PPT - Powerful Presentation Techniques

A dramatic reading from one of the books in the PPT Reference Listing

Book Reviews - Most PPT Presentations Suck, Relational Presentation and Clear and to the Point

I've been reading three books of interest to presenters:

Clear and to the Point by Stephen Kosslyn

Relational Presentation by Robert Lane and Chantal Bosse

1. and Why Most PowerPoint Presentations Suck by Rick Altman

So far I've finished Why Most PowerPoint Presentations Suck, am about 1/2 way through Clear and to the Point and 1/4 of the way through Relational Presentation.  I always judge a book by whether I've learned something or not.  So far each has provided some value.  I do however want to go through each of these with PowerPoint open so that I can test some of their premises and include them in my reviews.

I'll be reporting on my perspectives on each of these resources in the next couple of weeks.  If you've read any of these three and would like to join the conversation, send me an e-mail with your perspectives and I'll be sure to incorporate it into my book reviews.

Have a great Thanksgiving!

Paul Gibler

PPTLive Next Week and PPT Book Reviews

I'll be attending Rick Altman's PPT Live Conference starting this Sunday in New Orleans.  I'm looking forward to picking up some good tips, ideas and to networking with other PPT and presentation professionals.  As I learn new things that are worth sharing, I'll be sure to post them here on PPT. 

In addition, I've given myself a couple of reading assignments while I'm planebound this weekend and next week to read and comment on two new PPT books I just received from Amazon - "CLEAR and to THE POINT" by Stephen Kosslyn and "Why Most PowerPoint Presentations SUCK" by Rick Altman of above mentioned PPT Live fame.  My initial scan of both tells me that I'll be able to pick up some good tips and techniques to add to my repertoire.

Book Report II - Cutting Edge PowerPoint

Thumbs up on Cutting Edge PowerPoint for Dummies.  Your happy dummy, the Web Chef, a.k.a. the PPT Chef :) was able to insert a Flash .SWF movie into a presentation I've been working on.  The book lays out a clear description that worked.

1. Open PPT Presentation
2. Select Slide you want to insert SWF file into
3. Select View
4. Select Toolbars
5. Select Control Toolbox
6. Select Bottom Right Icon - hammer and nail (More controls)
7. Select Shockwave Flash Object
8. Drag a rectangle within your slide using your mouse, release
9. Right click the rectangle
10. Select Properties from the drop down menu
11. Select Custom (on the top of the listings)
12. Click the ellipsis button on the right of custom to open a Property Page
13. Type in the name of your Flash .SWF file in the Movie URL box, hit OK
    Note: be sure to include the file extension .swf and keep the path simple by moving the file) to the same folder.
14. Play the slide and the Flash movie should work

See page 290 - 292 of Cutting Edge PowerPoint.

Book Report I - Cutting Edge PPT for Dummies

I've started to read Cutting Edge PowerPoint for Dummies by Geetesh Bajaj and as promised, I'll periodically report back on what I think.  I jumped to Chapter 10: Listening and Watching: The Sound and Video Stuff, because I had a particular task in mind - converting an MP3 audio file to a .WAV file.  Given PowerPoint's preferences for a .WAV file for transitions, this was something I needed to do.  While I'm pretty technically savvy this wasn't a task I had addressed yet.  I was happy to find a description and a link to a resource for this conversion process on page 213 of the book. 

I've now downloaded dBPower AMP Music Converter, a tool that allows you to rip a .WAV file from an MP3 or CD, and can happily say it works.  I was able to rip a .WAV file and insert it into my PowerPoint Presentation rather easily.  I'm sure my audiences will be impressed.

Stay tuned for additional comments about this and the other books I'm reading.

Books I'll be Reading...

I'm always looking for and adding new books to my personal and professional libraries.  Personal interest books tend to run to "throwaway and escapists" mysteries, spy thrillers, legal thrillers.  My professional interests lie in trends, e-marketing, presentation skills, PowerPoint, blogs...

Recently I've purchased several books related to presentation skills and PowerPoint that I'll be reading over the next few months and reporting back on in this blog.

PowerPoint Books
"Cutting Edge PowerPoint for Dummies", Geetesh Bajaj, Wiley, 2006
(See companion website)

"Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances", Echo Swinford, O'Reilly Media, 2006

Presentation Skill Books
"101 Ways to Captivate a Business Audience", Sue Gaulke, AMACOM, 1997
"Presentation S.O.S". Mark Wiskup, Warner Business Books, 2005

Let me know what is on your bookshelf and what you find particularly useful in honing your presentation and/or PowerPoint skills.

Why not contact me for information on my Powerful Presentation Techniques Workshop?