******************************************************************* Dave Paradi's PowerPoint Tip     Issue #157 April 15, 2008 Published & Copyright by Dave Paradi of ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com Circulation over 8,400 ******************************************************************* Please forward this newsletter to executives and professionals who want to create PowerPoint presentations that sell their ideas, products or services more effectively.  If this newsletter has been sent to you by a friend, sign up to get your own copy at http://www.ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com/newsletter.htm . ******************************************************************* In this issue: Article in Sales & Marketing Management PowerPoint Tip - Using Hyperlinking Best of the Blog - Spring Cleaning for your Presentation   Dave's Travel Schedule ******************************************************************* Article in Sales & Marketing Management Recently I was quoted in an article in Sales & Marketing Management magazine on how sales professionals need to present in new ways. The full article in online at http://snipurl.com/smmapr2008 .  Check out what I and others have to say about the future of presentations. ------------------------------------------------------------------- PowerPoint Tip: Using Hyperlinking Last newsletter I pointed you to an article on designing presentations for delivery via a web conferencing system.  Today I follow that up with an article on delivering that presentation via the web facility.  The full article is on my web site at http://www.thinkoutsidetheslide.com/articles/deliverwebsalespresentation.htm (if the link doesn't work because it is too long, just go to the articles page on the web site and you'll see it there) In today's newsletter I want to expand on one of the topics in the article.  Too many times when we want to bring content from outside PowerPoint into our presentation, we see a distracting technique used.  The presenter exits their presentation, we see them start up another application, find their file, open it and then continue. There is a much cleaner way to do this - hyperlinking. In PowerPoint, you can add a hyperlink to any text or shape.  By selecting the text or shape, you can then click Insert - Hyperlink in PowerPoint 2003 or PowerPoint 2007.  You will see the options for hyperlinking to files or even web sites. If you have a Word document or Excel spreadsheet that you want to open during your presentation, don't link to the Word or Excel program.  Any link to an executable file brings up a warning during your presentation and still forces you to find the file you want to open.  Instead, link to the actual document or spreadsheet file. Windows is smart enough to know that the file type should be opened in the correct program, so it automatically opens the program and that file for you. During your presentation, when you get to the slide with the hyperlink, you will have to activate that link.  Most presenters move their mouse over the link and click on it, just as you would if you were on a web site.  This can be distracting.  Instead, use a little known trick.  By pressing the Tab key, you will be able to select the text or shape that has a hyperlink (you will see a thin white dashed line box around the hyperlinked object).  Then press the Enter key and it will activate the hyperlink.  This method is less distracting for your audience. Once you are done typing in Word or doing calculations in Excel, you need to save your work and go back to your presentation.  To do so, all you need to do is exit Word or Excel.  You can click on File - Exit, but there is an easier way.  Most Windows programs, including Word and Excel, can be closed by press the Alt+F4 key combination (hold the Alt key down and press the F4 key).  This is a quick, less distracting way to move from the document or spreadsheet you were working on back to your presentation. If you want more detailed instructions on hyperlinking, including how to create link buttons and use hyperlinks to other PowerPoint presentations, check out my e-book "Guide to Advanced PowerPoint Techniques" on the web site at http://www.thinkoutsidetheslide.com/guidetoadvppt.htm . ------------------------------------------------------------------- Best of the Blog - Spring Cleaning for your Presentation I spent most of the day yesterday helping my in-laws clean out their garage. They are moving this summer and we figured we'd get an early start on going through the accumulated stuff in the garage. Many of us will be doing similar spring cleaning around the house at this time of year. So why not do some spring cleaning of your presentation? You've probably accumulated some slides that you've used for quite a while and they feel comfortable. But deep down, if you were honest with yourself, they don't work as well as they once did. Oh, they are OK, but you know your presentation could be better if you took the time to clean them out. Should you replace them? Maybe not. Maybe you should cut them out and include more time for discussion and questions. Maybe you should leave that item out and expand on another area of your presentation. If you do decide to replace the old slide with a new one, make sure it is a visual slide that encourages a conversation with the audience. No more bullet paragraph slides please. Spring is a great time of year to look around and observe all the new growth popping up everywhere. Take this opportunity to do some spring cleaning on your presentation. I know you'll appreciate the results. Other recent blog posts at http://pptideas.blogspot.com : ------------------------------------------------------------------- Dave's Travel Schedule I work with business people who struggle with the effectiveness of the PowerPoint presentations they use to sell ideas, products and services to other business people. My research based PowerPoint Presentation Effectiveness System helps my clients achieve greater productivity and deliver presentations that close more sales.  You can save money by booking me to speak to your organization or conference when I am close to your area for other clients.  Here's where I will be in the next few months: April 28 - Toronto, ON May 3 - Chicago, IL May 9 - Ottawa, ON May 15 - Toronto, ON (tentative) June 24 - Boston, MA (tentative) August 1-5 - New York City September 5-6 - Kansas City, MO (tentative) September 21-24 - San Diego, CA September 26 - Cincinnati, OH E-mail me at Dave@ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com to discuss how my Think Outside The Slide(tm) sessions can help your organization be more productive and improve communication throughout the organization. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Privacy Policy: I will never sell or distribute your e-mail or information to anyone. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Need articles for your newsletter?  Check out my many articles at: http://www.ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Check out the books, e-books and other learning tools at: http://www.ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com/resources.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------- If you want to read back issues of this newsletter, click on the following link to go to the Archives: http://www.ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com/archives.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------- Microsoft, PowerPoint, Windows and other terms are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.  Microsoft product screen shot(s) reprinted with permission from Microsoft Corporation.  All books, products and seminars are independent publications and are not affiliated with, nor have they been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Microsoft Corporation.