In this issue
1. Latest Slide Makeover
2. Have you got your copy of my 102 Tips book?
3.
Why do presenters change the organization's template?
4. Have you got your copy of The Visual Slide Revolution yet?
5. From the Blog
One
of the
Top 10 Business Books of 2008
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Book Dave to do a live program
for your group:
1) Transforming Text Slides into Persuasive Visuals
2) Hands-on Creating Persuasive PowerPoint Visuals
3) Cutting Presentation Preparation Time by Using Content Templates and
Creating a Slide Library
4) Creating and Delivering Effective Web Presentations
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July 20
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July 21
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August 13
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August 19
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September 11
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September 13
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September 15
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September 16
- webinar for Training magazine network
September 30
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October 8
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October 15
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October 17-20
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November 25
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This past
weekend we visited my brother and his
family in Chicago. While we were seeing the Willis Tower, we
realized that they were shooting scenes for the upcoming Transformers 3
movie. One thing you notice when you are watching a movie set
is
how much preparation goes in to shoot one short scene. They
set
up all the cameras, actors, stunt people, special effects, extras and
so many other details. It can take them an hour to set up for
a
two minute scene. It is similar to what presenters should be
doing. We need to work on our message, create our visuals,
rehearse our delivery, and get all of our equipment ready for the
presentation. Remember that just like shooting a movie, we
need
to spend the time preparing for our presentation if we want to be
successful.
Latest
Slide Makeover Video
If you want the audience to understand results or numeric information,
don't use text on your slides that reads like your speaker
notes. Use the ideas in this makeover to create a table that
makes it easy for the audience to understand what the numbers mean to
them. Click
on the
video below to play it in your browser via YouTube (or watch it on Brainshark or my web
site at
www.ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com/podcasts).
Have
you got your copy of 102 Tips to Communicate More Effectively
Using PowerPoint yet?
Why did one organization order a copy of 102 Tips to Communicate More
Effectively Using PowerPoint for every one of their accreditation
course instructors? Why did a software and services company
order a copy for every sales professional and sales engineer?
Why is a nurse educators conference making sure every attendee has a
copy of the book before they leave the room?
All of these organizations have seen how practical and useful the tips
are in 102 Tips to Communicate More Effectively Using
PowerPoint. As Jean said: “I love the format - it's so easy
for me to pick it up and read a tip at a time and really digest the
information. Because of the format, I started reading it right
away!” Presenters are reading the tips and applying them
immediately to improve their presentations.
Get your copy today at www.102PPtTips.com.
PowerPoint
Tip: Why do presenters change the organization’s template?
I had a conversation recently with a client who is looking to update
their organization’s PowerPoint template. The one they have
now is out of date, but of more concern is that everyone seems to be
creating their own slide design. The organization’s branding
is getting lost in the variety of looks that have no consistency.
The modification of corporate slide templates is a common problem for
many marketing departments. As presentation coach
Richard Petersen has said to me many times, most templates last about
30 minutes before someone in the field changes them. The
question is why this happens when so much work has been put into
creating a slide look that is well designed and helps project a uniform
image.
As I explained to my client, I think that presenters change the slide
template because they haven’t been told why decisions were
made. In my opinion, it is a failure to educate the
presenters who use the template. If they understood the
reasons behind choices of fonts, colours, branding and positioning of
placeholders, they would know the negative impact of changing the
template.
Let’s look at some of the decisions and the reasons that we need to
communicate to presenters. When we select sans-serif fonts
such as Arial or Calibri, presenters need to know how research shows
sans-serif fonts are easier to read when projected and the dangers of
using non-standard fonts when moving a presentation to another
computer. When we select the size of the font, presenters
should know that we have considered the rooms they present in and have
used visual acuity based calculations to check that text will be able
to be read from the back of the room (see this table for the
calculations that should be used).
When we select colors for the background and text, presenters need to
know that the colors have been tested for contrast (using the Color
Contract Calculator) and they are consistent with the
organization’s colors. When we position placeholders and
graphics on the slide, presenters need to know that they are placed to
allow for two line headlines that summarize the key message of the
slide, and room for visual content that illustrates the message.
So how do we educate the variety of presenters who will use the
template? What I’ve discussed with my client is creating a
video where I explain the decisions and the reasons why presenters
should not make changes. By having an outside expert give the
explanation, we hope it will make a greater impact. The
template and the short explanatory video will be on the same internet
page so when presenters download the template, they will be more likely
to watch the video since it is right there on the same page.
If you are responsible for the organization’s template, save yourself
some headaches by educating the presenters who will use the
template. If they know why they shouldn’t make changes, they
will be more likely to leave the template as it is.
Have
you got your copy of The
Visual Slide Revolution Yet?
Here’s what Mark Noonan said about The Visual Slide Revolution:
“I read The Visual Slide Revolution and used it to produce my first
presentation given at a technical conference. When I compared
all the other presentations to the KWICK method, they all failed
dismally. I have already recommended your videos and book to
others in my company. Thank you for helping me present
information in a more effective way.”
Ray Cousineau said: “The book was excellent. I am finding I can get a
main message on one slide with much more clarity. Therefore I can
reduce the number of slides while still actually providing a more
complete picture to the audience, which provides a more compelling
story.”
If you haven’t got your copy of The Visual Slide Revolution yet, go to www.VisualSlideRevolution.com
today and place your order.
Online content I've tweeted about
or written about on my blog at PPtIdeas.blogspot.com:
Presenter Evaluation Feedback form from
Distinction Services (Jim Endicott)
Why it’s smarter to put your conclusion in
your opening by Olivia Mitchell
See all
blog posts and add
your comments at http://pptideas.blogspot.com
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