PowerPoint and Presenting Stuff

Learn PowerPoint 2010 for Windows: Format Font Styles

The appearance of text makes a huge difference to any presentation. The font typeface used within your slides is dictated by the active Theme or Theme Fonts set of your presentation — you can certainly override these defaults and choose another font typeface and also change the font size. However, there are times when you need to highlight a word or a phrase contained within your text so that it stands apart and commands attention. To do so, you can apply font styling options that let you make your text bold, italics, underlined, etc.

Learn about applying various font styles such as bold, italics, underline, etc. to format font styles in PowerPoint 2013 for Windows.

Filed Under: PowerPoint 2013
Tagged as: Fonts, PowerPoint 2013, Text, Tutorials

Insert Characters in PowerPoint using Adobe Presenter

It’s not too easy to find high quality, royalty-free photographs of people that you can use throughout your lessons — and to find pictures of the same person in different poses with the backgrounds within those pictures removed — well, that’s even more difficult. Fortunately, Adobe Presenter’s Character option enables you to add such characters easily into your PowerPoint slides. The Character option provides ready-to-use character images such as business executives and medical practitioners that help you make your presentations engaging with real actors.

Explore how to insert characters in PowerPoint using Adobe Presenter.

Filed Under: Add-ins
Tagged as: Add-in, Adobe Presenter, PowerPoint, Tutorials

Learn PowerPoint for Windows: Font Types and Sizes

When you type text within PowerPoint, the appearance of your text, such as its font type and size is based on the Theme which is applied to your presentation. So if you use PowerPoint’s default Office Theme, then anything you type into a text object may be in the Calibri typeface. You can easily change the Theme Fonts set altogether for your presentation, and all text instances will change to the default typefaces of the new Theme or Theme Fonts set. However, there may be times when you want to override these defaults and choose a typeface that is different — or even a different font size.

Explore how you can change font types and sizes in PowerPoint 2013 for Windows.

Filed Under: PowerPoint 2013
Tagged as: Fonts, PowerPoint 2013, Text, Tutorials

Sue Hershkowitz-Coore at the Presentation Summit 2014

On Tuesday afternoon, just before the keynote started, Rick Altman announced the location of the next season of Presentation Summit in New Orleans from September 27 to 30, 2015.

He then introduced Sue Hershkowitz-Coore as a communication expert.

What Sue did even before her keynote was to go around, meeting and greeting attendees with a big smile. Sue then started her keynote very, very passionately.

Sue then explored scenarios. Her first scenario was about someone who promised you X by your deadline. You would then have to follow-up with that person under stress because your own work is getting delayed as a result. In such a scenario, how would you handle this? Would you take any of these approaches:

1. Email again to explain why you need X on time.
2. Talk to tell him or her to explain that you need this done as agreed upon.
3. Talk / email to find out if there is a reason they are consistently late?
4. Ignore it (again)!

One of the respondents said that they would combine options 2 and 3 — and would rather talk than email. Another respondent chose option 3, mainly because they were curious about why the delay was being caused? Sue thought that the response numbered 3 was the best as it was politically correct and respectful too.

She then asked if any of us have ever wanted to have a good, heartfelt conversation that unfortunately went awry. So what prevents clear, open, direct honest communication?

One respondent said fear prevents such a communication. Others thought this lack of communication may happen due to prejudices, or the desire not to ask questions that others may have difficulty answering, etc.

Sue’s next scenario was about what do you need to learn to make your time worthwhile. Audience responses ranged from apology to empathy. Sue added that “Often when we use empathy. It is to help ourselves rather than help others.”

And then Sue spoke about apology. She said that, “Apology is good if it helps the person you apologize to. But most people apologize to help themselves, and to think of themselves as good humans.”

Sue then spoke about her personal experiences. She was on a plane journey from Phoenix to Chicago. The person on the seat behind her was kicking non-stop. And she was offended, and said something she should not have — because the passenger on the seat was suffering from Parkinsons, and had no control over his leg movements. Sue then regretted that she had not given the passenger the benefit of doubt. She added, “I took that man’s dignity and took my own dignity away.”

She then provided two famous quotes:

The less people know the more they yell. Seth Godin

I am neither especially clever or especially gifted. I am just curious.
— Albert Einstein

And then she asked how would people ask a curious question? She suggested that we use preface words before our questions, so as to neutralize them:

1. I wondered how you managed
2. I wondered
3. May I ask if
4. I am curious

Sue emphasized, “As you say these words, if you can place them with curiosity from the heart, you will make a difference.”

Sue then also said that all your questions need to have crystal clear purpose. Examples of these questions:

1. What do I want?
2. What do I really want to accomplish at this moment?
3. If that’s what I want, what would I say how would I act?

Finally, Sue asked everyone to have a purpose in their lives — and that purpose could be to give the benefit of doubt. And then always say thank you!

Filed Under: Events
Tagged as: PowerPoint, Presentation Summit

Insert Interactions and Manage in PowerPoint using Adobe Presenter

Adobe Presenter enables you to add interactions. So what are interactions? Essentially, these are static widgets in the form of SWF files. These widgets help you quickly set up standard user interactions, for example, interactions using accordions or tabs. Once you add an interaction on a slide within PowerPoint, you can customize it further.

Explore how to insert an Interaction in PowerPoint using Adobe Presenter.

Filed Under: Add-ins
Tagged as: Add-in, Adobe Presenter, PowerPoint, Tutorials