******************************************************************* Dave Paradi's PowerPoint Tip     Issue #168 September 16, 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: Will you join The Visual Slide Revolution? New YouTube channel for Slide Makeover Video Podcasts Coming to PowerPoint Live next week?  Please say "Hello" PowerPoint Tip - Going green when creating presentations Best of the Blog - Everything on the web is NOT free  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 . ------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 hard-to-read screen capture of a program or web site 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 . ------------------------------------------------------------------- Coming to PowerPoint Live next week?  Please say "Hello" If you are attending the PowerPoint Live conference next week in San Diego, please make sure to stop me and say Hi.  I always like meeting the loyal subscribers to this newsletter. ------------------------------------------------------------------- PowerPoint Tip: Going green when creating presentations Last newsletter we looked at ways to be more environmentally responsible when creating handouts for our presentations.  This time we'll look at some tips when developing our presentations. 1.  Plan before you create The more time we spend at the computer, the more electricity we use. So, instead of starting your presentation by sitting at the screen and typing away, spend some time planning the structure of what you want to say first.  Let me share an example with you.  Yesterday I finished my slides for my presentation next week at PowerPoint Live. But earlier this month I sat down with some sticky notes and outlined the structure and what support I needed for my main points. When it came time to create my slides, I spent less time at my computer because I had already outlined what needed to be on my slides.  Not only does this save on the electricity you use, but it saves you time and lets you get on to the things you'd rather spend your time on. 2.  Copy content instead of printing it out If you have content from a spreadsheet or document that needs to be used in a presentation, don't print it out and then type it on your slide.  Open both applications and copy and paste instead.  Many of you may feel that this is a bit of a simple tip and not worthy of inclusion, but you'd be surprised at how often I see people print data or text out and retype it.  It's these little things that can add up. 3.  Re-use slides as much as possible One of the advantages of a slide library, as I talk about in my book The Visual Slide Revolution, is that it saves time in preparing future presentations.  If you have created a slide on a topic or created a chart or diagram that is similar to the one you need for this presentation, re-use it.  This saves time and money.  It fits all of the three "R's" - reduce, re-use, recycle.  By re-using slides and recycling other slides with new data, we can reduce the time, electricity and cost of preparing presentations. 4.  Set your screen to turn off automatically All PCs today have power savings features that allow you to reduce the energy you use.  And with more and more people using larger monitors, the amount of energy we are using is going up.  So every minute we can save a monitor from glowing on, is more energy saved. Look at the power saving options on your system and consider setting the screen to automatically turn off after 15 minutes of inactivity. So every time you go to research a fact, find that quote or just take a break, your monitor will shut off after 15 minutes and save all of us from producing more electricity. Like the last newsletter, these tips may seem small to some, but they can really add up if we all followed them.  I encourage you to look for more ways to be kind to our planet, whether you are presenting or not. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Best of the Blog - Everything on the web is NOT free Frequently in my workshops when I am talking about sources for good photos to use in your presentation, someone will ask about Google Images. This is the part of the Google search empire that allows you to search for photos based on keywords. Many presenters are under the mistaken impression that they can just copy an image they find using Google Images and use it in their presentation. They are shocked when I tell them that the images are almost always copyrighted and they need permission to use them. "But the image doesn't have the little "c" in a circle symbol, so isn't that OK?" they ask. No, it’s not. If you look at the web site, it almost always has a copyright notice on it, which means everything on the page is protected - including the images. The common exceptions are government websites where they have usage guidelines posted because by law they have to give some level of usage rights to the citizens who funded the work in the first place. But always check to make sure how you can use it and what acknowledgement needs to be on the slide. Instead of possibly opening yourself up to legal issues, why not use sources where you explicitly agree to usage, like istockphoto.com and other stock photo sites. And don't forget that you can take your own photos and have unique pictures that can show exactly what you want. 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: September 21-24 - San Diego, CA for PowerPoint Live, register at http://www.powerpointlive.com September 26 - Cincinnati, OH October 1 - Toronto, ON October 16 - Toronto, ON October 23 - Chicago, IL October 29 - Vaughan, ON November 5-7 - Savannah, GA November 30-December 2 - CAPS Convention in Toronto, ON February 21-23, 2009 - Chicago, IL 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?  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.