SEO FIRE

Online presentations are best created in MS PowerPoint and then converted to a flash based streaming file using either Articulate Presenter or Camtasia. My personal fave is Articulate. I like it’s extended player capability and features although the less expensive Camtasia is also useful for recording onscreen activity for software demos. In either case what you intend to create should be the deciding factor i.e. for PowerPoint presentations use Articulate and for onscreen recordings as in software demos use Camtasia.

You can also take a screen recording created with Camtasia and embed that in a PowerPoint presentation for conversion in Articulate. So I tend to use both when designing presentations for clients. So far as any tips for improving the quality of your presentations I would recommend:

1. Keep slides simple - Less is more here
2. Use standard Fonts and Colors
3. Eliminate unnecessary animation
4. Create a flow of information - Background, Challenge, Solution, Validation

It takes some trial and error to create a high quality automated presentation for the web.  Just as mastering PowerPoint takes some time so to these extensions of the presentation medium will have a learning curve. The beauty of these two programs is the ease with which they allow you to try and try again until you get it right.

Narration of the slides is where most people hit the wall. Just like speaking in public when the microphone is switched on the same fear and loathing will come into play. Here is where true talent for speaking is foremost. Nothing will kill a great presentation faster than a droning monotone voice reading from the slides. Don’t read the slides! You need to speak extemporaneously to the subject only referencing the key points on the slides. This is what separates the professional speaker from the amateur. Do it correctly and your audience will respond accordingly.

That being said many companies find success through cross departmental collaborations where engineering may supply the slide deck, marketing creates the narrative and sales provides the speaking talent.