PowerPoint and Presenting Stuff

Import Outlines in PowerPoint 2016 for Windows

Creating outlines for PowerPoint in various external applications lets you stay away from distractions in PowerPoint-land and concentrate on the structure of your slides rather than their appearance. Once you have the outline created, it’s very easy to import it in the form of slides into PowerPoint. While this import process works the same way in all versions of PowerPoint, there are small interface changes. In this tutorial, we’ll show you how to import outlines in PowerPoint 2016 for Windows.

Learn how to import outlines in PowerPoint 2016 for Windows.

Filed Under: PowerPoint 2016
Tagged as: Microsoft Windows, Office 2016, Outline, PowerPoint 2016, Text, Tutorials

Presentation Summit 2016: Conversation with Heather Ackmann

  Heather Ackmann is a Microsoft MVP and full-time author and trainer for AHA Learning Solutions, specializing in Microsoft Office, business professional, and soft skills training videos and educational materials. In her spare time, she enjoys blogging at Heather Ackmann and crocheting hats and scarves for her children who refuse to wear hats and scarves.

In this conversation, Heather discusses her sessions at the upcoming Presentation Summit 2016 series.

Geetesh: Can you tell us more about your Present Like a Hottie session at this year’s Presentation Summit?

Heather: Sure. Looking for images about web conferencing or the like, you might notice a bit of a disconnect between how people expect you to look from a home webcam versus what you actually look like.

The session is for anyone who presents in less than ideal environments, like their homes or trendy “open space” offices, in front of a webcam in real-time or recorded with or without a camera (in other words, with just the sound of their voice over PowerPoint or Keynote slides or video).

Geetesh: How did you come up with the title and idea for this session? What takeaways can attendees anticipate from your talk?

Heather: Actually, the title for this session was a collaborative effort between Rick Altman and myself. I still can’t say the title of my own session without giggling a bit. I’ll have to practice that before show time.

The idea for this session came from a very personal experience. You see, back in January, I was laid off from my dream job. Overnight, I went from a full-time employee of a large corporation with every resource you could possibly imagine to it being just me, doing the same job I’ve always done—doing webinars and making computer training videos—only now from the guest bedroom [cough…junk room] in my home. I needed to buy a lot of equipment and fast but couldn’t afford a lot right away. But, I did it and rather successfully, I might add.

The fact is, corporate America is going 1099 and it is up to us as contractors to research, purchase, and maintain the equipment and environment for all this technical stuff: microphones, cameras, lighting, backdrops, software, pop filters, acoustical foam, you name it. This session is designed to teach attendees what to buy on a budget to create a simple home studio to look and sound like the hot, sexy professionals they are.

Here are some of the key takeaways:

1. >How to light a face to hide a double chin/bald spot
2. What is the best and cheapest webcam on a budget?
3. What kind of microphone should I buy?
4. How to adjust your microphone so you don’t sound like you are recording in the bathroom

Geetesh: You’ve attended several Presentation Summit conferences, and now you are part of the speaker team. What message do you have for new attendees to the conference? What can they do to maximize their time while attending?

Heather: First off, to new attendees, I have to say do not treat this conference like other conferences. Usually, there is this distance or separation between the audience and the presenters. The presenters do their thang, if the audience wants to ask a question, they line up after the sessions, ask their one carefully crafted question, and then that audience member may never see that speaker again during the conference. Not at the Presentation Summit. Attendees, presenters, Microsoft staff and developers, sponsors—everyone will be mingling throughout the conference in one big awesome story-telling and educational community. It will be fun, loud, and awesome. Don’t expect to sleep much. So, pack comfortable shoes. Stay hydrated. And plan for a day off after the conference is over for sleep. You’ll need it.

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

Filed Under: Events
Tagged as: Events, Heather Ackmann, Interviews, Presentation Summit

Accessibility View in Microsoft Sway

Do you wish there was a better, more accessible view for you to see Sway presentations? Sway does have an Accessibility view that displays high-contrast styles for easier reading. This view also disables any animations and supports keyboard navigation for use with screen readers. You can also use your browser’s Find box to search text in the Sway.

Explore Accessibility view in Microsoft Sway.

Filed Under: Sway
Tagged as: Accessibility, Online Presentations, Sway, Tutorials

Presentation Summit 2016: Conversation with Emma Bannister

  Emma Bannister has seen the shift in the culture of presentations over the years: endless bullet points don’t engage audiences. But does slapping stock images on slides change anything? Or is there a new way? With over two decades of Visual Design experience and ten years as founder and CEO at Presentation Studio, Bannister’s view is radically different. Passionate that powerful presentations consist of more than just visual design, she teaches a new way of thinking – Visual Thinking^TM.

In this conversation, Emma discusses her session at the upcoming Presentation Summit 2016 series.

Geetesh: You are doing a joint session with Jim Harvey called Is English EFL or ESL? In your thoughts, what do you think attendees will take away from your session?

Emma: I travel a lot and the world seems to be smaller every day. Our ability to communicate through social media to people around the globe in a matter of seconds is breathtaking. En masse, we share insights and influence others to create incredible change. However, when it comes to presentation content, it seems our thinking is still confined to a claustrophobic room with little regard to different cultures and values. Language barriers aside, there is real power and importance in understanding more about your audience.

Our presentation addresses the challenges different speakers face and the best way to overcome them. From the ‘slightly patronizing and sarcastic humor‘ of the English to the American assumption that everyone ‘thinks like them‘ to the laid-back Ozzie who is likely to ‘swear and use a language you never knew existed‘.

My vision is to ‘Transform the Culture of Presentations’. In our session, we discuss the benefits of a presentation that respects differences, honors different cultures, and communicates clearly in words, gestures, illustrations, and imagery. In a global society, I believe there will be lots to take away!

Geetesh: You are one of the attendees who will travel a long distance to be part of the Presentation Summit. What is it that draws you, all the way from Australia to Las Vegas?

Emma: My company Presentation Studio is now ten years old. In all those years, there has only been one place where presentation experts congregate and share thoughts, experiences, and challenges faced by other presentation experts. We are a small niche industry and I found it invaluable in the early days to surround myself with like-minded souls. I have made good friends and built a network around me who collaborate and support each other. We all have the same goal in mind—to raise awareness of what makes a great presentation. I love the events and I’m really looking forward to my first time in Vegas!

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: Events
Tagged as: Emma Bannister, Events, Interviews, Presentation Summit

PowerPoint and Presenting News: August 23, 2016

30 million? Is there a better number for how many people use PowerPoint? How about 1.5 billion? Read more. We also bring you Simon Morton of UK’s Eyeful Presentations, who talks about presentation industry issues, standards, and trends. PowerPoint MVP and ex-Microsoftie Ric Bretschneider travels down memory lane, and shares thoughts, smells, and ideas behind the erstwhile AutoContent Wizard. And speakers at the upcoming Presentation Summit in Las Vegas talk about their sessions — we feature Echo Swinford, Julie Terberg, and Nolan Haims. Read what they say even if you won’t attend the conference!

Want to create your own Theme Fonts? We show you how you can do so in PowerPoint 2016, and also how you can edit existing Theme Fonts. And we also show you how you can code with XML to create custom Theme Fonts. Do you want to play around with bullet characters, even though bullets are not as popular nowadays? Why not? Go ahead and play with them! Finally, do not miss the new press releases and templates of this week.

Read Indezine’s PowerPoint and Presenting News.

Filed Under: Ezine
Tagged as: Ezine, Indezine, News, PowerPoint