PowerPoint 2007 Presentation Skills

Session Goals Define presentation elements: content , slide layout, themes, text effects, images, smart art and charts, sound, movie and narration, animations, transitions, timings, packaging, and hyperlinks. Review basic concepts. Introduce tools to enhance presentations. Hands-on session includes practical application. Note: This presentation has two purposes: a presenter-guided overview and a self-paced review file for attendees. The amount of content on some slides is more than typically recommended in a PowerPoint presentation.

Clarity Simplicity Brevity Engagement Content Clarity Simplicity Know the message. A single mission that can be stated in a simple focused sentence. Simplicity Simple text and images support the story without distracting from the presenter. Brevity “Never use two words when one will do.” – Thomas Jefferson Engagement The message must have meaning to your audience. Clarity Simplicity Brevity Engagement

Slide Layout Home ribbon Slides group => Layout Title Title and content Placeholders vs. Textboxes Placeholder: non-printing insertion guide for content included in most slide layouts Textbox: movable, resizable container for text or graphics added to individual slides Activity: Change this slide’s layout to a side-by-side comparison.

Choose a Theme Design Ribbon => Themes Select a theme. Edit the color palette, font group, and effect to shapes as desired. Design => Background group => Background Styles. See options related to the chosen theme. Design => Background group => Background Styles => Format Background => Gradient Fill. Adjust Type, Direction, Angle, Stops and Colors to customize your look. Office of Communications and Marketing PowerPoint Templates: www.udel.edu/ocm Activity 1: Mouse over preloaded themes and apply a new one; select a new color palette; select a new font set. Activity 2: Create a custom gradient fill based on UD colors (see www.udel.edu/ideacenter): UD blue (0-56-147), gold (249-214-22), red (175-30-45), YouDee blue (0-114-198), white (255-255-255). Apply to all slides when satisfied. Current Settings for this slide: Design=>Background Styles=> Format Background => Radial, from corner; stop 1 (UB blue) stop position 20%, transparency 20%; stop 2 (white), stop position 40%, transparency 0%; stop 3 (UD gold) stop position 90%, transparency 40%; Add Stop 4 (242-242-242), stop position 65%, transparency 0%.

Text Effects Drawing Tools => Format Highlight text to be accented. Word Art Styles => Text Effects=> Shadow/Reflection/Glow/Bevel, etc. => select a style. Activity: Highlight the title “Text Effects,” add a shadow and change the shading to orange.

Images, Smart Art and Charts Insert ribbon => Illustrations group Picture: local images. Clip Art: Microsoft images, sounds and movies. Photo Album: collection of images. Shapes*: lines, rectangles, arrows, callout boxes, etc. Smart Art*: list, process, hierarchy, matrix, relationship. Chart*: column, line, pie, bar, and more. * Illustrations update to match current theme styles. Images can be as important as text when telling your story. Activity: Add a new slide and insert three of the above objects.

Sound, Movie and Narration Insert ribbon => Sounds or Media Clips Short videos or sound clips can support your message. Slide Show ribbon => Narrations Capture narrations or add a relevant testimonial. Tip: Narrate silent videos – provide some visual interest if only using audio Illustrate how all files for this presentation are in one folder. Sample video was made with Windows Photo Story, 2 photos edited within the program, canned music, and basic transitions.

Animations movement added to individual elements Animations ribbon => Animations group Text box:1st level paragraphs => introduce speaking points Custom Animation to draw attention to specific elements, i.e. image entrance, emphasis, or exit Minimal use of animations can accent, not distract, from your presentation. Activity: Use Custom Animation to apply entrance, emphasis and exit actions to the text boxes on this slide.

Transitions the effect as slides are advanced Animations => Transition Add to a single slide or apply to all. Animations ribbon => Transition to this Slide => Advance Slide “On Mouse Click” gives presenter full control. For more advanced presenters: Consider setting the slide to advance automatically AND on mouse click. Tip: Consider using a single, subtle transition throughout your presentation. Activity: Select a transition and apply it to all slides.

Advance Manually vs. Recorded Timings Slide Show ribbon => Set Up group => Rehearse Timings allow the pace of the presentation to be saved. An ideal method for presentations that will advance automatically, i.e., at a kiosk. Uncheck the “Use Rehearsed Timings” checkbox if content is delivered by a presenter. On Mouse Click is the common method used during speaker presentations. Tip: Ask someone who’s never seen your presentation to record the timings; someone unfamiliar with the content may set a more appropriate pace. Activity: Find the locations on the Animations and Slide Show ribbons to control slide advancement.

Packaging Your Presentation Images and sounds are usually embedded within the file. Music, narrations and videos are more often external files. Keep files in a single folder for transportation on a USB/thumb drive. Or: Office Button => Publish => Package for a CD ensures that all necessary presentation files and a PowerPoint player are copied into a single place for deployment: a CD, shared drive, or folder. Have your final content in more than one form in case of technical difficulty. Activity: Save this file as “my_ppt_basics” to the folder with the other files from this workshop. At the end of the session, close PowerPoint and move the entire folder to a USB key.

Hyperlinks and Additional Resources Online Tutorials www.microsoft.com Select: Office => Office Online Training and Demos Type search keywords: “interactive reference guide” to find Flash demonstrations that illustrate tool locations in the new version. Or, select any Office product in the “Browse by program” section in the middle of the page. Direct link to: PowerPoint 2007 Training. www.udel.edu/learn Select: Online Resources => Web-based Training VTC.com and lynda.com. IT-Help Center: consult@udel.edu or 831-6000 Include “next steps” ideas. Reviewing comments can be used to share ideas during the development process. Add a comment and then remove personal information using the Document Inspector. Office Button => Prepare => Inspect Document In this document, do not remove the comments or notes pane information if you want to keep all information.