Headlines
New presentation package uses the power of visual metaphors to get customers to listen and remember
World Class Solutions have just launched a new presentation software package to help business users make their point quickly and effectively. It’s called “Executive Earth” and it’s available from their web site at www.wclass.com ...
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New PowerPoint rival uses 3D animation to slash preparation time
World Class Solutions has just launched a new class of presentation software that combines the advantages of 3D graphics and animation with significantly reduced preparation time. The low-cost package is available from the firm’s web site at www.wclass.com ...
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New presentation software website launched
World Class Solutions has launched a new e-commerce website to support the increasing demand for training and information on presentation skills and for low-cost high-quality presentation software. The site incorporates an on-line store where a new range of presentation packages will be on sale.
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Go to our on line store
PowerPoint Problems?
Powerpoint™ is very powerful - but it can be difficult to create professional-looking results - even if you're an expert user. But does that matter? So what if your presentation isn't better than the next speaker's?
Presentations are Important
Because each and every presentation is an opportunity to add to your reputation - to impress the people that matter. If your presentations are not better than everyone else's that's never going to happen.
Making the most of PowerPoint™
if you own a copy of PowerPoint it's very likely that you're going to use it for your next presentation. You want to deliver something worthwhile and that means you have two options. You could chose a standard template and use that to lay out your presentation or you could design your entire presentation from scratch. There are advantages and disadvantages in both. Let's look at some of them:
Using Templates
Templates are pages that have already been designed and formatted. In theory all you need to do is fill in the blanks. The downside? Most templates are similar in appearance and you end up with a PowerPoint presentation that looks like all the other PowerPoint presentations your audience has seen. You won't stand out.
If you are going to use a template then you should choose carefully and make sure that it meets your exact needs. You will probably have to pay for it but if it complements your message and helps you get your key points across then it's a worthwhile investment.
Design it Yourself
The second option is to use your design skills to develop something that does stand out - in other words, develop your own unique presentation. However, if you're going to take this route you must make sure that it's polished and professional because your reputation depends on it.
Many businesspeople "design" their presentation by choosing a standard background and then use default values for text boxes, fonts, spacing, transitions, etc. The typical result, unfortunately, looks boring at best - even to the casual eye.
Three Design Areas
In the next section we'll consider three key design areas that are overlooked by most presenters - but you can use them to stand out and design a seriously good presentation.
PowerPoint Design - Three key areas
Before You Start
The most important element of any presentation is your message. If it's not relevant or appropriate for the audience then no amount of design expertise is going to make a difference. However, you could have a perfectly crafted message and still fail to make your sale because your presentation lacks credibility - because it doesn't look professional.
Background
Let's start with the background. A plain white or coloured background won't look professional unless there are strong design elements in the foreground. That usually means you need photographs, drawings or diagrams. If your only foreground element is text you'll need a more elaborate background.
Many off-the-peg backgrounds use a graduated colour scheme. You need to make sure that the colour of your text doesn't clash with the background and (even more important) doesn't disappear where the colours are similar.
Fonts
One reason that many PowerPoint presentations look the same is because the designer hasn't bothered changing the fonts. Ariel is the default font for most presentations followed by Times New Roman and a handful of others. The few people that do change fonts often go completely over the top.
You probably have scores of fonts on your computer. Look through them and select two conservative-looking ones for your next presentation. Select a sans-serf and a serf and use one for the major headings and one for the bullet text.
Layout
The eye is amazingly good at identifying elements that are misaligned. You can look at a PowerPoint presentation and immediately tell there's something wrong without even realising what's causing it. It might be as simple as a text element that doesn't line up with a box on the page.
When you're laying out PowerPoint presentations start by looking at the background. Are there any lines, boxes or colour changes that should be used as a primary or secondary reference? Use the design features of PowerPoint - like the built-in guidelines - to their full advantage. Use the guidelines to position each element. Make sure that the positioning (and the font size for each element) is constant throughout the entire presentation - not just on a single page.
Beyond Powerpoint - A new alternative
Presentation Software - A Short History
The first popular presentation package was called Harvard Graphics™. It was a solid package and held over 70% of the business presentation market at one time it. It wasn't long however, until PowerPoint™ effectively eliminated it - not necessarily because it was better but because it was available as part of MS Office™.
There were other contenders of course, including Lotus Freelance™ but none of these could match the industry leader. PowerPoint presentations have now been around for over ten years - so will they ever lose their dominance? Is there any viable alternative out there? Well, yes, actually.
The New Presentation Software - Executive Impact™
Of course we have to admit we're somewhat biased but we've developed and delivered presentations for over twenty years. Yes, we used PowerPoint presentations in the past but now we have something better.
We've used our experience at the front end to make it easy to use. We've added breathtaking graphics so that it will appeal to the audience - and we've built in a structure that's designed to persuade.
Click on the "software" button to learn more.
