Whether your speaking to small, intimate groups or large audiences in a conference setting, PowerPoint presentations are an excellent aid for sharing your message. But they should be just that, an aid. Your audience is interested in you…your ideas…your message, so let’s make sure it doesn’t get lost.
Before putting any words on your slides, take the time to draft an outline. Is it succinct while still providing room to hit each of your main message points? Does it have a clear progression through the information that supports your story? Did you edit it down, once…twice…three times? If you answered yes, then your ready to start writing.
Now the next step is very important. As you write your content keep in mind that you are the main focus of the presentation, not your PowerPoint slides. Your slides should support you without taking attention away from you. Here are some simple tips to keep in mind as you write:
Keep your words to a minimum by punctuating your points, not writing them as full sentences
When showing charts and graphs of numerical data, be clean and keep graphical effects to a minimum
Make sure your audience can see your content by choosing a large enough point size for your text
Create more impact with an image instead of defaulting to using a slide of bullets
These quick PowerPoint tips are simple for a reason. There is an overwhelming amount of guidelines online, many of which are excellent. But when your under the gun to create a presentation fast, you can easily get lost researching and lose track of “creating”. So think about your next presentation, is there a lot riding on it? If you applied the basics outlined here but feel you need more design experience to engage your audience, you may want to consult the help of a professional team.
It is time to voice your opinions on the greatest web developments of the year. For the 14th time, the Webby Awards set out to recognize the companies and people who have created jaw dropping Websites, Interactive Advertising, Online Film & Video and Mobile applications.
Last year nearly half a million votes were cast and the comments exulted how passionate people were about their favorites. This year, with the support of AOL, the Webby Awards hopes to surpass last year and ignite a battle for web surpremacy.
Check out the contenders below for the Interactive Advertising category and click here to see a list of the leaders so far for Interactive Advertising.
If you’ve ever wondered how to make those fancy reflective looking design elements using Adobe Illustrator, we’ve created a simple tutorial to broaden your skill set. Follow these steps for making a web 2.0 button and you’ll be on your way to impressing those special people in your design life. Enjoy!
Click to view full size:
How to make a web 2.0 button with Adobe Illustrator CS3
When I think about the most successful online videos, it is not usually the flashy ones that win out. Instead, it is the intelligent, simply designed videos that engage the audience and present a clear message. After watching, I walk away understanding what they were talking about.
Many complex products and services can be edited down to achieve simplicity. Some companies have even started using the good’ole “stick man” to tell their story. It is an image we all recognize, so why complicate things. Give me a word, image, or phrase that I can remember and I will tell everyone. At the same time, make sure the video makes sense. Sometimes I have to wonder what the big HOWDY Pepsi billboard near my apartment really has to do with the soft drink. Make the correlation as clear as the imagery you are utilizing.
CGI has designed a Flash video for Oracle in a simple and clean style. The outcome, a memorable solution overview that communicates Oracle’s CRM objectives.
How can SlideShare be used as a business leads tool? Inspire others? Tell a story? I feel as though SlideShare is often overlooked as a community platform where people can connect about their interests and share information. Although it can be a great place to simply upload web content, doing so doesn’t allow SlideShare to fully flex its community muscles. Below are a few tips on how to optimize the platform as part of a larger marketing plan:
Create Dynamic Content: Create presentations that are dynamic and include links to related sites within the presentation. This can help drive traffic to your website, other online content (such as Youtube videos), or give others credit if you use a quote or other content that can be linked to online.
Become Involved with SlideShare Community: Once you have set up your profile, search for other users with similar interests and “favorite” their presentations. Also, make comments on people’s work you like or have an opinion about. By doing this you can start conversations within the SlideShare community and strengthen your online network.
Spread the Love: Other social networks such as LinkedIn and Facebook are very SlideShare friendly and have applications that allow you to share your work. Upload presentations onto other social networking platforms to reach your established community. In addition, other people who don’t use SlideShare can find your information there and find out a little bit more about who you are or what your company does.
Push the Boundaries: Recently I watched a webinar by Hubspot on “How to Use Online Video for Inbound Marketing.” In the webinar the presenters, Karen Rubin and Mike Vlope, used their usual pod casting format, while users could flip through their SlideShare presentation. It was great! I was able to listen and flip at either my own pace or theirs and even stop the audio and go back later when it was convenient for me. The dynamic use of the platform made the information easily socialized and presentable online.
The point to remember is that SlideShare is more than just a place for content creation. With PowerPoint being such an easy way to share information with others, the power of using SlideShare to create or expand a community presence increases your online marketing potential.
Are there any unique ways you use SlideShare that you have found useful in your marketing plans?
