Solving the PowerPoint Predicament Using Digital Media for Effective Communication

By Tom Bunzel
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Publisher: Que
Pub Date: September 12, 2006
Print ISBN-10: 0321423445
Print ISBN-13: 978-0-321-42344-3
Pages: 552

Solving the PowerPoint Predicament
Using Digital Media for Effective Communication

Don't Just Present: Inspire!

Everyone uses PowerPoint, but how effective is your presentation at meeting the goals you've outlined? A great presentation is more than just a slideshowit's about using PowerPoint to its maximum potential to get your message across to your audience. That's the PowerPoint Predicament. Tom Bunzel reveals how to conceive, plan, develop, and deliver truly effective business, academic, and inspirational communications, not just PowerPoint slideshows. Discover how to motivate your audience by:

Getting beyond bullet points to tell a story that touches your audience at the deepest levels

Mastering proven principles of effective communication

Planning, organizing, and designing every presentation for maximum impact

Making sure every word, image, effect, and slide exists for a good reason

Creating charts and diagrams that instantly make your point

Using animation, navigation, video, and audio to drive home your message, not distract from it

Avoiding mistakes that lead to boring presentations: no more "death by PowerPoint"

Building Web and self-running kiosk presentations that really work

Leveraging the rest of Microsoft Office to create even better presentations

Using third-party add-ons to communicate with PowerPoint even more effectively: video capture, flowcharting, DVD authoring, rehearsal, and more

When you present, you're on the line: your credibility, your career, your future as a leader. Use your software and imagination to its full potentialwith this book!

Covers PowerPoint 2007, 2003, XP, 2000, 99, and 97 for Windows or Mac PowerPoint users

Tom Bunzel is a leading presentation expert. He has appeared on Tech TV's "Call for Help," was a featured speaker at InfoComm and PowerPoint LIVE, and has served as a technology coach for companies ranging from Iomega to the Neuroscience Education Institute, where he provided personal PowerPoint instruction to physicians. He offers live seminars via streaming media, and he has been published in Presentations Magazine. His books include Sams Teach Yourself PowerPoint 2003 in 24 Hours and Digital Video on the PC. He updated the Visual QuickStart Guide to PowerPoint 2002/2001 for Windows and Mac.

The book companion CD-ROM contains numerous PowerPoint presentations and other examples from the book, two sample chapters from Cliff Atkinson's Beyond Bullet Points: Using Microsoft PowerPoint to Create Presentations That Inform, Motivate, and Inspire, and trial software from Instant Effects (OfficeFX), Serious Magic (Ovation and Vlog It!), and TechSmith (Camtasia and Snag It).

Developing a compelling PowerPoint presentation involves much more than mastering one program. It involves integrating different programs, third party tools, and hardware resources to convey a message that has been skillfully crafted. From blogs to podcasts to the rise of amateur digital photography and videography, there's ample evidence to the passion among the public for communicating effectively. You crave not a how-to manual but a frame of reference for telling your stories effectively, both in front of a group, online, and across multiple digital platforms and media.

Solving the PowerPoint Predicament will walk your through three fundamental steps: (1) honing (and sticking to!) a compelling message, mastering and applying appropriate technologies, (3) integrating technology with verbal delivery skills needed for a successful presentation. This book really gives you everything you need to deliver a successful presentation that people will remember.

Copyright
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Preface
Chapter 1. Planning an Effective Presentation
Using AutoContent Wizard to Get Started
Planning a Strategy
Structure and Organization
Crafting a Message for Different Presenters
Creating a Project Folder
Case Study: SuperWhite
Summary
Resources
Chapter 2. Implementing Professional Design Principles
What Designers Think About
Using the PowerPoint Design Templates
Creating a Branded Template
Fine-Tuning Color Schemes
Saving Your Design Templates
Understanding the Role of Masters
Final Design Touches
Losing the Extraneous Placeholders
What About Fonts?
Designing for Handouts
Using Third-Party Design Tools
Dramatic 3D Animated Designs with OfficeFX
Looking Ahead: PowerPoint 2007
Case Study: Creating Design Templates for a Travel Agency
Summary
Resources
Chapter 3. Creating Dynamic Visuals
Using Words as Pictures
Using Pictures Instead of Words
Thinking in Analogies
Image Files v. Clip Organizer
Showing Only Part of a Picture
Creating a Transparent Image
Acquiring a Folder of Images
Using Multiple Pictures with the Photo Album
Using or Hiding Slide Titles
Digital Cameras and Picture Quality
Comparing Data with Tables and Charts
Covering Complex Concepts with Diagrams
Case Study: Conceptualizing, Creating, and Animating a Diagram to Tell a Story
Summary
Resources
Chapter 4. Secrets of Animation and Navigation
Iportance of Timing
Case Study 1: Introducing a Corporate Team
Case Study 2: Using a Memorable Metaphor
Summary
Resources
Chapter 5. Using Video and Audio Effectively
Power of Video as a Metaphor
Acquiring Video
Playing Video in PowerPoint
Using Your Own Video
Troubleshooting Video Problems
Getting Video from a DVD
Using DVD Instead of PowerPoint
Using 3D Animation
Working with Audio
Using CD Audio for Backgrounds
Case Study: Using a High-Definition Video File
Summary
Resources
Chapter 6. Powerful Presentation Tools
Taking Advantage of Visio's Intelligent Diagrams
Presenting with Excel Pivot Tables
Making Excel Interactive with Crystal Xcelsius
Using Camtasia Studio 3.0 for PowerPoint Video
Serious Magic Communicator as a Presentation Broadcast Studio
Serious Magic Ovation for PowerPoint Post-Production
Microsoft OneNote as a Presentation Resource Center and Mini-Conferencing Tool
Automating PowerPoint with Macros and Code
Using PowerPoint to Report Database Information
Training Scenarios: Keeping Score
Case Study: Awards Ceremony with Digital Images
Summary
Resources
Chapter 7. The Latest Technologies: Beyond PowerPoint to the Future
Online Presentations: The Fork in the Internet Road
Online Auditoriums: The Dynamics of a Successful Web Conference
Continuing the Presentation Dialog: Podcasting and Video Blogging
Using Serious Magic Vlog It! for a Video Blog
Collecting Data with SMS
Gathering RFID Information
Authoring PowerPoint to DVD
Case Study: Turning PowerPoint into a DVD
Summary
Resources
Chapter 8. Delivering a Killer Presentation
You Are the Show
Checklist for Video Practice Sessions
Preparing the Room
Which Computer?
Using the "B" Key to (Re)connect with Your Audience
Dealing with AV Technology
Running Your Slide Show
Preparing Effective Handouts and Notes
Moving a Presentation
Disaster Insurance
Avoiding PowerPoint: Using Facilitation Skills
Gotchas to Avoid
Presentation Checklist
Case Study: Coordinating Presentations at a Large Conference
Summary
Resources
Index

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