PPT - Powerful Presentation Techniques

PPT - Powerful Presentation Techniques Resource Guide Rev 10 Released

I've updated the PPT - Powerful Presentation Techniques Resource Guide listing to include several new books, blogs, web sites and article links that I've come across or that have been submitted to me.  The Resource Guide is now in its 10th version.  You can download and share the Guide -  Download PPT-PowerfulPresentationTechniquesResourceGuideRev10

If you have additions or changes that should be made to the listing, please send me an e-mail.  

If I can be of any help in assessing your team's current level of presentation or PowerPoint skills or assist you with your training needs, please let me know.

Paul J Gibler. MBA
the Web Chef
ConnectingDots
pgibler@connectingdots.com
(608) 255 4092

Happy July 4th!

Quotes worth sharing

"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody."

Bill Cosby

Lower Cost, Lower Feature PPT Competitor Launched

PCWorld announced the launch of Ashampoo Presentations a lower cost, lower feature competitor to PowerPoint.  As a marketer I'm not sold on the company name, but it could be that the product itself will give MS PowerPoint a run for the money for those seeking presentation development ease at a lower cost.

According to the review the software allows you to save presentations in a PowerPoint compatible format.  Among the features not available in the $20 software package are SmartArt and the ability to record audio content according to the PCWorld article.

You can find out more about the software and download a free trial version at their website.

New IB Madison Voices Blog Posting - Trends in Internet Use

Interested in finding out more about trends on the Internet?

Check out my new blog posting "It's the norm, not just for porn" at IBMadison.com. The posting tracks some of the latest research results on trends and directions in the use of the Internet. Included are reports showing that 48% of Americans use the Internet at least one hour a day, 82% increase in Social Networking utilizing and 339% increase in video utilization since 2002.

AMA New Commercial (a spoof), plus YouTube enhancement

Interesting to see how on YouTube you can now choose the size of embedded video plus select one of several border color options as I've done with this embedded video spoofing the American Medical Associaton.

New Online PowerPoint Competitor? Adobe Presentations

Adobe has released an online competitor to PowerPoint called Adobe Presentations according to ZDNet and many other online sources.  The web-based tool jumps ahead (by release date at least) of Microsoft's plans for web-based tools in their Office 2010 release according to the blog posting.  The web-based tools could provide advantages for those with multiple devices in terms of version control.  The tool also allows for shared authoring of a given presentation.

ZDNet blogger, Zack Whittaker, talked to Acrobat staff who told him "Presentations is only at 40% whereas PowerPoint would stand at 100%, so by their own admission the tool has a ways to go.

To use the tool you need to have the latest version of the Flash Player installed.  You can sign up to test it out at Acrobat.com. 

Here's a screen shot from their promotional slide show showcasing one of the advantages of the service:

Yahoo! Image Search Engine - Creative Commons Search

Research Buzz reviews the Yahoo! Image Search Engine and it's capability to search based on Creative Commons License - a great benefit for presenters looking for images with the appropriate license for use.  The search engine allows you to search for images that allow for commercial use and to filter out adult images as well.

Meanwhile at Google you can search for an image with a particular color according to the Google Blogoscoped. 

Quotes worth sharing

"That is the saving face of humor, if you fail no one is laughing at you."
A. Whitney Brown

Presentation Preparation

ComputerWorld Editor Maryfran Johnson has an interesting article about the importance of preparation when developing a presentation.  For some speakers she found that practicing out loud in advance of their presentation was in part the key to their success as presenters.  Other speakers she found liked developing and practicing their big themes then going for a more extemporaneous approach to their presentations.  Regardless of approach the key was to take the time to be prepared.  

Do I Twitter? Yes I do... Do I Blog? Do that too...

I'm going to be expanding my use of Twitter and get back on task with this blog, my other blog e-Bytes  and my new blog the Web Chef's Cafe at IBMadison, the new online publication sponsored by In Business magazine.

Got a tip or story idea? Drop me a line or comment here or on any of my blogs.

Paul Gibler