The one thing that will make your videos better

Last week on my way to Chicago I flew with a cameraman for TSN, the sports network. He flies all over North America to report on breaking sports news. I asked him what was the one thing that he knew as a professional camera person that would help improve the quality of videos that regular folks like you and I create. His answer confirmed my own experience - lighting. If there is one thing that makes a video hard to see, it is poor lighting.

In our discussions, he added a dimension to the lighting issue that I had not considered before. He said that the reason lighting was so important, was so that there is contrast between the subject you are shooting and the background. Brilliant insight! I've talked about the need for contrast when putting text on slides and even created a color contrast calculator so that you can test the colors you want to use (it is at www.ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com/colorcontrast.htm). But I hadn't thought that contrast is indeed the key to shooting a great video.

So how do you increase the contrast without having the fancy HD camera he was carrying? The simplest solution I've come across is to increase the general lighting in the room with halogen work lights you can buy at any home improvement store. I've even used them in a large gymnasium and it made a noticeable difference. They are portable, so you can carry them to a trade show if you want to capture some testimonials on the trade show floor, or any other location you need to.

One other lesson from this conversation. Always ask an expert what one tip they would share to improve the quality of what regular folks create. Whether they are in lighting, theatre, acting or any other creative area, listen to their answer and see how you can apply it in your work.

PowerPoint Tip: Where to get PowerPoint help

When I am giving workshops, participants will often ask me how to accomplish a specific task in PowerPoint. I'm not a technical expert in all the minute details of PowerPoint, but I can answer most of their questions. For those who haven't been in a workshop yet, I've put together short "how-to" videos at http://www.PPtHowToVideos.com to help out. But where do I go to figure out a question that I don't know the answer to? Today's tip will point you to the same sources I use for technical help.

First stop is the PowerPoint FAQ list at http://www.rdpslides.com/pptfaq/index.html . It is created and maintained by Steve Rindsberg, one of the Microsoft PowerPoint MVPs. If you are having a problem with PowerPoint or are wondering how to do something specific, chances are Steve or one of the other MVPs who contribute have already written an article on it.

If it has to do with an error message or a technical issue, I head over to the Microsoft support site at http://support.microsoft.com. This allows you to narrow your search to the version of PowerPoint you have and search for any articles on the topic you are struggling with. It also links to downloads of service packs and other updates that can help solve problems.

Many of the PowerPoint MVPs (experts recognized for their contributions to increasing the knowledge of the user community) have web sites with helpful tips. One of the most extensive is Geetesh Bajaj and his site at http://www.indezine.com. For a list of all of the MVPs and their sites, go to http://www.mvps.org/links.html#PowerPoint .

You can always search Google or your favourite search engine for the topic you are struggling with. I have found I get better answers when I include the version as a search term and make the search as specific as possible. When you get a whole list of possible pages to look at, which ones should you give preference to? I usually look for pages from the site of an MVP (see link to list above) and those at educational institutions since they tend to have good online help pages for their staff and students.

The final destination I want to share is the PowerPoint newsgroup. When you need to ask a question and want it answered by an expert, head over to the PowerPoint newsgroup (microsoft.public.powerpoint in a newsgroup reader or through Google groups). Here you can post a question or search for previous answers that may have covered your question. It is best practice to search for previous answers first as there tend to be common questions that come up on a regular basis.

I wouldn't expect that anyone will know all the answers to every PowerPoint question (although some of the MVPs in the help center at the PowerPoint Live conference come pretty darn close). By using the resources above, you will be better prepared to quickly answer a question and create persuasive visuals that move an audience to action.

The Importance of Clear Communication in Difficult Times

Pretty much every day for the past few weeks, the difficult economic conditions have topped the news reports in the western world. Some people have been glued to the news stations, and I have to admit that I watched in fascination as the stock markets gyrated wildly. Most people didn’t know what to think and it resulted in more fear from the uncertainty. Without a clear explanation of what was going on and what the future would bring, people have become scared.

So what do you do in times like these? If you are responsible for communicating a message, make clarity your top priority. People today are distracted by events of the day and are not listening as closely, so your message needs to be well thought out to cut through the increased noise going on in our heads. If your message is not clear, it will get lost among the other competing messages.

How do you make your message clear, whether it is in the form of a presentation or a document? Start with the goal in mind. Be clear about the one thing you want your audience to get from this communication. Figure out three or four steps that will move them from where they are today to where you need them to be. Then back it up with clear facts, presented in simple visuals so they get the point immediately. Check for understanding to make sure they got it.

And realize that once may not be enough for people to get it. The world leaders have been holding news briefings almost every day because they need to repeat the core message to ensure it gets through to as many as possible. So schedule regular communications to reinforce your message and instil confidence to the audience.

Whether you are communicating to employees, suppliers, customers or stakeholders, now is the time to focus on clarity instead of fancy words that hide the real meaning.

October 21/08 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, online or through my YouTube channel. When you are describing a real-life situation or issue, too often the slides are simply words describing the idea and the slides become a transcript of what we would say. This makeover shows a slide full of descriptive text transformed into a clear visual that people will be able to understand and act on after the presentation.

This slide was one I was sent for a recent workshop, but many are suggested 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.
***NEW*** You can now watch all the podcasts on my new YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/ThinkOutsideTheSlide



If you have subscribed via iTunes or YouTube, please provide your positive feedback on the videos in the Comments and Ratings areas of the service so others know the value you get from the videos.

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.

PowerPoint Tip: Stop looking at the screen

What is so darned interesting on the screen? That's what I was asking myself at a recent conference as I saw speaker after speaker looking at the screen repeatedly during their presentation. It's not like anything had changed on the screen - it wasn't that they had put up a new point or moved to a new slide. They just regularly looked at the screen.

