Anyone skilled with powerpoint? Need suggestions.

[notfred]

I have to prepare a powerpoint presentaion on XML, why it's useful for our organization, and what we plan on using it for.

I can come up with content for it, but I'm curious about what format to put it in - bulleted lists with key points? Write things out in paragraphs? How detailed should the PowerPoint slides be?

I've honestly never used PowerPoint before.

 

[vi edit]

Paragraphs sort of defeat the point of slide show presentations.

Usually bullet points and limited information per slide works best, especially if this is for a non-technical group of people.

Also, make print outs of the slides for hand outs for people to make notes on as you give the presentation.

 

[Heisenberg]

Don't write out sentences. Just list key points using short phrases that you can expand on as you talk.

 

[ohtwell]

Use bullets. Give the main point and then back it up bullet style.


: ) Amanda

 

[PricklyPete]

Good luck on the presentation. I've had to give several presentations on XML, and people and I always get the same reaction (especially from upper management):

1) Totally lost on the purpose/use. It is such a simple concept, but for some reason people always try to complicate it in their minds because you tend to want to talk about it in such an abstract manner.
2) They come away from the presentation thinking it is a cure-all for every problem, but really have no clue on how you would implement its use to do anything.
3) They immediately start trying to compare it to HTML which it really has absolutely nothing to do with in reality.

Anyway, things to think about as you prepare the material. I've had a booger of a time getting even technically minded people to grasp its usefulness, and generally I'm fairly good at explaining difficult concepts...apparently I s*ck at explaining simple concepts.

 

[AtlantaBob]

Generally, Powerpoints should only contain key subheadings -- people can't really read a lot of text on the projection screen. When I do presentations (I teach undergrad history classes) I'll sometimes put a quote or two on a page, but anything less than a font size of 24 is asking for trouble. In your case, I think I'd use bullets.

If you want to add more information in handout form, put that info in the note section, and then print out "note pages" for your handouts on the print/option menu.

 

[DannyBoy]

Originally posted by: Heisenberg
Don't write out sentences. Just list key points using short phrases that you can expand on as you talk.

By far the best thing to do, pick a specific subject and use it to start your speech.

 

[PricklyPete]

Originally posted by: ohtwell
Use bullets. Give the main point and then back it up bullet style.


: ) Amanda

Oh yeah, as for the format, I agree with Amanda. go ahead and prepare a printed sheet of examples and hand them out...don't try to fit an example on the Powerpoint presentation...it gets way to busy. Just put the points you plan on discussing in a very "summary" fashion on the slides and include any detailed examples/information on a sheet you pass out.

I find it best with a presentation like this to have a white board to draw simple examples out (the ones you might include on your hand out).

 

[MrChad]

Less is more when it comes to slides. You shouldn't need more than one slide per minute.

Try to present a summary page listing the main sections of your presentation. As you get to each section, return to the summary page, showing your progress.

e.g.

• What XML is
• Why it's useful
• How we use it

... slides on what xml is

• What XML is
• Why it's useful
• How we use it

... slides on why it's useful

etc

 

[cjgallen]

I've always been taught the 6x6 rule. No more than six lines of text (not including heading), and no more than 6 words per line.

No paragraphs, nobody is gonna read it.
Lots of pictures.
No sound effects, that's just lame and unprofessional.
SIMPLE transitions. Wipes and fades, no stupid shapes/checkers/etc

 

[KingPhil]

DO NOT write things out in pragraphs < big NO NO

Use bullets to sum up your points

DO NOT read the slides directly when presenting.....

Elaborate on teh topics when presenting, hence you dont need to write paragraphs for your slides

 

[Injury]

PP is like a walking stick. You don't need it, it's often just a waste of time bringing it along and you can do just fine on your own. The benefits are that if you start to stumble, it's there to help... and it looks cool.


Basically, powerpoint is there to guide you in your presentation and to give your audience something to look at. Use it to show some good pictures, graphs, etc. and don't waste time putting up exactly what you are going to say, but rather put up the subject and a very very brief idea on what you are currently speaking about. Make it so that if the audience starts to miss your idea, the powerpoint will tell them what it is.

Example slide:

XML: It's really awesome.

It does this... (You say "It does this. I'm sure you've seen those times when you want this, but don't know about it.")
But not this... (You say "But won't do this. We all know how annoying that is and...")
All while this... (You say "To put the icing on the cake, with XML you can...")


Basically, create a simple outline for your speech. There's your PP right there.