1 post tagged Prezi

Have you ever sat through a 100+ slide PowerPoint presentation? Or worse, have you ever been forced to write one?

PowerPoint is a great tool when it is not being abused, which, unfortunately is rare. I have seen countless presentations that cram as much text as possible onto one slide (“You can do it in 2-3 slides, just reduce the font to 10 pts”). Or presentations that take Excel spreadsheets and shrink them into microscopic images that are impossible to read with the naked eye.  And let’s not forget the shameless use of “transitions” like flying bullets to make things more visually interesting. 

There are other options. Obviously, there’s Adobe’s InDesign. It’s great if you want stunning final document fit to print (and if you have some design skills). Not so great if you have to make a last minute change and a designer isn’t around. And there’s Google Docs - which is on par with PowerPoint.  Then there’s SlideRocket which keeps getting better and better and is a realistic alternative. 

My new favorite is Prezi. It’s a visually interesting way to present content and it allows for both text and images. It’s like taking a video camera and creating a video of your presentation - zooming in and out over key points, panning over different pieces of content - it’s like you are taking your audience on the Magical Mystery Bus Tour of Presentation Land. 

Can it be abused? Yes - every tool can be dangerous in the wrong hands. Is it appropriate for every presentation? Probably not, but for the majority - yes. 

Definitely worth taking a look.