OT: PowerPoint?? Best Book to Learn Quickly??

[Richard Crowley]

PP is more WYSIWYG than any of the other MS Office components.
I even use it for things like labels, etc. See my templates at...
http://www.rcrowley.com/templates.htm

 

[Jim Thompson]

On Sun, 28 Mar 2004 14:26:17 GMT, "Peter O. Brackett"
<no_such_address@ix.netcom.com> wrote:

Jim:

[snip]
I just bought PowerPoint upon insistence by a *very large* potential
client.

Any recommendations for best book to get?

Thanks!
:
:
I'm starting to feel that way. Man! M$ can sure make obtuse software
:-(

...Jim Thompson
[snip]

Hey, I use PP all the time, for much the same reasons as you have
encountered. Literally all of my clients
use it, the VC's that I work with use it, and.. I have found that they often
incorporate my own PP stuff into
their presentations. Like most widespread MS stuff, PP is just too
ubiquitous to ignore. Especially if you travel
and expect your presentation tool kit to work "everywhere".
[snip]

I surprised myself. I simply worked with an existing PP to see how it
worked, changed the background to far-less flashy, and took ten slides
to describe my company's capabilities and services.

I'm delighted with the results, and I've become a convert.

(And I got it for the Upgrade price of $99 since I had an old copy of
"Office Small Business Edition"

...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona Voice480)460-2350 | |
| E-mail Address at Website Fax480)460-2142 | Brass Rat |
| http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |

Throughout the history of this great country there have actually
been people of only two political persuasions: fighters and cowards.
WE MUST NOT LET THE LATTER PREVAIL IN THE NEXT ELECTION!

 

[Carl D. Smith]

On Sat, 27 Mar 2004 11:25:41 -0700, Jim Thompson
<thegreatone@example.com> wrote:

I just bought PowerPoint upon insistence by a *very large* potential
client.

Any recommendations for best book to get?

I thought this was interesting. It's called "Does PowerPoint
make us stupid?"

http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/ptech/12/30/byrne.powerpoint.ap/

 

[Richard Crowley]

"Carl D. Smith" <cdsmith69NOSPAM@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:89td60150lana2oh13luvvjijlf8069nge@4ax.com...

On Sat, 27 Mar 2004 11:25:41 -0700, Jim Thompson
thegreatone@example.com> wrote:

I just bought PowerPoint upon insistence by a *very large* potential
client.

Any recommendations for best book to get?

I thought this was interesting. It's called "Does PowerPoint
make us stupid?"

http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/ptech/12/30/byrne.powerpoint.ap/

Of course it makes us look stupid. In the same sense that
horseless carriages have made travel more dangerous. It
all depends on how you use it and where you let the cost/
benefit fall.

I agree with those who implicate PowerPoint in both of the
Space Shuttle failures. (Actually, the Peter Principle-like
practice of over-summarizing data/conclusions as they
move up the food chain, which happens even in the absense
of PP.)

 

[John Larkin]

On Sun, 28 Mar 2004 14:26:17 GMT, "Peter O. Brackett"
<no_such_address@ix.netcom.com> wrote:

One hint, since I am an old time "chalk talk" kinda guy I get frustrated
when operating a slide show from a
keyboard, cuz I can't run up to the screen and write on it, circle things,
etc. So I found that it is useful to be
able to draw a few lines, arrows, and circles on my PP slides in real time
as I make the presentations and
while folks ask me questions about the photos, photomicrographs of chips,
circuit details, etc...

Most of the time that I make a "presentation" to a customer, I don't
really know what they need, and they don't either. So a canned
presentation usually doesn't make sense, and its very existance tends
to freeze things. My favorite presentation tool is a clean whiteboard
and some fresh color markers. My favorite opening is "I don't
understand your problem... please explain it to me." For those
attendees who were counting on a nice PowerPoint nap, this wakes them
up; their function is no longer passive. It wakes me up, too, sort of
like doing a trapeze act without a net.

It's better to be under-prepared than over-prepared. Less work, too.

John

 

[Jim Thompson]

On Sun, 28 Mar 2004 08:31:08 -0800, John Larkin
<jjlarkin@highlandSNIPtechTHISnologyPLEASE.com> wrote:

[snip]

Most of the time that I make a "presentation" to a customer, I don't
really know what they need, and they don't either. So a canned
presentation usually doesn't make sense, and its very existance tends
to freeze things.

Unfortunately this particular case is presented in absentia. The
client, so huge that I would call the potential contracts as "pants
wetting", requested that small business presentations be E-mailed.

