PowerPoint Tip: Keyboard shortcuts when editing slides

In past issues on the newsletter, I’ve shared some tips on keyboard shortcuts you can use when in Slide Show mode. If you missed some of the past issues or want to remind yourself of those tips, click here (if this link does not work, copy and paste the full link as follows into your browser: http://www.thinkoutsidetheslide.com/newsletter/cutnov112008.htm). Today I’ll share a few keyboard shortcuts to use when creating and editing your slides.

One of the tips I share in my workshops that most people tell me is new information to them, is how to break a line at a specific word when writing a headline (or any text). Just press Shift+Enter (i.e. hold the Shift key down and press Enter). This is different than simply pressing the Enter key, which gives you a new paragraph. The Shift+Enter key combination breaks the line and uses the line spacing instead of the paragraph spacing. It may look pretty darn similar on your screen, but line spacing is smaller than paragraph spacing and that difference will appear much larger when projected to a big screen in a boardroom.

Another tip I share in my workshops is to use the Ctrl+arrow keys to do fine positioning of objects on a slide. You probably know that you can move objects, such as shapes or text boxes, by clicking on them and dragging them with your mouse. You can also click on the object and move it using your arrow keys. But you may have noticed that even when using the arrow keys, you sometimes can’t line up objects exactly where you need them to be. Here’s where you need the fine positioning that you get when holding the Control key down and using your arrow keys. This moves the object one pixel at a time, the smallest movement you can make. This will allow you to get exact positioning when you need it.

The final tip is one that will allow you to locate and edit objects that may be hidden behind other objects or to locate objects that are on the slide but not visible. You may have objects that are completely behind other objects due to the way you need to build your slide to have the maximum impact from that slide. You may also inherit other slides that have empty objects on them that are causing problems. How do you select these hidden objects so that you can edit them or delete them without having to move other objects and mess up your overall slide appearance? Select a visible object and then press the Tab key to cycle through all the objects on the slide. Once you have selected the object you want, you can format it by right-clicking on one of the boundary handles. You can delete it by pressing the Delete key.

The more efficient you get at creating your slides in PowerPoint, the more productive you will be and the more time you will have to rehearse your presentation so it goes as well as it can.

Think before you add slide numbers

Today I watched two presentations where the presenter had the slide numbers feature turned on, so we saw a slide number in the lower corner of each slide. And it got me thinking, why were the slide numbers there? What did they add to the presentation?

The answer was: Nothing. The slide numbers did not help explain the ideas or help the audience understand the message. The only time I think slide numbers are useful is when you are presenting using a flipbook (where the slides are printed one per page and the presentation is done flipping through the book of slides). In this case, it can be helpful to keep everyone on track by referring to what slide number you are on.

But if you are presenting in a room with a projector, slide numbers are not necessary. If the audience has a handout, they have a copy of your slides or notes and you will refer them to a page number in the handout, not the slide number. If you don’t have a handout, the slide numbers serve no purpose to the audience.

What do you think? If you use slide numbers, what benefit do they have for your audience? Add your thoughts in the comments below.

PowerPoint Slide Makeover - Putting Multiple Ideas on One Slide

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. Sometimes you are restricted in the number of slides you can use and may need to put more than one idea on a slide. This makeover shows how to put two related ideas on a slide using persuasive visuals.

This slide was submitted 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.
You can also watch all the podcasts on my 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: Reformatting a presentation

Often in my workshops, someone shares how they struggle when trying to merge slides from different presenters into one presentation or when they have to reformat a presentation using a new slide design. What should be easy turns into a nightmare with content moving all over the place and hours spent reformatting each slide by hand. In today's newsletter I want to share a few tips that can help when you find yourself in this situation.

