Powerpoint

With over 500 million users worldwide, Microsoft's PowerPoint software has become the ubiquitous tool for nearly all forms of public presentation—in schools, government agencies, the military, and, of course, offices everywhere. In this revealing and powerfully argued book, author Franck Frommer shows us that PowerPoint's celebrated ease and efficiency actually mask a profoundly disturbing but little-understood transformation in human communication. Using fascinating examples (including the most famous PowerPoint presentation of all: Colin Powell's indictment of Iraq before the United Nations), Frommer systematically deconstructs the slides, bulleted lists, and flashy graphics we all now take for granted. He shows how PowerPoint has promoted a new, slippery “grammar,” where faulty causality, sloppy logic, decontextualized data, and seductive showmanship have replaced the traditional tools of persuasion and argument. How PowerPoint Makes You Stupid includes a fascinating mini-history of PowerPoint's emergence, as well as a sobering and surprising account of its reach into the most unsuspecting nooks of work, life, and education. For anyone concerned with the corruption of language, the dumbing-down of society, or the unchecked expansion of “efficiency” in our culture, here is a book that will become a rallying cry for turning the tide.

THIRD EDITION: Did you learn PowerPoint in 30 minutes? Join the crowd...most people get no more than a half-hour of training time with PowerPoint before they are tasked with making what is likely to be a first impression of themselves or their company. This book is for earnest presenters and presentation designers who want to escape the perils that entrap so many who turn to PowerPoint for their presentations.

PowerPoint was the first presentation software designed for Macintosh and Windows, received the first venture capital investment ever made by Apple, then became the first significant acquisition ever made by Microsoft, who set up a new Graphics Business Unit in Silicon Valley to develop it further. Now, twenty-five years later, PowerPoint is installed on more than one billion computers, worldwide. In this book, Robert Gaskins (who invented the idea, managed its design and development, and then headed the new Microsoft group) tells the story of its first years, recounting the perils and disasters narrowly evaded as a startup, dissecting the complexities of being the first distant development group in Microsoft, and explaining decisions and insights that enabled PowerPoint to become a lasting success well beyond its original business uses.

You use PowerPoint at work to create strategic plans, executive briefings, research reports and other boardroom-style slides. But could your slides be clearer, more convincing and built in half the time? You bet! Learn a new method for business managers who want to use PowerPoint at work to drive strategy. The Mindworks Presentation Method is based on 40 years of research in brain science, instructional design and information design and will help you to eliminate time wasters and complete PowerPoint decks three times faster, to enhance your credibility by creating visually pleasing slides using simple graphic design rules, to make complex slides easier to understand and avoid "Death by PowerPoint" forever, to make audiences more likely to agree with you by applying the proven principles of master persuaders.

Powerful presentations thatclose every deal! It’s time to rethink your approach to PowerPoint® presentations. Rather than oversee data-filled informationsessions, you need to tell a compelling story that holds your audience’s attention while selling yourideas. PowerPoint® Presentations That Sell helps business professionals efficiently structure presentations thataddress audience needs, while providing the necessary tools to create slide elements. With sample slideson every page, this unique guide explains how to: Format and organize slides to emphasize your main points Select and create compelling charts using data Use shortcut techniques to create slides faster Create a memorable, focused conclusion Ending with a case study displaying each presentation tip in action, PowerPoint® Presentations That Sellreplaces the same old features and benefits with actionable recommendations in a dynamic package guaranteedto get results.

* The first and only book to focus exclusively on advanced PowerPoint techniques, this latest addition to our successful Power Pack series shows veteran users how to harness sophisticated program features-and take their presentations to the next level * Techniques covered include putting together design templates and color schemes, working with master layouts, importing and manipulating digital photos and video clips, creating sophisticated animation and transition effects, and building interactive Web-based presentations * The CD-ROM offers add-ins, utilities, background images, presentation templates, sound effects, animated image clips, third party software toolboxes, presentation libraries, sound effects, and much more

A fully updated guide to creating dynamic presentations with PowerPoint 2010 PowerPoint dominates the presentation landscape. With the changes in PowerPoint 2010, including the availability of an online version, PowerPoint users need this comprehensive reference to make the most of the program. PowerPoint 2010 All-in-One For Dummies features in-depth coverage of the elements and the process involved in creating knockout presentations. Seven minibooks cover all the new 2010 features, providing a great education for beginners and showing PowerPoint veterans lots of new tricks. PowerPoint is the leading presentation software used in business and education; new features in PowerPoint 2010 include an online version and expanded audiovisual capabilities Seven self-contained minibooks cover getting started; building a presentation; tables, charts, and diagrams; graphics and shapes; adding audio, video, and animation; giving the presentation; and PowerPoint for power users Explains how to use the interface and tools and shows how to represent data visually for greater impact Provides important tips on adding the human element when making a presentation Gives advanced users advice on creating templates, collaboration, automation, and more PowerPoint 2010 All-in-One For Dummies gets novices up to speed and helps experienced users take their skills to the next level.

Learn the Secrets Needed to Master PowerPoint for Training As a successful facilitator, you know the importance of the resources in your professional toolkit. How you engage your audience and improve learning can be affected by how well you use them. But mastery of PowerPoint evades many. Feedback on presentations can range from “What was the point?” to “That changed my life.” Most, though, fall closer to the former. If you are looking for a guide to the PowerPoint practices that will push your presentations into the latter category, look no further. A Trainer's Guide to PowerPoint: Best Practices for Master Presenters is Mike Parkinson's master class on the art of PowerPoint. While Parkinson wants you to understand how amazing a tool PowerPoint is, he's the first to tell you that there is no magic button to make awesome slides. There are, however, proven processes and tools that deliver successful PowerPoint content each and every time you use them. In this book he shares them, detailing his award-winning PowerPoint process and guiding you through three phases of presentation development—discover, design, and deliver. What's more, Parkinson is a Microsoft PowerPoint MVP—most valuable professional—an honorific bestowed by Microsoft on those with “very deep knowledge of Microsoft products and services.” He shares not only his tips and best practices for presentation success, but also those from several of his fellow MVPs. Parkinson invites you to master PowerPoint as a tool—just like a paintbrush and paint—and to realize that the tool doesn't make the art, you do.

Think about the most powerful speech you’ve ever heard a leader give. What made that speech–and that speaker–memorable was likely a mix of authenticity, stage presence, masterful delivery, and–above all–an inspirational message. Nobody ever walked out of a great speech saying, “I loved the way she used PowerPoint.” Yet, all too often, speakers rely on tools like it to carry them through a presentation. Real leaders speak to make a difference, to promote a vision, to change the way people think and feel and act. Their ability to lead goes hand in hand with their ability to get their message across, no matter what size audience they’re addressing. Drawing on his years of experience in coaching executives, Christopher Witt shows not just how to make a speech but why and when you should make one. His practical advice on how to take your game to the next level includes: • You are the message. Who you are–your character, experience, values–shapes the message your listeners hear. • Content is king. Delivery is important, but it is only the helpful–or unhelpful–servant of your message. So build each speech around one, and only one, “Big Idea.” • A confused mind always says no. When you want your listeners to say yes, you’ve got to make them understand what you want them to do and why they should care. • Dare to do the unexpected. Leaders know the rules, and they know when, why, and how to break them. In chapters that can be read in five minutes or less and in a book that can be gone through in one sitting, Witt shows you how to become more confident, more commanding, more compelling speakers. But this isn’t just a book about speaking. It’s about leadership and about how people–CEOs and PTA presidents, small business owners and sales reps, middle managers and techno geeks–can present themselves and their ideas with greater impact.