Community Discussion
Topic: Any PowerPoint gurus out there?

#	Author	Message
1	JohnS1 Tue 6/3/2008 1:23p	My book, "Bretz's Flood: The Remarkable Story of a Rebel Geologist and the World's Greatest Flood" will be out this fall and I am already receiving requests to do presentations at a variety of venues beginning this fall. I don't want to just read from the book, and I have lots of historic and current photos that would make a great slide show, but I know that slide shows are pretty passe these days. My kids say I should do a Power Point presentation and we even have the software here at home. Between myself, my daughter and two sons, I think we can probably put together a nice presentation. Here's my problem - everytime I have watched a Power Point presentation, the person giving the talk has simply brought a CD with the photos/audio on it to the venue where he/she is going - colleges, mostly. The college had the equipment and handled set-up, etc. and if everywhere I go had the necessary equipment, there would be no problem. But I may very well be going to small town auditoriums, bookstores, elementary schools, etc., where they won't necessarily have the right equipment. So I was thinking it might be nice to have my own equipment so I can practice at home, then just haul whatever I need with me from place to place. So - you Power Point experts, what exactly does a person need to put on a presentation at a venue where they have nothing but a movie screen and wall plug-ins? What do I need, where does one buty it, and how much does the necessary equipment cost, do you think? Thanks in advance to any of you who might know more about this kind of stuff than I do! (which probably includes all of you!) John
2	Lisann22 Tue 6/3/2008 1:30p	You need a projector and a laptop. Projectors run anywhere from $500 to $XXX depending on quality. I do suggest trying Ebay if you want a cheap used one. Also when you go to speak ask if they have the ability to hook up to a TV screen, I know at my job we have switched from projectors and big screens to big flat screen monitors and we just hook up or laptops to that, or if they have the hard drive in place I just take my jumpdrive with me. I often just use my wireless mouse as my remote to run my powerpoint also. I'm sure other techies have better answers. Also John - when doing the powerpoint, stay away from the bullet points. Try to use the power point as an addition to you speaking not bullet points of what you are talking about. So so boring when people stand up there and just rattle off what everyone can already read. ;>
3	JohnS1 Tue 6/3/2008 1:40p	I agree so much with that last sentiment Lisann! The visual presentation should supplement or embellish what you are saying, not simply put your words into print! Is there any sort of all-in-one unit that you are aware of - slide projector, laptop and viewing screen all in one? The les I would have to "assemble" at each place, the better! And are they easy to learn to use??? (I am from the old slide show presentation generation, as you can no doubt tell!)
4	momofbuzzfan Tue 6/3/2008 1:49p	I can't help you much, except to say that we always scanned in our slides to incorporate them into our Power Point presentations. It might take awhile to get your presentation up and running, but once you have it down, you'll be very glad you used the software. I use it for so much....not just presentations. I'm not a rebel, but I am a geologist, so I'll have to be looking for your book when it comes out!
5	JohnS1 Tue 6/3/2008 2:04p	Wow - a geologist at LP! And I thought we were all so artsy-craftsy here! You'll be interested that one of the geologists to rave about my book in a testimonial for the back cover is this year's GSA pres (although he couldn't endorse it on behalf of the GSA, but as a geology professor at a Texas University.)
6	Lisann22 Tue 6/3/2008 2:05p	http://mobileoffice.about.com/...ctor.htm Some of the smaller ones. I do not know of any all-in-ones. They are so small and weightless now, it's not that big of a deal to cart around.
7	JohnS1 Tue 6/3/2008 3:01p	The reason I asked about all-in-ones is that I don't have a laptop, and likely wouldn't use it for anything but doing Power point presentations, so I'd need to buy one of those too. That one projector model - a Viewsonic 503 was only $369 so that's not too bad.
8	Ursula Tue 6/3/2008 3:30p	All I can say is listen to Lisann2. That girl knows more about PowerPoint than anyone else I know.
9	Ursula Tue 6/3/2008 3:30p	Er, Lisann22.

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