Over the last several posts, I have talked about the key to successful business presentations, why you should use visuals in your presentations, and how to choose presentation software. If you are one of the many that use PowerPoint, using SmartDraw with PowerPoint is incredibly simple and absolutely essential. PowerPoint is often expressed as a standard for business presentation, but does not easily lend itself to creating dynamic and engaging presentations. SmartDraw has a PowerPoint builder, which will help you create your presentations using a storyboard format. With a storyboard, you will easily see how your presentation will flow and with SmartDraw you will easily be able to create the needed visuals to tell your story. Of course, before you get started with a storyboard for your presentation, I recommend summarizing all your contact and consolidating your research using a mind map.
Creating Your Presentation Storyboard
After you have done all the required research for your presentation, you are ready to start building your presentation. Every presentation you give should tell a story that centers on fulfilling your primary purpose for giving the presentation. This means that the structure and sequencing of your main points is important. Storyboards are typically panels of rough sketches that outline the sequence of information presented. In SmartDraw, the storyboard is represented by a series of shapes connected by arrows. The top area of each shape is the title and the bottom area is typically the visual that will short below the title on the PowerPoint slide.
When you open the PowerPoint builder in SmartDraw, SmartDraw helps you get started by providing some common default slides. You can add the title to your presentation by clicking the top area of the slide and typing it in.
To edit a visual already there, double click on the visual. When you double click on the visual, a new instance of SmartDraw opens. Here you can edit the visual however you wish. When you are done, just close the instance of SmartDraw and return to your storyboard.
Adding and Editing Visuals
To add new slides and visuals, just use the appropriate buttons on the SmartPanel located to the left of the Work Area.To add new slides and visuals, just use the appropriate buttons on the SmartPanel located to the left of the Work Area. The new slides will not have visuals already included, so you can use the SmartPanel to add a new visual, existing visual, or a picture located on your computer.
At any time, you can delete any of the slides and you can drag the slides to a new and different order.
I've just provided some tips on getting started, but for more detailed information, click here for a more detailed tutorial. Also, check out the video we have created below:
Related posts:
The Key to Effective Business Presentations
Upgrade Your Presentations to Visual Presentations
How to Choose the Right Presentation Software
