Issue #1 February 26, 2002

1. Presenting Using Technology Tip

There are many shortcut keys that you can use during a slide show in Microsoft’s PowerPoint program. You can access a full list of them by pressing the F1 key while in Slide Show mode, but here are some of the most useful. B – pressing the B key during a presentation turns the screen black, pressing it again returns you to where you were before. This can be very useful when you want to put the audience’s focus on you for a moment instead of your visuals. Ctrl-L or Ctrl-H – pressing this key combination turns the pointer off during the presentation. Which key combination works depends on which version of PowerPoint you have. Ctrl-L works for PowerPoint 97 and earlier, Ctrl-H works for PowerPoint 2000 and later. This will stop the pointer appearing if the mouse moves during your presentation. A – pressing the A key during a presentation makes the pointer appear or disappear. If the pointer does appear on the screen during your presentation, the natural inclination is to press the Escape key – but this stops the presentation! Pressing the A key toggles the pointer on and off, so it can be used to turn the pointer off if it comes on.

2. Tip for Travelling with Technology

If you are anything like me, the cords for the various pieces of equipment we own get all tangled up shortly after we open the box! Most of the cords come with twist ties, but those are quickly broken or misplaced. The best (and cheapest) solution I have found is to buy a strip of Velcro at a material store and cut smaller pieces that then can be used as cable ties. It is cheap, works well, and makes it a lot easier to pack all the cords when it comes time to travel with our technology.

3. Useful Resource

One of the best books on designing printed or e-book type materials that I have read is “The Non-Designers Design Book” by Robin Williams. I first heard about it from Jen Garbin at the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers conference in December. It simplifies the concepts so that even I understood how to make an attractive page. The ISBN number is 1-56609-159-4 – check it our at your local library or book store.