How to insert footer text into PowerPoint

May 15th, 2012

Step 1
Firstly, make sure that your headers and footers are set up how you like in the master template.
To do this navigate to the menu bar and select:
View > Slide Master

You will now be viewing your slide master and should be able to see 3 footer boxes at the bottom of your slide*.

*note if you can’t see these footer boxes you need to look at the ribbon and make sure that the ‘footers’ box is checked.

Step 2
The correct way to place footer text into your master slide is to navigate to the menu bar and select:
Insert > Header & Footer

This will bring up the ‘Header & Footer box where you can amend the default text that will appear in your footer boxes.

Select ‘apply’ and you will see that your text changes have been made to your slide master.

Share on Facebook

No Comments » | powerpoint tutorials | Permalink
Posted by Presentation Studio

Death by PowerPoint? Not on Our Watch!

May 14th, 2012

Research suggests that a massive 95% of business use PowerPoint. This means that it is highly likely that you are delivering your sales pitch presentations in the same format as your competitors. Now, imagine that you are on the receiving end of multiple sales pitches delivered in the same, predictable format. It’s no wonder that the aptly named term ‘death by PowerPoint’ was coined!

HOW TO DESIGN A WINNING PRESENTATION
So, how do you make your next PowerPoint presentation stand out from your competitors? Below are our top tips for creating a memorable PowerPoint presentation.

1. Avoid data overload.
Your audience don’t want to sit through multiple slides of charts and graphs to show how you got to your results. They want to see the key information and hear what this means for them. This is where your presentation design can really help you stand out. Use infographic design to help visualise your data, pull out the key figures and keep your audience engaged.

2. Use animation effectively.
There are a whole suite of animations available for your use in PowerPoint as well as custom animations that you can create yourself. When used correctly animations are a great way of breaking up information on your slides and enhancing your message. The key thing to remember is to keep it simple… sometimes all you need is a subtle fade or wipe animation to really help to bring your slide to life. Check out our PowerPoint animation example for inspiration.

3. A simple slide transition makes a big difference.
Similarly, slide transitions can also transform your presentation. As standard, a subtle fade transition across your entire presentation will give it an instant professional finish. If you really want to stand out, try the new slide transitions in PowerPoint 2010 such as ‘cube’ or ‘gallery’ but as with animations make sure that they support your overall presentation design and don’t distract from your messaging.

4. Make it interactive.
PowerPoint doesn’t need to be presented in a completely linear way. Try using hyperlinks throughout your slides to make your presentation more interactive and intuitive to audience responses. Or check out this new App, ‘Slide and Polls’ a tool that allows presenters to interact with their audience by asking questions using live polls and surveys.

5. Get inspired!
To create a PowerPoint presentation that really stands out you need to keep on top of the latest presentation trends and get inspiration to keep your presentations fresh and exciting.

A few of our favourite presentation resources are:
www.noteandpoint.com
Slide:ology by Nancy Duarte
www.presentationzen.com

6. Think like a designer.
PowerPoint’s possibilities for presentation design are endless when combined with a bit of creative know-how. We offer PowerPoint training with a unique focus on the design skills needed to create impressive presentations. Click here for more information on our upcoming workshops.

Share on Facebook

No Comments » | Presentation Tips | Permalink
Posted by Presentation Studio

TOP 10 TIPS FOR PREPARING MICROSOFT WORD REPORTS

May 9th, 2012

It’s hard to believe that we are only a couple of months away from EOFY 2011/2012. Time sure does fly when you’re having fun!

Before you start preparing your investor reports, annual reports and media presentations it would be worthwhile thinking about steps that you can take to help make the process go smoothly.

1. Work out your schedule. When you consider multiple rounds of draft copy, formatting and design time, final approval and booking your documents in for printing, suddenly the end of June doesn’t seem so far away!

2. Think about design. Decide on the design and document layout before you begin writing your content. This way a template can be created and sent to all contributors in advance which will make the final formatting job much easier.

3. Do you have a template? If you already have a company Word template, check now that it has been correctly set up and is fully up-to-date.

4. Get a head start. Start requesting any contributions now particularly any imagery, this way you won’t be rushing at the last minute to find a picture of the new guy from Finance!

