******************************************************************* Dave Paradi's PowerPoint Tip     Issue #161 June 10, 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: Will you join The Visual Slide Revolution? Two new articles for you Reminder: New Slide Makeover Video Podcast available PowerPoint Tip - When to give handouts Best of the Blog - The single most misspelled word Dave's Travel Schedule ******************************************************************* Will you join The Visual Slide Revolution? Are you a presenter who wants to transform the overloaded text slides you are using into persuasive visuals?  Don't know how to start?  The solution you have been waiting for is here.  I've just released my latest book, The Visual Slide Revolution, and it explains my five-step KWICK method that I use to create persuasive presentations for my clients.  Read chapter 2 and order your copy at http://www.ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com/vsr.htm . ------------------------------------------------------------------- Two new articles for you I've published two articles recently for you to read.  The first is on the Sales & Marketing Management web site and is about best practices for e-mailing your presentation to others.  You can find it at http://snipurl.com/smmjune08.  The second is on how to battle the high price of gas by presenting on the web instead of travelling.  It is at http://www.ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com/articles/battlegasprices.htm . ------------------------------------------------------------------- Reminder: New Slide Makeover Video Podcast available A new Slide Makeover Video Podcast based on the ideas in "The Visual Slide Revolution" is available for your viewing through the iTunes Store or online. This video podcast shows the transformation of a slide overloaded with data resulting from a survey. The "after" slides show clear visuals that communicate the message to decision- makers.  If you have already subscribed through iTunes or another podcatcher, the new podcast should be automatically downloaded when you next run the program.  To subscribe via the iTunes Store or watch online, go to http://www.ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com/podcasts/index.htm .  Forward the link to others who could benefit by seeing this slide makeover. ------------------------------------------------------------------- PowerPoint Tip: When to give handouts Many times you will give a handout with your presentation.  It is often a copy of your slides, but it can contain other documents as well.  I recently posted an article on my web site that talks about some best practices for creating handouts.  The full article is at http://www.ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com/articles/creatinghandouts.htm Today I want to deal with one of the most contentious questions I get when it comes to the topic of handouts.  When do you give out the handout - before or after you speak? Some will argue that you always give it out after you speak.  They say that if you give it out before, people can read ahead and know what you are going to say.  If everything you are going to say is on your slides, this is true.  But you know that my philosophy is that your slides should be visuals that guide a conversation with the audience, not a transcript of everything you are going to say. So my approach is to give a handout before I speak.  I have three reasons for doing this.  First, it gives your audience somewhere to take notes that are relevant to them.  Every audience member will take something slightly different from your presentation.  They need somewhere to jot down those ideas while you are speaking or they will forget by the time you are done. Second, if they know they have a copy of your slides and other relevant material, they can pay more attention to what you are saying.  They don't need to be concerned with trying to madly write down what is on your slides.  Too often people get very frustrated at the end of a presentation where they have spent considerable energy writing down key points from the slides only to be told that they can pick up a handout on the way out. The third reason I suggest you give a handout before you speak is that it serves as your backup in case your technology fails. Perhaps I should say "when" your technology fails.  Because it is not a matter of "if" it will fail, only a matter of "when".  If you haven't had a projector die or laptop fry during a presentation, just wait, it will happen to you like it has happened to many of us already.  Your handout allows you to keep delivering the message that the audience came to hear. If you haven't been using handouts as well as you'd like to, you will want to check out two of my "how-to" videos.  One is on formatting handouts so they look great and one is on printing handouts including tricks like using hidden slides to add detail to your handout.  You can get each video for only $1.99 at http://www.ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com/ppthowtovideos.htm . ------------------------------------------------------------------- Best of the Blog - The single most misspelled word I see it all the time in presentations. I saw it twice this morning alone in newsletters. Your spell checker won't catch it. And obviously proofreaders rarely catch this error either. I'm talking about "you" and "your". So often I see one of these words used when the other should be. It's not that the writer doesn't know the correct word, it's just that as they are typing, they miss a letter or add a letter and they rely on spell checkers to catch the error. Which they won't. Here are the two examples from this morning (I have emphasized the mistake): 1. If your have a local business -- like a service or a store -- you know you MUST have a website. 2. ... but what about you living room? Other spelling mistakes that a spell checker won't catch: "the" and "they" "be" and "by" "late" and "later" "best" and "bets" All occur because of mistyping, but are never caught because they are still proper words - just not the word we intended. How do you catch these mistakes? Do what professional proofreaders do. Read backwards. That's right. Start with the last word and start reading back to the first word. Your brain isn't anticipating what the next word should be, so it doesn't skip over the incorrect word assuming that since the letters look right that the word must be OK. Other recent blog posts at http://pptideas.blogspot.com : ------------------------------------------------------------------- Dave's Travel Schedule I work with business presenters who want to transform their overloaded text slides into persuasive presentations that effectively sell ideas, products and services to decision-makers. 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: June 23 - Barrie, ON June 24 - Vaughan, ON July 11 or 18 - Chicago, IL (tentative) July 22 - Ottawa, ON (tentative) August 1-5 - New York City August 22 - Toronto, ON September 5-6 - Kansas City, MO September 15-16 - Edmonton, AB (tentative) September 17-18 - Vancouver, BC (tentative) September 19 - San Diego, CA (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.