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In this issue:
Create Your Own Professional Slide Look
One slim desk reference for presenters
PowerPoint Tip - Use PDF Capture Tool
Best of the Blog - Making Words Stand Out
Dave's Travel Schedule
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Create Your Own Professional Slide Look

What search term returns 2.54 million results? The term "powerpoint
templates". Why waste time wading through these results only to
find out you have to pay for a background that everyone else is
already using. Create your own professional powerpoint template
with my easy to follow instructions. Check it out at
http://www.ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com/customtemplate.htm .

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One slim desk reference for presenters

When we wrote "Guide to PowerPoint", we set out to do something that
had never been done before. We combined the best ideas on what
makes slides effective with step-by-step instructions on how to
quickly do the required tasks in PowerPoint. As one reviewer said,
"If this is your first business presentation or your 700th
presentation, Guide to PowerPoint should be part of your library."
Get your copy at http://www.thinkoutsidetheslide.com/guidetoppt.htm 

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PowerPoint Tip - Use PDF Capture Tool

I've worked with two clients recently who produce a lot of material
in Adobe's PDF format for marketing purposes. This is quite common
today as more companies switch from printed materials to online
versions that can be printed as needed, downloaded from a web site
or e-mailed. Marketing departments spend a lot of time creating
these materials and you should take advantage of their work in your
presentations.

While you could ask for the source file so that you have all the
graphics, charts, tables, etc., that's not usually the easiest
approach. Since most of the pages will have been created in high
end page layout software, you will be getting files that you likely
would have a hard time using.

The easier approach is to use the PDF version of the document. With
a PDF version, you always get it looking the way the designer
intended it to look and don't have to worry about having a fancy
graphics program to read it. And most of the time it is easy for
the designer to create a PDF version if it is not already available.

Don't be tempted to use a web page version of the document. If you
have tried to copy items from a web site you have probably run into
the problem of the low resolution of the web. Once you get the
image into your slide and try to scale it up to a reasonable size,
it looks all chunky and many times any text is hard to read. A PDF
file has higher resolution than a screen version since it is
intended to be printed.

Once you open the PDF file in your Acrobat Reader program, you need
to find the item you want to copy into your slide. Make sure it is
large enough on your screen that the copied size will pretty much
fill your slide. You can use the zoom feature to make the elements
in the PDF file larger on your screen. Then use the capture tool in
the Acrobat Reader to capture the selected item to the Windows
clipboard. Once it is on the clipboard, you simply paste it into
your slide.

Use this technique for product brochures, documentation, CAD
drawings or any other complex graphics that would be useful in your
presentation. If you are using material from another organization,
always make sure you have their permission first.

If you want to link to a PDF document in the middle of your
presentation so you can tour the document with the audience, you
will want to check out my webinar recording of "Non-Linear and Other
Advanced PowerPoint Delivery Techniques". It covers linking to
external content and so many more delivery tricks of the pros. Get
it at http://www.ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com/wtnonlinear.htm .

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Best of the Blog - Making Words Stand Out 

Sometimes you will want to put a quote on your slide and point out
certain words that emphasize or support the point you are making. It
could be a quote from an expert, a passage of a regulation or law or
a small section of a document you are referring to. In any of those
cases, you need to put the text on the slide. I suggest not putting
it as a single bullet point because it looks strange. Use a separate
text box just for the quotation. Always give the source - usually
using a smaller font in the lower right corner of the slide. And
make sure you give emphasis to the words that you want the audience
to focus on so they see the context, but know what the most
important part is for them to connect with the point you are making.

Other recent blog posts at http://pptideas.blogspot.com :

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Dave's Travel Schedule

If you have been sitting through too many presentations that did not
relay the key information needed to make critical decisions, you
should schedule an in-house or web based seminar or workshop. 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 13-15 Indianapolis, IN
July 6-14 San Diego, CA
July 15-17 Los Angeles, CA
July 24-25 Detroit, MI
August 3 Huntsville, ON
August 13-15 Cincinnati, OH & Lexington, KY (tentative)
August 17-20 Chicago, IL
August 24 Toronto, ON
September 7-9 Winnipeg, MB
September 28 Seattle, WA one-day public workshop - register at
http://www.ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com/powerpointseminar.htm September 27-30 Seattle, WA
October 10-12 Washington, DC
October 25-26 Huntsville, ON

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.

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