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November 01, 2004 Edition Nr: 001
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Presentation questions asked by our readers.
In each new edition of the 123PPT.com Newsletter, we also publish questions asked by our readers from the previous Newsletter, so that you can read the advice and help offerred to other readers.
As this is the first edition of the 123PPT.com Newsletter, and we are therefore not able to bring you questions asked by our readers from the last edition, we decided to take a selection of questions that have been asked to us by some of our clients and customers over the past year, and share with you some of our experts feedback and response.
A list of questions asked by our readers in the last edition of the 123PPT.com Newsletter can be seen below:
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| How can I change the colour of my hyperlinks in PowerPoint 2000 to match the colour scheme of my presentation? |
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Hi Thomas, thanks for your question
To change the colour of the hyperlinks within your presentation to match your colour scheme:
- Choose Slide Color Scheme from the Format main menu option.
- Click the Custom Tab in the Color Scheme window.
- Eight colour squares are now visible on the left hand side beneath Scheme colors.
- The bottom two coloured squares, "Accent and hyperlink", and "Accent and followed hyperlink" are the colours used in your presentation for your text hyperlinks, and visited text hyperlinks.
- Doubleclick the "Accent and hyperlink" colour square, this sets the colour of your hyperlinked text, and choose a new Standard or Custom colour in the color selection dialog box that appears and click OK.
- Doubleclick the "Accent and followed hyperlink" colour square, this sets the colour of your visited hyperlinked text, and choose a new Standard or Custom colour in the color selection dialog box that appears and click OK.
- Click "Apply" if you wish to apply these colours to the current slide only, or click
"Apply to All" to apply the change to all the text hyperlinks throughout your entire presentation.
Hope this helps Thomas :)
Regards,
Michael Ross, Technical Developer 123Powerpoint.com |
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| How to play one music track from a CD across a whole PowerPoint presentation? |
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Hey Linda, it's a common question and one that's often asked. To play CD music across a PowerPoint presentation:
- Open the presentation you wish to play your music track in and go to the first slide, or create a new blank presentation in PowerPoint.
- Select "Movies and Sounds" from the Insert menu option.
- Select the "Play CD Audio Track" from the sub menu.
- Check the "Loop until stopped" box beneath the Play options. This will cause the track to loop and play until the presentation is finished.
- Under Start in the Play CD audio track options, enter the track number of the CD track that you wish to play across your PowerPoint presentation. If you do not wish to play the whole track continuously, but wish to only loop and play a segment of the track, enter the starting point in the At field, or leave the fields at the default 00:00, to play from the start of the selected track.
- Under End in the Play CD audio track options, enter the number of the CD track that you wish to play plus one. For example, if you wish to play and loop track 3 off a CD in your PowerPoint presentation, enter 4 in the Track field beneath End.
- If you wish for the track to begin playing automatically select Yes. If not, select No.
- A sound icon is now displayed on the slide. Drag the icon off the slide and into any of the surrounding space.
- Right click the sound icon and select Custom Animation from the menu.
- Select Effect Options, and select the radio button beside Stop Playing after XXX slides on the Effects tab.
- Enter 999 in the box, allowing the track to play throughout every slide of the presentation.
- Select Settings beneath the Timing tab whilst still in Custom Animation. To play the Cd track automatically, the timing should be set to Start After Previous with a 0 second delay. Click OK.
Do let me know if there's anything else I can help you with.
Regards,
Mark Farrow, Multimedia Director 123Powerpoint.com |
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| Hi Dave, I have to give a presentation to large audience in 2 days and I'm a little nervous. Have you got any advice that I could use to help calm my nerves? |
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Hi Colin, if I had to offer you some advice, I think I would like to tell you a short story.
One time in Europe, I was giving a speech in Berlin. As part of a 3 day programme, I was the opening speaker. All eyes were focused. I knew my PowerPoint was good, well prepared, and most importantly clear.
The audience was a mixture of delegates from over seventy countries. So I knew that most of them might not understand what I was saying. I also knew that a lot of the audience could perhaps follow what I said if I kept my communication very simple, and direct.
