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“B” in PowerPoint – Secret sauce of Master Chefs

The secret to the great recipes of Master Chefs are little secrets rather than some grand techniques. There is chef in the ITC hotel whose cheese preparations are so good that people come to taste from them all over India. The secret to his cheeseballs-to-die for is the sourcing of cheese from a particular village in Belgium. Similarly, there are little known gems in power point that master Presenters use.  I will share one such little known power point gem than can make a big impact to your presentations.  Have you ever used the B Button while making power point presentations?

 While you are making a presentation, the attention of the presenter should be mainly on the Presentation rather than the PowerPoint . The PowerPoint is there to support the presentation by illustrating the points, graphics and charts . But there could be times during  the presentation when the presenter wants the audience to focus on her rather than the PowerPoint. One such example is persuading audience with emotions. Effective speakers use emotions more than logic and data when it comes to persuasion. Emotions can be better demonstrated by the presenter using voice modulation and  body language rather than PowerPoint slides.  The PowerPoint slides are likely to make atleast a part of the audience look at the slides of focusing on the presenter. So, the best way to ensure that the attention is not divided is by simply switching off the PowerPoint during parts of the presentation where the audience needs to focus on the presenter.

 Fortunately, there is a very simple way and discreet way of doing it. There is no need to resort to a hard switch off. Just press the B button when PowerPoint is in slide show mode (which is typically the mode when presentation is being made ) .  In order to get back to the PowerPoint mode, simply, press any key and the slide resumes. 

Before delivery of the presentation, some amount of planning is needed. The presenter needs to decide where she would like to display the PowerPoint and where to switch it off.

Being a great presenter is an important skill for an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs are all the time trying to persuade people with their ideas.  PowerPoint presentation is the most frequently used tool to present the ideas. Successful entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs were masters at the art of presentation. Mastery is possible by continuously adding new tips and techniques  like the one above to your presentation arsenal.

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  1. Hey, how about telling me how my PPTs look?

    Given then you are an expert, analyse this PPT ON PRESENTATIONS!!

  2. Alok, Thanks for reading my post and sharing your feedback. I keenly follow your posts and slideshares and have learn a lot. Appreciate very the opportunity to provide feedback on your slides.  love your slides because  –

    a) They tell great stories b) Zen like simplicity c) Minimal use of text and maximum use of images ( love the use of full screen images ) d) They are in sync with your image ( thinker / doer , irreverent and whacky, entrepreneurial spirit..) e) The flow and structure is great. f) I believe Content is king and in this aspect, your slides are gems of wisdom. I always learn new things after reading your slides. 

    A few minor inputs if I may add. a) There are a few pictures of people taken indoors. Indoor photos usually look quite dull. A minor editing ( increase exposure, saturation ) would brighten up the pictures. b) I like Ariel fonts for their uncluttered appearance. But one of the things we try to active through a PPT is to make them distinct and reflect our style by being an extension of your personality. In that spirit, choice of another font which is a bit unique and probably blends with your style may be a good idea. I have found www.fontsquirrel.com to be a good resource.  c) The same goes with choice of colors. But this requires more effort and research. Choosing a color pallette that is an extension of your brand and is preferably distinct from commonly used colors would be great.

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