PowerPoint presentations represent a mainstay of our network's business.

• Updating existing PowerPoint presentations
• Designing and creating new PowerPoint presentations
• Graphics and Sound Usage within PowerPoint
• Pressing PowerPoint presentations to CD-ROM
• Can a PowerPoint presentation run by itself from a CD-ROM?
• Keeping PowerPoint presentations from running slowly
• Why are my PowerPoint slides fuzzy when printed?
• PowerPoint transitions, animated bullets, usage

Many of our clients send us existing PowerPoint files so that we can update the look and feel. Our clients aren't dissatisfied with the content, just the look and feel of the presentation. In addition, many of the presentations are very lengthy, run slowly or require navigation buttons.

The look and feel of the presentation starts with a series of templates that are customized for your business, product, or organization. Since the new artwork appears on every slide and consistently assists in message delivery, these templates have the greatest impact on your presentation. To complete the initial part of the update, we standardize fonts (colors and sizes), transitions and bullet animations for a consistent look.

If the presentation runs slowly, chances are that the graphics are sized incorrectly or contain an improper resolution. (See PowerPoint printed slides are fuzzy) Because of this, presentations run slowly because they have to contend with graphics that need to be loaded/and or sized. Our solution is to run all of the graphics through an image-editor and re-insert them into the presentation.

Navigation buttons can also assist in creating Powerpoint presentations that are easier to use, both for the presenter and the viewer. Some of our clients have different presentations for their company overview and each of their products and services. Depending on the size, we can often combine all of these presentations into a single presentation that has an interactive menu, similar to one you may find on an ATM. This allows a single presentation to be used in any sales opportunity and to showcase other products or services that circumstances allow.

A comprehensive presentation update would include the following:

• New templates featuring background updates

• Font consistency (colors, sizing, type)

• Ensuring that all graphics are optimized (resolution and screen dimensions)

• Adding new graphics if requested/needed

• Ensuring consistency of slide transitions and bullet point animation

• Verifying navigation properties and adding buttons and menus if needed

• Providing consultation on content and message as well as recommendations back to top

Some of our clients prefer to have a professional presentation created from the ground up. They provide the general content and we organize this content into a concise and focused presentation that meets our clients' goals.

This essentially means that the content has to be focused, succinct, and geared to generate results. Sometimes the results are only to generate a phone call or to inform an audience. Regardless, your presentation must not become monotonous or contribute to audience distraction. We have the necessary expertise and talent to create PowerPoint presentations that effectively convey your message.

Graphics - We have access to millions of stock photographs and can always find the image that best represents the message you are trying to convey. These images are created by professional photographers and represent every industry, country, culture or social issue known.

Sound - In addition, other features that can be added include soundtracks, sound effects, and even audio events. An audio event is anything that is enabled by user interaction that involves sound. For example, you can place a photo of your client, or your clients logo on a slide, and when that image is clicked, a sound byte containing testimony from that client can be played. back to top

Most of us have received presentations that have been pressed onto a CD-ROM. PowerPoint presentations can easily be pressed onto standard or business card CD-ROM's. We can even add software that enables the presentation to run automatically once the CD has been placed in the tray. The viewer does not have to have any additional software. In addition, we can professionally design the cover of the CD and place it in its own jewel case. back to top

We briefly touched on the possible causes of this earlier. In all probability, a PowerPoint presentation that is slow to load or transition is caused by graphics that are too large. This doesn't always mean that the graphic is bigger than the slide, though that would cause problems. It may mean that the graphics have been imported and resized to fit onto the screen or that the resolution is too high or that the file type could be better.

Resized Graphics - Graphics that are imported into PowerPoint have certain properties, such as resolution (expressed in dots-per-inch or DPI), color depth, and screen dimensions/physical size. Let's look at a typical example of imported PowerPoint presentation graphics using a digital camera:

An image is downloaded from a digital camera. The image is saved with the dimensions 1600 x 1200 (the setting on this particular camera). When PowerPoint imports this picture, it will have to be resized to fit onto the slide. Even though it is smaller, it still requires the same amount of load time as though it were the original size. The solution is to edit the graphic so that the imported size is closer to the final size, thus making it faster to load.

Improper Resolution - This is a lesser known problem, but one that is fairly common. Resolution is the number of dots-per-inch. Printed materials require about 300 dpi while those items that appear on screen only require 72 dpi. A typical scenario:

You want to use one of the 2" x 3" images in your company's brochure in a PowerPoint presentation. Because it was part of a printed brochure, it was saved in a high resolution (300 dpi). When this image is imported into PowerPoint, it will still appear as a 2" x 3" image, but it is much larger than necessary. (300 dpi vs. 72 dpi) The solution is to ensure that the graphics are set to screen resolution if the presentation will be viewed screen only. This can speed up load time by over 400%. We ensure that all images are properly sized and set for the proper resolution.

File Type - Some file types require less load time and storage space than others. Files that have a low color-depth (.gif web files) are limited to 256 colors, but are very small. Compressed files such as JPEG's (.jpeg, .jpg, or .jpe), will not require the load time that others do. We ensure that your images are properly formatted for your PowerPoint presentation. back to top

As mentioned in last section, there is a siginificant difference between what appears clear on the screen and what prints clearly. PowerPoint is a great for both printed and screen presentations but great care must be taken ahead of time to ensure that the presentation appears clear.

Screen images at 72 dpi (see above section) will not print clearly because print clarity requires 300 dpi. (This is why web pages often do not appear clear when printed) When we consult with you regarding your PowerPoint presentation, we will help you determine how your presentation will be used, on screen, printed or both. By doing this we can ensure that your graphics appear the very best that they can based on usage. back to top

Nearly every presenter uses bullets and transitions to help liven up the presentation. While this is always encouraged, it often becomes overused, with different transitions and bullet points becoming randomly animated. It becomes distracting to an audience and damaging to your message.

We can help here by taking a measured approach to effect usage. As a general rule, less is better. back to top