Product Description

Use these great ideas to help you make your point

Create PowerPoint presentations with Flash(r) movies, Excel(r) charts, and more

Okay, you've PowerPointed before, right? And you knew there must be more cool things you could do? Here they are! This handy guide gives you pointers on what makes a powerful presentation, tips on using the right formats and templates, and directions for dressing up text, wowing 'em with color, adding action, and much more.

Discover how to
* Tweak and streamline PowerPoint
* Get the most from color
* Avoid amateur mistakes
* Use shapes, fills, and 3D effects
* Add photos, soundtracks, and DVD video
* Deliver your presentation with punch

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #152317 in Books
• Published on: 2005-12-05
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 408 pages

From the Back Cover
Use these great ideas to help you make your point

Create PowerPoint presentations with Flash® movies, Excel® charts, and more

Okay, you've PowerPointed before, right? And you knew there must be more cool things you could do? Here they are! This handy guide gives you pointers on what makes a powerful presentation, tips on using the right formats and templates, and directions for dressing up text, wowing 'em with color, adding action, and much more.

Discover how to

• Tweak and streamline PowerPoint
• Get the most from color
• Avoid amateur mistakes
• Use shapes, fills, and 3D effects
• Add photos, soundtracks, and DVD video
• Deliver your presentation with punch

About the Author
Geetesh Bajaj is based in Hyderabad, India, and he got started with his first PowerPoint presentation around a decade ago. He has been working with PowerPoint ever since.
Geetesh believes that any presentation is a sum of its elements. Everything in a presentation can be broken down to this element level, and PowerPoint’s real power lies in its ability to act as glue for all such elements.
Geetesh contributes regularly to journals and Web sites, including Presentations magazine and the Microsoft.com Web site. He’s also a Microsoft PowerPoint MVP (Most Valuable Professional) and a regular on Microsoft’s PowerPoint newsgroups. It is from this newsgroup that many of the ideas and thoughts in this book were assimilated.
Geetesh’s own Web site at indezine.com has hundreds of pages on PowerPoint usage. It also has a blog, an e-zine, product reviews, free templates and interviews.
Geetesh welcomes comments and suggestions about his books. He can be reached at geetesh@geetesh.com.

Customer Reviews

A Great Investment
I use this book two ways.

Whenever I start a new presentation, I scan it for ideas on how to keep my presentations fresh. I particularly like the color plates in the middle of the book for guiding my color related design decisions, and the host of other design related tips.

Also, whenever I run into a technical problem that I can't easily resolve myself, I check the book and the answer is usually there.

Get the book, you won't be disappointed.

The PowerPoint Novel
Well, to start with this book does not have any dry or boring moments. It's a rollercoaster of PowerPoint info presented typically well in the Dummies style, and it's got lots of pepper and spice on the way to keep your PowerPoints looking awesome. In fact, even when the book is not with you in front of a computer, you'll still love reading it. I should know because I read it on a long airplane journey. And now when I'm not in front of the book, I still recollect the great advice when I'm doing my PowerPoints. It's like yes, this is what Bajaj said in the book! If you can read just one chapter, read the chapter on Color. That itself is worth the cost of this book.

What I Wish EVERY Presenter Knew!
So you've been doing PowerPoint for years now. So you've even done your own custom templates. Now it's time to take your PowerPoint game to the next level. Cutting Edge PowerPoint for Dummies was written by Geetesh Bajaj, a Microsoft PowerPoint MVP. That means that, while he doesn't actually work for Microsoft, he knows enough about PowerPoint that Microsoft tells people with questions to talk to him, and people like him. He's got the credentials to do this book.

And this isn't a basic PowerPoint book. Bajaj assumes that you know your way around the software, and that you've got a basic understanding of computers. You won't find any tips on formatting text here (try the other PowerPoint book I reviewed for the basics). What you will find are plenty of tips for spicing up your presentations.

One of the things I notice most often in PowerPoint presentations is that the people designing them have no concept of what color combinations look good. Bajaj discusses contrasting colors, and how to use color combinations to make text stand out and be easier to read. Color plates located in the center of the book help to emphasize his point. If more people would pay attention to this simple tip, PowerPoint presentations would be far less painful to view.

Bajaj then gives tips on enhancing presentations with the use of various forms of media -- video, audio, charts and diagrams, and animations including Flash -- in PowerPoint. He cautions the designer that overuse can be a bad thing, but shows how to make the best use of each of these features to create impressive PowerPoint slide shows.

Probably the most valuable part of the book is the CD-ROM that comes with it. Bajaj has included several programs that are designed to enhance PowerPoint, and are referred to in the book. My favorite so far has been SmartDraw 7, which I've used to create tables and charts that PowerPoint's included application couldn't do. You will also find all the examples that Bajaj uses in the book, including backgrounds, slide templates, and Flash animation samples. I've only just started to scratch the surface of what's on this CD, but PowerPoint power-users will find these resources invaluable.

There are a lot of people who need Cutting Edge PowerPoint for Dummies - we all know one or two. Unfortunately, some of them won't buy it for themselves. Be a good friend and buy it for them. They will thank you, and the people who have to sit through their presentations will really thank you.