audience to be passed out after your talk, you need not feel compelled to fill your PowerPoint slides with a great deal of text.
We’ll talk more about this in the delivery section below, but as long as we are talking about text, please remember to never, ever turn your back on the audience and read text from the slide word for word.
Use object builds and slide transitions judiciously. Object builds (also called animations), such as bullet points, should not be animated on every slide. Some animation is a good thing, but stick to the most subtle and professional (similar to what you might see on the evening TV news broadcast). A simple "Wipe Left-to-Right" (from the "Animations" menu) is good for a bullet point, but a "Move" or "Fly" for example is too tedious and slow (and yet, is used in many presentations today). Listeners will get bored very quickly if they are asked to endure slide after slide of animation. For transitions between slides, use no more than two-three different types of transition effects and do not place transition effects between all slides.
Use high-quality graphics including photographs. You can take your own high-quality photographs with your digital camera, purchase professional stock photography, or use the plethora of high-quality images available on line (be cautious of copyright issues, however). Never simply stretch a small, low-resolution photo to make it fit your layout - doing so will degrade the resolution even further.
Avoid using PowerPoint Clip Art or other cartoonish line art. Again, if it is included in the software, your audience has seen it a million times before. It may have been interesting in 1993, but today the inclusion of such clip art often undermines the professionalism of the presenter. There are exceptions, of course, and not all PowerPoint art is dreadful, but use carefully and judiciously.
MY THOUGHTS
speakers use bullet points because they use the powerpoint presentation as a crutch. if you're a good presenter, you'll use your slides as an aid. i love pictures. and a story line. my own story. so, my slides won't be any use for others. unless they're interested in the photos. i love cartoonish images though. but not when the presentation are for board members.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
PowerPoint Presentation Tips – Avoid Last Minute Surprises
PowerPoint Presentation Tips – Avoid Last Minute Surprises
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The PowerPoint tips featured here are not about creating better or more effective presentations, instead they help you avoid any last minute surprises that may crop up when an eager audience is waiting to see your slide show.
*They are all based on my personal experiences at a recent BarCamp.
Tip 1: Put the PPT files on a USB Drive
Yes, there’s box.net, slideshare.net and tons of other PowerPoint hosting services where you can upload your PPT files but I still recommend carrying files on a USB drive because there are chances that Internet may be very slow (or unavailable) in the presentation room. With files on the USB stick, you are always in control.
Related: How to Reduce Size of PowerPoint Files
Tip 2: Use Arial or Times New Roman Font
The default fonts in Office 2007 programs are Calibri, Corbel, Cambria, etc but unfortunately these fonts are not available on computers running older version of Microsoft Office. If you want the presentations to look the same in the conference room as on your laptop, use fonts like Arial or Times New Roman which are universally available.
Related: Best Fonts for PowerPoint Presentations
Tip 3: Always Carry the Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer
You have designed a great presentation using the latest PowerPoint 2007 but it possible that the computer, where you will run the presentation, is running an ancient copy of PowerPoint 2000. In that case, your presentation will fail to run. not run at all.
Download the free Powerpoint 2007 Viewer, transfer it your USB drive and be rest assured that your slide show will be play just perfect on any Windows computer.
Tip 4: Print a PDF of your PowerPoint Presentation
You can use Acrobat or the Save as PDF plugin of Microsoft Office 2007 to convert your PPT into a read only PDF file. Some members in the audience will always ask you for a copy of the Presentation slides and if you are not too happy in giving away the source file, PDF is a great alternative – it also maintains the layout, transitions and even the fonts.
Tip 5: Take Care of Margins
If the display properties of your computer do not match that of the projector, chances are that the presentation slides will be cut off at the edges – to avoid this, designate a margin safe area when designing presentations and limit your text or graphics to that area.
Tip 6: Some Presentation Rooms Can Be Very Big
Do not use small fonts as that will make your slides unreadable especially for back-benchers when the room size is large. The minimum recommended font size in PPT slides is around 24-points (more for headings).
Tip 7: Screensavers, IMs, New Email Notifications
Turn Off all these distractions before running the slideshow – they can sometimes be very embarrassing.
Tip 8: Power Management
Some computers (especially laptops) turn off the screen after 5-10 minutes of inactivity. Always turn off this feature using the Power management console.
