Recently I offered some ways that you could turn your PowerPoint presentation into a video that could be sent to others or posted to the web (see article here). What if you want to just share the slides without the extra work to add an audio track? In this article, I want to share some…
Tag: 2012
Paperless Handouts; Issue #275 November 27, 2012
Is it possible to replace the paper handouts we use for our presentations with a more environmentally friendly electronic version that the audience downloads in advance or just before we start? The answer is changing, and right now it would be a “maybe.” Electronic handouts can save money on printing, save the environment by using…
Stand-alone presentations; Issue #274 November 13, 2012
This summer one of my clients asked me how to make stand-alone presentations effective. They often have to send their PowerPoint file to a prospective client without ever getting the opportunity to deliver the presentation in person or via web meeting. Since PowerPoint slides are supposed to be used to enhance the speaker’s message and…
Don’t start with an apology; Issue #273 October 30 2012
It happens at too many conferences every day. A speaker starts with an apology, and by doing so, sets the wrong tone for their presentation. Apologies destroy your credibility with the audience and put you in the wrong frame of mind, which leads you to not deliver the presentation you had hoped. I see it…
Presenting legal/regulatory quotes; Issue #272 October 16, 2012
Yesterday I spoke to a conference of real estate and legal professionals about how to create more effective PowerPoint slides when giving training sessions. They commonly show quotes or regulations from legal documents in their training sessions. Often presenters end up just reading the text of a paragraph because there doesn’t seem to be any…
Repurpose your presentation as a web video; Issue #271 October 2, 2012
Presentation Tip: Repurpose your presentation as a web video If you read the statistics about online video, you will see that online video is growing dramatically. And it is not just people watching funny cat videos. Executives and professionals are watching video online and making decisions based on the content and quality of what they…
Determining the goal of your presentation is hard; Issue #270 September 18, 2012
Presentation Tip: Determining the goal of your presentation is hard The foundation of every presentation should be a clear statement of the goal of the presentation. While I am sure you would agree with this, stating a clear goal is much harder than it seems. Don’t always assume that the first goal you come up with…
Presenting software/website usage; Issue #269 September 4, 2012
Presentation Tip: Presenting software/website usage Have you seen a presenter attempt a live demonstration of software or a website? Too often the demo goes wrong, with the software locking up or the Internet connection not working. Even large companies like Microsoft and Apple have these problems happen to them. Instead of live demos, I suggest…
Presenting a Recommendation; Issue #268 August 21, 2012
Presentation Tip: Presenting a recommendation In most cases, there is more than one possible solution for a problem. When you have been asked to investigate possible solutions and present your recommendation, you want the decision makers to act on that recommendation. In this article I will discuss how to make the presentation effective and get…
Make slides easy to see; Issue #267 August 7, 2012
Presentation Tip: Make slides easy to see There is no point using slides if the audience won’t be able to figure out what is on them. While this may sound obvious, I see too many presenters create slides that the audience won’t be able to figure out because of problems with the slide design. You…