Powerpoint Comedy

Hi,

This guy sums many of the important point's we are taught in class and he does it in a really funny way.

Youtube video clip (5 min)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cagxPlVqrtM

- Tore

Refreshing alternative to PowerPoint

...if only it were Free! SlideRocket is a powerful new tool to edit, share and author digital presentations. The software includes smooth special effects that if used correctly can add to the storyline, not distract from the message. Since SlideRocket is an online application, the software makers claim to provide greater options to collaborate, link data and securely share presentations online. The software even differentiates its users into five clear needs:

• Sales
• Design
• Education
• Marketing
• Events

Unless you subscribe for this 'software as a service' model for $10 a month as an individual or $20 for an unlimited account business version, then you cannot download the special presentation player required to playback the presentation. A major downside.

SlideRocket's Comparison to Slideshare
Most people will not pay money for a software, which they feel PowerPoint can do an adequate job. First I would like to remind you that nearly all of us or our employer's have paid for PowerPoint too, only the payment was a one time charge for Microsoft Office. Unlike year or more product releases of PowerPoint, SlideRocket is continuously upgraded and made available. A key feature is that SlideRocket presentations are always accessible on the Internet, so if you can touch the cloud, you can grab the presentation regardless of location. We are all tired of trying to email 10MB PPT slide decks. For those willing to invest in the latest technology that has a chance of differentiating you from your peers, competitors and the ordinary, then SlideRocket may be the answer. Right now, I am still considering my options. But this application has me excited about the future of PC presentations.

References
Sliderocket

Nov. Featured Book

Author: Stephen Few

Published: Jan 2006

In the book, Mr. Few highlights the common design mistakes of dashboard design and provides tools to enable the audience to easily get the relevant information quickly. Stephen draws from psychology to define best practices for organizing business information in a way that elevates accurate interpretation. He promotes the use of Bar graphs for clearly displaying information, while demonstrating that our human parallel processing of our eyes and brains do not effectively interpret quantitative scale using pie charts or radar graphs. The book insightfully shares that Dashboard Design has different forms depending on the different role of which it will be used.

Few classifies Information Dashboard into three types relative to the Role:

—Strategic Purposes: The primary use today is the Executive Dashboard that provides a quick overview that decision makers need to monitor the health and opportunities of the business.

—Analytical Purposes: Require more context behind the numbers, including meaningful comparisons, historical background and more specific performance evaluators.

—Operational Purposes: Monitors Operations that are continuously changing and may require immediate attention. Operation Dashboards require the most specific and highest level of detail, but must also be clear and simple for the audience to understand quickly what needs to be done.

Before this book, few people knew to differentiate Dashboard Design according to the role the information will be used for—Strategic, Analytical or Operational.
Another key takeaway is to avoid fragmenting data sets that share relationships. Stephen argues grouping interrelated together on a single screen can tell a more complete story. Mr. Few says of Information Dashboards, "simultaneity of vision that it offers: the ability to see everything that you need at once. This enables comparisons that lead to insights."

Information Dashboard Design is a must read for presenters of information at all levels of the organization. Stephen Few provides practical lessons on how to raise audience comprehension of the data and make your meetings more valuable.

Stephen Few has 20 years of expertise in the field of data visualization and is an MBA professor at Haas Business School, UC Berkeley.

Click for additional Resources:

Stephen Few's Blog - Perpetual Edge

Stephen Few on Sticky Stories with Numbers

Notes from the book The Articulate Executive In Action

Here are some notes I made from the book The Articulate Executive In Action by Granville N. Toogood. It is just a fraction of what the book talks about but it can help you when you are making a presentation.

CVA = Communications Value Added

What is it?

- That something extra you can give
- You are not afraid to show yourself
- Passionate. You are a true believer.

Example of a true believer:

“A man named David Orrick enthusiastically pitches his industrial strength cleaners on the radio and cleans up big time”

Who has CVA?

- Jezus
- Mohammed
- Gandhi

You know these people because of what they did, not because of their written words!

