From the Presentation Council listserv:
“Julie Irvin, President of Keystone Resources, is presenting the upcoming InfoComm International Presentations Council webinar, “How to Effectively Communicate Data Charts & Graphs,” on Wednesday, December 7, 2005 beginning at 4:00pm EST. If you are able to join the webinar, please send a RSVP to Shana Rieger, srieger@infocomm.org. The meeting link and call-in instructions will be emailed to you December 2nd.
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When you and your clients are tired of regular bar & column charts, what do you do and how do you make sure you are communicate your point(s). Julie will walk you through real client scenarios on how they went “out side of the box” to communicate the client’s data effectively.
* Pie of Pie Charts
* Use of Small Multiples
* Using PowerPoint & Illustrator to enhance basic charts
* The importance of chart labeling, titles and colors
* Other Software & Tools that help you illustrate points”
Posted by Lee Potts at 9:09 PM .
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To: All News and Wire Services
For Immediate Release:
Professor PowerPoint™ Loses Tenure
By Tom Bunzel
As an active member of the Visual Being web log, the Presentations Council of InfoComm International and the presentations community at large, I need to inform you all of a change in my circumstances necessitated by my recent correspondence with Microsoft’s law firm, Katten Muchin Rosenman.
I was contacted by a member of that firm a short while ago and informed that my use of the phrase “Professor PowerPoint™” was an improper use of its trademark and among other matters, potentially created confusion as to my relationship with Microsoft.
As many of you know, I have spent a fair amount of time and effort writing articles and books, educating users and in many ways promoting the use of PowerPoint™ in creating and enhancing presentations. However, when I explained these circumstances in some detail, I was informed that while Microsoft certainly appreciated my endeavors, my continued use of the trademarked name PowerPoint™ in my business and web site was inappropriate.
After consulting Microsoft’s web site pertaining to the proper use of its trademarks, I realized that there was no way I could continue as Professor PowerPoint™ without violating the clearly set forth canon of: “Do Not Use Microsoft Names or Trademarks as Part of Your Name”. There was very little wiggle room in that sentence.
To my relief the attorney added that Microsoft was not taking an aggressive posture in this issue. Since I had no great interest in retaining a law firm with the names of three partners on its letterhead, I appreciate that position immensely and sincerely.
So it is with some regret that this week I am publicly and irrevocably renouncing my position as Professor PowerPoint™, and now also admit that I got most of my diplomas through self study. (My B.A. in English from Tufts University is, alas, legitimate).
Obviously I had hoped to complete my career as a fully tenured Professor PowerPoint™ basking in the glory of a position in an albeit virtual and wholly nonexistent campus, but that is not to be. As of today the ProfessorPowerPoint™ web site is no more, and I have assumed a new position…
Henceforth my web site will be www.professorppt.com, and I hope that those of you who have linked to me in the past or referenced me in your own work will make the necessary adjustment.
The title of this web site has now been changed to “The Presentation Professor” (even though I shall remain, in reality, a humble untenured teaching assistant).
Let me make it perfectly clear that this entirely new web site has no relationship with either Presenters University or Presentations Magazine (even though I am an intermittent Contributing Editor at Presentations). Let me state for the record that I am also in no way connected to the “Ask the Professor” professor at Presenters University, the Video Professor on national television, nor any other real or virtual institution of higher education in the presentations industry. If in fact there are any other professors, real or virtual, teaching in the presentations community, I simply ask, can we all just get along?
It is indeed with a sad and heavy heart that I leave this entirely nonexistent campus, and set forth in search of new vistas in the presentations (and not just PowerPoint™) universe. I hope you will not forsake me for my past transgressions and continue to count me as a valued colleague as I carve out what I hope will be a new area of specialization and expertise beyond PowerPoint™ and into the virtually infinite realm of communicating more effectively using technology. (Oops, not to be confused with David Paradi’s http://www.communicateusingtechnology.com).
I will post my new office hours shortly but drop in any time. With fondest memories of a great ride, I remain sincerely,
Tom Bunzel
The Presentation Professor
Posted by Tom Bunzel at 4:10 PM .
