As long as there have been people, there have been stories. From the tale of Oog the Mighty who brought down a mastadon with a single blow of his club to The Hunger Games, people love a good story! We imagine ourselves as the hero, celebrating his victories and suffering his losses right alongside … [Read more...] about Storytelling in PowerPoint
How to avoid four common presenter problems
While it's not possible to anticipate everything that could go wrong during your presentation, there are things you can do to ahead of time to stop problems before they start. Here are four events that could derail your whole presentation and what you can do to avoid them. Problem #1: No place to … [Read more...] about How to avoid four common presenter problems
The best way to make a PowerPoint? You have 5 jobs.
I'll bet you thought you only had one job! But if you want to design an effective presentation, you actually have five jobs as a presenter: writer, editor, graphic designer, teacher, and audience member. Don't focus on one job. You need all five. Designing a presentation from scratch can be a … [Read more...] about The best way to make a PowerPoint? You have 5 jobs.
Persuading with PowerPoint: Features vs. benefits
Understanding the difference between features and benefits will help you to create presentations that audiences will really respond to. The difference between features and benefits Simply stated, "features" are the components that make up a product or service: ingredients, parts, equipment used, … [Read more...] about Persuading with PowerPoint: Features vs. benefits
Why simple PowerPoint presentations are best
Some presenters believe that by loading their decks with text, bullet points, data, complex graphs, and dense tables they are helping their audience to understand their message. Nothing could be further from the truth. The problem: Complexity Slides like these are all to common: Note: This … [Read more...] about Why simple PowerPoint presentations are best
PowerPoint tables: How to simplify your presentations
In January 2014 I wrote about the top 5 top PowerPoint resolutions you should make for the new year. One of these was to avoid complex tables because they make the audience work too hard to understand what's on the slide. Because tables contain mostly text and numbers, not only do people need to … [Read more...] about PowerPoint tables: How to simplify your presentations
Who are the best PowerPoint designers and trainers?
Several years ago at a design conference, I announced my decision to focus my business on PowerPoint design and training. I received many types of reactions, none of them supportive. Some designers laughed at me, saying that they hated PowerPoint so much that they wouldn't take on PowerPoint … [Read more...] about Who are the best PowerPoint designers and trainers?
5 top PowerPoint New Year’s resolutions for 2014
Happy New Year! It's the time of year when we reflect upon what we've done with ourselves personally and professionally over the past year and resolve to become better people. Maybe there's a new habit you want to develop (Exercise more! Drink less soda! Stop wearing fleece pants and slippers to the … [Read more...] about 5 top PowerPoint New Year’s resolutions for 2014