MY THOUGHTS
i've learned it pays to test the slides - are the font's large enough, can peoplefrom the back read the text, are the pics and graphics clear, are colors okay. whenever possible and convenient, i bring the LCD myself.
Ads by Google 1000 training ideas www.koganpage.com
Best-selling training tips & much more for trainers and coaches
The PowerPoint tips featured here are not about creating better or more effective presentations, instead they help you avoid any last minute surprises that may crop up when an eager audience is waiting to see your slide show.
*They are all based on my personal experiences at a recent BarCamp.
Tip 1: Put the PPT files on a USB Drive
Yes, there’s box.net, slideshare.net and tons of other PowerPoint hosting services where you can upload your PPT files but I still recommend carrying files on a USB drive because there are chances that Internet may be very slow (or unavailable) in the presentation room. With files on the USB stick, you are always in control.
Related: How to Reduce Size of PowerPoint Files
Tip 2: Use Arial or Times New Roman Font
The default fonts in Office 2007 programs are Calibri, Corbel, Cambria, etc but unfortunately these fonts are not available on computers running older version of Microsoft Office. If you want the presentations to look the same in the conference room as on your laptop, use fonts like Arial or Times New Roman which are universally available.
Related: Best Fonts for PowerPoint Presentations
Tip 3: Always Carry the Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer
You have designed a great presentation using the latest PowerPoint 2007 but it possible that the computer, where you will run the presentation, is running an ancient copy of PowerPoint 2000. In that case, your presentation will fail to run. not run at all.
Download the free Powerpoint 2007 Viewer, transfer it your USB drive and be rest assured that your slide show will be play just perfect on any Windows computer.
Tip 4: Print a PDF of your PowerPoint Presentation
You can use Acrobat or the Save as PDF plugin of Microsoft Office 2007 to convert your PPT into a read only PDF file. Some members in the audience will always ask you for a copy of the Presentation slides and if you are not too happy in giving away the source file, PDF is a great alternative – it also maintains the layout, transitions and even the fonts.
Tip 5: Take Care of Margins
If the display properties of your computer do not match that of the projector, chances are that the presentation slides will be cut off at the edges – to avoid this, designate a margin safe area when designing presentations and limit your text or graphics to that area.
Tip 6: Some Presentation Rooms Can Be Very Big
Do not use small fonts as that will make your slides unreadable especially for back-benchers when the room size is large. The minimum recommended font size in PPT slides is around 24-points (more for headings).
Tip 7: Screensavers, IMs, New Email Notifications
Turn Off all these distractions before running the slideshow – they can sometimes be very embarrassing.
Tip 8: Power Management
Some computers (especially laptops) turn off the screen after 5-10 minutes of inactivity. Always turn off this feature using the Power management console.
MY THOUGHTS
i've learned it pays to test the slides - are the font's large enough, can peoplefrom the back read the text, are the pics and graphics clear, are colors okay. whenever possible and convenient, i bring the LCD myself.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Powerpoint presentation tip: make sure you are the center of attention
Make sure you are the centre of attention when presenting
Wednesday, 20th October 2010
Don’t let PowerPoint seduce you with its bulletpoints
Jeremy Hazlehurst
HERE’S a statistic for you: according to Microsoft, 30m PowerPoint presentations are made every day. You are probably thinking one of two things now. Either that this is a wonderful thing, and it means that clear, concise information is being conveyed all over the planet as we speak. Or you imagine a horrible hell of confusing and meaningless slides flashing before your eyes, signifying absolutely nothing.
PowerPoint divides people. A Yale professor and expert in the visual presentation of data called Edward Tufte says that it “routinely disrupts, dominates, and trivializes content”, making us less efficient. Nasa uses PowerPoint for its communication and Tufte claims that this contributed to the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003, which led to the deaths of seven astronauts. But then again, if Nasa uses it, can it really be so useless?
“PowerPoint is a technology, just like the wheel is. We wouldn’t say that the wheel was good or bad, we’d ask how humans use it,” says Clive Holtham, professor of information management at Cass Business School. “The problem is much less to do with PowerPoint than humans.”
The use of bulletpoints is one of the major flaws of computerised presentations. In the old days before audio-visual presentation, people wrote out reports – risks were spelled out in full sentences and people saw, read and digested the report before the meeting, whose main purpose was discussion. Bulletpoints make it far easier to hide problems – whether deliberately or not, says Holtham.
