PowerPoint News from Champagne Design
Great article by Dave Paradis on linkedin. Why it costs so much to professionally “fix up” or “clean up” a PowerPoint presentation . He speaks about the work done by PowerPoint specialists/designers. As with all specialized work done by professionals, we always think it looks easy. Yes, they do make it look easy. Simply youtube it, and you can do it yourself. It might take you longer, but you can usually figure it out. Just like me, trying to fix the tailgate latch on my Colorado. Chevy wanted to charge me two hours of labour for a half hour job, max, according to the video. I am tempted to try the task. We shall see.
As for that PowerPoint task, by all means try it. But read Dave’s article. It looks like one of my checklists. I have two of those checklists that I have drafted over the past few decades working in PowerPoint.
One checklist is for building a bulletproof PowerPoint template for my clients. Solid, customized to their needs, with all the most frequently asked questions, answered right there, within the template; branding standards for the company; tips and tricks. Right where you need them, all there. My clients know the value of a well designed, well programmed PowerPoint template. It will speed up your time spent writing and formatting your slides. Less pain and frustration in PowerPoint. (although it is still less painful than MS Word)
The other checklist is for formatting the content onto a PPTx template. An extensive list of items to verify, so my clients don’t have to worry about them. Ready to go.
If you think Dave’s checklist is long, have a look at the skills list required for a “Master” designation at the Presentation Guild. It is 375 items long! And requires 5000 hours of practice to be certified.
Visit the Presentation Guild Organization and download the PDF
Download the PDF file and have a look. It’s amazing the work that the Guild has done. I had a long look. Then I did a quick calculation, one or two presentations a week, for the past twenty years, from PowerPoint 97 to PowerPoint 365 today. I should have my designation four times over, easily. I think. But no, there are probably some corners of PowerPoint that I have not explored fully, even me.
Stay tuned. I will attempt obtaining my Masters designation at the Presentation Guild. It could be challenging.
Thanks again Dave!
Gulp.
Champagne Design — PowerPoint Design 