PowerPoint Tip: Playing Quicktime videos in PowerPoint

When you start incorporating video in to your PowerPoint presentations, you will likely hit one of the roadblocks that many presenters find frustrating. It has to do with video file formats.

There are many video file formats. Some of the most popular ones you will see are AVI, WMV, and MOV. The problem is with the last file format, the MOV format. It is the Quicktime format created by Apple. It is a good format for quality and size of file, but it unfortunately does not work well in PowerPoint on Windows.

The reason the MOV file format is so common is that it is the default format on Apple computers. But if you are working on a Windows machine, why should that matter? Because almost every video editing or production company uses Apple computers for video work. They are usually much better at that task. And your video company is likely going to give you an MOV file as the final output.

If you try to insert it like any other video in PowerPoint, it won't recognize the format because there is no Quicktime player built in to PowerPoint on Windows. So what can you do? You have two options.

Option 1 is to convert the MOV file to a format like WMV or AVI that PowerPoint can recognize. This requires a video conversion package. The simplest is Apple's Quicktime Pro, which you can purchase from their web site. It allows you to export the video to the AVI format. I have found that the results aren't always high quality depending on the input video. You can search for other video conversion software, but it adds another step to your production process.

Option 2 is to link to the MOV video file from a PowerPoint slide using the built-in ability of PowerPoint to link to outside content. You create a hyperlink from some text, shape or picture to the MOV file on your computer. When you activate that link during the presentation, it automatically runs the movie in the Quicktime player (a free download from Apple). When the movie is playing, you can expand it to full screen by pressing Ctrl+F. When it is done, exit the Quicktime player and you are back to your presentation.

If you want to see Option 2 in a step-by-step video, check out the video on this specific topic at http://www.ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com/ppthowtovideos.htm . Video of all types is a hot topic and I have posted four other how-to videos at the above link that walk you through capturing, editing, inserting and e-mailing a video in a presentation. Don't let video file formats stop you from including video in your next presentation.

Making numbers easy to understand

In chapter five of my book "The Visual Slide Revolution", I emphasize how important it is to create a visual that has context for your audience. Context for your audience means stated in a way that is familiar to their world. What if you have a really large number that most people would have trouble understanding because it is so much bigger than what they normally consider?

Last week's newsletter by Daphne Gray-Grant gave excellent examples of how to do this. She has graciously posted the newsletter on her web site (she doesn't always do this and did it as a result of my request) at http://www.publicationcoach.com/free-articles/numbers.php. I encourage you to use the link to go read her comments. And while you are there, sign up for her weekly newsletter. I often find valuable writing tips in her newsletters.

You can see how I apply this sort of an approach in the first of my slide makeover video podcasts. In showing how the organization could not possibly adequately manage the risk across 140 data centres, I broke it down to a weekly number and talked about how it would be impossible to conduct that many audits every week. And then I used a visual of a calendar to emphasize the point. You can watch the podcast video at http://www.ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com/podcasts .

June 17/08 Slide Makeover Video Podcast available

Just a quick note to let you know that a new Slide Makeover Video Podcast based on the ideas in "The Visual Slide Revolution" is available for your viewing through the iTunes Store or online. This video podcast shows the transformation of a simple slide from a Toastmasters leadership training presentation. The "after" slide connects better with the audience to make the point. If you are a member of Toastmasters, this is a great video to share with fellow members and with prospective members. If you know someone in Toastmasters, forward this to them.

This slide was sent in by one of the subscribers to the newsletter - someone just like you who is looking for a way to make their presentations more effective. If you want to submit some of your slides to be considered for a future slide makeover, e-mail them to me at Dave@ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com.

If you have already subscribed through iTunes or another podcatcher, the new podcast should be automatically downloaded when you next run the program.

To subscribe via the iTunes Store, click here.
To view online or get the RSS file for other podcatchers, click here.

To get your own copy of "The Visual Slide Revolution", click here.
To access quick "how-to" videos for only $1.99 each, click here.

