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In today's world of laptop computers and
digitized images and sound, most presenters are
expected at one time or another to use presentation
software. This software can make a good
presentation even better, but it is not a
substitute for the basic skills of being an
effective presenter. Chapter 17 of Oral
Presentations for Technical Communication
reviews the pluses and minuses of using
presentation software and offers you suggestions
for making the software work to enhance your role
as a powerful presenter. This chapter covers the
following topics:
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What is Presentation Software?
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The Two Faces of Using Presentation
Software
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How To Make Presentation Software Work
for You
(and not the other way around!)
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Examples of Presentation Software
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These exercises build on the ideas addressed
in Chapter 17:
1. Take an informative presentation that you
have already given, and redesign this presentation
to include the use of presentation software.
2. Look through the various background images
that are available in PowerPoint™ or other
presentation software. Select two or three images
and discuss the appropriateness of each for a given
presentation situation.
Presentations and Cyberspace. Learn more
about Microsoft PowerPoint™ at http://www.microsoft.com/powerpoint.
Also, search the Web for PowerPoint™
information: you'll find sample
presentations to download and comments by
others. Find out what other presentation products,
such as Lotus
Freelance™ or Adobe
Persuasion™, are available and in use.
Presentations and Teamwork. You
classmates may have a broad range of computer
experience and experience with presentation
software. There's no better way to learn than from
each other, so divide up into teams of 3-5 people.
Make sure that each team is balanced with people of
different experience levels. Have each team select
one aspect of PowerPoint™ (getting started;
using clip art; importing graphs; using
transitions), and, as a team, give a how-to
presentation to your classmates.
Presentations and International
Communication. Different countries possess
different levels of general computer and Internet
technologies. These technical limitations could
greatly affect the tools that presenters can use in
these countries. Devise a strategy for giving an
electronic presentation to an overseas audience,
and then formulate a backup plan of how your would
give the same presentation if the technical
limitations of the host country prevented you from
using your electronic materials.
Presentations and Your Profession. Find
out if people use presentation software in your
profession, and ask about specifics--what type of
software? Is it used for all presentations? Do
presenters prepare their own slides, or does the
in-house graphics department handle this? Also,
find out if presenters always present their own
material, or if they tend to present the work of
others.
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