Please take a few minutes to complete this important survey sponsored by Infocomm International and its Presentation Council:
Would you like to know…
- What types of organizations do Presentation Professionals work in?
- What areas of expertise and background do Presentation Professionals have?
- Do you outsource your content development/delivery/overall communication
strategy/technology/visual/graphic development, or do you do it in-house? How often does your organization contract with outside production firms for presentation development?
- What types of challenges do Presentation Professionals experience today, and how concerned are they about these challenges?
Find out by participating in InfoComm International’s Presentations Professional Survey. This online survey should only take you about 10 minutes to complete.
To thank you for your participation, you will receive the results of this survey by e-mail, once compiled. You will also get three Microsoft PowerPoint templates, one Corel Presentations master, and one Apple Keynote theme, all free of charge. In addition, you will have a chance to win one of five $50 Amazon gift certificates.
Posted by Lee Potts at 10:00 AM .
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Of all the programs the Presentation Council makes available to the presentation professionals community, one of the most useful is their series of live webinars exploring various presentation tools, techniques and technologies. In case you missed the live events, here are links to the archived versions of the three most recent:
Tom Bunzel, “Using Video Effectively In Your Presentation”
Rick Altman, “Too Many Chefs?: The Fragile Art of Collaboration”
Julie Irvin, “How to Effectively Communicate Data Charts & Graphs”
As the schedule of future webinars are announced, we’ll post it here.
Posted by Lee Potts at 9:33 PM .
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Get all the details and register at infocommshow.org.
Dates: Saturday, June 3 - Friday, June 9, 2006
Location: Orlando, Florida
“InfoComm is the Best Conference and Exhibition to Explore AV Technologies!
“Plan to attend InfoComm, the largest event for the professional AV and information communications industry. It’s the only show you need to see the newest technologies for audio, video, display, projection, lighting and staging, digital signage, conferencing, digital content creation, networking, signal distribution and much more!”
The Presentations Council will again be providing a Super Tuesday event: Tools, Tactics and Technologies for Presentation Professionals.
Many Visual Being contributors are heavily involved in InfoComm 06 and the Super Tuesday events so there’s sure to be an ongoing series of updates posted here as the date grows nearer.
Posted by Lee Potts at 11:10 AM .
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This 
“>thumbnail image provides link to an example of vidoe blog created with the demo version of the new Vlog It! tool from Serious Magic.
I originally created the video in Communicator using the V-screen and teleprompter and then dropped it into Vlog It! Amazingly Vlog It! itself has these same features — the main difference from the Communicator product is that it doesn’t output the same range of professional quality higher res video files.
As a bonus of this product, the FLV file (which normally takes Flash to create and use) along with the thumbnail images from your blog are in My Documents\Vlog It!\My Output.
Perhaps the coolest feature is the way to instantly create a blog thumbnail file and then drag and drop it into your blog’s editor. (Note: there is a slight glitch with the music coming up twice in this version but I think it serves to give you the idea). I see the Video Blog as a great presentation follow up tool to provide professionals with a way to follow up with their clients and audience.
As more and more portable devices play video, the subscription capabilities of text blogs will also be easier to incorporate into video downloads, making this a very cool rich media tool.
Posted by Tom Bunzel at 1:45 PM .
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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.
*******************************************************
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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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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This doesn’t seem to be on their web site yet, but I just received an email announcement:
We are very excited to announce our name change. Randal A. Lemke, Ph.D., Executive Director, explains: “We believe the name ‘InfoComm International’ provides better name recognition for prospective members, consolidates the usage of various brand names within the association, and better reflects the high-tech union between information technology and the audiovisual industry.”
Posted by Lee Potts at 12:28 PM .
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Please join the ICIA Presentations Council on their upcoming webinar, Wednesday, August 10, beginning at 5:00pm ET. Rick Altman, PowerPoint Conference Host, will present “Too Many Chefs? The Fragile Art of Collaboration.” To register, please send an email to Ellen Weber at eweber@pstrat.com. Registration will be limited to the first 50 who respond.
Too Many Chefs? The Fragile Art of Collaboration
A funny thing happened recently on the way to a PowerPoint Design Contest: There were 10 judges and 10 different opinions. The result was a comically-chaotic and mostly-futile effort at consensus. This is especially illuminating in light of the Presentation Council’s recent discussions about “best practices.” To what degree can we define a best practice? Can an art form be quantified that way? These fascinating questions all played out in a flurry of emails between 10 professionals who all had strong opinions to share.
This session will showcase many of the fine entries to the Sweepstakes (www.pptlive.com/contest.htm), as well as a few of the, um, less-than-stellar efforts. And we’ll unveil the winning entry and walk you through how a team (of less than 10!) turned the winning entry into the template that our entire presentation team will use.
Posted by Lee Potts at 12:01 AM .
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At InfoComm this year the ICIA introduced an impressive document called “Audiovisual Best Practices”. Now before you get too excited, let me tell you this is not a a best practice document about designing or delivering presentations. It is best practices for “The design and integration process for the AV and construction industries”. Nevertheless, it is very well done and can serve as a model for the kind of best practices document we might want to see developed for presentation design and delivery. Altough not targeted to Pres Pros, “Audiovisual Best Practices” does recognize the important role we play and lists the following definition of a Presentation Professional in its introductory chapter.
Presentation Professionals
After hardware is installed in an AV system and staff training is complete, presentation professionals are often hired to produce strong, effective and creative presentations that use the AV equipment to its fullest potential. This ensures a solid return on the organization’s investment. Presentation professionals are often hired as in-house resources or as independent freelancers to enhance the message through graphics and video presentations, marketing expertise and creative application of presentation tools.
This is the first time that I am aware of that a Presentation Professional has been formally acknowledged and defined. I think this definition is a pretty good start…. but what do you think? What would you change or add if you could? Does this describe your profession?
Posted by Robert Befus at 1:51 PM .
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Our own Professor PowerPoint (Tom Bunzel) has written a great summary of his InfoComm experience.
Read it here
Posted by Robert Befus at 6:43 PM .
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Some memebers of the Presentation Council hosted a major Super Tuesday event this year. The attendees were extremely happy with the day’s content and the presenters and the ICIA seemed equally happy with the attendance figures.
The event had 4 parts:
Technology presented by Bob Befus (a Visual Being contributor)
Design presented by Nancy Duarte
Coaching presented by Fred Barnes
Consulting presented by Jim Endicott
Bob started off by discussing the role technology can play in helping presentation professionals to move up the value chain. He also took care to remind us that although technology is great for extending our capabilities, isn’t always the answer (Every improvement in communication makes the bore more terrible. (Frank Moore Colby, 1865-1925)). He then went on to outline the technologies that presentation professionals need to be paying attention to. These included web conferencing, Flash, PowerPoint alternatives, eXtended events, and mobility. These all boiled down to three key communication trends:
Bob was followed by Nancy Duarte who gave a great nuts and bolts workshop on graphic design considerations particular to presentations. She covered templates, branding, aesthetics and motion (although that doesn’t really convey depth of the material). There were a number of really wonderful examples of work her firm did for major corporations. We were all pretty amazed at quality of the graphics they somehow coaxed out of PowerPoint’s drawing tools. Quotes from her talk:
It’s a palette, NOT a painting.
Without contrast, you’re dead.
A projector makes your audience color deficient.
There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept. (Ansel Adams.)
I’ll conclude this tomorrow (I hope) with Fred Barnes’ and Jim Endicott’s presentations.
Posted by Lee Potts at 10:26 PM .
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“Marilyn” was kind enough to model some of our promotional material during the opening reception.
Posted by Lee Potts at 11:30 PM .
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