Technology is seductive, but if it is used badly it can make presentations less clear and more complicated. Don’t underestimate the power of the human voice to persuade, says Holtham. “It worked well for many millennia. Even in the modern era, Churchill or Kennedy or Martin Luther King could inform and persuade in a few minutes purely by voice. Of course they had trained and honed their skills.” Remember that you are the persuader, and the computer is just a tool.
The key to a good presentation is to have a narrative, and use technology to clarify or stress points in that narrative. To aid this, Holtham says that he has started experimenting with a system called Pecha Kucha, which uses 20 slides timed to change every 20 seconds. This limits presentations to six minutes 40 seconds, and also means you need to think of a presentation as a story. “It requires vastly more preparation and planning, indeed choreography, so that it becomes virtually a performance rather than a boring lecture. There is very little need for words on the screen. There needs to be a very strong storyline,” says Holtham.
Dave Paradi, author of 102 Tips to Communicate More Effectively Using PowerPoint, agrees that it is all about the story. “By first deciding how you will move the audience from where they are now to where you want them to be at the end of the presentation, you dramatically cut the time spent creating slides,” he says. “A good structure to your message makes it clear what supporting visuals you need.”
He says that you should never read out your slides: “Make your presentation a conversation instead of a reading a report.” Using a black slide focuses attention away from the screen and on to you. “There is no rule that says you must always have a slide showing when you are speaking. When you want to focus the audience on a key point or example you are sharing, use a black slide so there is nothing to distract the audience. They will listen more intently to what you are saying,” he says.
The unloved bulletpoint should also be avoided, and replaced by visuals such as graphs that have more visual impact. A good slide has three things: 1) a headline that summarises the key message of the slide; 2) a visual that summarizes the key message of the slide; and 3) a visual that illustrates the point.
You should select colours that have enough contrast. Paradi suggests using www.ColourContrastCalculator.com to test them. Also use a sans-serif font that is seen easily, such as Arial or Calibri in 24 point or larger. Most importantly, though, remember two things. Firstly, that you are telling a story. And secondly, that what you have to say is more important than your slides, no matter how pretty.
MY THOUGHTS
i love telling stories. that's why i love designing my presentations from scratch. even my reports would have some sortof a story line. depends,of course,on the audience. i've encountered 1 or 2 groups who still prefers the bullets. i need to improve on my visuals though. i'm not much of a techy so i guess i need to brush up on this.
Wednesday, 20th October 2010
Don’t let PowerPoint seduce you with its bulletpoints
Jeremy Hazlehurst
HERE’S a statistic for you: according to Microsoft, 30m PowerPoint presentations are made every day. You are probably thinking one of two things now. Either that this is a wonderful thing, and it means that clear, concise information is being conveyed all over the planet as we speak. Or you imagine a horrible hell of confusing and meaningless slides flashing before your eyes, signifying absolutely nothing.
PowerPoint divides people. A Yale professor and expert in the visual presentation of data called Edward Tufte says that it “routinely disrupts, dominates, and trivializes content”, making us less efficient. Nasa uses PowerPoint for its communication and Tufte claims that this contributed to the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003, which led to the deaths of seven astronauts. But then again, if Nasa uses it, can it really be so useless?
“PowerPoint is a technology, just like the wheel is. We wouldn’t say that the wheel was good or bad, we’d ask how humans use it,” says Clive Holtham, professor of information management at Cass Business School. “The problem is much less to do with PowerPoint than humans.”
The use of bulletpoints is one of the major flaws of computerised presentations. In the old days before audio-visual presentation, people wrote out reports – risks were spelled out in full sentences and people saw, read and digested the report before the meeting, whose main purpose was discussion. Bulletpoints make it far easier to hide problems – whether deliberately or not, says Holtham.
Technology is seductive, but if it is used badly it can make presentations less clear and more complicated. Don’t underestimate the power of the human voice to persuade, says Holtham. “It worked well for many millennia. Even in the modern era, Churchill or Kennedy or Martin Luther King could inform and persuade in a few minutes purely by voice. Of course they had trained and honed their skills.” Remember that you are the persuader, and the computer is just a tool.
