In this YouTube video, David Phillips presents five design principles to avoid “death by PowerPoint” by optimizing your PowerPoint slides:
PowerPoint 2013 allows you to convert your presentation into a video file. Converting a presentation into a video is useful because the MPEG-4 and WMV video file formats can be played on most computers. All transitions, animations, sounds, and narration in the presentation are embedded into the video. The video is not editable, so the entire presentation will always remain as the author intended. This is especially useful if your audience does not have PowerPoint 2013 installed on their computers.
Sometimes you want to direct your audience’s focus to a specific part of your slide. A nice way to do that is to darken all of the slide except for the part you want to draw attention to. In this tutorial, you will learn how to create an animated spotlight in PowerPoint 2013.
Click here to download the final PowerPoint file the video above was made from.
If you are upgrading from PowerPoint 2010 to 2013, you might be wondering what new features have been introduced. This article gives you an overview of the most important changes.
One change is immediately noticeable upon opening PowerPoint 2013. The new Start screen provides easy access to both local and online presentation templates as well as recently used files.
A great addition to PowerPoint 2013 is its revamped theme system. For many years PowerPoint users have complained that the default templates are not customizable enough. PowerPoint 2013 is Microsoft’s answer to these complaints; variations on many of the built-in themes now allow you to quickly change the color palette, fonts, effects, and background styles of a presentation.
The Eyedropper is another handy tool introduced in PowerPoint 2013. A common tool found in many graphics programs, the Eyedropper allows you to copy colors from one object and transfer them to another. One of the main functions of the Eyedropper is picking up a color from a photograph and applying it to text or shapes on a slide so that the colors match.
Speaking of photographs, PowerPoint is now capable of embedding videos and pictures directly from the Internet. You can easily search for videos on YouTube or pictures on Bing and import them into your presentation.
Another incredibly useful new feature is Shape Merging, which allows you to combine existing shapes to create new ones. With the Merge Shapes tool, you can take two or more shapes and select whether you want to union, combine, fragment, intersect, or subtract them.
Whereas PowerPoint 2010 introduced smart guides—sometimes called “whiskers”—to help you align objects on the screen, PowerPoint 2013 enhances this system with guides that allow you to easily place objects equidistant from one another.
One of the biggest enhancements introduced in PowerPoint 2013 is cloud integration. Users now have the option to save their presentations directly to the cloud by using OneDrive (formerly known as SkyDrive). With OneDrive you are now able to simultaneously work with others on the same presentation, using either the desktop version of PowerMockup or the PowerPoint web app.
Another improvement that fosters collaboration with others is the new Comments Pane, which displays comments in a threaded view with avatars next to the commentators’ names. This makes writing and following comments much easier than in PowerPoint 2010.
Microsoft has also added a Touch Mode to make PowerPoint more accessible on tablets and other touch-screen devices. Enabling Touch Mode adds additional space between the icons on the Ribbon, making it easier to tap commands with your fingers.
Another handy new aspect of PowerPoint 2013 is the Welcome Back feature, which marks where you are working in a presentation when you close PowerPoint. Upon reopening PowerPoint 2013 you have the option to resume unfinished work exactly where you left off.
The Presenter View has also been enhanced. Now, you no longer have to worry about the creepy glow of a computer screen against your face while you give a presentation because Presenter View is much darker than previous versions. Extra controls are also available to help you more easily navigate through your presentation, and a timer is built into the preview. But the coolest feature of all is the ability to zoom in and out of a particular area of a slide or to jump to an entirely different slide by clicking on the thumbnail image.
Don’t you hate it when you lose stuff? Things like your keys, your wallet, and for those of us getting on in years… your mind? But as a speaker, the worst thing you can lose is your audience. Yawning, fidgeting, and clock watching like children waiting for recess, the signs are all devastatingly obvious. Yet short of putting a gun to their heads or offering a million dollars to stay with you, there is a better way to keep from losing your audience: inject some humor.
Using humor in your speech or presentation has the miraculous effect of creating an immediate connection between you and your audience. After all, if you can get a laugh or a smile, people warm up to you very quickly. Humor also makes your presentation memorable. Do you remember the particulars of the last boring speech you sat through? Yeah… thought so.
But one of the best reasons to use humor in your speech is it reduces anxiety and tension in your audience. And an audience that is relaxed is one that is open and receptive to you and your message. That means more buyers, more clients and customers, and better bottom line results for you. From just your own experience, you know how much more you appreciate a presentation that uses humor versus one that doesn’t. So how come so few presenters use it? For most speakers, it comes down to a couple of things…
First, many people lack confidence to get up in front of an audience and deliver humor. They’re afraid that if they don’t deliver a laugh every few seconds, they’ll get booed off the stage. But you’re delivering a business presentation and no one expects it to be a joke fest. If they want those kind of laughs, they’ll have to hustle on down to the local comedy club. Your job is to deliver awesome content with a smile, not be the next Chris Rock or Larry the Cable Guy.
Second, most of us are taught that a business speech needs to be serious and has to follow a particular format. As a result, people get up in front of an audience and regurgitate a dull presentation, thinking they’re following ‘the rules’ of speaking (whatever those are!).
Amazingly, with a gentle shove in the right direction, you should have no trouble adding some wit and smiles to your next presentation. So just how do you inject humor into your speech? Try these three tips for starters:
Begin with an enthusiastic smile. Believe it or not, the fastest way to get your audience to smile is by starting out with one yourself. Begin your presentation with a smile and people will warm up to you faster than sunshine in the Sahara. If you have a serious look on your face and monotone in your voice, you lose before you even get started.
Use exaggeration. Probably one of the easiest ways to get that coveted audience connection is by using exaggeration. Instead of saying, “I had to rush to get to this presentation on time” try “I was in such a rush to get here that I had to be doing 450 miles an hour on the side roads.” Hilarious? No. But it puts a silly (but memorable!) picture in your audience’s mind of just how much effort you put into traveling, a picture they won’t soon forget.
Self-deprecation. That’s a fancy way of saying have some fun at your own expense. When you poke fun at your mistakes, missteps, and even personal traits, the audience will relax knowing you’re human, just like them. It’s a great way to make you that much more likeable and approachable. But be careful… don’t tear yourself down to the point where you look like a two-bit moron. Just a jab here and there and your audience will soon be your best friend.
If you’re looking for ways to keep from losing your audience, leave a lasting impression, and stand out from your competition, inject a little humor. Because if you lose your audience, you may never seen them again.
Christmas is around the corner, and we've created a Christmas PowerPoint template to help you get in the holiday mood. Check out the screenshots below:
Click here to download the template file. It's free for private and commercial use.
ShapeChef is a tool that helps you find and manage graphics and charts for your presentations. Click here for details.
