PowerPoint 2013 gives you lots of ways to enhance or even change the way you deliver
your presentation.
How do you reach a viewer, for example, who isn't there with you?
How about hundreds of viewers, scattered across the country?
That's where I find myself today - getting ready to present my slide show live on the
Web, so viewers can watch it remotely.
It's easy.
All you and your viewers need is an internet connection.
Just go to the Slide Show tab, choose Present Online... and a dialogue box will appear - click
Connect.
And now PowerPoint is preparing your online presentation.
This step can take a couple minutes depending on your internet connection.
The result is a link.
You can copy this link or send it to your viewers in an email.
When they click the link, a new window will open to display your presentation.
Once you're ready to begin, click Start Presentation, then just give your presentation like you
normally would.
Your viewers will have the same view of the slides that you do, so they'll be able to
follow along as you advance the slides, just as if they were there with you.
In our experience, this feature may not always work correctly the first time.
To make sure there aren't any surprises the day of your presentation, you may want to
test it out with a friend or co-worker first.
Also, be aware that you can't use PowerPoint to speak to your audience while presenting
online.
You'll need to pre-record your narration, or (even better) plan to communicate on something
like a conference call.
Let's skip ahead to the end of the slide show.
When you're finished giving your presentation, all you have to do is press Esc on your keyboard.
Then click the button here to End the Online Presentation, which will disconnect any remote
viewers who are still using the link.
An alternative to presenting online is to save your slide show as a video, so viewers
can watch it any time.
These videos can be shared online, in an email, or even burned to a DVD.
Everything you need can be found in the Backstage view... under Export, and then Create a Video.
Start by clicking the drop-down arrow here to select the size and quality for your video.
When making your selection, consider what you'll be doing with your presentation.
If you plan on attaching it in an email, for example, the large file size of an HD video
may be too big to send - in this case, consider choosing a setting with a smaller file size.
Then decide if you want to use recorded timings and narrations - This will help make your
presentation appear more polished.
If you don't want to use recorded timings, you'll want to set the amount of time the
video should spend on each slide here.
When you're ready, click Create Video, and then save.
You can keep an eye on your progress using the status bar at the bottom of the screen.
When the bar is completely filled, your video is ready to view, send, or upload.
One of the last things I'd like to show you is how to tailor your presentation to different
audiences.
I'll do that by going to the Slide Show tab to create a Custom Slide Show.
This feature comes in handy if you have to give your presentation to more than one group.
Creating different versions can help you adapt to things like having less time to present,
or each group having different needs or expectations.
Just click Custom Shows, then New to create one for the first time.
Give the show a name - for example, "Short Version."
Then identify the slides you want to include in your custom show by selecting them... and
adding them to the list on the right.
I'm just going to add a couple more.
You can even change the order of the slides using the arrows here.
When you're done, you can choose Show to view your custom show right away, or Close to exit.
From videos, to presenting live...
PowerPoint gives you many ways to share your presentation, and meet the needs of your audience
- including the viewers at home.