How to PowerPoint

I build elearning courses with PowerPoint and publish with Articulate Presenter.  This is typically called rapid elearning.  I write about it on my work blog, The Rapid E-Learning Blog.

Traditionally, elearning courses are built in Flash or other applications.  Because of this, when people hear that courses are built in PowerPoint they’ll immediately think that it’s boring bullet point slides.  And I can understand why because there’s so much of it out there.

To show you that PowerPoint is an effective tool for building elearning courses, I recreated a course that was originally built in Flash.  For my demo, I built all of the graphics and assembled it in PowerPoint alone.  Then I published it with Articulate Presenter.

Here’s a link to my version of the course, if you want to see how it works.

And here’s a tutorial that walks through the original and how the PowerPoint version works.

PowerPoint E-Learning Demonstration

Click here to view the demonstration.

David Anderson offers some really good tips on how to get rid of your bullet points.  First he offers a two part series on get ridding of text and replacing it with the right visual elements.

Reduce Screen Clutter

Part 1: How to reduce text on my slide?

Click here to view the first tutorial.

Part 2: Replace text with graphics

Click here to view the second tutorial.

Use Progressive Reveals

By progressively revealing information you can sync your graphics and text with your narration.  Using timed animations also means you can get rid of that standard PowerPoint bullet point look.

Click here to view tutorial.

By following David’s ideas you can make your slides less text-heavy and more visually interesting.  You also dump that typical bullet point look that so many complain about.

Adding some interactive decision-making to your rapid elearning course is a good idea.  Leslie from Education Breakthrough has a great screencast on how he created a branched interaction in PowerPoint.  This can be applied for rapid elearning courses if you’re using a tool like Articulate Presenter as well as something you can do in PowerPoint and present as a .pps file.

Some key points from the tutorial:

• He sets up the scenario.  You have a set of criteria with which to evaluate some people.
• You evaluate the people.  As you return to the original slide, you notice the person visited has been marked off.
• He provides a tour of the interaction and a flow chart to show how it works.
• Here’s a link to the PDF that explains how he built the branched interaction in PowerPoint.

Check out the tutorial.

Click here to view the tutorial.

A lot of people moan and groan about PowerPoint because there are so many bad PowerPoint presentations out there.  But the way I see it, PowerPoint’s just a tool.  If something done in PowerPoint is no good, tell the person who created the presentation or elearning course.  Don’t blame PowerPoint.

I heard someone say that it’s still PowerPoint’s fault because it’s so easy to use.  That’s just flat out ridiculous.  Why don’t we start blaming pens or keyboards for all of the crap that’s out there.  They’re a lot easier to use than PowerPoint and empower anyone who can type to write to produce worthless drivel.

To prove my point about the power of PowerPoint, I wrote a post for the Rapid E-Learning Blog that shows how you can use PowerPoint to build effective and viable elearning courses.  You’ll still need to start with good instructional design.  However, if all you have to sue is PowerPoint, there’s no reason why you still can’t build a decent course with it.

Below is an example of an elearning course created entirely in PowerPoint and then published with Articulate Presenter.

Click here to view the elearning course.

To learn more, check out the post on the Rapid E-Learning Blog.

It’s not really a matter of right or wrong as it is a matter of how the fonts you use in your PowerPoint files communicate with your audience and contribute to the overall tone and visual design of the slides.

When using fonts, you kind of have two considerations. 

• Is the font going to be legible?  Can people read and retain the information.
• What does the font’s design communicate?  How well does it support the tone and design of your slide content?

The Rapid E-Learning Blog has a good post on How Fonts Take a Starring Role in Your E-Learning Courses.  While the focus of the post is elearning, the information is just as relevant to any use of PowerPoint.

It’s a good post with an interactive exercise that illustrates how fonts can do more than display text.

The Rapid E-Learning Blog as a great year end wrap.  There’s a list of the top posts for 2009.  With the list is a link to 13 posts on the blog that has free resources.  So if you want some good information and free templates, check it out.

You can even download the template you see below.  And it’s all free.  Here’s a quick tutorial that explains how to edit the template.

Here are some good tips that will help speed up your development time in PowerPoint.  While the post references elearning, you can apply the ideas to all types of PowerPoint use.

In the post, How to Be More Productive When Using PowerPoint to Create E-Learning Courses, you’ll learn three key concepts:

• Move objects off screen so you don’t have to go back and forth.  The viewer can’t see them during the presentation.
• Create a staging area by using a blank slide that sits under the real slide
• Hide slides that aren’t being used.  You have quick access to them, but the viewer can’t see them. 

There’s a lot more detail in the blog post and a quick tutorial that explains it all.

I worked for a multibillion company that employed about 30,000 people.  There was one executive who made the decision that anything built in PowerPoint could only use a single PowerPoint template.

That’s ridiculous!

Now, I understand the need to have some quality control over how PowerPoint is used; especially when you interact with the public.  But, that’s why you come up with style guides and teach your staff about basic design concepts.

The executive saw PowerPoint from a single perspective.  He was a director who was presenting to higher level executives and the investment community.  From his perspective, it was best to have tight quality control over how the company was portrayed in public.  That makes sense.

However, the reality is that PowerPoint is a versatile tool used for more than just public presentations.  Because of this, it’s ridiculous to apply broad branding rules and template limitations to all uses of PowerPoint.

Not All PowerPoint Files Are the Same

For example, I wrote a blog post about PowerPoint and rapid elearning.  When you use PowerPoint to build courses, you need as much room as possible.  Any branding should be applied to the color theme or player.  You should try to keep the slide are as open as possible and use that for the learning content.

The problem template restrictions is that the message of the presentation is discounted and altered to comply with the template requirements.

The template should just be a guide for the content and what you hope to communicate.  But it shouldn’t dictate the content.  Sometimes a branded template is fine, but sometimes it’s just crap.  And it’s usually the cause for a lot of the horrible PowerPoint presentations we have to endure.

OK, enough of my rant.

Here are some good resources to help you rethink how you use PowerPoint and whether or not having strict branding requirements is necessary.

These are some key books that I think do a great job discussing visual design principles; and then blends them with sound presentation and communication concepts.  They’ll make you rethink the one-size-fits all template strategy.

Non-Designer’s Design Book If there is only one book to buy, it’s this one.  You’ll learn all of the basics about typography and visual design.	Beyond Bullet Points If you want to do presentations and PowerPoint right, then this book is highly recommended.  It’s practical and has some good job aids.
Slide:ology Great book on visual design concepts and how to craft better presentations.  They have some good examples of branded templates that do work.	Presentation Zen This book is very similar to slide:ology and will help you learn to communicate better with your slides.  His new book goes through the new design.

Be sure to check out this free ebook by Seth Godin on Really Bad PowerPoint.   It’s not just a rant, he’s got some very good tips on communication that will help you do a better job.