The Top 5 PowerPoint Slide Makeover videos of 2010

Every two weeks I record another PowerPoint slide makeover video showing lessons presenters can learn to improve the effectiveness of the slides they use. I publish my videos on iTunes, YouTube and Brainshark. If you subscribe via iTunes, you get every new video automatically downloaded to your iPod, iPhone or iPad. The viewers on YouTube and Brainshark have to make a more conscious decision to click and watch the videos, since there is less of an automatic viewing opportunity.

So at the end of the year I decided to look at the past year’s videos and see which ones were the most popular with the YouTube and Brainshark viewers.

#1: Slide Makeover #45: Transforming speaker notes into a visual

Description: Far too many slides are, in reality, notes for the speaker to remember what they are supposed to say. The slides end up being read to the audience. This makeover takes a wordy slide and the accompanying speaking notes and shows how the clues hidden in the text can lead to a more effective visual.
Watch on Brainshark here (more corporate friendly). Watch on YouTube here (more home friendly).

I have to admit that I was not all that surprised that this makeover proved to be the most popular this year. I still see far too many slides that are really speaker notes instead of visuals that promote a conversation with the audience. Yes, it takes a little more time to create simple visuals instead of just writing out what you want to say on your slides, but your presentation will be so much more effective and your audience will take action on your message.

#2: Slide Makeover #53: Using a full screen photo to enhance a story

Description: Stories and analogies are important to increasing the impact of your message. Don't just type out the key parts of the story on a slide as bullet points. Use the ideas in this makeover to show a full screen photo that increases the impact of your story or analogy.
Watch on Brainshark here (more corporate friendly). Watch on YouTube here (more home friendly).

Using photos is a great way to illustrate what you are talking about and increase the impact of your point. Just remember to get permission to use that great photo. You don’t need to cause yourself or your organization legal trouble by using a photo that you don’t have permission for.

#3: Slide Makeover #46: Creating a simple visual to replace text

Description: When replacing text with a visual, don't make the mistake of thinking that you need a fancy or complex visual. This makeover shows that a simple visual combined with a good headline is much easier to create than trying to design a more complex visual; and it is more effective.
Watch on Brainshark here (more corporate friendly). Watch on YouTube here (more home friendly).

This makeover dealt with a subject area outside the traditional business context, but is a great example of how we can use a simple visual instead of thinking we have to create a complex graphic or even a full-scale animation to get our message across.

#4: Slide Makeover #44: Making definitions interesting

Description: In too many training and teaching presentations, the definitions of key terms are read verbatim from text on the slides. This makeover shows that definitions can be interesting if you connect with the audience and leave them with a definition they will remember.
Watch on Brainshark here (more corporate friendly). Watch on YouTube here (more home friendly).

I wasn’t sure if this makeover would be very popular, as it deals with what can be a boring topic, definitions. But with the need to explain more complex issues to a broader audience, you are regularly going to have to include definitions in your presentations, and this makeover gives some good ideas.

#5: Slide Makeover #57: Revealing infographics one portion at a time

Description: Infographics are a popular way to illustrate information, especially for print publications. When used in presentations, they can sometimes be overwhelming. Use the ideas in this makeover to reveal the portions of the infographic one at a time to keep the focus of your audience.
Watch on Brainshark here (more corporate friendly). Watch on YouTube here (more home friendly).

Infographics gained popularity this year. Most of us will never create one ourselves because we are not graphic designers, but we may want to use one that someone else has created in our presentation. While they are visually appealing, they can be confusing unless you use the ideas in this makeover to present them piece by piece to the audience.

Almost every slide makeover that I do is based on a slide that has been sent to me for one of my in-house or public workshops (learn more about my workshops here), one I’ve helped one of my consulting clients create or sent in by one of my newsletter subscribers (sign up for free here). They are real slides being delivered to audiences by presenters who want to improve. I hope you’ll join this movement by signing up for my newsletter, adding my blog to your RSS feeds, and attending a workshop in the future, either live or via the web.

Thanks for a great year of learning and sharing.

Dave

PowerPoint Slide Makeover #67: When the appeal of a full-screen photo is the wrong approach

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. We are being told to use more visuals on our slides and it is a better approach than walls of text. But if you are tempted to use a full-screen photo just because it looks cool, consider the advice from this makeover that shows how a simple visual can communicate more effectively in some cases.

This slide is similar to those submitted by the participants in my workshops - 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: Using Infographics on slides

A popular visual today is an infographic. What is an infographic? Based on definitions online, I would say that an infographic is a graphic visual representation of information, data or knowledge that presents complex information quickly and clearly. The infographic does not simplify the information, it just represents it in a clear manner visually.


Here is an example I used in one of my slide makeovers:






Many infographics are complex, which is why using them in a presentation can be a challenge. Showing the infographic all at once on a slide can be overwhelming for the audience because it is too much information at once, even though it may be visual. The audience feels overloaded and the presenter has a hard time explaining each part of the infographic because the audience has trouble following along.


So how can you use an infographic you have been provided with on a slide? Reveal it piece by piece instead of showing it all at once. By showing only one part at a time, the audience can focus on what you are trying to explain and not be distracted by the other parts of the graphic. If you'd like to watch the video to see this demonstrated, you can watch it here. There are two approaches to building an infographic piece by piece on a PowerPoint slide.


The first approach is to reveal the pieces using exit animation of shapes placed on top of the infographic. Start by placing the infographic on the slide. Decide what portions need to be revealed in what order. Draw a shape over one of the areas using the rectangle tool or the freeform tool if the shape needs to be more complex than a simple rectangle. Set the fill color to be the background color of the infographic. Add an exit animation to this shape so that when you advance on the slide, this shape disappears, revealing the portion of the infographic underneath. You can then copy and paste this shape to cover up other areas or draw each shape individually if the situation is more complex.


The second approach is to actually break the infographic into separate graphics that can be built one-by-one on the slide. To save a portion of the infographic as a separate graphic, you can use the built-in Paint program in Windows. Open the infographic in Paint, use the rectangle or freeform selection tools to select the area you want as a separate graphic. Use the Crop function to remove the remaining parts of the infographic and save this portion as a new name (so you don’t overwrite the original file). Use the same steps to create a new graphic file for each portion of the infographic you want to build on the slide. Then insert each new graphic file on a slide and animate them to appear in the correct order.


Infographics are complex visuals that can be used on a PowerPoint slide if you take care to reveal the graphic one portion at a time to help guide the audience during your explanation. If you haven't seen the video that shows this makeover, you can see it here.

PowerPoint Slide Makeover #66: The downside of SmartArt

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. SmartArt is supposed to make creating visuals easy, but too often presenters use it without considering whether the pre-made diagram is effectively communicating their message. This makeover shows an example of how a SmartArt diagram can be replaced with a more effective simple visual.

This slide is similar to those submitted by the participants in my workshops - 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.