1. PPT – Non-linear presentations
One of the knocks that PowerPoint has taken is that it forces a presentation to be linear. What this means is that you as a presenter have to follow the slides in the order that they are in the file without deviation. Critics say that this limits the presenter from addressing new directions that come up or from changing the presentation order on the fly based on the needs of the audience. I had a well known speaker mention this to me at the recent NSA convention and I decided to write an article explaining exactly how you can make non-linear PowerPoint presentations. With a little thought and preparation, you can create and deliver a presentation that is presented in a different order every time based on the needs of the audience you have in front of you that day. If the boss wants to skip to a particular section, you can do it seamlessly and look like you were anticipating the request. If you want to jump out to Word to capture participants ideas, you can do it without even leaving PowerPoint. I don’t want to include the entire article here in the newsletter because it is too long for this format, but here is the link so you can read it and pass it on to others who could benefit from it: http://tinyurl.com/867kh
2. Updating the Annoying PowerPoint Survey
Two years ago this month, I did something that I believe is still unique in the presentation industry. I surveyed audience members to see what annoys them about the bad PowerPoint presentations they see. I don’t see others taking the audience perspective into account, which is very strange. In my mind, the audience is the first and most important group to consider when creating and delivering a presentation. Well, two years have passed and I am re-doing the survey. It is open now and will stay open until the end of September. Since my newsletter list is ten times what is was two years ago, the number of responses should give us an even better insight than last time. I would ask that you take two minutes of your valuable time to click on the survey link below and complete the survey. In October, I will release the results in the newsletter so we can all see how to stop annoying our audiences. Please feel free to pass on the link to anyone else who sits through PowerPoint presentations so we can all learn as much as possible through the survey. Survey link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=37161315708
3. Useful Resource – Security Tips
Securing our computers is a constant task it seems. Every week we hear about a new threat to our PCs from the latest bug or attack attempt. PC Magazine recently published an article with 80 tips that can help you create a more secure computing environment. I am sure you are doing a lot of things to keep your computer safe, but you just may find a new idea or two in this list. Here’s the article link: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1838709,00.asp