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Every creative person has experienced the feeling of being stuck. A deadline is right around the corner and the ideas just aren’t flowing. When you’re staring at a blank mental wall and can’t seem to get things moving, try visiting this ideagenerationmethods site. You will find lots of ideas for ways to generate ideas… either on your own or in groups. They are listed in alphabetical order, and the best ones aren’t at the top of the list, so try starting at the bottom, or in the middle.
Posted by Robert Befus at 10:22 AM .
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Many of you may already have spotted this, but I think Garr Reynolds’ post entitled Gates, Jobs & the Zen aesthetic (on Presentation Zen) is an interesting read.
I had already viewed Steve Jobs ‘Special Event’ presentation on the Apple site (longing for the days when I used to be allowed to use Macs at work - the IT department banned them a while ago now…). He certainly is a good performer and I enjoyed his approach. You can compare him with Gates, whose presentation is also available.
The previous day’s post on Presentation Zen ‘Bill Gates and visual complexity’ is also worth a view.
Posted by Roy Hammans at 7:23 AM .
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It’s early Wednesday morning, and the client sitting across the small conference table is harried and obviously stressed. She explains that she will be giving a 45 minute talk to company managers on Friday and has just found out that several of the other presenters are developing PowerPoint presentations. She hadn’t planned on using PPT, but now feels pressure to conform. On the conference table are a small stack of printouts and several CDs. She has provided a nearly finished script, a list of the 35 visuals she thinks she will need created, a PPT file she has started using a Microsoft template, and a variety of other files and resources you might need. Can she see something Thursday morning she asks?
You begin by asking your client about her audience and objectives. How much does the audience know about her subject? Is there already widespread agreement with her position? What exactly is she trying to accomplish? Where will the presentation take place… and what kind of presentation equipment is available? You also try to assess her experience and skill as a presenter. Does she present often? Has she presented to this audience before? She resists at first, but you coax her into delivering her introduction to you so you can get a quick feel for her delivery style. She seems fluent and confident.
You go through each prospective visual carefully, making sure you know what she will be saying with each one and what key points each visual should reinforce. Finally, you review the production schedule. By lunch you will send her a few format comps for her to review. At nine the next morning you will have her visuals ready for a preliminary review. You insist that she schedule some time in the afternoon to rehearse with her presentation. Throughout your discussion with this client you are careful to manage her expectations. There is not enough time to design each visual as it should be designed. The quick turnaround will require you to focus on the design of an overall presentation format, and then develop each visual consistently within the format specs. The format you design will carefully incorporate all you know about effective visual design including projected colors and contrast, spatial layout and use of grid systems, font selection and the use of supporting imagery and animations.
Let’s assume that this job goes according to plan – you deliver a nicely formatted presentation, your client delivers her talk and is satisfied with the results. Is that all there is to presentation development? What evidence do you have that you have made a real difference in the outcome of your client’s presentation? After 11 Presentation Fact articles, what do we know that gives us assurance that our professional efforts on our client’s behalf are truly worth the investment? Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by Robert Befus at 7:32 PM .
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After delivering a web conference for the Presentations Council a few weeks ago, I wrote up my experience with some tips on do’s and don’ts for my InformIT web site. For anyone contemplating following in my steps, this might be a useful read.
Posted by Tom Bunzel at 3:18 PM .
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Visual Being contributor and fellow Presentations Council steering committee member Todd Dunn has been elected to serve as council chairman starting in January. Most of the Visual Being contributors belong to the council and I strongly suggest that you join InfoComm International (formally the ICIA) and the council if presentations are an important part of what you do. Contact Mary Waldera for more information.
I’d also like to recognize the significant contribution of time, energy and ideas our current chairman, Bob Befus, has devoted to council. He has continued in the tradition begun by our first chairman, Ray Guyot, of working beyond the call of a volunteer’s duty to grow and develop the council into a fantastic resource for presentation professionals.
Posted by Lee Potts at 2:48 PM .
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For the past few years I have been using a tool for creating music tracks unlike any other I have found.
