Custom Gradient Fill for Big Numbers
For this slide (see previous post for more info on it), I wanted the numbers to be a visual focal point. I also wanted to keep them as editable PPT text. By mixing the stylized text with more standard text, a nice slide layout was developed. The big number text was created by:
1. Make it big (this text is 125pt).
2. Give it a gradient fill – using colors that coordinate with the template color scheme.
3. Add a subtle outline (stroke) to the text to help it contrast for legibility.
4. Add a drop shadow.
The sample slide can be downloaded here.
– Troy @ TLC
Big Numbers Are the Key Concept
One of the greatest things I hear is something like this “Just make the slides have the key concepts I am talking about.” To me, that means the presenter:
– Knows their talk
– Is a confident presenter
– Will not be reading the slide to the audience
– And has given me freedom to design visual slides (yeah!)
This is a sample slide from a recent presentation TLC Creative Services developed (Note: Corporate template and much of the content adjusted for the sample slide). This minimal content slide reinforced the presenters point, did not distract the audience from the presenter and provided much more memorable speaker support than a list of bulleted text with all the details (that the presenter provided during the talk).
– Troy @ TLC
Microsoft PowerPoint MVP for Another Year!
Received an email that is personally exciting for me this weekend. Microsoft has awarded me as one of their PowerPoint MVPs once again!
There are around 30 MVPs for PowerPoint and more information on the overall award and program are at Microsoft here.
– Troy @ TLC
Review: PowerPoint To Go Free Templates
PowerPoint To Go (PPT-to-go.de) is a company based in Germany and offers a collection of PowerPoint templates that are free. The main categories are maps and nice looking 3D shapes in colorful layouts.
Unfortunately, we were not too impressed with the site. To access the free templates you must go through a registration process – for 1 template per month. While registering, the site timed out twice with a fatal error on the server being reported. It took four log in attempts before successfully accessing the downloads page. So the online experience was far from smooth.
The template downloaded is a .ppt (PPT 2003) and on our systems it opened with a corrupt file warning.
The thumbnail image on the download page was very different (and visually better) than the actual slide:
I had expected to see a full PowerPoint template with all of the master slide formatting preset. There is minimal template formatting in place and it is actually more jumbled than the MS default (and uses the German language dictionary).
Many of the thumbnails look great and I would recommend using just the content (map, 3D pyramid, etc.) by importing into your template and not using the PowerPoint to Go file as a template.
– Troy @ TLC
How Do I Get an Embedded Audio File From a Presentation?
Another question I receive a lot goes directly with the previous post (about finding video files): “Where are audio/music files that are embedded inside the .pptx file?”
Here is one process for getting to the actual audio/music files that are embedded in a PPT 2010 file.
1. Locate the presentation file in Windows Explorer and make a duplicate of it (we are going to “break” it).
2. Change the file name from .pptx to .zip
3. When you change the file extension you will get this warning dialog – click “Yes.”
4. Double click to open the new .zip file.
5. Go into the “PPT” folder.
6. Go into the “Media” folder.
7. Copy any of the video files (.mp3, .wav, etc.) from here to a folder on your computer.
8. Done!
– Troy @ TLC
How Do I Get An Embedded Video Out of a Presentation?
PowerPoint 2010 has increased the multimedia capabilities in many great ways. One question I receive a lot is where is the video (it is embedded inside the .pptx file) and how can it be accessed as a stand alone file?
Here is one process for getting to the actual video files that are embedded in a PPT 2010 file.
1. Locate the presentation file in Windows Explorer and make a duplicate of it (we are going to “break” it).
2. Change the file name from .pptx to .zip
3. When you change the file extension you will get this warning dialog – click “Yes.”
4. Double click to open the new .zip file.
5. Go into the “PPT” folder.
6. Go into the “Media” folder.
7. Copy any of the video files (.wmv, .avi. .mov, etc.) from here to a folder on your computer.
8. Done!
– Troy @ TLC
“You Cannot Teach…” A Great Quote As I End My Time at The Presentation Summit
“You cannot teach people everything they need to know. The best you can do is position them where they can find what they need to know when they need to know it.”
– Seymour Papert
Seymour was a noted MIT mathematician, computer scientist, and educator. He was also considered one of the pioneers of artificial intelligence, which has nothing to do with developing a great presentation, but everything to do with being a good presentation designer.
Here are some of the “teachers” I spent the week with (.., Betsy (TechSmith), Dave Paridi, Lori, Julie Terberg, me (center), John Wilson, Sandy Johnson, Glenna Shaw, Echo Swinford, Ric Britschneider, Steve Rindsberg).
– Troy @ TLC