My favorite presentation tool is a clean whiteboard
and some fresh color markers. My favorite opening is "I don't
understand your problem... please explain it to me."

Same here, I play dumb-as-a-stump until real specifications start to
tumble out.

For those
attendees who were counting on a nice PowerPoint nap, this wakes them
up; their function is no longer passive. It wakes me up, too, sort of
like doing a trapeze act without a net.

It's better to be under-prepared than over-prepared. Less work, too.

John

I used to give design seminars that way. Every slide was just as
surprising to me as it was to the attendees ;-)

...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona Voice480)460-2350 | |
| E-mail Address at Website Fax480)460-2142 | Brass Rat |
| http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |

I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.

 

[Peter O. Brackett]

Jim, Spehro:

BTW...

PP works nice with Adobe Acrobat [I use Acrobat 5.0].

You can just convert the whole PP presentation to Acrobat with a single
mouse
click.

And then...

To present you then just put Acrobat into full screen mode and it runs just
like the PP slide show.

What's more it is now cross platform...

When I put my presentations on CD I always put it on in both forms, i.e. MS
PP
and the Adobe Acrobat 5.0 converted version. The latter usually takes a lot
less
space.

--
Peter
Professional Consultant - Signal Processing and Analog Electronics
Indialantic By-the-Sea, FL.

"Spehro Pefhany" <speffSNIP@interlogDOTyou.knowwhat> wrote in message
news:1nvd60pmolvbah9lbccts3bq4k403jrbml@4ax.com...

On Sun, 28 Mar 2004 08:25:18 -0700, the renowned Jim Thompson
thegreatone@example.com> wrote:

I surprised myself. I simply worked with an existing PP to see how it
worked, changed the background to far-less flashy, and took ten slides
to describe my company's capabilities and services.

I'm delighted with the results, and I've become a convert.

There you go. It's not a bad program at all. The hard part (as with
print brochures and so on) is preparing the content, and particularly
graphic content.

(And I got it for the Upgrade price of $99 since I had an old copy of
"Office Small Business Edition"

Cheap at half the price.

Now does anyone know why Visio won't play nice with Acrobat 5?
Rotated text gets displaced and changes size or disappears entirely.
8-(

Hmm. it works okay with the PS emulation on my laser printer, so the
Postcript output must be sorta-okay. 8-(


Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
--
"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward"
speff@interlog.com Info for manufacturers:
http://www.trexon.com
Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers:
http://www.speff.com

 

[Spehro Pefhany]

On Sun, 28 Mar 2004 08:31:08 -0800, the renowned John Larkin
<jjlarkin@highlandSNIPtechTHISnologyPLEASE.com> wrote:

On Sun, 28 Mar 2004 14:26:17 GMT, "Peter O. Brackett"
no_such_address@ix.netcom.com> wrote:


One hint, since I am an old time "chalk talk" kinda guy I get frustrated
when operating a slide show from a
keyboard, cuz I can't run up to the screen and write on it, circle things,
etc. So I found that it is useful to be
able to draw a few lines, arrows, and circles on my PP slides in real time
as I make the presentations and
while folks ask me questions about the photos, photomicrographs of chips,
circuit details, etc...


Most of the time that I make a "presentation" to a customer, I don't
really know what they need, and they don't either. So a canned
presentation usually doesn't make sense, and its very existance tends
to freeze things. My favorite presentation tool is a clean whiteboard
and some fresh color markers. My favorite opening is "I don't
understand your problem... please explain it to me." For those
attendees who were counting on a nice PowerPoint nap, this wakes them
up; their function is no longer passive. It wakes me up, too, sort of
like doing a trapeze act without a net.

It's better to be under-prepared than over-prepared. Less work, too.
John

Underprepared can be taken too far. Sleep and coffee are vital.

Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
--
"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward"
speff@interlog.com Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com

 

[Jim Thompson]

On Sun, 28 Mar 2004 16:31:19 GMT, Spehro Pefhany
<speffSNIP@interlogDOTyou.knowwhat> wrote:

[snip]

Now does anyone know why Visio won't play nice with Acrobat 5?
Rotated text gets displaced and changes size or disappears entirely.
8-(

[snip]
Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany

I've not been happy with Acrobat 5 at all... all kinds of screwy
behavior. A prime example of software bloat! Reverted back to v4,
but kept v5 on the drive if the need ever arises... it hasn't ;-)

...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona Voice480)460-2350 | |
| E-mail Address at Website Fax480)460-2142 | Brass Rat |
| http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |

I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.