SmartSound’s SonicFire Pro has some unique technology for making custom music tracks for all types of applications.
From movie scores to 10 second bumps, this is the tool I have found no equal to. Most canned music comes in preset times: 10, 15, 30, 45….. With SonicFire Pro you can easily set any length needed and produce a track with an ending.
The music library comes from many of the industry standard houses like Westar Music, Killer Tracks, The Music Bakery, and Narrator Tracks. Their library is constantly growing with thousands of great royalty-free tracks and the music is top quality. The focus is on visual media creators so if you’re in the business I recommend checking it out. I’m looking forward to future versions of this amazing tool.
Posted by Todd Dunn, CTS at 11:04 AM .
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From the Opinion Page of Telegraph.co.uk
By Amando Iannucci
“Tony Blair is said to be embarking on a “mission to explain” his controversial policies on education and welfare reform to his backbenchers. But before he does so, apparently, he has to explain them to his ministers. There are rumours around at the moment that the likes of Patricia Hewitt and John Prescott are having to sit down to PowerPoint presentations from Blair’s advisory folk like Lords Birt and Adonis. If this is true, then it constitutes one of the great unreported scandals of early 21st-century Britain: namely, that at the core of government, no one really knows what’s going on.” Read more…
Posted by Mary Waldera at 8:19 AM .
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How to Satisfy Your Project Manager
(tags: system:unfiled)
lifehack.org: Over 35 Graphic Templates
“Education Place has a good collections on pdf templates on graphics templates that can help you productively brainstorm and going through ideas.”
(tags: brainstorming meetings whiteboards)
Posted by Lee Potts at 6:51 PM .
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Those of you who missed the webinar can get a summary of many of the points I made about why video doesn’t play at my InformIT column. There is also more info on the PFCMedia tool for avoiding problems with codecs.
Posted by Tom Bunzel at 12:48 PM .
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BurningWell.Org - Free Public Domain Images and Photos
“BurningWell is a repository for public domain (free for any use) images. You are free to download, copy and use the photos you find here for any purpose. These free images were donated by photographers from around the world…”
(tags: free photography photos stock)
Lifehacker: How to Eliminate Whiteboard Ghosts
“Got a problem with ghosted marks on your white boards? Mr. Clean Magic Erasers can work magic.”
(tags: brainstorming meetings tips whiteboards)
Posted by Lee Potts at 6:51 PM .
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Warning by Nicole Recchia (published by Mark Batty*) presents a compact collection of those ubiquitous warning signs and labels that are meant to make the world safer for people and, perhaps more importantly, to protect corporations from the dangers of litigation. It is of interest to presentation professional for several reasons.
First of all, it’s a graphically striking book as well as a very entertaining “read”. There’s something about the way the imagination automatically constructs narratives around these sparsely drawn and uncaptioned scenarios that absorbs your attention (even as you are repelled by the thought of just how horrible the events that inspired the need for these warnings must have been). Perhaps this inherent horror contributes to the tendency that makes some of the examples abstract to the point of incomprehensibility. Recchia’s clean, uncluttered layout does a good job of letting the images speak, sometimes incoherently, for themselves. To be fair, it should be pointed out that this lack of context might add to the confusion.
Warning is also a place to start if you are ever faced with the task of developing highly stylized graphics that consistently transmits a message in a non-language dependant way. Actually, it might be as good at pointing out what techniques to avoid as it is at providing inspiration.
The real warning here is, of course, to be careful about assuming how an image is going to be interpreted by an audience. A picture might be worth a thousand words, but in some cases it might be a different thousand words for each person looking at it.
*Who kindly provided a review copy.
Posted by Lee Potts at 11:00 PM .
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Congratulations to Terry Irwin and Julie Terberg whose book ‘Perfect medical presentations: creating effective PowerPoint presentations for the healthcare professional‘ won first prize in the prestigious British Medical Association’s 2005 book competition in the ‘Basis of medicine‘ category.
Thanks to Perspector’s Steve Hards for the heads up on this one.
Posted by Lee Potts at 10:22 PM .
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