Got into Las Vegas around Noon today and am all checked in at the Hilton. I flew down from Seattle after speaking at another meeting and I’m having trouble thinking of two cities with more disparate vibes. I’ll tell you one thing though, Las Vegas’ McCarran Airport does an extremely good job of getting you off the plane, out the door and to the casino of your choice quickly and efficiently. I was in the Hilton lobby in less time than it took me to get my luggage at Sea-Tac.

Not much on the schedule for today. I’m going to try to check in at the conference later this afternoon. Then the presentation council folks are meeting at the Hilton lobby bar around 6:00 for a little pre-conference reunion. Feel free to stop by if you like, we’ll be easy to find. Just look for the loudest, most….

Well, you get the picture.

Tomorrow is, of course, Super Tuesday. That’s followed by the manufacturer’s industry forum, the open reception and the awards banquet. Busy day. Wednesday’s pretty busy too but I’ll do my best to post some of what’s going on sometime. I think it will largely depend on how well wired the convention center is.

Please don’t forget to make use of the online bulletin board we set up just for InfoComm. We’re hoping everyone will find it useful as clearinghouse for information about the conference.

Posted by Lee Potts at 6:22 PM .

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With just a little more than two weeks until the conference opens, we would like to announce the availability the Visual Being Online Bulletin Board for Presentation Professionals at InfoComm.

This bulletin board is meant to enhance your InfoComm experience, both before you leave and once you are on site, by helping you:

• make the most effective use of your limited time, prepared with information about activities that are of interest to presentation professionals.
• make connections with other attendees who share your professional interests and concerns.
• stay informed of breaking news and important announcements.

One of the things that makes InfoComm valuable and important is the sheer scale of opportunities, activities and learning experiences it offers. Even conference veterans can find themselves feeling overwhelmed there. We sincerely hope that the bulletin board makes it all more manageable by helping you to connect with and feel part of a vibrant, active presentation professionals community.

Posted by Lee Potts at 8:23 AM .

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Hi All,

I just cancelled my Hilton reservation and reserved the Villa Roma Motel — 220 Convention Ctr Drive.
It’s two blocks from the LACC and I got a rate of $34 per night plus tax. I am sure it’s not as plush as the Hilton but the walk is probably no further to the show floor (or to the Hilton for that matter).

I got this rate on Expedia if anyone else wants to save some money to gamble with. I think it may be the same property I stayed in for COMDEX a few years ago, before it got condemned(!) I take it that it has been resurrected and remodeled. There’s even a pool and free parking.

The pix look okay and since I have no one to impress, I figure it’s a suite deal (sic).

Posted by Tom Bunzel at 12:28 PM .

1 Comment »

At today’s quarterly Webinar, the ICIA Presentations Council previewed their InfoComm 2005 Super Tuesday program for presentation professionals. It looks like it going to be an extremely useful set of sessions covering technology, design, coaching and business strategy.

Please don’t take my word for it. You can see for yourself as they have been kind enough to provide a link to an archived version of the webinar for Visual Being readers. Although the webinars themselves are open to the general public, access to the full archives is one of the benefits of membership in the Council.

Posted by Lee Potts at 8:31 PM .

1 Comment »

One area which readers of this web site may want to address is the flip side of being visual — namely the occasional or frequent need by a presenter to show actual numbers. There is still no excuse, however, for not using some creative tools and techniques to show data in a dramatic and effective way. Three tools that complement PowerPoint in this regard are:

Infommersion Xcelsius — which creates interactive dashboards out of Excel spreadsheets and allows for instant scenarios. The product is exported in shockwave which makes it work in PowerPoint or a web page. I cover a complete Xcelsius solution in my article “>Taking on Tufte at the InformIT web site. There’s also an article on Getting Fancy with Xcelsius.

I am also a big fan of Microsoft Visio, which goes beyond PowerPoint in enabling smart diagram objects that actually hold data and can generate reports as spreadsheets from visual objects in the diagram. The InformIT site also has a brief intro to Visio, and I suggest the piece on Creating a Report.

Finally when it comes to presenting data a resource I highly recommend are the books by Gene Zelazny, namely “Say It With Charts!”. Zelazny has some very specific ideas on how and why to create certain visuals, and if you follow his logic you will generally have the perfect visual for the set of data (and argument) you want to present. Again, at InformIT, I cover his material in an introductory article.
Gene has a new workbook out now based on his concepts.

That’s my take on creative and effective data display. Comments are welcome as always.

Posted by Tom Bunzel at 12:46 PM .

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ICIA Presentations Council Webinar – May 3rd at 1:00 PM Eastern

This summer at InfoComm, the Presentations Council of the ICIA is presenting a one-of-a-kind professional development opportunity for presentation media professionals. It all happens in Las Vegas on June 7, 2005, during Presentation Super Tuesday at InfoComm 05.

On May 3rd, the Presentations Council will host a preview of Presentation Super Tuesday featuring Bob Befus (Technology), Nancy Duarte (Design), Fred Barnes (Presentation Skills Coaching) and Jim Endicott (Communication Strategy).

Don’t miss this unique opportunity to preview the new Presentation Super Tuesday session!

To register, please send an email to Ellen Weber at weber@pstrat.com.

Posted by Lee Potts at 4:16 PM .

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I have long observed the growth of the event planning industry and wondered how I might fit my skills as a technologist specializing in presentations into it. Today’s Wall Street Journal has an interesting article on an awards show dedicated only to event planners. Several of the big winners were in the corporate arena. I am wondering whether any presentation pros have managed to make their expertise available successfully to this industry.

I am sure that the AV people among you have mined this mother lode. But I am wondering more from a technology/presentation area if anyone has been successful, and if so, how they did it and what specifically they were able to offer. Thanks.

Posted by Tom Bunzel at 1:24 PM .

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Cliff Atkinson, who oversaw the design of the popular ICIA Presentation Council’s Industry Infographic is hosting a web seminar on May 12 titled "Transform Your PowerPoint Beyond Bullet Points".

I’ll begin the session by quickly reviewing a typical bullet-laden presentation that we’ve all seen too many times before. Then I’ll apply the approach described in my new book to spin it into a new communication experience that balances the emotional power of visual storytelling with the focused clarity of logical reasoning.

I’ve always valued Cliff’s insights into the presentation creation process so this should be very interesting. It looks like the seminar is in support of his new book published by Microsoft Press so I guess congratulations are in order as well.

Posted by Lee Potts at 4:06 PM .

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Now it can be told and revealed. Check my story on InformIT for the full details of Microsoft PowerPoint Secedes from MS Office. Suffice it to say that this is huge, HUGE, HUGE — only my sources in the PowerPoint community let me reveal the sordid underbelly of what has been festering in Redmond. Here’s a hint — check the package of the next version of Office and guess what WON’T be there. Read it all now! (It’s all there with the full final slide show from the PowerPoint team).

Posted by Tom Bunzel at 5:05 PM .

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Although this blog is supposed to deal with issues confronting the presentation profession in general, over the next few months it’s going to tend towards focusing on this year’s InfoComm since most of the contributors will be going to this conference.

Please feel free to send me your name and contact info if you like and I’ll add you to the list of attendees that’s linked to on the left.

Posted by Lee Potts at 10:52 PM .

2 Comments »