The key to a good presentation is to have a narrative, and use technology to clarify or stress points in that narrative. To aid this, Holtham says that he has started experimenting with a system called Pecha Kucha, which uses 20 slides timed to change every 20 seconds. This limits presentations to six minutes 40 seconds, and also means you need to think of a presentation as a story. “It requires vastly more preparation and planning, indeed choreography, so that it becomes virtually a performance rather than a boring lecture. There is very little need for words on the screen. There needs to be a very strong storyline,” says Holtham.
Dave Paradi, author of 102 Tips to Communicate More Effectively Using PowerPoint, agrees that it is all about the story. “By first deciding how you will move the audience from where they are now to where you want them to be at the end of the presentation, you dramatically cut the time spent creating slides,” he says. “A good structure to your message makes it clear what supporting visuals you need.”
He says that you should never read out your slides: “Make your presentation a conversation instead of a reading a report.” Using a black slide focuses attention away from the screen and on to you. “There is no rule that says you must always have a slide showing when you are speaking. When you want to focus the audience on a key point or example you are sharing, use a black slide so there is nothing to distract the audience. They will listen more intently to what you are saying,” he says.
The unloved bulletpoint should also be avoided, and replaced by visuals such as graphs that have more visual impact. A good slide has three things: 1) a headline that summarises the key message of the slide; 2) a visual that summarizes the key message of the slide; and 3) a visual that illustrates the point.
You should select colours that have enough contrast. Paradi suggests using www.ColourContrastCalculator.com to test them. Also use a sans-serif font that is seen easily, such as Arial or Calibri in 24 point or larger. Most importantly, though, remember two things. Firstly, that you are telling a story. And secondly, that what you have to say is more important than your slides, no matter how pretty.
MY THOUGHTS
i love telling stories. that's why i love designing my presentations from scratch. even my reports would have some sortof a story line. depends,of course,on the audience. i've encountered 1 or 2 groups who still prefers the bullets. i need to improve on my visuals though. i'm not much of a techy so i guess i need to brush up on this.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
SmartDraw Reinvents PowerPoint at The Presentation Summit
Posted by marin2008
Saturday, 23 October 2010
SmartDraw has debuted key enhancements that make it possible for anyone to create more effective and engaging presentations to over 150 presentation industry experts, speakers and consultants during The Presentation Summit 2010 in San Diego, CA.
During a special participant reception, SmartDraw demonstrated how SmartDraw VP, the world's first visual processor™, enables the 95% of PC users who currently create only text-filled presentations to reap the benefits of communicating visually. The visual processor empowers them in three ways: 1) by making it possible to create and manage presentations visually, 2) by making it easy to replace bullets with powerful visuals, and 3) by ensuring visuals are presented in the most impactful way possible in presentations.
"Creating a truly visual presentation means more than taking an existing text-based presentation and replacing some of the bullets with visuals," said Paul Stannard, CEO of SmartDraw. "You need to think visually, plan and compose your presentation visually, and present it in a manner that engages your audience. Only SmartDraw makes this possible."
Numerous studies have shown that visual communication is up to six times more effective than words alone, but until now, less than 3% of business communication has included visuals like flowcharts, mind maps and other diagrams. This is because using traditional graphics software to create them is just too difficult and time consuming for the typical business person. The visual processor solves this problem by automating the creation of visuals to such a degree that anyone can do it. With today's announcement, SmartDraw showed how the program not only makes easy visuals possible, but also makes the creation of entirely visual presentations a reality for the everyday user.
"Since its introduction in 1987, PowerPoint has been optimized to make creating a slide of bullets the easiest thing to do," explained Stannard. "Even after two decades, creating a list of bullets is still the default action. That's why so many presentations consist of slide after slide of bullets. With SmartDraw's PowerPoint builder feature, you compose your presentation visually in a storyboard format. You can easily add visuals of all kinds to any slide. Once your presentation is ready, SmartDraw builds your PowerPoint deck with a single click. You never even have to open PowerPoint."
SmartDraw also ensures that the visuals in your presentation are displayed in the most effective way possible by revealing the information sequentially.
"Showing a visual, like a data chart, to your audience all at once can be overwhelming," said Rick Altman, speaker and organizer of The Presentation Summit 2010, and author of the book, Why Most PowerPoint® Presentations Suck and How to Make them Better. "They will be too busy trying to absorb all the information to focus on the specific point you are trying to make. A much more effective way is to reveal the visual step-by-step with sequencing. SmartDraw does this for you automatically."
