Like most people, I have always used Microsoft PowerPoint to create presentations. It’s quick, simple, and accessible by most users. However, it’s also these characteristics that have led to so many horrible presentations. Everyone can make a PowerPoint presentation, but it seems that only a few can make good PowerPoint presentations.
Obviously, the content, arrangement, and delivery of a PowerPoint presentation will ultimately determine whether the presentation is a dud or not. However, with the extremely high use rates of PowerPoint, maybe there are other software applications available that will help make a presentation standout against the crowd.
Here is a list of five alternative presentation applications that I came across in an article by Stu Robarts.
1. Prezi (prezi.com) – Instead of the linear progression of PowerPoint slides, Prezi presentations are designed on a large space (similar to a whiteboard) where the user can decide the path that the material should be presented in. Ultimately, the design is intended to help audiences understand how the ideas in the presentation are related to each other.
2. Keynote (https://www.apple.com/mac/keynote/) – Apple’s version of PowerPoint. In typical Apple style, it’s only compatible with Apple products.
3. Google Slides (google.com) – A stripped-down version of PowerPoint; only the essential tools for creating a slide deck are available. However, the perk is that Slides are integrated into Google Docs. Changes to the presentations are auto-saved and multiple users can simultaneously edit a Slides presentation. The output can be downloaded into PowerPoint format.
4. ClearSlide (clearslide.com) – Designed for sales teams. The primary purpose is web-based presentations. It can be integrated with CRM systems for ease of data integration.
5. SlideDog (slidedog.com) – Every professor should be forced to use SlideDog. It’s not so much a presentation development software, as it is a presentation organizational software. It allows users to drag-and-drop all of their files that will be a part of their presentation (PowerPoint slides, Prezi presentation, web pages, PDFs, videos, etc.) into the SlideDog application and then arrange them into the desired order. When one file is completed, the subsequent file is launched. No more watching the presenter frantically search their desktop for the shortcut to the next element of their presentation.
Just like most things, commodities and resources tend to be cyclical and driven by trends. Prezi has seen some success in the past due to its popularity of displaying “slides” in a unique way, however it has also seen its downfalls as many people seem to overuse it for their presentations. Personally, I feel that there is more value on having a slide deck compliment your presentation and not the slide deck BE the presentation (no matter what software you end up using).
What sort of tradeoffs do you think exist when one foregoes PowerPoint for another medium? It looks like each of these software packages uniquely fill some void in PowerPoint or identified need, but I am curious if it is possible for any of these to supplant the standard. Have you tried any other programs?
I think Nate is right on the money here. Some of the best presentations (I’m thinking about the Ted talk that Betsy posted earlier this semester) are just a fantastic story with some pictures used as visual aids. Generally I think the less text, the better during certain presentations, and in some cases the format is less important than the style itself.