5. Plan your layout. It can be helpful to use dummy text, ‘lorem ipsum’, in your report. This will help you with planning the layout and structure of your document which will in turn help with estimating the printing and design time needed. Find out how to do this here.

6. Track document changes. Make use of the ‘document review’ tools in Microsoft Word. Using the revision tracking and comments you and your team can work together to collaborate on a final version. Find out how.

7. Merge collaborations. If a number of people are collaborating on one report you can also use Microsoft Word to merge comments and changes from several documents into one. Click here to find out how.

8. Consider a copywriter. If the report has been written by multiple contributors you may need to enlist a copywriter to re-write your content to ensure consistency of voice.

9. Remember to proofread. Make sure that you have scheduled time for someone to proofread your entire document to ensure that it is easy to read and that the grammar and spelling are correct.

10. Get some expert help. Despite your well planned schedule if you find the design and formatting left to the last minute, call in the Microsoft Word experts to transform your documents with professional results!

For more information about our Word formatting and Word template solutions give us a call on 1300 699 609.

Share on Facebook

No Comments » | Presentation Tips | Permalink
Posted by Presentation Studio

The Problem With PowerPoint

PowerPoint is one of the most widely used communication tools in business and education today, unfortunately it is also the most misused. With slides overloaded with text, charts and diagrams the norm it’s not hard to see why the term ‘Death by PowerPoint’ was coined!

The problem we are faced with is that PowerPoint has gained an association with bad presentations. Whether PowerPoint is used for day-to-day internal presentations or conferences and sales pitches, the audience often expects that the presentation will be a guaranteed snoozefest, and more often than not they are right.

It’s Time to Wake Up Your Audience!

This problem presents a huge opportunity for you to break the norm and effectively use PowerPoint to truly connect with your audience and leave them with a positive impression of you and your business.

So, where do you begin? There are three key areas that will help you make your next presentation get remembered for all the right reasons.

Develop
Before you even begin putting together your PowerPoint slides you need to first make sure that you have a solid foundation to your presentation. You need to develop the story.
• Step away from the computer and brainstorm your ideas and goals
• Grab a marker pen, some paper and storyboard your presentation
• Plot a flow and take your audience on a journey

Design
Keep it simple. Remember that PowerPoint slides are there to support you. You want to make sure that your audience is listening to you and not distracted by your busy slides.
• No clipart – use clean, strong visuals that support what you are saying
• Charts – do you need one or can you just pull out the key statistic?
• No clutter – stick to one message per slide
• Use colour wisely – make sure it is relevant to your brand or topic

Look for design inspiration on presentation sites such as SlideShare, Note & Point or for some top PowerPoint design tips take a look at this creative PowerPoint presentation.

Deliver
If you have spent time developing your presentation story and producing considered supporting PowerPoint slides then you have the tools for a great presentation, everything else is down to your delivery. One of the biggest issues with presenters is that although they may know their topic well this does not always translate to a good presentation.
• Rehearse – to a mirror/partner/ your cat!
• Rehearse – know your slides and animations
• Rehearse – practice your timings and stick to them

PowerPoint is undoubtedly a powerful presentation design tool, you just need to know how to harness it for maximum effect. If you would be interested in learning more about how to effectively design PowerPoint presentations, take a look at our PowerPoint Design Training overview.

Share on Facebook

No Comments » | Presentation Tips | Permalink
Posted by Presentation Studio

PowerPoint Tip

March 13th, 2012

Animations should enhance your presentation, not distract. If your message can be understood without the use of animation… you don’t need it!

However as this example shows, when used creatively, PowerPoint animations can really transform your presentation.

Email Template – Geometric

Share on Facebook

1 Comment | Presentation Tips | Permalink
Posted by Presentation Studio

Presentation Tip of the Week

December 19th, 2011

Great stories share these key components that you, as an author/speaker, must be sure to incorporate in your presentations:
It’s as simple as 1-2-3. Every story must have three basic parts — a beginning, middle, and end. Together, these three parts form the skeleton of your story, the fundamental framework required to create a memorable, actionable experience for your audience.

google-site-verification: googled976c28ec3d2120e.html

Share on Facebook

No Comments » | Presentation Tips | Permalink
Posted by Presentation Studio