For Adobe’s newborn Online Presentations on Acrobat.com Labs, a lot of details could be read thru Digital Inspiration’s first look: “Adobe Introduces Acrobat.com Presentations – Create Impressive Slides Online“. I’m definitely late for this big mashup from Adobe. But when I found out the truth on the experimental product, “oh my god”, it was not what I expect.

No connection to Microsoft PowerPoint slides just makes it a Flash-based slide designer toy. No sounds, no transitions, but Flash Video embedded? It’s immature. All the competitors from Google Docs, Zoho Show to ThinkFree have their right concept for users. I can’t believe that it’s our brother Adobe’s homework…

Last point, this toolkit just let you export slides as PDF? Oh, okay, it’s all about Acrobat. We know that now. More and more brilliant ideas are coming from our great Adobe Labs, but how about any serious evolution later?

Presentation Veteran
William Peterson

There is a famous PowerPoint called death by PowerPoint spread widely on the website. In this presentation, the author indicates that people do 30 presentations everyday but 50% of them are unbearable. Another data shows that in January 2008 alone, nearly 79 million users had made over 3 billion video views on YouTube, compared with PowerPoint presentation, video is easier for sharing and delivering. When searching news or information, we disposed to accept the videos because it is very concrete. But when we want to show our opinions we usually make a PowerPoint presentation because it is easier than making a video.

There are 5 ways for you to convert your PowerPoint to video.

1. Using Wondershare PPT to Video to convert PowerPoint to video with animations, transitions, sounds, video clips retained in the output.
2. Using windows movie maker to create a PowerPoint video if there are no dynamic elements in your computer.
3. Log in the slideshare.com and create a PowerPoint video online.
4. Using some screen recorder such as Camtasia to record your PowerPoint.
5. Make QuickTime movie on Mac.

Now there are the details of these 5 methods.

Part 1, using Wondershare PPT to Video to convert PowerPoint to video.

Wondershare PPT to Video can convert your PowerPoint presentations to WMV, MPEG, AVI, MP4, MOV and 3GP format. After the conversion, you can upload your PowerPoint to website like YouTube, your blog, Google video. You can also view your PowerPoint on iPhone, iPod, mobile phone and so on.

Follow the steps to convert your PowerPoint to video with Wondershare PPT to Video
Step 1, download PPT to Video and install it on your computer.
Step 2, launch the program, import your presentation to the program, (you can import 12 presentations at a time). Select the right format you need and start the conversion process.

Step 3, upload your presentations to the website or put it to your mobile sets.

Part 2, using Windows Movie Maker to create a PowerPoint video.

If you use Windows XP or vista, it’s free and it comes installed on your computer, if you don’t have this program, you can download it from Microsoft.com. If your presentation is created with text and pictures, Windows Movie Maker is the best choice for you.

Step 1, save your to PNG or JPG format. Just click the office button, save as, other formats, in the save as type drop-box, select PNG or JPG format.

Step 2, import pictures into Windows Movie Maker.
Step 3, select all the imported images and add them to Storyboard.

Step 4, add video effects to the slides if you want to make your video more lively.

Step 5, save the slide show as movie file.

The sounds, animations and transitions original in the PowerPoint will be lost totally. Maybe you need more information for learning how to use Windows Movie Maker, here is a nice guide for you. http://presentationsoft.about.com/od/moviemaker/a/mov_mak_beg.htm

Part 3, create a PowerPoint video online in sildeshare.net

Slideshare.net is a famous presentation sharing website. You can upload your presentation on this site then start the conversion process, after this, download your video to your computer. This is the easiest way to create a PowerPoint video, but you cannot add animations or sound in your PowerPoint.

Part 4, using Comtasia to record you presentation and create a PowerPoint video

Download Comtasia from http://www.techsmith.com and install it on your computer then follow the steps.

