#24433
Picture Perfect: Selecting Graphics for Instruction 
Discusses some principles for choosing appropriate graphics for instructional materials.
Lyons, Chopeta C. Intercom (1995). Articles>Education>Presentations>Visual Rhetoric
#24782
Picture Power vs. Word Power: A Crash Course in Presentation Visuals
One of the biggest complaints about presentations that has been voiced far too frequently is 'The visuals were terrible.' This demonstration will show presenters that if they have visuals at all then they should be good visuals. It is as easy to make good visuals as it is to make poor ones.
Rhodes-Marriott, A. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>Presentations>Visual Rhetoric
#26588
The Power of PowerPoint: Providing MBAs a Leadership Edge
Edward Tufte (2003) argues that PowerPoint is so flawed that it is impossible to communicate anything meaningful using it. The medium is not flawed; the users are. Instead of condemning PowerPoint, we owe it to the MBAs to teach them how to use this powerful communication tool. Knowing how to use PowerPoint effectively can give MBAs a leadership edge. This article discusses what we should be teaching the MBAs to allow them to take advantage of PPT and use it to deliver powerful presentations.
Barrett, Deborah J. Association for Business Communication (2005). Articles>Presentations>Management>Microsoft PowerPoint
#20517
PowerPoint 2003: A Comprehensive Overview of the New Features of the New Version
The new features of PowerPoint 2003 are both prominent and subtle, but before we start discussing PowerPoint further, there is some thing important you need to know about Office 2003: Office 2003 requires a minimum operating system of Windows 2000 (Service Pack 3 or later), or Windows XP (preferred). For the Package to CD feature in PowerPoint 2003, you need Office XP to be able to package direct to CD from within PowerPoint. Okay, now we can get down to busi ness...
Millar, Glen. Presenters University. Articles>Presentations>Software>Microsoft PowerPoint
#31188
This tutorial is based on the PC version of Microsoft PowerPoint 2003, but the principles explained here should be similar for older versions of the program and for Macs.
Cramer, Dan. Ereunao (2007). Articles>Presentations>Software>Microsoft PowerPoint
#20361
Imagine a widely used and expensive prescription drug that promised to make us beautiful but didn't. Instead the drug had frequent, serious side effects: It induced stupidity, turned everyone into bores, wasted time, and degraded the quality and credibility of communication. These side effects would rightly lead to a worldwide product recall. Yet slideware--computer programs for presentations--is everywhere.
Tufte, Edward. Wired (2003). Articles>Presentations>Multimedia>Microsoft PowerPoint
#25324
What does one of the world's leading authorities on usability say about PowerPoint? As cofounder of the Neilsen Norman Group and author of the classic The Design of Everyday Things, Don Norman is a strong advocate of user-centered design and simplicity. Surprisingly, Norman disagrees with PowerPoint's most vocal critic, information design guru Edward Tufte.
Norman, Donald A. Sociable Media (2004). Articles>Presentations
#20999
PowerPoint is the world's most popular tool for presenting information. There are 400 million copies in circulation, and almost no corporate decision takes place without it. But what if PowerPoint is actually making us stupider?
Thompson, Clive. New York Times, The (2003). Articles>Presentations>Software>Microsoft PowerPoint
#22781
When I convert my PowerPoint presentations to PDF, why do they become so huge? How can I get around this?
PDFzone (2004). Articles>Presentations>Software>Microsoft PowerPoint
#24192
PowerPoint Presentations: A Speaker's Guide
Vinton Cerf, one of the founders of the Internet, reportedly parodied the well-known quote about the cost of attaining power, observing that if power corrupts, 'PowerPointcorrupts absolutely.' Pointed though Cerf’s statement is, it places far too much blame on the software. After all, speakers must take some responsibility for their presentations. As in any other form of communication, you must decide what you’re going to say and how you plan to say it. But once that’s done, you need to use all the skills at your disposal to make the chosen medium work for you.