The Seven principles of CVA

1. Never bore
Be passionate, use anecdotes

2. Always leave people with more when they walk out than when they walked in
Give Value

3. Always be master of your presentation, not the other way
PPT should help your pitch, not be your pitch

4. Speak only about what you know
Stick to the roots

5. Always be sensitive to the needs of your audience

6. Speak in pictures
No abstract things. Give war stories or solid but simple evidence

7. Preparation
Know what you want to tell. Do your homework

-Bastiaan

An Introduction to Sliderocket - Innovative online Presentation Application

An online presentation service has recently become avaliable featuring richer graphics options and special effects that are support visual storytelling. However while the online version is free, to make SlideRocket usable offline requires a SlideRocket Satellite Player at a pay-by-month fee.

PowerPoint also costs money in the Microsoft Office suite, but most PC users are already using PowerPoint. Understandably users will be hesitant to spend money for the added features of SlideRocket. But if you have the ability to test out the 30 day trial use of the Player, or want to invest in a powerful PowerPoint alternative software that can differentiate your presentations from others, than I recommend SlideRocket.

Personally I am still on the fence whether to make that investment. To see an interesting and educational tutorial about how SlideRocket can help you share your story, please click below.

SlideRocket Product Demos

Sliderocket Reviews on CNET.com

Effective Use of Story - John Doerr

Silicon Valley entrepreneur John Doerr delivers an emotional presentation about why we need to do more to save the planet from destruction. John effectively uses a personal story about his daughter to frame his message of environmental responsibility and opportunity.

Effective use of Story - James Nachtwey Presentation

Award winning war photographer James Nachtwey personalizes his message to string together his documentation of global violence and the senselessness of War. A serious talk with a powerful and emotional message that influences not only how we think of the effect of War, but also how we feel about it.

Effective Communication of Data

Effective Communication Of Data Inspired by Stephen Few

From: presentationinnovation,
3 minutes ago

Effective Communication Of Data Inspired by Stephen Few

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: communication visual)

A Visual Summary of Stephen Few's Information Dashboard Design by Cory Grenier

SlideShare Link

Presentation Lessons Learned from 'Present Like a Pro'

Lessons Learned from Present Like a Pro

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: pro a)

Cory's Presentation Tool Box Two

Cory\ S Presentation Tools Two Power Formula And Trust Oct 24 2008

From: presentationinnovation, 1 minute ago

Cory\ S Presentation Tools Two Power Formula And Trust Oct 24 2008

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own.

Pictorial of Toogood's POWER Formula for effective Presentation Delivery.


SlideShare Link

Cory's Presentation Tool Box

Cory Presentation Toolbox Guanghua Mba Course 10.10.08

From: presentationinnovation, 23 hours ago

Cory Presentation Toolbox Guanghua Mba Course 10.10.08

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: presentation tools)

Useful online tools to gain inspiration, function, and publish value adding presentations.


SlideShare Link

Hans Rosling on TED

A really amazing demonstration at the end by Hans Rosling to make us remember his key message.

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/hans_rosling_reveals_new_insights_on_poverty.html

Zara Kwan

Rich Comedy on TED

So called nerdcore comedy - very fun to watch, highly recommended.

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/ze_frank_s_nerdcore_comedy.html

Or search for Ze Frank on TED.

Enjoy!

-Mo Zhou

TED in Chinese

TEDtoChina.com

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: chinese tedtochina)

Beijing Zhongguancun Toastmasters Club

A great method to get practical experience speaking in front of groups is to join a local Toastmasters club. Founded over 80 years ago in California, today Toastmasters International serves nearly 250K public speakers globally in over 90 countries.

For students at Peking University I recommend attending the Zhongguancun Toastmasters Club located in the 4th Classroom, 20th Floor, Tower B, Tsinghua Science Tower, Tsinghua Science Park, Wu Dao Kou, Haidian District, Beijing, 100084, China or please look for other Toastmasters locations in Beijing.

Meeting Time: 7:00 p.m., Tuesday
The Club is open to all. For details you may call 13810317670 , email cindyaidover@hotmail.com.
References

• Toastmasters International at Wikipedia
• http://www.toastmasters.org/