SmartDraw's PowerPoint builder also makes presentations easier to manage because, no matter how many visuals are added, the entire presentation is always contained in a single SmartDraw file. This eliminates the problem of trying to find the original source files for charts, for example, when last minute changes need to be made.
By enabling everyone in the organization to create visual presentations quickly and easily, SmartDraw VP allows an enterprise to cut through today's information overload and communicate more effectively by distilling complex information into an easy-to-digest visual form.
SmartDraw VP automates the creation of 70 different types of business visuals including flowcharts, data charts and graphs, mind maps, Gantt charts, timelines, floor plans, and more. Built-in integration with Microsoft Office® and Adobe PDF allows users to create and then share SmartDraw visuals with a single click.
For an overview video and white paper by Stannard and Altman describing in detail how SmartDraw reinvents PowerPoint, and to download a free trial, visit www.SmartDraw.com/ppt.
About SmartDraw
SmartDraw helps businesses increase their bottom line by improving communication, refining operations, completing projects on time, and successfully implementing their plans through the everyday use of visual communication. Creators of SmartDraw VP, the world's first visual processor™, SmartDraw enables business professionals to easily and automatically create more than 70 types of common business visuals, including flowcharts, project charts, mind maps, org charts, timelines and more. SmartDraw lets anyone achieve professional-quality results in just minutes. SmartDraw is used by more than half of the Fortune 500, as well as thousands of law firms, police departments, health systems, government entities, educational institutions and private enterprises of all sizes. Founded in 1994, SmartDraw is privately-held, with headquarters in San Diego, California. For more information or to download a free trial of SmartDraw, please visit www.SmartDraw.com.
About The Presentation Summit
The Presentation Summit is organized and hosted by Rick Altman, prominent presentations consultant and author. Altman services an international client base and has authored 15 books on presentations and graphics, including his current one with the inflammatory title, "Why Most PowerPoint Presentations Suck." www.BetterPresenting.com
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MY THOUGHTS
heaven! need to check this out
Posted by marin2008
Saturday, 23 October 2010
SmartDraw has debuted key enhancements that make it possible for anyone to create more effective and engaging presentations to over 150 presentation industry experts, speakers and consultants during The Presentation Summit 2010 in San Diego, CA.
During a special participant reception, SmartDraw demonstrated how SmartDraw VP, the world's first visual processor™, enables the 95% of PC users who currently create only text-filled presentations to reap the benefits of communicating visually. The visual processor empowers them in three ways: 1) by making it possible to create and manage presentations visually, 2) by making it easy to replace bullets with powerful visuals, and 3) by ensuring visuals are presented in the most impactful way possible in presentations.
"Creating a truly visual presentation means more than taking an existing text-based presentation and replacing some of the bullets with visuals," said Paul Stannard, CEO of SmartDraw. "You need to think visually, plan and compose your presentation visually, and present it in a manner that engages your audience. Only SmartDraw makes this possible."
Numerous studies have shown that visual communication is up to six times more effective than words alone, but until now, less than 3% of business communication has included visuals like flowcharts, mind maps and other diagrams. This is because using traditional graphics software to create them is just too difficult and time consuming for the typical business person. The visual processor solves this problem by automating the creation of visuals to such a degree that anyone can do it. With today's announcement, SmartDraw showed how the program not only makes easy visuals possible, but also makes the creation of entirely visual presentations a reality for the everyday user.
"Since its introduction in 1987, PowerPoint has been optimized to make creating a slide of bullets the easiest thing to do," explained Stannard. "Even after two decades, creating a list of bullets is still the default action. That's why so many presentations consist of slide after slide of bullets. With SmartDraw's PowerPoint builder feature, you compose your presentation visually in a storyboard format. You can easily add visuals of all kinds to any slide. Once your presentation is ready, SmartDraw builds your PowerPoint deck with a single click. You never even have to open PowerPoint."
SmartDraw also ensures that the visuals in your presentation are displayed in the most effective way possible by revealing the information sequentially.
"Showing a visual, like a data chart, to your audience all at once can be overwhelming," said Rick Altman, speaker and organizer of The Presentation Summit 2010, and author of the book, Why Most PowerPoint® Presentations Suck and How to Make them Better. "They will be too busy trying to absorb all the information to focus on the specific point you are trying to make. A much more effective way is to reveal the visual step-by-step with sequencing. SmartDraw does this for you automatically."