Hart, Geoffrey J.S. Intercom (2004). Articles>Presentations>Rhetoric>Microsoft PowerPoint
#20540
PowerPoint Tutorial: Adding Sound to a PowerPoint Show
There are many sites where you can download or buy MIDI or Audio files on the web. Many of these sites offer illegal sound clips. Finding sound clips on the Web is very easy--simply do a search for sound clips, and you'll be directed to many different web pages. Just be sure that you can legally use these sound clips before putting them on your site.
Presenters University (2001). Articles>Presentations>Methods>Microsoft PowerPoint
#28491
PowerPoint Tutorial: Microsoft PowerPoint 2003
This PowerPoint tutorial is just what you need to get up to speed using PowerPoint to create engaging and effective presentations. Whether you're creating a presentation for an informal gathering, a school or classroom assignment, or one for your business partners or associates, PowerPoint is a powerful tool that will help get the job done. Each PowerPoint tutorial features text and screen shots, and some include narrated multimedia tutorials in Flash.
Guides and Tutorials (2006). Articles>Documentation>Presentations>Microsoft PowerPoint
#32015
The use of PowerPoint (PPT)-based lectures in business classes is prevalent, yet it remains empirically understudied in business education research. The authors investigate whether students in the contemporary business classroom view PPT as a novel stimulus and whether these perceptions of novelty are related to students' self-assessment of learning. Results indicate that the degree of novelty that undergraduate business students associate with PPT-based teaching significantly relates to their perceptions of PPT's impact on cognitive learning and classroom interaction. Students' views of PPT as a novel stimulus are also associated with their perception of specific constructive and dysfunctional classroom behaviors and attitudes. The authors discuss their findings and offer implications for instructors and researchers in business education.
Burke, Lisa A. and Karen E. James. Business Communication Quarterly (2008). Articles>Education>Presentations>Microsoft PowerPoint
#28545
This tutorial presents a brief overview of the process for preparing presentation slides, introduces you to important design principles to consider as you prepare your slides, and helps you analyze the design of sample presentation slides.
Battalio, John T. Bedford-St. Martin's (2007). Articles>Presentations>Software>Microsoft PowerPoint
#27351
Presentation Skills and Techniques
Communicating efficiently when giving presentations relies on a superb blend of technique and knowledge. Knowledge is gained through research and experience, the techniques are learned by observation, deliberately reading topic specific books, or by attending relevant workshops. As you progress and you become increasingly proficient in delivery, your own unique style will ultimately evolve.
Rhodes-Marriott, A. STC Proceedings (1994). Articles>Presentations
#20531
Presentation Skills Training: A Matter of Personality and Outcomes
It was simply a matter of a web link or two and literally hundreds of trainees joined me online from all around the country. All in all, pretty easy and convenient and the price was right-- free. The topics were related to presentation design concepts and I knew going into it that the medium would be right for some, but unfortunately, dead wrong for others. Contrast that with another training venue coming up in a few weeks. Three presentation team members from a large consumer products company will be flying into Portland, Oregon for a day's worth of hands-on presentation design training. End of year budget utilization issues made that possible and I absolutely know that they will walk away with highly practical skills. So who got the best training value? The answer just might surprise you. Training is a personal matter but also a very practical one. When we approach training topics related to presentation design, message development, delivery skills and technology, the venues available for training are numerous. The bigger question is which ones are right for you and your learning style and of course, which options will your budgets support? With a rush to slash travel and off site training, the web is being viewed in overly glamorous terms for meaningful training deployment. Here are the trade offs.
Endicott, Jim. Presenters University (2003). Articles>Presentations>Rhetoric
#22255
At many conferences we encounter speakers whose sole reason in presenting is to entice customers for their products or services. The goal is not, in itself, a bad one -- except when the speaker presents information that is biased.
William Horton Consulting (2001). Articles>Presentations>Ethics
#18372
Presenters Who Play In The Gray Risk Their Reputations
We all bend the rules and shade the truth in various ways. Presenters do it for all sorts of reasons: to inflate the importance of their work, to get people to like them, to make a story funnier. Tad Simons suggests there's a line in there somewhere that may not be wise to cross.
