The 7 Deadly Sins of PowerpointWritten by Dr. Joseph Sommerville
It’s not surprising Powerpoint© slideshows have become norm for visuals in most business presentations. They are quick to produce, easy to update and effective to inject visual interest into presentation. However, they can also spell disaster even for experienced presenters. The key to success is to make certain your slide show is a visual aid and not a visual distraction. For best results, avoid these common “seven deadly sins” of Powerpoint© presentations.1. Slide Transitions And Sound Effects. They become focus of attention, which in turn distracts audience. Worse yet, when a presentation containing several effects and transitions runs on a computer much slower than one it was created on, result is a sluggish, almost comical playback. Such gimmicks rarely enhance message you’re trying to communicate. Unless you are presenting at a science fiction convention, leave out laser-guided text! Leave fade-ins, fade-outs, wipes, blinds, dissolves, checkerboards, cuts, covers and splits to Hollywood filmmakers. Even “builds” (lines of text appearing each time you click mouse) can be distracting. Focus on your message, not technology. 2. Standard Clipart. Death to screen beans! Powerpoint© is now so widely used clipart included with it has become a “visual cliché.” It shows a lack of creativity and a tired adherence to a standard form. First, make certain that you need graphics to enhance your message. If you do, use your own scanned photographs or better-quality graphics from companies such as PhotoDisc (http://www.photodisc.com) or Hemera’s Photo Objects (http://www.hemera.com). Screen captures can add realism when presenting information about a Website or computer program. Two popular screen capture programs are Snagit (http://www.techsmith.com) for Windows and Snapz Pro (http://www.ambrosiasw.com) for Macintosh. Both are available as shareware. 3. Presentation Templates. Another visual cliché. Templates force you to fit your original ideas into someone else’s pre-packaged mold. The templates often contain distracting backgrounds and poor color combinations. Pick up a good book on Web graphics and apply same principles to your slides. Create your own distinctive look or use your company logo in a corner of screen. 4. Text-Heavy Slides. Projected slides are a good medium for depicting an idea graphically or providing an overview. They are a poor medium for detail and reading. Avoid paragraphs, quotations and even complete sentences. Limit your slides to five lines of text and use words and phrases to make your points. The audience will be able to digest and retain key points more easily. Don’t use your slides as speaker’s notes or to simply project an outline of your presentation.
| | The 10 Building Blocks to a Better BrandWritten by Kim Nishida
Do you struggle to attract and retain business? Do you yearn to be seen as an expert in field? In an increasingly challenging market flooded with fierce competitors and extremely savvy consumers, you can learn how to develop a killer brand that will inspire you, attract loyal customers, and knock out competition.The 10 Building Blocks to a Better Brand 1. Identify your values: This is most critical step and one most often overlooked in business. Do some soul searching and get a crystal clear idea of what matters most to you as an individual and then as a company. Your values form base of your company and should influence every decision, from what kind of toilet paper you buy to business partners you seek. 2. Identify your mission: Once your values are identified, it’s time to write a mission statement. Ask, why does my company exist? What do we aim to do? Write it in simple language that a 12-year old can understand. Do a search on internet for mission statements and use most compelling ones as a template. This is statement that should get you out of bed each morning and inspire you morning, noon, and night. 3. Identify your ideal client: Again, a critical step. Look at your mission and why your company exists at all and ask, “Whom do I serve?” The hard part is getting as specific as possible to point of potentially turning off a lot of other people. Don’t worry. The biggest mistake you can make is trying to please everyone. This dilutes your service/product so much that you really don’t strike a nerve with anyone. No one will have a compelling enough reason to buy from you. By turning some people off, you attract others who will bond with you for life. And a final benefit to knowing specifics of your ideal client is you then have a much better idea of where to look for them. 4. Create an emotional connection: Every potential customer wants to know one thing, “What’s in it for me?” In order to compel someone to pull out their money and buy, you need to connect them to you in an emotional way. How are you going to make their life better? What pain is your product or service going to eliminate? Watch some television and notice how best commercials create an emotional atmosphere. Which commercials get your attention, which ones stick with you, and how do they get their message across?
|
