In Toastmasters, we have a thing called Table Topics. Speakers are given a topic and they have to come up with a brief speech about it on the spot. Always on the lookout to make online meetings more interesting, I wanted to find a PowerPoint game where I could click on a box to reveal the question. … [Read more...] about Cheat Death by PowerPoint with a free game
Dealing with the BIGGEST remote presenting problem
I was very excited to be chosen to speak at the annual Women Transforming Technology conference in Palo Alto! I love travel and was looking forward both to the presentation and to my hiking trips in the California hills. But like many conferences, this one became virtual by the end of March. "No … [Read more...] about Dealing with the BIGGEST remote presenting problem
Weird room setup kills Presenter View
During a presentation, the Presenter View can be a real help! You get to read your notes and see what slides are coming up next, while the audience sees only the slides. Usually, if you're presenting off a laptop or desktop computer, you can make the Presenter View visible on your screen while … [Read more...] about Weird room setup kills Presenter View
How to make amazingly useful PPT handouts
PowerPoint handouts help people to remember a presentation. But too often, presenters distribute handouts that are totally useless. Here's how not to do that. You might have seen handouts that look like this: How useless is this handout? If the presenter is lazy and exports every slide, even … [Read more...] about How to make amazingly useful PPT handouts
Who’s the real star of your presentation?
Giving a presentation in front of an audience, especially a large one, can be a real rush! There you are, center stage, performing and being the center of attention. But should you take advantage of the spotlight by talking about yourself and your achievements? The audience is the … [Read more...] about Who’s the real star of your presentation?
Creating a cool animated title slide
Presenters often overlook a valuable opportunity to connect with their audience: their title slides. Title slides are usually displayed long before the start of a presentation and they can be be very effective billboards...if you design them well. Before ZZZZZZZZZZZZ...snork! Wha...what? I'm … [Read more...] about Creating a cool animated title slide
How to create looping animations in PowerPoint
PowerPoint has some incredible animation tools. Incredibly frustrating, that is. One thing that's eluded PowerPoint animators for years has been a way to loop an animation sequence on a slide. Friends, I'm happy to announce that the wait is over. I've learned of a way to cheat the system! The … [Read more...] about How to create looping animations in PowerPoint
Punch Up Your PowerPoint Proficiency
Late last month, I recorded a podcast with Creative Boost founder Colleen Gratzer. The segment, "Punch Up Your PowerPoint Proficiency," is geared towards designers who believe that "PowerPoint is the devil!" Hating PowerPoint is like hating a hammer. Until you learn how to use any tool, it will be … [Read more...] about Punch Up Your PowerPoint Proficiency