Simons, Tad. Presentations (2002). Articles>Presentations>Ethics
#24333
Your ability to construct and deliver a powerful presentation is one of the most important facets of your career. Without that ability, you will never be able to sell your ideas, projects, and yourself. Keeping these six main principles in mind and following this effective 8-step process will allow you to develop a presentation that anyone would be proud to deliver. Once the presentation is written, concentrate on watching body language, making eye contact, modulating your voice, and breathing properly as you deliver a dynamite presentation!
Laurent, J. Suzanna. STC Proceedings (1998). Articles>Presentations
#18370
Re-Examine Your Skills And Incorporate New Ideas To Keep Fresh
Anyone who has ever sat in an audience knows it's all too easy to watch a presentation and come away with – not much. The problem might be the content, or perhaps the technology used, but most likely the fault lies with the presenter. Although all speakers strive for brilliance, it's all too easy to be seen as dull or arrogant. So how does one avoid these labels when presenting? By continually looking for ways to change your presentation style. This is not always easy, since frequent presenters eventually develop a style that works for them in just about any setting. But it never hurts to re-analyze your skills and incorporate new ideas to keep fresh and in touch with your audience. Here are a few suggestions to consider when your style needs some dusting off.
Bingham, Chris. Presentations (2002). Articles>Presentations>Rhetoric
#15180
Discusses ways that public speakers can adjust to the body language and visual cues of their audiences.
Walinskas, Karl. Intercom (2001). Articles>Rhetoric>Presentations
#20527
Reality TV Meets Presentation Fears: A Shrinkrapp
It is important to focus on one’s thoughts when approaching presentations. Often these thoughts can be based on myths: widely held beliefs that just are not true.
Lee, Scott. Presenters University (2003). Articles>Presentations>Rhetoric
#18528
Though most presentations are delivered live, sometimes you need a prerecorded segment to use as narration for a video or a PowerPoint slideshow. If sound quality is your primary concern, it's best to use a professional sound studio. But if time and budget concerns are also part of the equation, it's possible to create high-quality narration yourself by adding some inexpensive recording equipment and software to your computer and following some basic recording guidelines. Assuming you already have a computer with a sound card (which acts as a digital recorder), what other gear do you need?
Fisher, Jeffrey P. Presentations (2003). Articles>Presentations>Software>Microsoft PowerPoint
#18529
Recordable DVD: Worth the Wait or Worth Waiting For?
It may be a bit hasty to declare the end of the CD-ROM era, but the signposts are pointing in that direction. Although the CD provides a convenient way for presenters to store multimedia, distribute data and back up hard drives, the medium's space limits in the coming era of 100GB and larger hard drives and ever more ambitious multimedia projects will become increasingly evident. Indeed, many see the recordable DVD as the next killer app in computing – the one that makes the most compelling use of all that digital horsepower sitting idle on desktops everywhere, at home and at the office. More than a million recordable-DVD drives were sold in 2001, and the market research firm International Data Corp. (IDC) predicts that number will grow to more than 30 million by 2005. Apple, Compaq, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Sony and other major computer manufacturers already ship recordable-DVD drives with their top-of-the-line models. Drives supporting the highly anticipated DVD+RW format (a format presenters should like because of its greater flexibility and superior write speed) have finally hit the market. And, as with almost all digital technology, recordable-DVD drives and media, not to mention video camcorders and software, are getting cheaper and more widely available by the day.
Kawamoto, Wayne. Presentations (2003). Articles>Presentations>Multimedia>DVD
#28066
Requirements for Embedding Macromedia Flash Movies in Microsoft Powerpoint Presentations
Embedding is based on the Shockwave Flash Microsoft ActiveX component, an ActiveX component created by Macromedia that allows its content to run in Microsoft Internet Explorer.
Flashgeek.com (2005). Articles>Presentations>Multimedia>Flash
