Wowing Your Audience with Prezi
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This is an overview of steps required to plan a Prezi presentation rather than PowerPoint. This is a handout for a progression topic at the Technical Communication Summit (#stc14)
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Wowing Your Audience with Prezi
- 1. WowingYour Audience with Prezi Presentations? ?? 1 Technical communicators are often called upon to develop presentations for managers and executives. Increasingly, technical communicators are called on themselves to give presentations within the workplace, to external clients, and at conferences. Presentations can be an effective way to deliver complex information or tell a persuasive story. For example, you may find yourself in the position of convincing an executive to purchase an expensive content management system or reminding your boss how many different ways you add value to the company during your annual review. Telling your audience a convincing story is difficult enough without the handi- cap of static, text-filled slides, and audiences have long suffered through endless PowerPoint slide decks. Once you discover Prezi¡¯s ability to add meaning through proximity and visualize relationships through movement, you will never deliver another PowerPoint. GETTING A PREZI ACCOUNT Unlike PowerPoint or Keynote, Prezi is a subscription, cloud-based service. Prezi offers several account levels to help you balance features and price: ? Free. Allows you to create presentations for free, but they¡¯re visible to the public and they include the Prezi watermark in the corner. The feature set is limited. ? Enjoy. For $60 per year, you can manage privacy and sharing, remove the Prezi watermark or replace it with your own. ? Pro. For $160 per year, you can edit presentations offline using the Prezi desktop application and use advanced image editing features. ? Teams. The cost depends upon the number of users and gives you access to custom-branded themes and training. If you give a lot of presentations, go for the Pro account. Pro gives you access to the Prezi desktop application, which includes a presenter mode that allows you to view the presenter tools on your monitor rather than the projector, upcoming slides, and a timer. You can try the Pro account free for 30 days. If you are a teacher or a student, you can get an Enjoy account for free. Simply register using your .edu email address. You can find more information online at www.prezi.com. WOWING YOUR AUDIENCE WITH PREZI PRESENTATIONS MICHAEL R. OPSTEEGH @STUBBORNLYWRITE 2014 TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION SUMMIT PHOENIX, ARIZONA
- 2. 2? ??WowingYour Audience with Prezi Presentations UNDERSTANDING PREZI IS NOT POWERPOINT Old habits die hard, and PowerPoint has conditioned you to accept lousy presentation designs. Don¡¯t fall into the rut of displaying text and bullet points in a Prezi. Prezi differs from PowerPoint in a number of ways: ? Zooms and pans across a canvas rather than flipping through individual slides ? Uses proximity to add mean- ing and demonstrate tangential relationships ? Lends itself to progressive disclo- sure. ? Combines text and graphics in an intuitive and entertaining way ? Runs within your web browser and is Flash based ? Allows you to collaborate with other contributors in real time DEVELOPING A SUCCESSFUL PREZI Developing a Prezi follows some the same general guidelines as develop- ing any presentation. Before designing your Prezi, you should complete these steps: ? Script your story. You can always reorganize it, but develop the details of your narrative. ? Decide on what metaphors and analogies you want to use to tell your story. ? Use those metaphors to influence the theme of your design. Deter- mine how your background and foreground images will support your theme. ? Sketch out your canvas on a piece of paper. Include the background and foreground elements and the direction you want to pan. Sketch out several unique ver- sions; your first idea isn¡¯t always your best. Use the space on your canvas set apart new ideas, keep related ideas near each other, and lead your audience to the destina- tion. ? Think creatively. CREATING AND SOURCING GRAPHICS You don¡¯t have to be a design wiz to develop great Prezi¡¯s. Follow the prin- ciples in Robin Williams¡¯ The Non-De- signer¡¯s Design Book. You have options when it comes to graphics: ? Design your own. Use your Illus- trator skills to design an awesome background for your canvas and unique foreground illustrations. ? Find royalty-free or paid photos and illustrations. Flickr is a great tool for finding photos licensed under Creative Commons. ? Use Prezi¡¯s built in templates, symbols, and shapes. This is the best option for new Prezi users and users who don¡¯t have time or strong design skills. ZOOMING AND PANNING You have the power and flexibility guide your audience across the canvas and tell your story. ? Use small pans for related ideas. ? Use large pans for new ideas. ? Zoom in gradually to reveal ad- ditional details. ? Zoom out gradually to reveal relationships and context. ? Pace your zooms and pans so you don¡¯t make your audience sea sick.