Chapter 11. iPad only
The 7 Steps
Chapter 8. Use Some Media
Alexander gets his sword
I Love Children
Having children has been a dream for me, I think because I had such a happy childhood myself. I’ve been very lucky because I’ve been able to look after 5 children, 2 my own & 3 as step & adopted dad. I would say the directly related tend to share similar characteristics more than the non-related. Exactly why this is, I’m not sure.
They Get It
One thing about children is they want things & when they want something they go after it ruthlessly until they get it. Something you perhaps forget when you’re an adult. Another thing about children is they learn fast, adapt & through learning they get to know their audience very well. That audience of course is you.
They Learn Presenting
They also learn at school about making & giving presentations. Combining knowing you & knowing about presentations means they know how to get something from you. This is a great lesson in presenting. If my son, Alexander wants something from me badly enough, he will make a presentation & present it to me live or even over the phone.
Have A Point
The way he does it is also a great lesson for presenters. He plans it meticulously with his younger cousin as backup. He’s the driver but he does brainstorm a bit with her. He knows exactly what the point of his presentation is. Only after writing & planning does he make the presentation using Apple Keynote on his MacBook. His slides are simple, easy to read & make his point perfectly.
100% Success Rate
He answers all my complaints in the presentation & he presents it quickly & with great enthusiasm so that by the end there is (almost) no way I can say no. So far he is 3 for 0. He has succeeded 3 times in getting me to buy the toy or game that he wants. It’s a great reminder that a presentation should have a point, a goal, & is successful if it gets the result it sets out for.
Use A Photo
Speak 1,000 words
As the cliche goes, a picture is worth a 1,000 words & this is probably true. Just follow the same rules as for everything else in your presentation. Keep it simple, upbeat & to the point, so it follows the overall theme of your presentation. It’s a great way for you to show things in your world that the audience wouldn’t otherwise get to see.
Make Full Screen
Make sure your photo fills the whole screen. This is another one of the less great things you see in other people’s presentations, small photos which are going to be difficult for your audience to see. Or worse lots of photos on one slide. Make yours a single photo that fills the whole screen so it’s easy to see & to understand & has no border.
Words Over Top
One reason you might be not be using the full screen is you want to put text on your slide together with the photo. You can do this when using a full screen photo by fading the photo into the background & then putting the text over the top. You can do this by changing the brightness. Put the photo up first & then copy the slide fade the picture & add the text.
Use Your Own
Take lots of your own photos. It’s much better to use your own photos in your presentation because it’s more authentic & it’s much easier to show exactly what you want to make your point because you have control, Like anything, the more photos you take the better you will get. Learn a few simple techniques by searching online. There’s great equipment today which will help you take great photos.
Ask Other People
Of course you can use other people’s photos. One way is to ask if anyone has any good photos. People in your company will often take photos & may consider they are quite good at it. If you ask to use them nicely they’ll probably be delighted as long as you credit them. You can also organize a photo competition & then use the best entries in your presentation.
Use A Video
Video Adds Movement
A major part of presenting is getting attention. One way to get more attention visually is by adding movement. If a picture says a 1,000 words, a video says 10,000 & gets much more attention, so add a video. Today you can see video everywhere. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & Snapchat are majority video now. Add video to every presentation you give.
Make Your Own
Just like photos, make your own videos. With a modern smartphone this has become so easy. Make videos wherever you go, especially if it’s related to your subject. Even if it’s not, related, just like photos volume is the key, the more videos you make, the better you will get at it. Share your videos socially so you know what others think of them, see what works.
Or Use YouTube
Another place to get video which you can freely use in your presentations is YouTube. There’s billions of video content there so you can find something to perfectly match with your subject. Like a speech someone gave which is relevant or a great quote. You can use clips from films or TV shows, anything which helps to get your point across.
Screen Shot Video
Something which has happened recently & can really help you with your presentations if you use iPhone or iPad is you can now record what’s on the screen. That means you can add things like a how to video into your presentation. For example how to make a calculation on your topic. You can record making it yourself on the device to show others via a video in your presentation.
Google Earth Video
One great screen video is with Google Earth. Depending on where you are based, Google Earth has some amazing 3D & 4D graphics. You can fly on Google Earth to your factory, office, shop, farm, record the screen on your iPad & add this as a video in your presentation. You can virtually take your audience to where you work & they’ll love it.
Media Making Tools
iPhone & iPad
Here’s some ideas for tools to help you to make the best media for your presentations. For me it all starts with an iPhone & iPad. If you don’t use them, sorry but you should. You can make all the media for your presentation right on these two devices with all the apps available, without ever needing anything else.
Google Snapseed App
To give a very professional look to your photos there’s a great app which is owned by Google called Snapseed. You can use this app to edit your photos. It can be used for simple things like adding lighting, or more sophisticated blurring & techniques to add drama & make the photo jump out & be more attractive.
Diptic Photo App
Another great app you can use is Diptic. This app enables you to make a collages of photos but as I recommend you use single photos, this app can help you to make your photos full screen. In it you can resize the photos to match perfectly with the size of an iPad presentation slide so that when you add the photo, it perfectly fills the screen.
Apple’s Own iMovie
For videos, Apple’s own app iMovie is perfect. To make an iMovie. Film some clips, create a new movie & add all the clips, then edit them to make the video you want. Edit it down to less than a minute for a presentation. You can also add a voice over using this app & music.
Quickly Add Music
Watching a silent movie is not interesting, always add music. This is easy if you are using an iPhone or iPad because all your music is there & an app like Apple Music gives you all the music you want. As your presentation will not be public, use any upbeat song you want. I always use EDM.