Step 1, save your PPT file as PPS file
Step 2, Set Camtasia studio to record the whole screen
Step 3, Play your PowerPoint PPS file and Press “F9″ to start recording the screen
Step 4, when you reach your last blank slide, Press F10 to tell Camtasia Recorder to stop recording. You will be prompted to save the captured slideshow, so choose a directory and enter a filename.
Step 5, save your capture in AVI format

Part 5, Make QuickTime movie on Mac

In PowerPoint, export your presentation as a QuickTime movie “PowerPoint Movie”, click File > Make movie. You can save your PowerPoint file to MOV file. The output is similar with Slideshare. It cannot retain the sounds and animations original in your presentations.
If you are using keynote, just export your presentation to QuickTime file directly.

Advantages and disadvantages:
If you want to retain the dynamic elements, without a doubt, PPT to Video is your choice. Windows Movie Maker and Slideshare.com can be conceded for those people who want to convert the presentation only include text and images in. Camtasia can record the screen and sound when your play your PowerPoint, but it is pay software and the price is $299.95. For Mac users, you can use the third and fifth method, I don’t know if there are some other programs which can convert PowerPoint to video with animations and sounds.

Internet gives us a convenient platform to share our knowledge world widely, and video has become more and more pop in the internet. I hope you can use these methods for sharing your presentation easily.

Rolling back to a year ago, right here I alleged that “Why Not Add YouTube Flash Video in Your Next PowerPoint Presentation“, as well as something more about rich media in presentation topics, such as “Best Practices for Playing and Controlling More in PowerPoint Presentations” or “Make Your Live Homepage in PowerPoint Slides. Maybe my old tips of YouTube video on PowerPoint is kinda obsolete now, and luckily Microsoft PowerPoint Team released its own illustrated tutorial on a blog post “How to insert that funny clip you found online“. Yeah, not late to learn more about this, as video sharing is still hot on the air.

Certainly the core technologies on this is simple, if you know Developer tab and Controls in PowerPoint. Something new I got, is now we can embed and play 720p HD (High Definition) YouTube video. It’s still easy to catch up: add “&ap=%2526fmt%3D22” at the end of the URL of the video file, making it look like “http://www.youtube.com/v/zlfKdbWwruY&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&ap=%2526fmt%3D22″. Enjoy our video sharing in every presentation!

William Peterson
Presentation Veteran

How many times have you seen terrible PowerPoint presentations that use those horrible fly-in animations along with the unbearable screeching tires sound effect? That’s not a presentation—that’s a disaster….

Highly recommended for any PowerPoint users. The author Aaron Stannard is community outreach manager at SmartDraw, the world’s most popular business graphics software. But this article is not a product promotion for their smart PowerPoint integration with fantastic graphics. He indicated that, the systematic misuse of PowerPoint’s capabilities caused that well-known “Death by PowerPoint” syndrome around the world. And using PowerPoint animation wisely could make presenters out of trouble.

• Animation lets you present your ideas in a logical sequence, when done correctly.

• Animation helps your audience relate to an idea by focusing their attention on one point of order at a time.

• Animation builds up to your punch lines.

We’re making a public show for our business advancement, so we shouldn’t make business presentation boring anyway. That’s my idea.

William Peterson
Presentation Veteran

Among those leaked Office 14 “alpha” screenshots and new feature rumors, I can’t find too much information about our PowerPoint baby. So how will Microsoft treat the leading presentation software in the world? Frankly speaking, Microsoft’s PowerPoint has changed little over the years, while competitor Apple’s Keynote coming with more improvements like “cinematic transitions”.

Right, SmartArt in PowerPoint 2007 is just sort of luxury accessories for a presentation. Microsoft should focus more classic elements like transitions, animations, since the ribbon and SmartArt are already well done. Hopefully Microsoft is working on kinda this, so no news about PowerPoint 14 yet.

The selection of presentation software is important, because we can easily tell the difference between PowerPoint and Keynote presentations. Intriguingly Microsoft shows a little interest in Web apps recently, and we can see these Web PowerPoint fantasies from last PDC weeks ago. Get all elements done in online editing of Web PowerPoint, better than those free services online to reveal your power, okay? This is my another request on our estimated PowerPoint 14 to Microsoft.

