| ******************************************************************* Dave Paradi's PowerPoint Tip Issue #170 October 14, 2008 Published & Copyright by Dave Paradi of ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com Circulation over 8,300 ******************************************************************* 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: Transform your text slides into persuasive visuals New YouTube channel for Slide Makeover Video Podcasts PowerPoint Tip - Stop looking at the screen Best of the Blog - How to start building a library of photos Dave's Travel Schedule ******************************************************************* Transform your text slides into persuasive visuals Don't know how to start transforming your overloaded text slides into persuasive visuals? The solution you have been waiting for is here. My latest book, The Visual Slide Revolution, explains my five-step KWICK method that I use to create persuasive presentations for my clients. The Globe & Mail said, "This is a very strong book in an area where most of us are very weak." Read chapter 2 and order your copy at http://www.ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com/vsr.htm . ------------------------------------------------------------------- New YouTube channel for Slide Makeover Video Podcasts The latest Slide Makeover Video Podcast was released last Tuesday and it covers how to transform a data-heavy slide that confuses the audience into a clear visual so people understand and can apply the ideas you are sharing. It is available through iTunes and on the web site in the normal spots, but it is also viewable in a new way. To assist those who can't view QuickTime format videos, I have now created my own YouTube channel with all of the slide makeover video podcasts and two free "how-to" videos as well. It is at: http://www.youtube.com/ThinkOutsideTheSlide . ------------------------------------------------------------------- PowerPoint Tip: Stop looking at the screen What is so darned interesting on the screen? That's what I was asking myself at a recent conference as I saw speaker after speaker looking at the screen repeatedly during their presentation. It's not like anything had changed on the screen - it wasn't that they had put up a new point or moved to a new slide. They just regularly looked at the screen. It was almost like they were wondering if the screen was still there or what was displayed had changed without them initiating it. I got to thinking why they would be doing this. I think it is because they needed to remind themselves what point they were discussing. If this is the case, let me suggest some better ways to go about making sure you cover what you need to for each topic in your presentation. First, position your laptop so that you can see it when you are facing the audience. If you need to sneak a peek at what is on the screen, look at your laptop instead of the big screen behind you. Trust that what is on the laptop is the same as what is on the screen - because 99+% of the time, it is. Second, build each slide point by point or make only one point per slide. This way, you only glance at the slide when the point comes up and don't need to look again because you know what you need to talk about. If you have multiple points on the slide all at once, you need to keep looking to see if you've covered all the points. Multiple points on the slide also makes it harder for the audience to connect what you are saying with which point on the slide. Use a presentation remote device to change points and slides so you don't need to keep looking at a multi-point slide to see where you are. Third, rehearse what you are going to present. Too often, presenters look repeatedly at the screen because they need to remind themselves of what they wanted to say. This is a sign of lack of proper preparation. If you have rehearsed your presentation multiple times, you will be familiar with the material and it will flow smoothly without having to look at the screen to remind yourself of what you wanted to say. There is nothing wrong with glancing at your laptop screen to remind yourself of the point you have just shown the audience. But use the tips above to reduce the tendency to repeatedly look at the screen while you are discussing the idea with the audience. If you use visuals instead of text-heavy slides, this becomes so much easier. Learn how to transform text slides into persuasive visuals with my book "The Visual Slide Revolution" at http://www.visualsliderevolution.com . ------------------------------------------------------------------- Best of the Blog - How to start building a library of photos Yesterday I had a question from someone who was reading the blog. They asked where they could find a library of good photos that their department could use in presentations. They wanted 500-1,000 photos to choose from that were professional and fit their business. Wouldn't it be great if this existed? But unfortunately it doesn't. You will see stock photography collections available for purchase but most of them are too generic because they try to appeal to a broad range of possible uses. And in many cases they are expensive. The other source of great professional photos are stock photography sites like istockphoto.com. The challenge is that these sites have over 1 million photos to choose from. How do you create a library of the ones you find suitable for your business? Here is what I suggested to the person who asked me the question. First, create a list of the specific types of photos you think will work best in your presentations. Some examples may be categories such as older business men in a meeting, professional women showing leadership, medical personnel in a lab setting or others. Then, each day, set aside 15 minutes to look for 5 photos in one of the specific categories. By limiting yourself to one specific category, you narrow the search on the stock photography site and sift through fewer potential photos. Buy the ones you will use and put them on to slides. The investment of 15 minutes each day is a very small amount of time but you can be productive in that time because your searching is so focused. By the end of two months, you will have 200 great photo slides that you can use in your presentations. By breaking up the work, it won't seem overwhelming and you will see significant results relatively quickly. To this library that you build from the stock photography sites, add photos that you take yourself. Of course you need to check out the legal aspects such as who owns the photo & the rights, releases from anyone who is identifiable in the photo and usage restrictions. But once those are understood, look for opportunities to add to your library of photos with ones you take at your company or in public. I've taken generic photos of construction sites, signs and scenes that I've used in presentations over the years. Once you have a library of slides, as I explain in chapter eight of my book The Visual Slide Revolution, you can leverage the time you have invested in creating the original slides. Big firms who do a lot of presentations, like management consulting companies have used slide libraries to their competitive advantage for years. Take 30 minutes today to create your list of categories and 15 minutes each day for the next two months and you will have a great library of photos that will step your presentations up to the next level. Other recent blog posts at http://pptideas.blogspot.com : The folly of limiting the number of slides ------------------------------------------------------------------- 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: October 16 - Toronto, ON October 17 - Belleville, ON October 23 - Chicago, IL October 29 - Vaughan, ON November 5-7 - Savannah, GA November 21 - Toronto, ON November 28 - London, ON November 30-December 2 - CAPS Convention in Toronto, ON February 21-23, 2009 - Chicago, IL March 2-3, 2009 - Cincinnati, OH April 23, 2009 - Toronto, ON IAPA post-conference workshop open to the public, details coming in the fall May 8-9, 2009 - Chicago, IL 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? 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