Leading presentation articles, insight and PowerPoint advice from professional presenters.

Presentation Articles and PowerPoint Advice

is a collection of articles created by our experts, industry professionals and technical staff who have submitted expert advice, input, commentary and critique over many aspects of presentation production and delivery.

Covering key areas such as content, delivery, audience awareness, public speaking, and address. These articles provide presenters and producers of presentations everywhere with professional help, guidance, and assistance to help make your next presentation even better.

In an effort to help you find the most relevant subject of advice, we have compiled these articles into several categories, listed in the right hand menu. Simply select the category that is most relevant to the subject or topic that you would like to discover more about, to find an article and professional advice concering this aspect of your presentation.

For producers and presenters of PowerPoint® presentations seeking to improve their overall effectiveness and use of the worlds leading presentation tool, please visit the 123PPT.com PowerPoint Tips and Tricks section. Featuring help and assistance, short tutorials, and all the PowerPoint keyboard short cuts and "Hot-Keys". 123PPT.com's Power Tips will help you improve your PowerPoint skills. Whilst our Frequently Asked Questions, will provide you with answers to more specific 123PPT.com product and service related questions.

If you would like to Submit a Presentation Article to 123PPT.com for review and possible listing in our Articles and Advice section, then send us your ideas and suggestions.






A small selection of the latest Presentation Articles added to the 123PPT Articles section can be seen below:

• Communicating

  Is it possible to be innovative with PowerPoint?

By Scott Harvey, Managing Director, The Impossible Media Group

Sometimes I think we hear the words "innovation" and "innovative" all too often.

Every QVC type sales tv channel present a host of innovative ground breaking products that are going to change the way you exercise, or transform your stomach into a finely tuned board that would give Rambo a run for his money. But if everything we see and are told is innovative then it's hard to understand why my pc still crashes just like it did 15 years ago? Back when it was running Windows 95 or 98 or something or some other prehistoric system.

Or how Microsoft Office 2010 still works the same it always has. I open a PowerPoint slide, I add some text, I press the SlideShow F5 key and you'd never know if it was made in PowerPoint 2010 or PowerPoint 97.

I have a cell phone now that it seems can do most everything except whenever I try to do anything more than answer a call or send an SMS text it decides to lock up and freeze. I remember the guy who sold it to me said it was the latest in innovation and cell phone technology, but I had my first cell back in 1995 and whilst it was about 10 times bigger and granted about 100 times heavier, it could do exactly the same thing as my ultra modern lightweight model. In truth I could theoretically do much more with my older model, for example if anyone tried attacked me on the subway on the way home I could probably knock them out cold with it.

So what is innovation? And more importantly what is innovation in our world of presentations and PowerPoint?

• Creating Content

  Why are there so many bad presenters?

By Scott Harvey, Managing Director, The Impossible Media Group

At a conference I visited last week the audience was asked to grade each presenter from 1 to 5, with 1 being the lowest score and 5 the highest. Sadly there was not a grade for the different aspects of each presenter, only this "overall" marking scheme, so in reality the score would return little value to the organizer.

For example, the first speaker was a very good speaker, but their PowerPoint presentation was simply awful. Very slow, very intense, and as a result the audience were already falling asleep by 10am! As a result I had no option but to give the speaker a 1 on the scorecard. A great pity, because in a more open system only the presentation itself would have scored lowly. So why is it that despite all the professional PowerPoint templates, PowerPoint plug-ins, and help available, people still produce such poor presentations?

• Creating Content

  Do we really need PowerPoint templates?

By Scott Harvey, Managing Director, The Impossible Media Group

For many the thought of a conference, convention, meeting, or business event spells the opportunity to present a new product, service, or solution.

For others, it can quickly become the dread of presentation paranoia, and in an effort to appear professional, to gain audience attention and credibility, presenters often find themselves decorating and adding all sorts of unnecessary effects to their presentations. But at what point does a PowerPoint template become a liability and create a negative effect?

At what point must we view our presentation and conclude that the PowerPoint template does enough to present our ideas, thoughts and key arguments?

• Creating Content

  Don't present your brand and undermine your business

By Antony Eikeland, Communication Consultant, 123PPT.com

It's strange how so many organizations produce a corporate PowerPoint presentation template; a "one size fits all", template for all corporate presentations.

Whereas Gandalf and the other characters in the film franchise, "The Lord of the Rings", may have come to terms with the concept of "One ring to rule them all", it's sad to see so many presenters undermine and destroy their organizations credibility, by believing that one template will present for all.

And whilst you, as indeed most every organization, do not have the budget of a Hollywood blockbuster available at your disposal, there are ways to ensure that your brand keeps its integrity, and your audience made to feel as though your efforts were made for them. Not for a previous presentation, or indeed, as the sole template for everything.

But did you know that there are ways to achieve this without it having to cost you the middle earth?

• Communicating

  Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind?

By Graham Neil, Presentation Consultant, 123PPT.com

At the start of any new year we all make resolutions, promises to ourselves, and commitments we mean to keep. Sadly, by the end of January, more often than not, we've managed to break most of our resolutions, and carry on throughout the year in a similar routine to the previous.

While most social habits such as quitting smoking, or reducing alcohol intake, cutting out chocolate, or mid afternoon snacks can prove too great for all but the dogged determined, the beginning of a year is a time of opportunity, of planning and goals.

It's a time and opportunity to break bad communication habits, and clarify yourself. To find greater meaning in work. And also the time where after returning to work, you may well feel the need for change, for greater and new challenges. But where should you start? And how can you employ the basics of presenting to help you reach your professional goals for the year ahead?