 

[Peter O. Brackett]

John:

[snip]

to freeze things. My favorite presentation tool is a clean whiteboard
and some fresh color markers. My favorite opening is "I don't
understand your problem... please explain it to me." For those
attendees who were counting on a nice PowerPoint nap, this wakes them
up; their function is no longer passive. It wakes me up, too, sort of
like doing a trapeze act without a net.
[snip]

Agreed... there is a time and place for everything.

PP has its' time and place and so does "one-on-one" chalk talking.

[snip]

It's better to be under-prepared than over-prepared. Less work, too.
[snip]

Sorry old man I'll never agree with that last statement.

Who was it that said, "luck favors the prepared mind"?

Surely you didn't mean what you said. There are many ways to communicate,
being unprepared is one of the worst...

Use all communications techniques wisely... and don't ever forget that as a
design consultant your main business
is communications and selling...

The selling of ideas is the most difficult of all the sales problems!

Happy selling!

--
Peter
Professional Consultant - Signal Processing and Analog Electronics
Indialantic By-the-Sea, FL.

"John Larkin" <jjlarkin@highlandSNIPtechTHISnologyPLEASE.com> wrote in
message news:3rud60tm5usomqeps7bs41qftkqts27m6d@4ax.com...

On Sun, 28 Mar 2004 14:26:17 GMT, "Peter O. Brackett"
no_such_address@ix.netcom.com> wrote:


One hint, since I am an old time "chalk talk" kinda guy I get frustrated
when operating a slide show from a
keyboard, cuz I can't run up to the screen and write on it, circle
things,
etc. So I found that it is useful to be
able to draw a few lines, arrows, and circles on my PP slides in real
time
as I make the presentations and
while folks ask me questions about the photos, photomicrographs of chips,
circuit details, etc...


Most of the time that I make a "presentation" to a customer, I don't
really know what they need, and they don't either. So a canned
presentation usually doesn't make sense, and its very existance tends
to freeze things. My favorite presentation tool is a clean whiteboard
and some fresh color markers. My favorite opening is "I don't
understand your problem... please explain it to me." For those
attendees who were counting on a nice PowerPoint nap, this wakes them
up; their function is no longer passive. It wakes me up, too, sort of
like doing a trapeze act without a net.

It's better to be under-prepared than over-prepared. Less work, too.

John

 

[Jim Thompson]

On Sun, 28 Mar 2004 16:41:06 GMT, Spehro Pefhany
<speffSNIP@interlogDOTyou.knowwhat> wrote:

On Sun, 28 Mar 2004 08:31:08 -0800, the renowned John Larkin
jjlarkin@highlandSNIPtechTHISnologyPLEASE.com> wrote:

[snip]
It's better to be under-prepared than over-prepared. Less work, too.
John

Underprepared can be taken too far. Sleep and coffee are vital.

Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany

ROFL! More than 30 years ago I took a red-eye to Rochester to present
a seminar at Kodak.

I sat in the back of the room in a student-desk while the first
presenter began his lesson (in the most monotonic of voices).

I fell asleep and rolled out of the desk, hitting the light switches
on my way to the floor and plunging the whole auditorium into
darkness.

To this day, long-time Kodak employees still kid me about that event
;-)

...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona Voice480)460-2350 | |
| E-mail Address at Website Fax480)460-2142 | Brass Rat |
| http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |

I love to cook with wine. Sometimes I even put it in the food.

 

[John Woodgate]

I read in sci.electronics.design that Spehro Pefhany <speffSNIP@interlog
DOTyou.knowwhat> wrote (in <1nvd60pmolvbah9lbccts3bq4k403jrbml@4ax.com&gt
about 'OT: PowerPoint?? Best Book to Learn Quickly??', on Sun, 28 Mar
2004:

Now does anyone know why Visio won't play nice with Acrobat 5? Rotated
text gets displaced and changes size or disappears entirely.

Contrary to my positive experience with PP, similar to Jim's, I've found
Visio a PITA since before Musoft bought it.
--
Regards, John Woodgate, OOO - Own Opinions Only.
The good news is that nothing is compulsory.
The bad news is that everything is prohibited.
http://www.jmwa.demon.co.uk Also see http://www.isce.org.uk

 

[KR Williams]

In article <6uob605ocnl950i2c4t1vh0n0nb6n9e6bk@4ax.com>,
jjlarkin@highlandSNIPtechTHISnologyPLEASE.com says...

