Breaking Up With Power Point

Breaking Up WITH PowerPoint When it comes to PowerPoint, we all agree on one thing: We use it. We hate it. But we don't know where else to go. Almost like a relationship that's gone complacent, our dealings with PowerPoint have become mundane. There are plenty of ways to dump PowerPoint and find a new flame. Or perhaps, it's simply time you rekindle the romance by discovering how to use PowerPoint the right way. WHERE DID WE GO WRONG? PowerPoint is one of most widely used business software programs in the world. It's been around for 25 years and is installed on nearly all computers. Millions of PowerPoint presentations are delivered each day. That's billions of slideshows a year – a massive load of content likely going to waste. MAKE UP One of the key challenges with PowerPoint is that it's all we've ever known. We've grown accustomed to filling out templates. We insert headline, insert bullet points, and insert clip art if there's room. There's no spark. No imagination. We're just going through the motions. Before you pack your things and go, it's worth taking a hard look at your relationship with PowerPoint. Perhaps it's all been just a misunderstanding of who's supposed to do what. Here are some tips to give PowerPoint a second chance before you do anything drastic. GET A NEW PERSPECTIVE. NEW IDEA: CHALLENGE: The best way to break the linear habit is to find a new sense The root problem with PowerPoint is that it's linear. You of direction. Focus on making core messages clear, crisp and to go from slide to slide, reciting your message like a shopping the point. In fact, develop your message outside of PowerPoint. list. It can be hard for people to see the bigger picture, to Then use PowerPoint as an open canvas - clean slides with connect your bullet points into a singular vision. simple messages, freeing you up for a more powerful delivery. ADD SOME DRAMA CHALLENGE: NEW IDEA: With PowerPoint, messages tend to unfold over a Think of your presentation like a movie, not a slideshow. 30-60 minute stretch. People struggle to stay focused. Follow a plotline with a clear set up, conflict and resolution, And presenters find it hard to deliver a message making your presentation highly visual, with text in a succinctly and consistently. supporting role. Or produce a short video. You'll nail the message every time you present - and capture your audience's full attention. OPEN UP CHALLENGE: NEW IDEA: Most presentations make an audience feel like they're PowerPoint can kill intimacy. And dimming the lights won't being presented at, instead of participating in a discussion. help. Create chemistry by presenting without a PowerPoint Presenters make more eye contact with the projector at all. People will appreciate your candor and ability to speak screen than their audience, who steal cheating glances without a teleprompter. Or use PowerPoint as a backdrop to at their mobile devices. your conversation. Create mood-setting slides with bold images and few words. BREAK UP Sometimes making a clean break is the best way forward. It could be time to find a new partner. Other presentation programs are out there. They can give you a fresh start and help you rethink how you create and deliver a message. PLAY THE FIELD PREZI O Prezi One of the most popular alternatives to PowerPoint is Prezi. Instead of a traditional slide approach, Prezi gives you an open canvas to deliver your message. You first build a high-level visual architecture and then zoom around what looks like a 3D scene where you embed the details of your presentation. The Prezi format encourages you to drop the slide mentality and instead create cool choreography that takes your audience on a fun exploration. POWTOON ReWTooN Another option is PowToon. It allows you to create animated, comic-style presentations. PowToon offers a wide variety of settings, characters and objects that you can bring to life with a creative storyline. You add the motion, voiceover and music – no experience required. PowToon's promise is to turn anyone into an animator and make it easy, fast and affordable to create entertaining videos. HAIKU DECK HAIKU DECK A third choice is Haiku Deck. It's like Twitter for PowerPoint. For each slide, you can only add two text elements. The program then directs you to import a full-screen image from your own files or from millions of free Creative Commons photos. Haiku Deck's tagline is "Set your story free." Its minimalist approach forces you to lay off the bullet points and present your ideas in an uncluttered, visual way. REDEFINE YOUR RELATIONSHIP PowerPoint isn't really the problem. It's just a slideshow program. Text and clip art aren't pre-populated. You can design a presentation however you want. While there are alternatives to PowerPoint, what's more important is how you present, not what software you use. If you focus on that, your audience will be nodding along rather than nodding off. FUSE Set Your Story in Motion fusecommunications.com • [email protected] • @FuseCommlnc