I Love Children
Having children has been a dream for me, I think because I had such a happy childhood myself. I’ve been very lucky because I’ve been able to look after 5 children, 2 my own & 3 as step & adopted dad. I would say the directly related tend to share similar characteristics more than the non-related. Exactly why this is, I’m not sure.
They Get It
One thing about children is they want things & when they want something they go after it ruthlessly until they get it. Something you perhaps forget when you’re an adult. Another thing about children is they learn fast, adapt & through learning they get to know their audience very well. That audience of course is you.
They Learn Presenting
They also learn at school about making & giving presentations. Combining knowing you & knowing about presentations means they know how to get something from you. This is a great lesson in presenting. If my son, Alexander wants something from me badly enough, he will make a presentation & present it to me live or even over the phone.
Have A Point
The way he does it is also a great lesson for presenters. He plans it meticulously with his younger cousin as backup. He’s the driver but he does brainstorm a bit with her. He knows exactly what the point of his presentation is. Only after writing & planning does he make the presentation using Apple Keynote on his MacBook. His slides are simple, easy to read & make his point perfectly.
100% Success Rate
He answers all my complaints in the presentation & he presents it quickly & with great enthusiasm so that by the end there is (almost) no way I can say no. So far he is 3 for 0. He has succeeded 3 times in getting me to buy the toy or game that he wants. It’s a great reminder that a presentation should have a point, a goal, & is successful if it gets the result it sets out for.
Use A Photo
Speak 1,000 words
As the cliche goes, a picture is worth a 1,000 words & this is probably true. Just follow the same rules as for everything else in your presentation. Keep it simple, upbeat & to the point, so it follows the overall theme of your presentation. It’s a great way for you to show things in your world that the audience wouldn’t otherwise get to see.
Make Full Screen
Make sure your photo fills the whole screen. This is another one of the less great things you see in other people’s presentations, small photos which are going to be difficult for your audience to see. Or worse lots of photos on one slide. Make yours a single photo that fills the whole screen so it’s easy to see & to understand & has no border.
Words Over Top
One reason you might be not be using the full screen is you want to put text on your slide together with the photo. You can do this when using a full screen photo by fading the photo into the background & then putting the text over the top. You can do this by changing the brightness. Put the photo up first & then copy the slide fade the picture & add the text.
Use Your Own
Take lots of your own photos. It’s much better to use your own photos in your presentation because it’s more authentic & it’s much easier to show exactly what you want to make your point because you have control, Like anything, the more photos you take the better you will get. Learn a few simple techniques by searching online. There’s great equipment today which will help you take great photos.
Ask Other People
Of course you can use other people’s photos. One way is to ask if anyone has any good photos. People in your company will often take photos & may consider they are quite good at it. If you ask to use them nicely they’ll probably be delighted as long as you credit them. You can also organize a photo competition & then use the best entries in your presentation.
Use A Video
Video Adds Movement
A major part of presenting is getting attention. One way to get more attention visually is by adding movement. If a picture says a 1,000 words, a video says 10,000 & gets much more attention, so add a video. Today you can see video everywhere. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & Snapchat are majority video now. Add video to every presentation you give.
Make Your Own
Just like photos, make your own videos. With a modern smartphone this has become so easy. Make videos wherever you go, especially if it’s related to your subject. Even if it’s not, related, just like photos volume is the key, the more videos you make, the better you will get at it. Share your videos socially so you know what others think of them, see what works.
Or Use YouTube
Another place to get video which you can freely use in your presentations is YouTube. There’s billions of video content there so you can find something to perfectly match with your subject. Like a speech someone gave which is relevant or a great quote. You can use clips from films or TV shows, anything which helps to get your point across.
Screen Shot Video
Something which has happened recently & can really help you with your presentations if you use iPhone or iPad is you can now record what’s on the screen. That means you can add things like a how to video into your presentation. For example how to make a calculation on your topic. You can record making it yourself on the device to show others via a video in your presentation.
Google Earth Video
One great screen video is with Google Earth. Depending on where you are based, Google Earth has some amazing 3D & 4D graphics. You can fly on Google Earth to your factory, office, shop, farm, record the screen on your iPad & add this as a video in your presentation. You can virtually take your audience to where you work & they’ll love it.
Media Making Tools
iPhone & iPad
Here’s some ideas for tools to help you to make the best media for your presentations. For me it all starts with an iPhone & iPad. If you don’t use them, sorry but you should. You can make all the media for your presentation right on these two devices with all the apps available, without ever needing anything else.
Google Snapseed App
To give a very professional look to your photos there’s a great app which is owned by Google called Snapseed. You can use this app to edit your photos. It can be used for simple things like adding lighting, or more sophisticated blurring & techniques to add drama & make the photo jump out & be more attractive.
Diptic Photo App
Another great app you can use is Diptic. This app enables you to make a collages of photos but as I recommend you use single photos, this app can help you to make your photos full screen. In it you can resize the photos to match perfectly with the size of an iPad presentation slide so that when you add the photo, it perfectly fills the screen.
Apple’s Own iMovie
For videos, Apple’s own app iMovie is perfect. To make an iMovie. Film some clips, create a new movie & add all the clips, then edit them to make the video you want. Edit it down to less than a minute for a presentation. You can also add a voice over using this app & music.
Quickly Add Music
Watching a silent movie is not interesting, always add music. This is easy if you are using an iPhone or iPad because all your music is there & an app like Apple Music gives you all the music you want. As your presentation will not be public, use any upbeat song you want. I always use EDM.