On Sat, 27 Mar 2004 12:04:09 -0800, Jeff Liebermann
jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us> wrote:


Incidentally, I detest PowerPoint type presentations. There's nothing
more boring than a semi-darkened room, and listening to the presenter
read exactly what's on the screen. I usually have to bring a bag of
rubber bands to the presentation in order to get the speakers
attention because he can't see me in the dark and is ALWAYS looking at
the screen instead of the semi-visible audience.


Somewhere in the early '70s, TI decided to go into the computer
business and build ASC, the TI Advanced Scientific Computer. The only
tangible result of the project was a superior way to shoot rubber
bands.

Spread out your left-hand thumb and index finger and loop a fat, flat
rubber band on their tips, medium-tight. Take the index finger of your
right hand and catch the right-most loop of the band midway. Now
transfer the band so that it's stretched between you left thumb and
your right index finger; one side will now be stretched hard, the
other almost limp. Stretch to max, aim, and fire. The differential
spin will give a flat, stable flight and a satisfying whack at the
target. Many TI secretaries butts were accurately targeted and several
marriages resulted.

....and today there would be several $<many>million law suits and
hungry lawyers lurking everywhere.

John

ps - one of the design constraints of ASC was that the preset and
clear of all flipflops were always tied high.

The purpose of this constraint was?

--
Keith

 

[John Woodgate]

I read in sci.electronics.design that Jim Thompson
<thegreatone@example.com> wrote (in <230e60pjmki0bnlookc493rdt3ot9a3ba0@
4ax.com&gt about 'OT: PowerPoint?? Best Book to Learn Quickly??', on
Sun, 28 Mar 2004:

I've not been happy with Acrobat 5 at all... all kinds of screwy
behavior. A prime example of software bloat! Reverted back to v4, but
kept v5 on the drive if the need ever arises... it hasn't ;-)

I resisted getting V.6 because of bad reports about it, but I've had no
trouble with either 5 or 6.
--
Regards, John Woodgate, OOO - Own Opinions Only.
The good news is that nothing is compulsory.
The bad news is that everything is prohibited.
http://www.jmwa.demon.co.uk Also see http://www.isce.org.uk

 

[Dr. Anton T. Squeegee]

In article <nlhb60dr9cq9l2p2icut2bmn1gnm19i0mu@4ax.com>,
thegreatone@example.com says...

I just bought PowerPoint upon insistence by a *very large* potential
client.

Any recommendations for best book to get?

Before I start with my piece, let me offer a little advice. Don't
post purely textual material, such as your request, to any group in the
"alt.binaries" hierarchy. Those groups exist to pass files, not text.

As for the suggested book: "Excellence in Public Speaking" by
Morreale and Bovee, available from most college textbook sellers. The
skills you can gain from studying it, and from taking a good public-
speaking course at your local community college, will serve you far
better than any PowerPoint presentation, no matter how slickly produced.

PowerPoint is, all too often, used as a crutch. It can be useful,
in terms of showing block or other types of simple technical diagrams to
support a presentation, but all too many speakers have come to rely on
it to do their presentation for them, if you will. They come up with all
kinds of cute graphics and buzzword-laden animated text that usually
doesn't amount to a hill of beans in the end.

Remember that your audience is there to hear what YOU have come to
tell them. This involves speaking, which is the primary method that
humans use to communicate with each other. Unless you're going to get
your computer to speak for you, treat it as a supplemental tool instead
of as a second presenter.

In short: The fewer slides or visual aids you can get away with,
in the long run, the better off you'll be.

Good luck.


--
Dr. Anton T. Squeegee, Director, Dutch Surrealist Plumbing Institute.
(Known to some as Bruce Lane, ARS KC7GR,
kyrrin (a/t) bluefeathertech[d=o=t]calm -- www.bluefeathertech.com
"If Salvador Dali had owned a computer, would it have been equipped
with surreal ports?"

 

[John Woodgate]

I read in sci.electronics.design that Jim Thompson
<thegreatone@example.com> wrote (in <3c0e60591n0ofmlskpsor3atrti4aaf0ef@
4ax.com&gt about 'OT: PowerPoint?? Best Book to Learn Quickly??', on
Sun, 28 Mar 2004:

To this day, long-time Kodak employees still kid me about that event
;-)

A darkroom seem most appropriate in the context. As long as it doesn't
contain any dark matter. (;-)
--
Regards, John Woodgate, OOO - Own Opinions Only.
The good news is that nothing is compulsory.
The bad news is that everything is prohibited.
http://www.jmwa.demon.co.uk Also see http://www.isce.org.uk

 

[John Woodgate]

I read in sci.electronics.design that Peter O. Brackett <no_such_address
@ix.netcom.com> wrote (in <bkD9c.3291$NL4.1770@newsread3.news.atl.earthl
ink.net&gt about 'OT: PowerPoint?? Best Book to Learn Quickly??', on
Sun, 28 Mar 2004:

Surely you didn't mean what you said.

