PowerPoint and Presenting Stuff

Types of Animation in PowerPoint 2007 for Windows

Now that we have discussed what animation is? (and where you should draw the limits as far as animation goes), let us get started showing you how you can work with animation in PowerPoint. PowerPoint uses the term Custom Animation for animation added to slide objects.

Learn about animation types in PowerPoint 2007 for Windows.

Filed Under: PowerPoint 2007
Tagged as: Animation, PowerPoint, PowerPoint 2007, Tutorials

Sales Psychology Australia: Conversation with Andre Vlcek

Andre Vlcek is an Australia-based sales consultant and Managing Director of Sales Psychology Australia. He specializes in designing and building advanced selling strategies for sales teams.

In this discussion, Andre discusses the Visual Effects: Relational Presentation concept that he evolved with Robert Lane.

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Filed Under: Interviews
Tagged as: Andre Vlcek, Case Studies, Delivery, Interviews, PowerPoint, Robert Lane

authorSTREAM: Conversation with Harman Singh

Harman Singh graduated with a Masters degree in Computer Science at NC State University in Raleigh, NC. Here, he did Masters Research in the field of eLearning and distance education. Under the guidance of his mentors, Dr. Steve Walsh and Dr. Tom Miller, he founded authorGEN Technologies in 2002 with the vision of providing teachers with tools to teach online. In this conversation, Harman discusses authorSTREAM, their slide-sharing site.

Geetesh: Tell us more about the new improvements at authorSTREAM, including enhanced profile features.

Harman: We’ve experimented with a lot of things on authorSTREAM. The basic idea behind bringing in the new design was to increase usability, performance, navigation, and PowerPoint uploads. We’ve introduced “Your Stuff”, “Like it/Dislike it”, “Active Users”, and updated the presentation page layout.

“Your Stuff” refers to the users’ dashboard. Your Stuff is a single page from where you can see all featured presentations, active users, and what’s up on authorSTREAM. You can also easily access “Your Uploaded Presentations” page, Profile, and the “Import contacts” page. Now, you can add your web address and information about yourself to your profile. Your web address will be visible on your presentation pages and on your Profile page, thus providing you with as many link-backs as the number of presentations uploaded by you.

“Active users” is a way to acknowledge the sincere efforts of dedicated PowerPoint uploaders who spend hours to create wonderful presentations. Recent updates on authorSTREAM include Guest uploads, a Facebook application, PowerPoint for Peace, and Present Live. Improvement efforts are still on, and you will see a lot of other features in the coming days.

Geetesh: How did these new features evolve – did they come about as a result of user feedback? Also, how can a user send feedback to authorSTREAM?

Harman: Well, some came from user feedback and support queries, while the others are a result of brainstorming within the team. We always wanted that users should not feel restricted while sharing PowerPoint online. Why would you use PowerPoint if you don’t require animations, sound, and automatic timings? You could rather share a document or a PDF. We understand that sharing a PowerPoint presentation online should be exactly the same as you are watching a PPT on your computer within PowerPoint. authorSTREAM is the solution that addresses all such issues.

authorSTREAM offers the following features, which any PowerPoint lover would expect from an online PPT sharing platform:

• Animation, sound, timings, etc., are retained in the output.
• Your narrated or rehearsed presentations are also converted to video formats (video for iPod, video for YouTube). The ‘Send To YouTube’ feature lets you port videos to YouTube instantly from your dashboard.
• authorPOINT Lite – a free desktop tool to support hassle-free conversion and uploads.
• Present Live – Enables presenters to share a presentation with a select circle of friends or associates, live on the Internet. A quick and easy way of discussing a presentation using text chat and third-party audio conferencing, this facility has opened up a new channel of live communication for use in business, education, entertainment, and other sectors.

The views and opinions expressed in this blog post or content are those of the authors or the interviewees and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer, or company.

Filed Under: Interviews
Tagged as: authorSTREAM, Harman Singh, Interviews, PowerPoint

Flash CS4 For Dummies: Conversation with Ellen Finkelstein

  Ellen Finkelstein is the author of several PowerPoint, Flash, and AutoCAD books, including the bestselling Flash CS4 For Dummies.

Her company, Ellen Finkelstein, Inc., helps clients create presentations and designs that communicate clearly and achieve their goals. She maintains a website that offers PowerPoint and Flash-related tips, and a selection of free backgrounds.

In this discussion, Ellen discusses her Flash CS4 For Dummies book.

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Filed Under: Interviews
Tagged as: Books, Ellen Finkelstein, Interviews, PowerPoint Flash

YawnBuster: Conversation with Vikas Joshi

Vikas Joshi is regarded as a thought leader for pioneering e-learning and knowledge management. He is also known for his groundbreaking work in the online learning industry, product innovations, and offshore outsourcing models. Under his guidance and leadership, the Harbinger group has built innovative software products for the global marketplace.

In this discussion, Vikas discusses the new YawnBuster product.

Geetesh: Tell us how YawnBuster evolved, and what is its raison d’etre?

Vikas: As presenters, we all know how difficult it is to keep boredom away in meetings and enliven them. We try various tricks to make the presentations more interactive. With this need in mind, we thought of YawnBuster. YawnBuster is useful for every person in the world who needs to make a presentation since it brings together PowerPoint and Flash, two most popular tools used in presentations and web development. With YawnBuster, a PowerPoint user can quickly and easily introduce Flash-based group activities in the presentation, with no need for programming.

YawnBuster is the ideal tool for enhancing PowerPoint with group activities for the busy presenter. Its quick-to-learn and easy-to-use interface allows you to create lively interactive presentations without having to learn Flash ActionScript or the Flash timeline. It’s a great way to add Flash to PowerPoint presentations.

Geetesh: Can you share some usability scenarios for YawnBuster?

Vikas: Well, YawnBuster can be used in corporate training, education, sales presentations, business meetings, and many more such applications. YawnBuster allows the presenters to include various Group Activities such as audience polls, games, group exercises, and competitions in your presentations. With these, the presenters can get their audience to think, enjoy, participate, and identify key takeaways quickly and easily.

The views and opinions expressed in this blog post or content are those of the authors or the interviewees and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer, or company.

Filed Under: Interviews
Tagged as: Add-in, Interviews, PowerPoint, Vikas Joshi