It was almost like they were wondering if the screen was still there or what was displayed had changed without them initiating it. I got to thinking why they would be doing this. I think it is because they needed to remind themselves what point they were discussing. If this is the case, let me suggest some better ways to go about making sure you cover what you need to for each topic in your presentation.

First, position your laptop so that you can see it when you are facing the audience. If you need to sneak a peek at what is on the screen, look at your laptop instead of the big screen behind you. Trust that what is on the laptop is the same as what is on the screen - because 99+% of the time, it is.

Second, build each slide point by point or make only one point per slide. This way, you only glance at the slide when the point comes up and don't need to look again because you know what you need to talk about. If you have multiple points on the slide all at once, you need to keep looking to see if you've covered all the points. Multiple points on the slide also makes it harder for the audience to connect what you are saying with which point on the slide. Use a presentation remote device to change points and slides so you don't need to keep looking at a multi-point slide to see where you are.

Third, rehearse what you are going to present. Too often, presenters look repeatedly at the screen because they need to remind themselves of what they wanted to say. This is a sign of lack of proper preparation. If you have rehearsed your presentation multiple times, you will be familiar with the material and it will flow smoothly without having to look at the screen to remind yourself of what you wanted to say.

There is nothing wrong with glancing at your laptop screen to remind yourself of the point you have just shown the audience. But use the tips above to reduce the tendency to repeatedly look at the screen while you are discussing the idea with the audience. If you use visuals instead of text-heavy slides, this becomes so much easier. Learn how to transform text slides into persuasive visuals with my book "The Visual Slide Revolution" at http://www.visualsliderevolution.com .

How to start building a library of photos

Yesterday I had a question from someone who was reading the blog. They asked where they could find a library of good photos that their department could use in presentations. They wanted 500-1,000 photos to choose from that were professional and fit their business. Wouldn't it be great if this existed? But unfortunately it doesn't.

You will see stock photography collections available for purchase but most of them are too generic because they try to appeal to a broad range of possible uses. And in many cases they are expensive. The other source of great professional photos are stock photography sites like istockphoto.com. The challenge is that these sites have over 1 million photos to choose from. How do you create a library of the ones you find suitable for your business?

Here is what I suggested to the person who asked me the question. First, create a list of the specific types of photos you think will work best in your presentations. Some examples may be categories such as older business men in a meeting, professional women showing leadership, medical personnel in a lab setting or others. Then, each day, set aside 15 minutes to look for 5 photos in one of the specific categories. By limiting yourself to one specific category, you narrow the search on the stock photography site and sift through fewer potential photos. Buy the ones you will use and put them on to slides.

The investment of 15 minutes each day is a very small amount of time but you can be productive in that time because your searching is so focused. By the end of two months, you will have 200 great photo slides that you can use in your presentations. By breaking up the work, it won't seem overwhelming and you will see significant results relatively quickly.

To this library that you build from the stock photography sites, add photos that you take yourself. Of course you need to check out the legal aspects such as who owns the photo & the rights, releases from anyone who is identifiable in the photo and usage restrictions. But once those are understood, look for opportunities to add to your library of photos with ones you take at your company or in public. I've taken generic photos of construction sites, signs and scenes that I've used in presentations over the years.

Once you have a library of slides, as I explain in chapter eight of my book The Visual Slide Revolution, you can leverage the time you have invested in creating the original slides. Big firms who do a lot of presentations, like management consulting companies have used slide libraries to their competitive advantage for years. Take 30 minutes today to create your list of categories and 15 minutes each day for the next two months and you will have a great library of photos that will step your presentations up to the next level.

October 7/08 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, online or through my YouTube channel. When you are presenting data, too often the slides become heavy with text and numbers and become hard to understand for the audience. This makeover shows a slide that confuses the audience transformed into a clear visual that people will be able to understand and act on after the presentation.

This slide was one I saw, but many are suggested 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.
***NEW*** You can now watch all the podcasts on my new YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/ThinkOutsideTheSlide



If you have subscribed via iTunes or YouTube, please provide your positive feedback on the videos in the Comments and Ratings areas of the service so others know the value you get from the videos.

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.

The folly of limiting the number of slides

It happened again last week. Someone approached me after a seminar and asked how I would remake some slides they were presenting. He is a medical researcher and his presentation is 10-20 minutes long. He showed me one slide and it was packed with information. I asked why it wasn't multiple slides since they were at least four key points being made. He said it was because the organization limits him to 25 slides, so he can’t use too many slides on this section or else he won’t have enough for the rest of his information.

Put aside the fact that perhaps he is trying to present too much information in the time he is allotted. I’d like to focus on the folly of mandating a maximum number of slides. By limiting the number of slides, the organization thinks that it is helping presenters focus their thoughts and present only the key ideas. Nothing could be further from the truth in most cases. My experience is that an artificial maximum number of slides does nothing to focus thoughts.

It gives people anxiety and forces them to learn how to jam inordinate amounts of information on each slide, making each slide unintelligible. And it doesn't make the point of their presentation any clearer at all. These organizations wonder why the quality of communications and the quality of the decisions made from them does not increase.

The better approach is to help presenters structure their ideas and focus on what the key takeaways will be for the audience. This one simple skill would add more to the clarity of presentations than almost any other effort. Organizations could set up a few simple questions to guide presenters, such as:
1. What is the goal of this presentation? At the end, what will the audience know, do or understand?
2. Where is the audience now in terms of their knowledge and attitude towards the topic?
3. What 3-5 key points do I need to make to move the audience from where they are now to where I want them to be at the end of the presentation?
4. What support or evidence will I present visually that will help make my points clear?

These are just four of the seven steps I share with my audiences on structuring a presentation. You can learn more about my workshops and how they help presenters transform overloaded text slide based presentations into visually based conversations at my web site, www.ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com.