New source of speaking blogs: Alltop

Alltop is a site that accumulates top blogs on a variety of subjects and last week they launched a new site focused on blogs that give information on speaking and presenting. The site is
http://speaking.alltop.com/ . It is not a site that you pay to get on or apply to be included. They judge the top sources and I am pleased that this blog has been included in the list. When I looked at the list, I had no idea there were so many great blogs in this area. Some I have visited in the past, but many were new to me. When you get 15 minutes, hop over and check them out. But consider setting a timer for your session because there is so much good stuff there you could easily spend two hours reading it all :)

The importance of finding the benefit for your audience

I spent a few hours this morning with my Dad talking about a new corkscrew collection software that he has designed and my brother has programmed (www.corkscrewsoftware.com). The wider launch of the software is coming soon and he has seen how I've used video effectively in my business. He wanted my help in shooting a video to post on their web site that explains why someone would want to buy the software.

Like so many people who are deeply involved with a topic, he is too close to it to see it from the potential buyer's perspective. He showed me all the features of the software, but what the potential buyers need to know is how it will solve their biggest problems. It is the classic problem of features over benefits.

Chip and Dan Heath in their book "Made To Stick" call it "the curse of knowledge". It refers to the problem that you know so much about a subject and believe that everyone else wants to know that much as well. The reality is that they only want to know what it means to them.

For every point in your presentation, make sure that you focus on what the audience needs to know. This is difficult because we tend to focus on all the work and analysis we have done, but your presentation will be much better if you look at it from their perspective. As I discuss in my book "The Visual Slide Revolution", this is the first step in creating persuasive visuals. Turn the audience focused thought into the headline of your slide, add an appropriate visual and you have come a long way.

PowerPoint Tip: When to give handouts

Many times you will give a handout with your presentation. It is often a copy of your slides, but it can contain other documents as well. I recently posted an article on my web site that talks about some best practices for creating handouts. The full article is at http://www.ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com/articles/creatinghandouts.htm

Today I want to deal with one of the most contentious questions I get when it comes to the topic of handouts. When do you give out the handout - before or after you speak?

Some will argue that you always give it out after you speak. They say that if you give it out before, people can read ahead and know what you are going to say. If everything you are going to say is on your slides, this is true. But you know that my philosophy is that your slides should be visuals that guide a conversation with the audience, not a transcript of everything you are going to say.

So my approach is to give a handout before I speak. I have three reasons for doing this. First, it gives your audience somewhere to take notes that are relevant to them. Every audience member will take something slightly different from your presentation. They need somewhere to jot down those ideas while you are speaking or they will forget by the time you are done.

Second, if they know they have a copy of your slides and other relevant material, they can pay more attention to what you are saying. They don't need to be concerned with trying to madly write down what is on your slides. Too often people get very frustrated at the end of a presentation where they have spent considerable energy writing down key points from the slides only to be told that they can pick up a handout on the way out.

The third reason I suggest you give a handout before you speak is that it serves as your backup in case your technology fails. Perhaps I should say "when" your technology fails. Because it is not a matter of "if" it will fail, only a matter of "when". If you haven't had a projector die or laptop fry during a presentation, just wait, it will happen to you like it has happened to many of us already. Your handout allows you to keep delivering the message that the audience came to hear.

If you haven't been using handouts as well as you'd like to, you will want to check out two of my "how-to" videos. One is on formatting handouts so they look great and one is on printing handouts including tricks like using hidden slides to add detail to your handout. You can get each video for only $1.99 at http://www.ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com/ppthowtovideos.htm .

New Slide Makeover Video Podcast available

Just a quick note to let you know that a new Slide Makeover Video Podcast based on the ideas in "The Visual Slide Revolution" is available for your viewing through the iTunes Store or online. This video podcast shows the transformation of a slide overloaded with data resulting from a survey. The "after" slides show clear visuals that communicate the message to decision-makers.

If you have already subscribed through iTunes or another podcatcher, the new podcast should be automatically downloaded when you next run the program.

To subscribe via the iTunes Store, click here.
To view online or get the RSS file for other podcatchers, click here.

To get your own copy of "The Visual Slide Revolution", click here.
To access quick "how-to" videos for only $1.99 each, click here.