PowerPoint and Presenting Stuff

Learn PowerPoint 2010 for Windows: Insert Audio (Sound)

Sound files of various types such as MP3, WMA, or WAV files can be used in PowerPoint 2010, which automatically embeds them into your presentation. This means that you no longer have to worry about linked files getting misplaced or lost like you had to in previous versions of PowerPoint. Even then, it is a good practice to keep your sound files in the same folder in which you save your PowerPoint 2010 presentation — even before you insert them as we show you.

Learn how to insert sound (audio) clips in PowerPoint 2010 for Windows.

Filed Under: PowerPoint 2010
Tagged as: Music, PowerPoint 2010, Sounds, Tutorials

Learn PowerPoint 2011 for Mac: Apply Soft-Edges to Shapes

We have already explored all the Shape Effects that show up in the Shape Effects gallery of PowerPoint 2011 for Mac. In addition, PowerPoint 2011 also provides you with an extra effect called Soft Edges that is not directly accessible from the Shape Effects gallery. To get to Soft Edges, you will have to choose the Glow effects options as we will show you later in this tutorial. The Soft Edges effect adds an eaten-up, feathered edge to any selected shape. Soft edges work best with larger shapes, especially if you use some of the larger soft edge variations available.

Learn how to apply Soft Edges to shapes in PowerPoint 2011 for Mac.

Filed Under: PowerPoint 2011
Tagged as: Effects, Office for Mac, PowerPoint 2011, Tutorials

Letting Go of the PowerPoint Template

By Nolan Haims

Tell me if this situation sounds familiar…

You’ve engaged a presentation designer for an important pitch (or you’re that designer being engaged.) You’ve got a lot of content and strategy to create in a short amount of time—so much so that you know you’ll be writing up until the very last minute. So, you ask your designer to “create a template” that you can “drop” your content into.

It sounds reasonable, as does downloading or purchasing a stock PowerPoint template that seems to fit the subject matter of your presentation. But here’s why the insistence on creating and using a “PowerPoint template” is often a waste of time and resources, and often entirely counter-productive to effective presentation:

A traditional template is usually just a pretty frame around the things you’re actually trying to communicate. Your goal should always be to design the content itself. Because of this, we have a saying around my office: Design content, not frames around content.

Read the rest of this entry »

Filed Under: Guest Posts
Tagged as: Guest Post, Nolan Haims, Opinion, PowerPoint, Templates

Learn PowerPoint 2010 for Windows: Insert and/or Link Pictures

Among the first few activities that any new PowerPoint user undertakes is inserting a picture in their PowerPoint slide. To most of you, inserting pictures is mundane — an activity that’s simple. But behind this simple task, there are options you may not be aware of. You know that a picture located in any of your folders can be inserted on a slide. But, have you wondered about the relation a picture on the slide has with the original picture located in your folder? By default, PowerPoint retains no relation — even if you delete or move the original picture file you inserted, the copy on your slide will still be retained since PowerPoint saves the picture as a part of the file it creates. However, there are options in PowerPoint that let you maintain the relation between the original picture and the inserted picture — for example, you can make changes to your original picture and PowerPoint will update the copy on the slide!

Learn about the advanced options available for inserting and/or linking pictures in PowerPoint 2010 for Windows.

Filed Under: PowerPoint 2010
Tagged as: Photos, Pictures, PowerPoint 2010, Tutorials

Outstanding Presentations Workshop 2011: Conversation with Ellen Finkelstein

Ellen Finkelstein is a Microsoft PowerPoint MVP and author of several PowerPoint, Flash, and AutoCAD books — she just launched announced the second incarnation of Outstanding Presentations Workshop, her free webinar series that allows everyone to learn from renowned presentation experts.

In this conversation, Ellen talks more about this new webinar series.

Geetesh: You had a very successful first run of your Outstanding Presentations webinar series – what do you look forward to in this second series – and what can participants look forward to?

Ellen: Yes, the first Outstanding Presentations Workshop last year was extremely successful, with over 1700 people registering from 49 countries! And participants gave such overwhelmingly positive feedback. This year, we look for a similar result, but with a new line-up of speakers. We also have more sponsors this year, which will mean more discount offers and prizes!

Geetesh: Tell us about the speaker line-up you have assembled this time, and what they will be speaking about.

Ellen: Here’s the schedule of speakers and their topics:

1. Carmen Simon — September 7 — How authentic are your presentations?
2. Cliff Atkinson — September 14 — Speaking from Presence: How to Let Go of Notes and Speak from the Heart
3. Bruce Gabrielle — September 28 — Storytelling Secrets for Boardroom Presentations
4. Jan Schultink — October 5 — Secrets of a Presentation Designer
5. Simon Morton — October 12 — Blended Presenting – Using a Presentation Toolkit to Ensure Greater Audience Engagement
6. Andrew Dlugan — October 19 — Ethos, Pathos, Logos: Three Pillars of Persuasive Public Speaking
7. Ellen Finkelstein — October 26 — Present Interactively–Your Audience Expects It!

All of the speakers are well-known in their field (some are downright famous!) and they’ve chosen very interesting topics as well. I think the workshop will be very exciting!

See Also: Outstanding Presentations Workshop 2010: Conversation with Ellen Finkelstein

Filed Under: Interviews
Tagged as: Interviews, Outstanding Presentations Workshop, PowerPoint, Presentation Skills, Training