In this issue
1. Latest Slide Makeover
2. Learn 25 Tips to Communicate More Effectively Using PowerPoint
3.
Corrupted PowerPoint file
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
Click on the cover to learn more
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
Click
here to learn more and book Dave.
Dave's Travel Schedule
March 23
- London, ON (Communicate
More Effectively Using PowerPoint public
seminar)
March 24
- Mississauga, ON (Communicate
More Effectively Using PowerPoint public
seminar)
March 25
- Ottawa, ON (Communicate
More Effectively Using PowerPoint public
seminar)
April 16
- Oakville, ON (High school teachers)
April 23
- Oakville, ON (High school teachers)
April 27
- Boston, MA (Communicate
More Effectively Using PowerPoint public
seminar
)
May 6
- Kingston, ON (Government professionals conference)
May 13
- Everywhere (PMI-SOC webinar)
May 14
- Oakville, ON (High school teachers)
May 17
- Mississauga, ON (Purchasing managers)
May 19
- Everywhere (Intercall/ Brainshark webinar)
May 27
- Ottawa, ON (DPI-PDW conference)
June 24
- Toronto, ON (Institute of Chartered Accountants)
September 13
- New Jersey (Medical professionals)
Connect with Dave
  
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Today is the first of my Communicate
Effectively Using PowerPoint public seminars. Our session
today in London, ON is sold out, as is the session in Mississauga
tomorrow. The Thursday session in Ottawa still has some
seats. I suggest you act today so you don't miss out. Go to www.PresentEffectively.com
for all the details and to register.
Last week I accepted an offer to become an Adjunct Faculty member at
the Rush University College of Nursing. I have created online
content for their students on creating effective PowerPoint
presentations to communicate important health topics to patients and
colleagues. I look forward to the opportunities that this
appointment brings.
My interview on Randall Craig’s Professionally Speaking TV program went
very well last week. He’s already posted the recording at http://blip.tv/file/3360542.
Latest
Slide Makeover Video
If you are explaining what choices an audience has in a situation they
are likely to encounter, don't just list the choices as bullet
points. This makeover shows how a decision tree diagram can
make the thought process clear and increase the probability that the
audience will apply the knowledge when faced with the
situation. 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).
In
three hours, learn 25 ways you can communicate more effectively when
presenting with PowerPoint
Many professionals need to deliver presentations using
PowerPoint. But very few have been given the training they
need in order to communicate effectively when using
PowerPoint. That’s why so many presentations are described as
“Death by PowerPoint”. With many corporations cutting
training budgets, professional development is harder to justify since
you have to pay for it out of your own pocket.
I’m doing something about these problems. I am offering
sessions in Ottawa, ON
(March 25th) and Boston, MA (April 27th) to give presenters twenty-five
tips they can use to
immediately improve their PowerPoint presentations. These are
half-day morning programs that are packed with practical ideas and cost
only $99 per person (less if you sign up early). It’s not a
lot of time out of the office, and the return on your investment is
immediate. All the details are at http://www.PresentEffectively.com.
PowerPoint
Tip: Corrupted PowerPoint file
I got a panicked call recently from a past workshop
participant. She supports presenters who were out on the road
doing a major presentation in venues across the country.
Whenever they started the presentation, its gives them the Blue Screen of
Death (BSoD as it’s known). It is likely that the PowerPoint
file got corrupted. How could it have happened and what can
you do about it? Here are some thoughts.
The problem may have occurred because they are running the file from a
USB drive. I always suggest that you copy your presentation
from a USB drive to your computer’s hard drive for two
reasons. First, it runs faster. Second, the file
can get corrupt if you pull the USB drive out of the computer without
properly ejecting it. Many people don’t properly eject USB
drives and it can cause major problems.
They also suggested that when they tested the presentation at the
office, they had not tested it with the presentation remote.
It is always a good idea to test with as close to the exact setup as
you can. Plug in the remote, connect to the projector, and
plug in the speakers. If you suspect that a piece of hardware
is causing the issue, unplug it and try the presentation
again. I have over 25 common problems and possible solutions
on a special site designed for access by your mobile phone.
Go to m.thinkoutsidetheslide.com to
access the free site (it works with regular computer browsers as well, just
don’t expect fancy formatting).
Sometimes drives or files do get corrupt. It has happened to
me before. That’s why I always have a backup of the file with
me or easily accessible. You can carry a copy of the file on
a USB drive, on your phone, or on your MP3 player. I always
back up my files to the web so that I am not reliant on physical
media. You can e-mail the file to a web mail service such as
Gmail
or Hotmail, or you can copy it to a web repository.
How can you quickly access a web-based copy of your file? If
you have a mobile phone that you can tether to your laptop, you can
access the file from there. If you are in a hotel, you can
likely go to the business centre and they will have Internet connected
computers that you can use to download the file onto a USB drive.
What should you do to prepare for these unfortunate
possibilities? First, always carry a USB drive. It
can contain a copy of your file or you can use it to copy the
file from another computer. Second, test as thoroughly as
you
can to catch problems before you go out on the road. Finally,
practice recovering from glitches. Know how to reset the
equipment and deliver the presentation if a piece of equipment stops
working.
Running into problems during your presentation is never fun.
But use these ideas to try to prevent issues and recover from them.
Have
you got your copy of The
Visual Slide Revolution Yet?
A reviewer on Amazon.com titled their review of my book "Excellent for every business
professional" and said:
"The concepts in this book are excellent and long overdue in the
corporate world where muddled PowerPoint is the norm. Most PowerPoint
books teach you how to create lovely-to-behold slides that contain very
little data. Paradi tosses that paradigm upside down, with slides that
even the artistically-challenged can create and that are rich with data
- perfect for business managers.
The concepts are clear and practical, and demonstrated with actual
examples from Paradi's consulting and training practice."
"... the content in this book is better than you'll find in books like
Beyond Bullet Points or Your PowerPoint Sucks..."
"Bottom line is this
deserves a place on every business professional's bookshelf."
If you haven’t got your copy yet, go to www.VisualSlideRevolution.com
today.
From
the Blog at PPtIdeas.blogspot.com:
How does banning PowerPoint solve the
problem?
PowerPoint makes the Boss Button
See all
blog posts and add
your comments at http://pptideas.blogspot.com
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