Not in the sense you mean, I feel sure.

There are many ways to
communicate, being unprepared is one of the worst...

The idea is that one should not be rigidly 'prepared', but flexible.
That way, one can adapt to the audience.

I admit that I have never had the courage to challenge the
victims^H^H^H^H^H^H^H audience with 'I don't understand your
problem....', because I fear a totally zilch reaction. That REALLY puts
you on the spot!
--
Regards, John Woodgate, OOO - Own Opinions Only.
The good news is that nothing is compulsory.
The bad news is that everything is prohibited.
http://www.jmwa.demon.co.uk Also see http://www.isce.org.uk

 

[Spehro Pefhany]

On Sun, 28 Mar 2004 16:47:03 GMT, the renowned "Peter O. Brackett"
<no_such_address@ix.netcom.com> wrote:

John:

[snip]
to freeze things. My favorite presentation tool is a clean whiteboard
and some fresh color markers. My favorite opening is "I don't
understand your problem... please explain it to me." For those
attendees who were counting on a nice PowerPoint nap, this wakes them
up; their function is no longer passive. It wakes me up, too, sort of
like doing a trapeze act without a net.
[snip]

Agreed... there is a time and place for everything.

PP has its' time and place and so does "one-on-one" chalk talking.

[snip]
It's better to be under-prepared than over-prepared. Less work, too.
[snip]

Sorry old man I'll never agree with that last statement.

Who was it that said, "luck favors the prepared mind"?

Surely you didn't mean what you said. There are many ways to communicate,
being unprepared is one of the worst...

Use all communications techniques wisely... and don't ever forget that as a
design consultant your main business
is communications and selling...

The selling of ideas is the most difficult of all the sales problems!

Happy selling!

One complexity is that different people respond quite differently to
the same information. Assuming your knowledge of the people you are
trying to sell to is imperfect, your presentation almost has to be
interactive and adapted to their reactions and likely some previously
unknown concerns. For example, some people can look at a previous
project and see instantly how similar it is technically to what they
need, even if it is for a different market and looks completely
different. Others look at it and think "so what, that's not what we
need". Some *need* to see something physical. Others respond to
drawings and ideas better, or perhaps the tone of your voice and how
you respond to tough questions. A fixed presentation based on your
prior assumptions is very likely to fall flat.

Recently I listened to an ebullient young fellow (one of Brat's
assistant baseball coaches) describing his court appearance for a
traffic infraction. He told us exactly what he said and all the great
points he made to the judge. I was cringing because I know how lawyers
and judges think and just how incredibly off base (no pun intended)
this guy was. Not surprisingly he lost. I think this cringing is how a
professional sales person would view most engineers trying to sell.
Most of us, IMO, just muddle through on the strength of mere technical
competence..


Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
--
"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward"
speff@interlog.com Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com

 

[Jeff Liebermann]

On Sun, 28 Mar 2004 15:55:52 GMT, Carl D. Smith
<cdsmith69NOSPAM@earthlink.net> wrote:

I thought this was interesting. It's called "Does PowerPoint
make us stupid?"

http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/ptech/12/30/byrne.powerpoint.ap/

Here's the PowerPoint version of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address
mentioned in the article.
http://www.norvig.com/Gettysburg/index.htm



--
Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060
(831)421-6491 pgr (831)336-2558 home
http://www.LearnByDestroying.com AE6KS
jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us jeffl@cruzio.com

 

[John Larkin]

On Sun, 28 Mar 2004 09:37:02 -0700, Jim Thompson
<thegreatone@example.com> wrote:

Unfortunately this particular case is presented in absentia. The
client, so huge that I would call the potential contracts as "pants
wetting", requested that small business presentations be E-mailed.

In cases like that, I go for a formal proposal in classic "1.0 Scope"
format, with illustrations created in AutoCad. This makes you look
like a grown-up. PDF it if necessary.

My favorite presentation tool is a clean whiteboard
and some fresh color markers. My favorite opening is "I don't
understand your problem... please explain it to me."

Same here, I play dumb-as-a-stump until real specifications start to
tumble out.

Exactly. Rope-a-dope. Keep quiet, ask a few pungent questions, let the
confusion mellow, then WHAM. The psychology here is much better than
walking in and acting as if you have all the answers... some fraction
of the target audience will take an instant dislike to you if you
start off too strong. Let them take some ownership in the design.

John