Sunday, June 29, 2014

5 Better Alternatives to PowerPoint

Ok. If you’re banking on PowerPoint to back you up for your laser-controlled presentation, then you may have to realign your thinking. Drastically. There’s no need to put your audience to more of the same. No kidding.

Yes, no offense to PowerPoint and its makers. It certainly gave us its own version of a nifty and useful audience tool. For some time there. But increasingly, it has leaned towards the boring, almost like eggs for breakfast: predictable and commonplace.
As a presenter, you need not suffer the agony of watching most of your audience give you blank stares and a number of unscheduled yawns. You deserve better. The train of thought should be fluid, encountering less bumps, so to speak. Much like the ease of writing on an i-tablet using an iPad mini keyboard. Below are 5 apps that should fire up your presentation like never before:

1.Emaze

An Emaze presentation is quite simply, amazing. If you’re looking for out-of-this-world templates, this app could be your best bet. You could run something like it’s from a news article or pull out the likes of a brandishing new TV commercial. And more importantly, it’s easy for newbies to learn the ropes via a tutorial as the ins and outs of creating an honest-to-goodness jaw-dropping presentation is revealed. A feature many other programs fail to deliver.

Added to this, you can password protect your presentation so making it safe from unscrupulous hands. Also, you get to have the chance to invite other collaborators via email to sharpen your planned presentation. And when it’s all ready to roll, share it in your fave social media network, FB, Twitter to name a few.
2.Hakiu Deck
For its approach, it’s easy to conclude Hakiu Deck is the Instagram of presentations. This is very much evident in the ease by which any would-be presenter can insert needed text and pictures into the visual ensemble. And the UI for this app is going to blow you away. Truly easy to navigate. And get it on your handheld iPhone or use it over the PC. NP.

Once your presentation is set, you can make your new “deck” public, restricted or downright private. And share it over your fave social media (e.g., Google+, FB) or if you choose to produce an equivalent PDF file or a PowerPoint one for the traditionals. Because of its multi-faceted nature, Haiku is increasingly becoming the go-to app for ravishing presentations.

3. PowToon

If you don’t want to follow a common road and give an “out-of-the-box” presentation, PowToon may serve your purpose best.  In its essence, this app is a video animation software that adeptly enhances your creative juices bringing it to the fore. With PowToon you get to come out with animated videos that are oozing with excitement and interest - to the brim.

There’s no need to be techie about it. PowToon is easy to use it’s free as long as your videos last but 5 minutes. For a more sturdy, longer version you can get the app for a one-time yearly fee.

4. Prezi

Prezi is a prize catch. Especially if you want your presentation to be highly-engaging and most dynamic.Which should ring true for most of us.

What sets Prezi apart is its unique approach to presentation. Instead of the usual “creating slides” thing you get to have one single canvas that holds all your content. Once the browser is set to motion, the first item in your canvas gets zoomed into and displayed. Then on to the next. 

No need to worry about a complex operation though. Though Prezi sounds off-beat its definitely a one-two punch for not-so-tech-savvy users. With this app,  you get attention-grabbing presentation for free with 100MB storage. A few dollars and you get extra storage plus the chance to make your presentation private.
5. Knovio

This one may well be on top of this list. Not only is this program easy-to-use, you get to breathe life into your presentations with the addition of audio and video. In fact, this can be used to elevate your usual PowerPoint slides and turn them into mighty packs of energy that will touch your audience like no other - whether in business or for personal use. And if you want to, get to share the good news via social media or e-mail. Just like that.

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