The recent 8 month series called The Evolution of Diet in National Geographic issues from May, June, July inspired me to design (ok, steal) a new Keynote theme.
Read MoreTurning Research into Slides - Proof of Concept Design and Video Presentation
I've decided to put my presentation design skills to good use by reviewing research articles and creating slides to explain them. Not only did I design the theme, review the article, and design the slides, but just this once I'm including a video of me presenting the information along with the slide presentation. Let me know what you think of the design and the video.
Read MorePro Keyboard Shortcuts in Apple Keynote
A few days ago I was priveleged to hear Neil deGrasse Tyson speak to a sold-out crowd in Portland, Oregon. At one point, a Microsoft employee sitting next to me chuckled, because Neil was struggling with his computer. I watched for a moment, and then I had to chuckle to myself – the Microsoft employee didn't have a clue what was going on!
Dr. Tyson used some little known keyboard shortcuts that made his presentation even more magical than usual.
Read MoreSurviving in a PowerPoint Classroom
Most of the posts here on Brainslides are directed towards teachers who want to improve their slide design and presentation skills, but today I've decided to focus on the other half of the equation. Here are a few tips for those of us who aren't yet desperate enough to throw tomatoes at the projector screen but still want to make the most of our time in the lecture hall.
Read MoreVideo Episode 5: Designing Slides for Cognitive Load
Here's a real world example of a chart adapted to a slide and how some simple changes make the chart more readable and easier to understand.
This video is also available via a free subscription to the Brainslides Video Podcast in iTunes.
Video Episode 4: Improve Images with Alpha Selection
Images can be a great visual aid. But when you're using a black or gradient slide background and the image is surrounded by a white square it can look tacky. Here's how to use a tool in Keynote to selectively remove the background of an image to make it really fit the slide design.
This video is also available via a free subscription to the Brainslides Video Podcast in iTunes.
Video Episode 3: Drop Images for Full Bleed
Adding images to Keynote couldn't be easier than this – I'll show you how to insert a set of images so that each fills the screen on a separate slide.
This video is also available via a free subscription to the Brainslides Video Podcast in iTunes.
Video Episode 1: Get Better Quality Images From Google
You've probably seen countless presentations with grainy, pixelated images. That's because the presenter uses an image with a low resolution – a common mistake when pulling images from Google. Here's how you ensure that the image you download is the highest quality possible for your presentation.