William Peterson
Presentation Veteran

As I introduced before about Microsoft Certified PowerPoint Most Valuable Professionals (refer to my previous post Know Those PowerPoint MVPs to Help Yourself), who are really great PowerPoint professors and active contributors on presentation skills, the official Microsoft PowerPoint Team finally wrote something more (more than I knew at least) about those PowerPoint MVPs on its PowerPoint Team Blog.

PowerPoint’s Most Valued Professionals…

So how about PowerPoint’s MVPs?

PowerPoint’s MVPs are a great group, excellent folks who represent a diverse set of specialties and talents with the PowerPoint product. We have world-class designers, design consultants, writers, programmers, and some amazing feature hackers. A terrific, talented, and generous group of folks you really should get to know better.

Where Do Most Valuable Professionals Hang Out?

Sadly I’m not a PowerPoint MVP like them, because I’m not an active community member, and am totally a businessman. However, I appreciate Microsoft’s MVP program to reward these real helpers, for everyone.

William Peterson
Presentation Veteran

I’m not a skilled Microsoft Project user, but I suddenly found this old add-in for Project 2003 terribly useful here. Basically, the installation drops a new toolbar within Project with a button labeled “Create Report Presentation…” and it allows you to select which milestones to show as well as which fields to include. Magically, now you get an auto-generated PowerPoint presentation with a slide dedicated to the project tasks. Maybe it’s a little out to use Office 2003, but I can’t find such good add-in with Office 2007. Whatever, it’s not bad trying this for just project leaders.

The Project Report Presentation Add-in for Microsoft Office Project 2003 helps a user to quickly and easily create a Microsoft Office PowerPoint presentation containing user-selected task information from Microsoft Office Project.

Download Office 2003 Add-in: Project Report Presentation Here > >

William Peterson
Presentation Veteran

1. Export as a Series of Pictures to iPhoto on Mac
As Microsoft announced Microsoft PowerPoint 2008 for Mac last year, getting presentations from Mac to iPhone is relatively easy. PowerPoint exports your presentation as a series of pictures directly to iPhoto, or saves those same slide images as pictures to your Pictures folder. From there, sync pictures to your iPhone through iTunes as usual, then use the built-in Photos or slide show program on your iPhone to show your presentation.

It’s really easy to go and try this way. However, the presentation on iPhone becomes kinda picture slideshow, not with all animations along.

2. Convert as Supported MPEG-4 Video Formats
Since iPhone support MPEG-4 video in .mp4, .m4v, .mov formats, some software vendor offers the idea of presentation to video conversion. You can just convert your PowerPoint presentations to MPEG-4 video first, then import or sync the video to iPhone with iTunes.

This method sounds reasonable, and all animations are here. But please see, video presentation is not slideshow anymore, because you can’t control them easily slide by slide. Right?

3. Remote Control PowerPoint from Computers
So some iPhone application developers find this way to connect PowerPoint with computer via Wi-Fi network. Then you can remote control your PowerPoint presentations wirelessly from your iPhone, with a realtime view of your slides. Show your slides on your PC and use your iPhone or iPod Touch as a clicker.

I haven’t tried this app yet, but the idea seems not bad. If everything goes fine in presentation, that’s the best way so far, if you have a reliable Wi-Fi connection on your iPhone.

William Peterson
Presentation Veteran

Five Tips for Creating a Stand-Out Sales Presentation

Looking to create that perfect eye-catching sales presentation to lock in some last-minute Q4 sales? The you had better rethink your strategy and take your presentation to the virtual scale.

1. Show, rather than tell.
2. Ditch your static slide presentations.
3. Go virtual.
4. Survey says?
5. Know when to stop.

Read full article at:
http://www.presentations.com/msg/content_display/presentations/e3i54e0d1d9416e8c7fbf73d212d777bd11

William Peterson
Presentation Veteran

I agree that PowerPoint is the best ever presentation tool for desktop authoring. And I guess everyone is considering the inevitable threats from so many Web apps for presentation. PowerPoint is experiencing a midlife crisis as everyone does, but we still like it, don’t we?

William Peterson
Presentation Veteran