A tough presentation to give, my audience was almost certainly already against me from the start, the pressure of being the first speaker added to the shoulders, and how should I give the organizers the value they deserve?
I'd eaten a light breakfast to keep any stomach noises at bay, laid easy on he coffee for my bladders sake, and now it was not only sixty minutes or so before I should go on stage. Looking through my presentation quickly again, everything was as it was supposed to be. I was set, what could go wrong?
I sat twiddling the thumbs tapping the feet a little, wondering when to make my way to my front aisle seat. I hate that. Getting in early. Sitting there alone. Waiting. The nerves grow. You feel increasingly anxious and start trembling as you sip from the plastic water cups. So I decided I would head up front and take my place. And after ten minutes of nervously smiling at everyone who walked into the convention room, I started to realize that everyone knew I was the main speaker.
As I hoped for the time to just pass, my cell rang. I answered. "Who is it?" "Hi Colin", a voice replied, "How are you?" It was my father, I never recognized his number because I was out of the country.
So I told my father, a reformed gambler and womaniser, where I was and what I was doing. "Well", he said, "you know a good gambler knows to quit when he's ahead. When you hear them clap get outta there!"
My father was always good at giving advice. However, never so good at receiving it.
So the time was in. I was introduced by the compeer. I rose from my chair, and walked round the stage, and up the stairs to towards the podium. From the moment I stood, until I reached the podium, the audience clapped. And boy did they clap. You would have thought I had just received a congressional medal of honour.
As I looked up from the podium and out to the audience, I smiled, the applause began to die down, suddenly my fathers words stuck in my head. So I lent down towards the microphone. "You know", I said, "my father was a gambler, and he always taught me to quit while I'm ahead. So thank you for coming, and thank you for your applause". With which I waved to the audience in acknowledgment, turned and walked away from the podium, towards the off stage point.
At first the audience were silent. Then laughter began to break out, and as it did. I began to turn and return to the podium.
So Colin, what does this have to do with your presentation? ...Everything!
Successful presentations are totally dependant on your ability to �make a connection� with your audience. It doesn�t involve gimmicks or how flashy your presentations actually are. It has everything to do with knowing your topic, being clear, articulate, and making a positive connection with the audience so they�ll listen and trust you.
Everyone who has ever given a presentation suffer or have suffered from pre-presentation nerves at some point, and people, no matter how important they may seem or appear can appreciate the situation that you are in. A great presenter finds a way to overcome this and make their connection with the audience.
Best of luck Colin. For next presentation and everyone thereafter.
Regards,
Dave Clark, Communication Consultant 123Powerpoint.com |
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| Can you offer any basic guidelines for presentation visuals? |
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Hi Kimberly,
If I were to say the 5 most overlooked yet important things about visuals during a presentation I think I would have to say:
- Consistent and readable typeface
Use sans serif fonts such as Arial, Tahoma, and Helvetica etc., for the text on your slide. They are easier to read and less work for your audience.
- Try to write phrases, not sentences
When presenters put sentences on screen, they have nothing to add, and appear as an ineffective presenter when they simply read off what is already written on screen. But if use phrases as cues to remind you about the additional comments you will be able to add incisive comments and information.
- Try to use an overall structure on each screen
Try to keep the structure of your content in overall harmony. Have every bullet begin with a verb. Or have every phrase begin with a noun. And help the flow of your talk go smoother as you link from point to point. - Vary the look of the screens
Lay out a hard copy of your screens and make sure there's a variety of differing slides throughout your presentation. Consider using differing coloured backgrounds of the same design, such as the PowerPoint Backgrounds, available on 123Powerpoint.co,. Though your structure should stay the same. Varying the look will keep your audience's interest in your visual material.
- Keep your backgrounds simple
Many presetners make the mistake of using overpowering backgrounds. Usually designers who are not professional yet claim because they can use Photoshop or other image creation tools, to be, produce heavy and poorly designed visual backgrounds. Take a look at the PowerPoint Backgrounds available on 123Powerpoint.com and you'll see backgrounds whilst informative and topic related, are subtle and allow your content to shine through.
