Presentation Software Janodya Moonamale University of Auckland - PDF document

Presentation Software Janodya Moonamale University of Auckland jmoo829 - 5457480 ABSTRACT Currently software is predominantly used in the presentation This report looks into the concept of how software tools can process as a visual aide to the presentation, either in the form be improved to make presentations more successful. This re- of PowerPoint slides or multimedia such as videos. The prob- port breaks the process of giving a presentation down into lem is that these software tools, although useful, do not ac- tively help in making a presentation more successful, rather three stages; creating the presentation, rehearsing the pre- just does what is commanded by the user without providing sentation and finally delivering the presentation. The first any feedback or suggestions. Furthermore, popular presenta- stage of creating a presentation looks predominately into tion software, such as PowerPoint, can also hinder the over- tools which help create slides automatically. The second sec- all performance of a presentation if used incorrectly. An ex- tion looks into training systems which help a presenter im- ample of this is the commonly made mistake of having too prove their presentation through training. The final section much information on the slides, this can be fatal when giving looks into issues in giving a final presentation such as giving a presentation as the overload of information to an audience a demonstration which can be hard to execute properly. It was member will make them lose interest in the presentation, thus found that there are a lot things that can be done to existing making the presentation unsuccessful. This mistake can eas- software which can be used to improve presentations. ily be avoided if the presentation software for example, gives a warning if it detected slides as having too much informa- INTRODUCTION tion. The objective of this report is therefore to look into The following report deals with the topic of presentation soft- what changes can be made to software used in the presenta- ware. Software has been used to aide in presentations for tion process to make the presentation more successful. many years, mainly to create slides for a presentation through the use of tools such as Microsoft PowerPoint and video edit- CURRENT TOOLS ing software for video playback. While these tools have their The most popular software tool for creating presentations is benefits in making a presentation they do not necessarily help Microsoft PowerPoint. PowerPoint is a tool which allows to make a presentation more successful. This report looks users to create a PowerPoint presentations by designing and into presentation software and focuses particularly on how to creating slides from within the software program. Up until make presentations more successful through the use of soft- recent iterations of PowerPoint, there was no extra features ware tools. In doing this, this report will delve into the pro- which helped a presenter in a presentation besides creating cess of giving a presentation, breaking it down into three main slides. However Microsoft has seemed to have recognised tasks: creating the presentation, rehearsing and finally deliv- the need for more functionality in relation to giving a pre- ering the presentation. It will also explore problems and is- sentation and so has added the ability to create notes which sues faced by presenters which limit or prevent the success of only a presenter can see on their own screen during a presen- a presentation. tation and also an inbuilt stopwatch to allow a presenter to time themselves practicing and to keep track of time during a DEFINITIONS presentation. On a similar note, Apple offers Keynote which Before proceeding further, the definition of how software also has much of the same functionality found in PowerPoint makes a presentation more successful should be clarified so but is targeted at the Apple user group. Other online versions that the term is not ambiguous. In this report, a presentation of slide creations tools are available with much more limited is made more successful through the use of software, if the functionality, such as Google slides. software tool can remove obstacles, outline critical issues or at least make it easier to overcome a challenge faced by a Other tools commonly used in presentations are video editing presenter in making a presentation. software for creating videos for presentations. Some exam- ples of video creation tools are Windows movie maker and Final Cut Pro. These tools are powerful for creating provide OBJECTIVE no real additional functionality useful to someone creating a video for a presentation. It quickly becomes apparent that although there are very pow- erful tools available for creating presentations, they have lim- ited functionality when it comes to helping improve the qual- ity of a presentation. STRUCTURE