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Welcome to all the new subscribers! (Information on how
to leave this list or change your e-mail address are at
the bottom of the list)
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Communicating Using Technology
Vol. 3 Issue 19 September 14, 2004
Published and Copyright by Dave Paradi
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In this issue:
Fun in a PowerPoint Presentation?
1. PowerPoint backgrounds:
2. Booting from a USB drive
3. E-mail Verification Tool
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Privacy Policy: I will never sell or distribute your
e-mail or information to anyone.
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If you have received this as a forward from a friend, sign up
for your own copy at:
http://www.communicateusingtechnology.com/newsletter.htm
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Fun in a PowerPoint Presentation?
I haven't publicized this latest site yet, but I am giving my
over 4,300 subscribers first crack at it. If you want to have
fun at the next PowerPoint presentation or lecture you attend,
check out http://www.PowerPointBingo.com. This is a bingo game
where the squares are filled in with some of the most common
mistakes presenters make using PowerPoint. You will learn what
to avoid and have some fun doing it as well. Let your friends
and colleagues know about it and we might just start a revolution
that eliminates bad PowerPoint presentations.
1. PowerPoint backgrounds:
It seems today that there are many companies and web sites
selling PowerPoint backgrounds or templates. Many have been
created with wonderful graphics or designs, but I find many of
them too busy or the colors do not offer enough contrast with
common text colors. If you want to create your own background,
many people suggest you need to get a high end graphics package
like Adobe Photoshop and spend hours learning how to use it to
create complex graphical backgrounds. While I do own Photoshop,
I don't recommend everyone rush out and buy it just for this
purpose - that would be a waste of your money. I prefer to
create my own backgrounds and to keep it simple. This allows me
to make changes easily and to select easily contrasting colors
for text and diagrams. It also allows all changes to be made
using the tools that PowerPoint or MS Office already supply. If
you click on the Format menu item in PowerPoint and then click on
the Background menu option, you will see the current background.
Drop down the Background Fill drop down list at the bottom of the
dialog box and select Fill Effects. This will give you the Fill
Effects dialog box where you can explore the options such as
gradients, textures, patterns or pictures. My current slide
background is a gradient of two colors running from top to
bottom. If you want to take your background options to the next
level, check out this article by Ellen Finkelstein on the great
Indezine site. She goes through some more advanced techniques,
but none of them require any tools other than what MS Office
provides. Here is the link:
http://www.indezine.com/articles/backgroundswithoutphotoshop.html
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Make Your Next PowerPoint Presentation Compelling
Do you have an important presentation coming up? Would you like
to make it so compelling that people sit on the edge of their
seats listening to you? If you do, let me help you with my ten
step PowerPoint presentation consulting approach. This is way
more than just slide design, this is professional input on the
structure, design and delivery of your PowerPoint presentation.
One of my consulting clients wrote "I can confidently say my
sales have already increased as a result of this astounding
presentation." If you are interested, click on this link:
http://www.kickstartcart.com/app/adtrack.asp?AdID=85889
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2. Booting from a USB drive
In the past, I have talked about how useful a USB drive can be -
some call them memory drives or thumb drives. A USB drive is
basically a memory chip attached to a USB connector that serves
as a drive when you attach it to your computer. They are great
ways to do quick backups of important documents, share a large
file with someone else or carry your presentation for use with
another computer. I had suspected that they could be used as a
way to boot, or start, your computer, but didn't know how it
could be done. Information Week recently published an article
explaining how this can be done at http://tinyurl.com/4q3h2. As
it explains in the article, it does depend on your computer and
setup as to whether it will even work, but if this would provide
you with a needed backup route, I encourage you to check it out.
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Secrets of powerful presentations revealed
Do you know what annoys audiences about your PowerPoint? How
many sales have you lost due to these mistakes? Had the boss
cringe at your last presentation? You need to know the secrets
the professional presenters use. John Plank, creator of
"Commanding Presence(TM)" said "You are a tremendous resource for
any speaker." Click on this link:
http://www.kickstartcart.com/app/adtrack.asp?AdID=52955
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3. E-mail Verification Tool
At my presentations and workshops, I always give people the
opportunity to sign up for this newsletter - and many do take
that opportunity. But when I get back to the office and try to
decipher some of the handwriting, I admit that sometimes it can
be a challenge. If I don't input the e-mail address correctly,
the individual will never be able to benefit from the tips that
you are getting. There is a tool that can be used to verify an
e-mail address. While I don't think it can be 100% accurate, I
think it is worth a try. Check it out at:
http://www.addresses.com/verify_email_address.php
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Tools I use to sell my products:
KickStartCart shopping cart system:
http://www.kickstartcart.com/app/default.asp?pr=31&id=42487
Credit Card Processor 2checkout.com:
http://www.2checkout.com/cgi-bin/aff.2c?affid=90267
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Would you like me to speak to your professional association
or chapter event? I am always looking for opportunities to
share my information with others and would consider speaking
to your group if you are in or near the following areas:
Rochester, NY, Buffalo NY, Detroit, MI, Cleveland, OH,
Pittsburgh, PA or Toronto, ON. Just e-mail me at:
dave@communicateusingtechnology.com for more info.
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Check out the books, e-books and other learning tools at:
http://www.communicateusingtechnology.com/tools.htm
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This newsletter is:
CUT Sep 14/04 [PPT Backgrounds, Booting USB Drive]
If you want to read back issues of this newsletter, click on
the following link to go to the Archives:
http://tinyurl.com/nhgl
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