SmartDraw's PowerPoint builder also makes presentations easier to manage because, no matter how many visuals are added, the entire presentation is always contained in a single SmartDraw file. This eliminates the problem of trying to find the original source files for charts, for example, when last minute changes need to be made.
By enabling everyone in the organization to create visual presentations quickly and easily, SmartDraw VP allows an enterprise to cut through today's information overload and communicate more effectively by distilling complex information into an easy-to-digest visual form.
SmartDraw VP automates the creation of 70 different types of business visuals including flowcharts, data charts and graphs, mind maps, Gantt charts, timelines, floor plans, and more. Built-in integration with Microsoft Office® and Adobe PDF allows users to create and then share SmartDraw visuals with a single click.
For an overview video and white paper by Stannard and Altman describing in detail how SmartDraw reinvents PowerPoint, and to download a free trial, visit www.SmartDraw.com/ppt.
About SmartDraw
SmartDraw helps businesses increase their bottom line by improving communication, refining operations, completing projects on time, and successfully implementing their plans through the everyday use of visual communication. Creators of SmartDraw VP, the world's first visual processor™, SmartDraw enables business professionals to easily and automatically create more than 70 types of common business visuals, including flowcharts, project charts, mind maps, org charts, timelines and more. SmartDraw lets anyone achieve professional-quality results in just minutes. SmartDraw is used by more than half of the Fortune 500, as well as thousands of law firms, police departments, health systems, government entities, educational institutions and private enterprises of all sizes. Founded in 1994, SmartDraw is privately-held, with headquarters in San Diego, California. For more information or to download a free trial of SmartDraw, please visit www.SmartDraw.com.
About The Presentation Summit
The Presentation Summit is organized and hosted by Rick Altman, prominent presentations consultant and author. Altman services an international client base and has authored 15 books on presentations and graphics, including his current one with the inflammatory title, "Why Most PowerPoint Presentations Suck." www.BetterPresenting.com
.
MY THOUGHTS
heaven! need to check this out
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Every Great Presentation Needs These 3 Elements
Every Great Presentation Needs These 3 Elements
Bill Rosenthal
Looking for the perfect words to use in your presentation? Put the words aside for a minute and let's create an avatar of a really persuasive presenter. It has three main characteristics:
The audience likes the presenter. “I'd like to know him,” they're thinking. “I trust her; she shares my values.” “He knows what he's talking about.” It all starts with the speaker being liked. Once the speaker establishes an emotional bond with the audience, they'll give him the benefit of the doubt on being trustworthy and knowledgeable about the subject.
The speaker is generating a high level of energy and it’s energizing the audience. He's holding their attention all the way to the end of the presentation.
The audience buys what the speaker’s saying because they understand its payoff for them. An audience won't do anything or believe anything unless there’s a what's-in-it-for-me there.
The words the speaker uses are important, of course. You have to be clear, concise and use persuasive language. Too bad that it's the aspect of the presentation that speakers spend most of their time planning. What you need is more attention to the characteristics that really count: like the avatar, you have to be liked, generate energy and provide a payoff. That will get you a standing ovation.
MY THOUGHTS
we all know how it is - the message gets lost because of the messenger.
Bill Rosenthal
Looking for the perfect words to use in your presentation? Put the words aside for a minute and let's create an avatar of a really persuasive presenter. It has three main characteristics:
The audience likes the presenter. “I'd like to know him,” they're thinking. “I trust her; she shares my values.” “He knows what he's talking about.” It all starts with the speaker being liked. Once the speaker establishes an emotional bond with the audience, they'll give him the benefit of the doubt on being trustworthy and knowledgeable about the subject.
The speaker is generating a high level of energy and it’s energizing the audience. He's holding their attention all the way to the end of the presentation.
The audience buys what the speaker’s saying because they understand its payoff for them. An audience won't do anything or believe anything unless there’s a what's-in-it-for-me there.
The words the speaker uses are important, of course. You have to be clear, concise and use persuasive language. Too bad that it's the aspect of the presentation that speakers spend most of their time planning. What you need is more attention to the characteristics that really count: like the avatar, you have to be liked, generate energy and provide a payoff. That will get you a standing ovation.
MY THOUGHTS
we all know how it is - the message gets lost because of the messenger.
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