Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Five Great Resources for PowerPoint Tips and Tricks



 
 

Sent to you by Hemi via Google Reader:

 
 

via Tutorial Blog by Cynthia Giles on 2/17/09

powerpoint-team-blogI heard a good story this week about an astronaut who wanted to make a point with NASA bosses. So he created a YouTube video (it's fun—take a look) because he didn't want to do a "boring PowerPoint." Which is yet another reminder that most of the many PPT presentations getting made every day are not interesting, not creative, and not very effective.

So how can you rise above the boring average and make great stuff with PowerPoint? How can you develop presentations faster/smarter? There's actually a lot of potential in PowerPoint if you know how to find it and use it, so check out these five (very different) resources for ideas and inspiration:

  • Ellen Finkelstein's PowerPoint site includes Powerpoint tips and tutorials, a PPT blog, and a portfolio of backgrounds — as well as book reviews, interviews, and lots of links. In fact, there's so much going on that the site is a little overwhelming. But the site contains a lot of useful information, so it's a good place to do some surfing. And the search feature works very well, so if you have something particular in mind, put in a key word and see what you get.
  • Garr Reynolds' Presentation Zen blog is not about PowerPoint — it's about "professional presentation design," and it ranges all over the place to look at the art and craft of getting information across to an audience. A great place for inspiration and out-of-the-box ideas.
  • The PowerPoint Team Blog. Yes, really. The folks behind PPT do some blogging here, and the site is a nice resource for news, technical tips, and freebies. For example, the slide designs shown in the image here were posted on their blog, with a link to the downloadable versions.
  • SlideShare. Basically, YouTube for PowerPoint. Gazillions of presentations (everything from personal photo albums to complex scientific slideshows) posted by all sorts of people. Plus free templates, a blog, and more. Public presentations are organized in fairly useful categories, and you can also search for a particular topic. In addition to the public content, SlideShare can also be used as a platform to share presentations privately.
  • 123ppt.com Tips & Tricks. Should the day come when you need to purchase a professionally designed template or background, 123.ppt has a good selection, well organized. But their site offers plenty of free information, advice and ideas as well.

If you work with PowerPoint much, these resources will come in handy. And if you've found some good ones I missed — let me know!


 
 

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