The first thing I suggest you do is check the Slide Layout of the existing slides. This is the one area that causes more problems than almost any other area. Unfortunately, most presenters don't know that they should select the appropriate layout when they create a slide. They just use the default bullet point layout and delete or move items until they get the slide they want. The problem is that once you apply a new design to a slide, it wants to use the underlying layout and it moves things back to where they are supposed to be. So, before you reformat or insert any slides, review the layouts and apply or reapply the correct layout to each slide. You may also need to move text from randomly placed textboxes into the correct placeholders so it will format properly when inserted into a new design.

The second area you need to check before merging or reformatting is the new Slide Master. Too often Slide Masters are poorly constructed. Look for and fix the following: background graphics should be on the Slide Master and not on each individual slide; title and body text placeholders should have the correct font, size, alignment and color set on the Slide Master and not individually on each slide; and footers and slide number placeholders should be properly formatted and set to display if desired. By fixing the Slide Master before inserting any slides, you will save yourself a lot of time.

Finally, you are ready to assemble the new presentation. I suggest you open a new presentation and apply the design from the Slide Master you fixed in the previous step. Next, open the existing presentation and copy the slides into the newly formatted presentation, allowing the new design to be applied automatically. This will correct most problems, but some will still exist (it seems to be inconsistent sometimes). So the final step is to check each slide and reapply the layout if needed. You may also need to make some final fixes to the position of elements due to background graphics that may be in a different position in the new design.

Initially, it sounds like the pre-work will take some time, and indeed it will. But my experience is that it takes much more time to correct all the problems manually if you don't set yourself up by fixing the source files first. Try it out the next time you have to merge slides or apply a new design and let me know how it works for you.

The importance of structure first

Last week I was consulting with a client who was developing a presentation that will be put online to attract potential employees to their organization. Originally, they had asked me to help with the design and construction of the slides. But as we started to talk, it was obvious that they did not have a clear structure to their message, and this was inhibiting our ability to move forward with the slides.

So I took out a pad of paper and we stepped back and talked about what the call to action was and what reasons led to the conclusion that someone should take this action. Once we were clear on the structure, we could move forward with the slides. My client commented that it was so refreshing to find someone who understood what they were trying to do in their business and could help think through the process instead of just focus on the graphics.

In my consulting work, I often pass on requests for simply making a set of slides look better to other designers . It's not that I can't do it, but my expertise is in crafting the right message and creating slides that work to support that message. If a potential client does not have the time or desire to look at the message, I am happy to refer them to others. And, as happened twice in the last two weeks, the potential client thanks me for the referral and says that when they do have the time for my services, they will be calling me.

PowerPoint Slide Makeover - Presenting People-based Statistics

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. Often presentations need to include statistics. When those statistics are about people, consider showing pictures of people instead of just quoting the text and numbers. It helps the audience connect with what the statistic means to them.

This slide was submitted by one of my consulting clients - 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.
You can also watch all the podcasts on my 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: Equipment to carry when presenting

When I travel to deliver customized workshops or speak at conferences, I carry the normal equipment for a presenter: my laptop, presentation remote and projector if required. In today’s tip, I want to share with you a few of the other pieces of equipment I carry that come in handy when travelling. I know all of these are perfectly OK to carry on an airplane since I regularly have my laptop bag searched when going through security.

The first item I carry is a VGA extension cord. Mine is 15 feet long. It allows me to move my laptop away from a podium or projector. Too often, A/V people position the cord to connect the laptop to the projector in places that cause a problem as a presenter. One common setup is the cord taped to a podium, which I never use because it creates a barrier between the audience and myself. The other common situation is a short cord right beside the projector, which is blowing hot air right into my laptop, overheating it. This cord came in handy in March when I was a speaker at a conference in Los Angeles and I used the cord to help out a panel session where the laptop wasn’t close to where the panel was seated. The cord allowed the laptop to be in front of the panel and made the session more comfortable for the speakers and the audience.

The second item I carry is my wireless mouse. One reason I carry it is because when I am working in a hotel room, I find it much more comfortable to use a mouse than to use the touchpad on my laptop. I use a wireless mouse instead of a retractable wired mouse because it can then also serve as a backup for my presentation remote. If my remote fails, I can use my wireless mouse as a substitute until I can replace the remote.

