Effective Use of

Powerpoint

PowerPoint slideshows can be a good way to get ideas across -- when used correctly. Sometimes, they can be boring and confusing, even doing more harm than good. Here are a few tools and techniques you can use to create engaging and effective presentations.

Showing things to an audience during a speech is as old as public speaking. In nearly all cases, showing an audience a physical thing, an actual object, is the best way to engage an audience’s attention.

● What has been turned upside-down over the past decade’s spread of PowerPoint, for most PowerPoint users, is that the “speech” is now mostly what’s on the screen, rather than what is spoken.

● In other words, the proper relation of the illustration tool to the speech has been reversed. In the opinion of many people, this has tragically damaged the art of public speaking.

● But today many people who give oral presentations cannot imagine doing so without PowerPoint.

PowerPoint is one of the simplest computer programs to learn. It is the number 1 program used worldwide for presentations. Anyone can create stunning presentations that look like they were designed by a professional.

PowerPoint presentations can be made into photo albums, complete with music or narrations, to distribute on CDs or DVDs. If you are in the sales field, it involves just a few simple clicks to add an illustrative chart of data or an organizational chart of your company's structure.

In addition to an on screen slide show, PowerPoint has printing options that allow the presenter to provide handouts and outlines for the audience as well as notes pages for the speaker to refer to during the presentation.

It is easy to customize presentations with your company logo and to dazzle your audience by using one of the many design templates that come with the programs. Many more free add-ins and templates are available online from Microsoft and a host of other websites.

What you can do with PowerPoint.

+Create a presentation on paper or to present it on computer.

+Organize your ideas for the presentation.

+Embellish your presentation to give it a "professional" look.

+Add charts, pictures, organization charts and other objects to improve your audience to understand the ideas you want to present.

The 4 presentation modes

To help you in creating your presentations, PowerPoint split the functions of the software into 4 categories or 4 "modes". You can pass from one mode to another by using the buttons that you find in the left lower corner of PowerPoint's screen or by choosing a mode from the View menu. The 4 modes are the first 4 options of the that menu.

The normal mode

It combines what was before the ''slide'' and ''outline'' modes. It allows you to create the "slides" of your presentation. You can change all the aspects of slides; such as changing the colors and size of the text, to add or to remove charts, tables and other elements to the presentation. In the ''outline'' mode of this view, you can add the text to your presentation in a structured way. You can change the order or the importance of your ideas at any time.

The slide sorter mode It allows you to add special effects to your presentation if you are presenting with a computer. It also allows to prepare your presentation by timing the time it takes for you to give your presentation. You can then adjust your presentation according to the time that was assigned to you.

The notes page mode

It allows you to prepare a comments or notes document that includes your presentation. You can then give it to the public as a reminder of your presentation or to help them follow your presentation

The slide show mode

It shows your presentation on a computer screen.

Basic Information

Microsoft PowerPoint is a program used to create presentations for multiple uses, including school projects, school lectures, business meetings, or just as a way to pass along information. The program is a part of the Microsoft Office package, and you can import items and files from other Microsoft Office programs to use within your PowerPoint presentations.

Slides

As a default, the PowerPoint program will start with a blank format. To utilize the program, you will create multiple "slides" that will later be presented in the order that you put them. You can start by just typing text, or use more advanced features and set a design to all of your slides. Power Point comes with different themes that you can use for your slides that will help make your presentation visually appealing.

Animations

Each slide has the option of displaying text, photos, and even small videos. Text can either be automatically displayed, or chosen in a certain order. The text can appear with multiple animations like "wipe," "fade," and "typewriter." These animations can also be applied to make the text disappear. Sound effects can also be applied to the text to add even more content to your presentation.

Saving your project

The presentation can be as many slides as your would like, but the more slides you have, the bigger file you will have. Once you are done saving the project, you can save it as a PowerPoint file or a PowerPoint show. PowerPoint shows enable you to place voiceovers over the presentation and are great for Internet use where you cannot verbally give the presentation.

Viewing Presentations

Watching PowerPoint presentations takes up the full monitor, even blocking out the task bar on your screen. To move ahead in your slides, use the space bar to move to each action, whether that is a new text, picture, video, or another slide. The Escape key exits out of the presentation, and you can use your mouse at any time and right-click for several options.

All in all, PowerPoint is a "one-stop-shop" to create successful presentations for the business world, the classroom or just for your own personal use.

The End