In this section, we will take a close look at tools for building, showing, and sharing presentations.
Using online presentation tools allows you the opportunity to create presentations that are visually engaging and multidimensional.
Online presentations are incredibly helpful because they allow you to be virtually present even when you can’t be there physically. Create a presentation and then send links to your intended audience for them to view at their leisure. You can also narrate your online presentations via voice recordings.
To make your online presentation more accessible, you can also add captioning and transcripts.
No matter if you delivering the presentation face-to-face, at a distance, or at a different time, you will want to avoid some common mistakes made in presentations.
Make sure any text and images you include will be large enough to read. In a face-to-face presentation consider the size of the room and size of the screen. Made sure the audience members in the back of the room can read your slides. If you are presenting online, make sure the slides are readable on smaller devices such as a smartphone.
Colors and contrast will also affect your audience’s ability to read your information. For instance, yellow text on a white background is hard to read. Yellow text on a black background is much easier to read.
The next common mistake is too much text. When you have too much text on the slide, your audience’s attention is split between trying to listen to you or reading the slides.
One rule you may want to keep in mind is seven by seven. Keep your slides to 7 lines of text or under with no more than 7 words in a line.
A third common mistake is poor visuals. Use images that have something to do with your content.
For example, if you are talking about something that is very data heavy, add a graph to help your audience digest the data. Or if you want to transport your audience to a different location add photos.
Because people are used to high definition visual images, avoid using clipart and low-resolution images.
One of the most challenging aspects of creating a presentation is attempting to find images and videos that are not copyrighted and are legal to use. Explore the creative commons section in module 1 to learn more about using other people’s images.
Now that you know how to put together an effective presentation, we can move onto tools and software you can incorporate to make your presentations more interactive for your audience.
One example of a tool that you can integrate into your presentation is polling. Polls can be built into a presentation, where you ask your participants a question and get instant feedback. Participants can see how their answers compare to the rest of the audience. Your participants will be able to use their smart devices in to participate in your poll.
Collaborative presentation tools are most helpful when working in groups or when you are required to collaborate with multiple people on one project/assignment. Many presentation apps and software allow you to share editing and creation responsibilities with a team.
Another tool you may want to explore is non-traditional presentations. These presentations allow you to present your information in a different way than from slide to slide. For instance, you could move in and out of areas on a diagram.
Check out some of the great tools featured in this section for your next presentation.