I think if you remember these 5 simple steps Kimberly, your presentation visuals will support and project your content, not overpower, conflict, or repress it.
Regards,
Julie Cantrell, Art Director 123Powerpoint.com |
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| I'd like to improve the strength of my words and the effect that they have on the audience. Is there any good advice you are able to give? |
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Hello Paul, many presenters never face the fact that usually as a speaker they not speaking. They are reading!
When I was a child my mother read bedtime stories to me and they helped me fall asleep. But audiences usually don't want to unless they are forced to, and so using a few simple techniques can assure your audience a more refreshing and interesting experience.
If you are able to:
- Define
As a speaker, your goal must be to motivate people. Ask yourself this question before you begin preapring anything for your presentation. "What do I want my audience to do when I finish my presentation?"
- Gather
With the use of Internet, and increased availability of resources, there's never been a time when so much information and research material was ever available. Find good stories, anecdotes, and newly released research to include in your presentation.
- Cast
Now that you have gathered an immense wealth of reasearch and background material. Throw it all away!!! ...Well except the best 15 minutes worth. And if you are uncertain of what the best 15 minutes worth of material is check back to the first point. Your objectives.Then delete everything, keeping only the information that will move your audience toward your objectives.
- Arrange
Now you must organize this remaining information. It should outline, yet build interest as it progresses. Remembering to "Save the best for last."
- Write
Whenever we speak to someone we have a conversation. Whenever we read, we dictate. And so as you write Paul, never forget that you will be speaking, and not reading to a live audience. You must employ the same conversational techniques you use whenever you hold an interesting conversation.
Meeting someone for the first time, or on a first date, usually requires us to ask a lot of questions about that person, so that they become interested in talking. Relate to your audience with questions about a problem or concern they have, and through your speech which answers these concerns (defined in your presentation objectives), your audience will relate to you and begin to trust in your knowledge.
Often the greatest obstacle we have Paul is too much to say or too much information to give, so a presentation becomes rushed, or highlights are given, or worse main points and concerns go unanswered or unaddressed.
By focusing on your objectives first you will be able to research and find content that answers those concerns, then cast everything away except the main 15 minutes worth of essential information to answer the concerns of your audience.
Although it may seem that you are cutting back a great deal in content. Remember you are not speed reading on stage. You need to take you time to define, articulate and provide solutions to questions that meet your objective.
Improving your written word Paul and so will your audience's interest and attention to your speech. Give your audience time to digest your information so that they can follow along with your arguments and eventually help you reach your objectives to motivate and create action.
Wishing all the best for your future writing and creativity.
Regards,
Sarah Ward, Journalist 123Powerpoint.com |
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| How can I play my presentation without the audience viewing my presentation notes on screen? |
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Dear Sharon, thank you for your question.
PowerPoint can display your presentation on one screen, or projector, to an audience, whilst allowing you to read notes, and control your presentation from another screen without your audience seeing what you are reading.
In order to achieve this your system hardware must support dual monitors.
- Open the presentation you wish to show on one of the monitors, screens, or projectors, connected to your computer.
- Select "Set Up Show..." from the Slide Show main menu option.
- The Set Up Show dialog box appears. If you wish to use a projector, click the Projector Wizard button.
- In the pull down menu option under "Show on:" Choose which monitor, screen, or projector you wish to display your presentation on.
- Select �View� in the main menu, and select �Notes Master�.
- Select "Set Up Show..." again from the Slide Show main menu option.
This time select which monitor, screen, or projector you wish to display your presentation notes on.
- Your presentation will now appear on one monitor, screen, or projector, and your presentation notes will appear on another monitor, screen, or projector.
If you'd like to learn more about multi monitor presentations Sharon, I thoroughly recommend reading Tony Eikeland's, "Why several screens are better than one!" article in our presentation Articles & Advice section.
Regards,
Jonathan Stock, Presentation Consultant 123Powerpoint.com |
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