Putting Pizzazz Into PowerPoints! By: Richard K. Flowers AA, BS, MS
Putting Pizzazz Into PowerPoints! By: Richard K. Flowers AA, BS, MS For those who don’t know what a PowerPoint is let us turn to Wikipeda: Microsoft PowerPoint is a ubiquitous presentation program developed for the Microsoft Windows and Mac OS computer operating systems. Being widely used by businesspeople, educators, and trainers, it is among the most prevalent forms of persuasion technology: according to its vendor, Microsoft Corporation, some 30 million presentations are made with PowerPoint every day. The dictionary defines pizzazz as: piz•zazz or pi•zazz or piz•zaz (p -z z ) n. Informal 1. Dazzling style; flamboyance; flair. 2. Vigorous spirit; energy or excitement. So let us take the two words I just spoke about, PowerPoints and pizzazz. You may be asking what does this have to do with me. It may have nothing to do with you at the moment, but allow me to discuss with you the great benefits of using PowerPoints in many educational and business activities. Here are just some uses of PowerPoints. 1. Your resume, curriculum vitae or portfolio 2. Business proposals 3. Planning 4. Teaching a concept 5. Reports for school (term papers, assignments, book reports) 6. Sales pitches 7. Training You may have seen a PowerPoint presented on a computer or big screen and may not have realized that it was a PowerPoint. You may have viewed some PowerPoints that were quite boring and lost your interest rapidly. To overcome this problem it is imperative to design a PowerPoint that has the right combination of media effects and content while keeping the viewer’s interest. The PowerPoint program can take some time to master with its vast array of settings and features. A beginner can feel somewhat frustrated trying to create and design a polished PowerPoint. It can be done with practice and perseverance if you have some computer savvy. I am a professional PowerPoint designer and I have spent years trying different ways of working with the PowerPoint program to create a slideshow with what I call pizzazz. I have found that the most effective PowerPoints are ones that make use of animated talking characters and sound. I have discovered a couple of programs that allow you to insert moving, talking characters that will help describe your presentation and make it more entertaining and enjoyable to watch. The programs that I like to use include Vox Proxy and PowerPlugs. Both of the programs work within the existing structure of PowerPoint to design outstanding, informative and entertaining PowerPoint presentations. I would be happy to discuss the value of PowerPoints with you further. Please feel free to contact me. Remember, you can do it with creativity and pizzazz! Let me close with a quote by Dr. Seuss, one of my favorite poets and writers. Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the things you can think up if only you try!” Dr. Seuss Richard K. Flowers, AA, BS, MS: is an award winning educator, author, consultant, web and graphic designer, instructional designer, logo designer, educational consultant, artist and musician from Oregon Richard is a respected, gifted, recognized consultant that has spent years of research on creative solutions using multiple intelligences and multisensory techniques for learning. Richard's holistic approach to learning centers on the way we learn. Richard’s services are available through his firm CDS: Creative Educational Solutions His contact is: Questions@MultipleIntelligences.citymax.com His website is at: www.MultipleIntelligences.citymax.com.
