Tutorial 2: How to Create an Exciting Presentation.

Have you ever been assigned a presentation and feel that you are stuck using something boring and unoriginal? Fear no more, because of the technology of Web 2.0 allows you to create exciting presentations that are sure to be the crowds favorite. With websites such as prezi.com and programs such as Jing you never have to make a boring slide show again.

Prezi is a  unique way to create presentations. Instead of a sideshow it uses a large whiteboard where the creator can edit any part of the board and zoom in, zoom out. As well you can create a path that the camera follows giving it a more organic feel rather than a computerized  If you click the above link there is a tutorial video of some of the features of Prezi feel more than welcome to view this video as I found it quite interesting. As well as prezi.com there is a program called Jing, which allows you capture both screen shots as well as video with audio) right off of your computer screen. This is very helpful for creating an online presentation that you can not physically give.Below is a sped up video of a user creating a presentation using prezi.com

Now that we know a few of the programs we can use to create a presentation lets focus on how to make it an effective presentation. According to http://www.theegglestongroup.com/writing/keystep1.php the keys to a great presentation are:

1. "Know Your Subject Matter"
2. "Know Your Audience"
3. "Know Yourself"
4. "Develop a Theme"
5. "Prepare Your Script"
6. "Select the Proper Visual Aides"
7. "Prepare a Storyboard"
8. "Produce the Visuals"

Most of these are self explanatory; however' let us focus on the visuals of the presentation. It is very important to pick visuals that compliment your presentation and at the same time do not clutter it or distract the audience from the message. One the the most important things is to make sure the visual belongs in the presentation. The visual must convey the same message you are trying to send to your audience. Nothing inappropriate should be used and also do not overwhelm the audience with tons of pictures that end up causing them to become lost in the visuals.

Another important subject in creating an effective presentation is the text used within it. The text needs to be short and straight to the point. Lengthy sentences tend to be lost in a presentation. Stick to the facts and keep it short. This is so that while giving the presentation you do not end up reading straight off the slide and instead you have room to generate extra input to connect all the dots of your presentation.

The next step to having an effective presentation is having an effective speaker. You must not read straight off the slide but instead generate new facts and information not given on the slide to show that you actually understand what is on the slide instead of just reading a script of information you found. Appearance is an important factor for physical presentations. Be well dressed, and groomed as well as having good posture during the presentation to show your audience that you are confident in the information on the slides. Maintain eye contact through out the presentation to ensure the audience of your confidence.

Th last step in giving an effective presentation is how you speak to the audience. You want to speak clearly and loud enough so that everyone can understand you. As well, memorize your script so to avoid mumbling and awkward silences. This is especially important in online presentations where the audience does not see you physically. The only thing they have to go on is your voice. This makes your voice very impressionable to their opinions on both you and your presentation.

With this knowledge on effective presentations anyone can turn a boring mundane presentation into one that screams of excitement and confidence.

References: 

• http://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/crosscuttings/presentations_main.html
•  http://www.theegglestongroup.com/writing/keystep1.php
• http://prezi.com/
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anF9K50W0j8&feature=related

Presntation

This project on creating a presentation that I could share online was quite fun. I used a program called Prezi and it turned a boring power point into a new and unique presentation. I have never used any program besides power point to create my presentations; but now that I know about way more exciting and interesting ways to present I doubt I will return. Here is the URL to my Prezi presentation http://prezi.com/skm6gt56enpi/resturant/. As well as creating this I was required to capture my voice and present it as if I were actually giving the presentation. For this I used Jing and captured my voice over the video of the presentation. To get to this presentation just use this URL http://www.screencast.com/t/rGJRy7Yl.

Now it is time to do some self critique using the evaluation rubric. Overall I believe that the presentation was very interesting, especially how it was presented. However, After using the rubric and after evaluating somebody's presentation I discovered several wrongdoings of my own. The first thing I discovered wrong was that the mouse pointer was all over the screen and was quite distracting from what the speaker was saying. I believe however that the presentation would grab most peoples attention within the first 30 seconds just because of the uniqueness that Prezi offers to the presenter.

I did not ask any questions in the presentation which is a negative on the rubric and did not seem to discuss anything outside of the slides too much. The readability of the presentation was excellent in my opinion. Anytime white words are on black I find it extremely easy to read.

Finally I believe that perhaps some questions were overlooked in the presentation. This is a major drawback because this was an online presentation where the audience can not simply raise a hand and ask the question but must take time to send a question through email or by comments which is not as efficient as being able to physically ask the question.

I learned a great deal during this project about how to capture voice and use it to create an online presentation that is available to anyone to watch. As well I learned a great deal about all the different web 2.0 tools that you can use to enhance your presentation. I believe that all of these tools will help greatly in acquiring new clients or investors in any future business transactions where a presentation is needed.

Excel Project

        I have to say that the Excel Project for ISM 3004 had me running for the hills at first. After watching the videos I thought it would be just like any other computer classes' excel project and just be the mundane salvo of copy and paste. This project was a bit more complicated and made you think critically to create the correct formulas to acquire the data needed. The project was to take a set of raw data and manipulate it using formulas and tables to show specific information found in the data. This included averages of the data, pivot tables, functions to determine whether or not the people in the data reached a certain heart rate, and specific demographic information about the data.
        Out of the entire project the formula to find if the target heart rate was achieved was the most difficult for myself. I was trying all types of combination of formulas to achieve this. They included vlookup, if, find, search, and max all to no avail. No matter what combination I tried I was getting an error come up for my formula. Finally when I was ready to throw my keyboard and smash my printer in a field, I realized I needed to just use the value of a formula I found earlier in the project. I was so happy to be done with the formula =if(logical_test, [value_if_true], [value_if_false]).
       The learned a few things during this project especially about the uses of formulas to find certain data in workbooks. As well as the formulas, I also learned how to create Pivot Tables in Excel. Before the lectures and this project I did not even know there was such a thing as a pivot table. However; now that I know of their existence, I believe they can be extremely useful for any business owner trying to analyze a set of data. Posted below is the screen shot of my "Avg Increase" pivot table.