The final item in my laptop bag that I want to share with you is a small travel alarm clock. It is easy to set and use. I use it in two ways. First, when I am in my hotel room, I always use it to wake me up in the morning. If you stay in as many hotels as I do, you don’t have time to figure out all the alarm clocks and you learn not to trust them. So I know I’ll always wake up on time if I use my own. Second, when I am presenting, I set it to the local time and sit it beside my laptop. This way, I always know what time it is, even if there is no clock in the room or the time on the clock in the room is wrong (happens often around the change to/from daylight savings time). It makes sure that I can manage questions or exercises and we finish on time.

None of these items are high-end technically, but they are three of the most valuable items I carry in addition to the normal items presenters carry. Think back over your own experiences and see how often one of these pieces of equipment would have been valuable to have. Now you know why I carry them – and suggest you may want to as well.

Use the photos you already have on your web site

I was doing a slide makeover today for slides from a large corporation. It is part of some work I am doing with a presentation skills expert and we are trying to show her client that their slides could be much better than they are today. The slide I chose was a typical five bullet point slide with some icons used as graphics below the bullet points.

The five points are the top five features that the company wants salespeople to focus on with customers in a retail environment. The problem is that they did not use pictures to illustrate the five features. On the company's web site, they list these five features (along with others). For each of the five, they have a professionally shot photo showing someone using that feature of the product. I copied the photos from the web site onto the slide and instantly had a much more visually appealing slide. It also allowed me to carry the selected photo on to a detailed slide about each feature.

When you are looking for photos to use in your own presentations and you work for a company that has a professionally done web site, start with the images that have been selected for the web site. The photos are easily accessible, easy to copy and will be consistent with what your audience has seen when they went to your web site. In today's situation, many of the retail customers will have already been to the company's web site and by training the sales people with the same images, they will be able to provide consistency of brand throughout the entire sales process.

Don't feel that you have to spend hours searching for the right stock photography or spend thousands of dollars on a photo shoot. Leverage what your company has already created and provide visual consistency for your customers across all points of contact.

Tenth Anniversary Sale - One week only!

Ten years ago, on Monday, May 31, 1999, we opened the doors to our new business, having decided to leave a secure, corporate 9 to 5 job. And what an adventure it has been these last ten years. I have had the privilege of serving over 1,500 customers with customized workshops, books, videos and consulting for high-stakes presentations. Thank you to everyone who has supported me and pushed me to deepen my expertise on how to make PowerPoint presentations more effective.

The best way I can think of to thank everyone is to offer a special Tenth Anniversary package of all of my latest books and other learning resources at a huge discount. So, from today until midnight next Sunday, June 7, 2009, I am putting together a blockbuster package and cutting the price so you can celebrate with me.

This is what you'll receive in this special package:
The Visual Slide Revolution - the book that details my five-step KWICK method for creating persuasive visuals and named as one of the Top 10 Business Books of 2008. Click here to read more about this book.
A CD with all 47 "How-To" videos that show you how to use a specific technique in 3-7 minutes. Great as just-in-time training or as a reminder. Click here to see a list of all the videos.
A CD with all seven PowerPoint Content Templates. This CD contains 912 pre-made slides that you can copy and customize to save yourself a ton of time. Click here to preview the slides you'll get.
A CD with all five Creating Visuals training videos that show you how to think through using that type of visual and how to create it step-by-step in both PowerPoint 2003 and 2007. To see previews of all of these videos, click here.

The retail value of all these items if you bought them on my site is $467.50 U.S..

During this week-long celebration, I'll ship all of these resources to you for only $197, a savings of 58%!

This special offer is my way of thanking all of you for your support and is only available for this one week, until Sunday June 7, 2009. Order today so you don't forget and miss out.

Click here to order my Ten-Year Anniversary Special Package of resources.