Think about the last time you sat through someone else's PowerPoint presentation. Where was most of your attention:on the slides or the speaker? Except in the rare case of extreme charisma, I'm willing to bet you looked at the slides more.
And if that's true of you, then it's true of the audience every time you present your own presentation. Slides are inherently interesting, especially when you stick to these tips for an impressive PowerPoint presentation. 5 Powerpoint Tips To Improve Your Late Night Presentation Skills 5 Powerpoint Tips To Improve Your Late Night Presentation Skills You make it to the podium. Your palms are sweaty, your heart is racing, and just when you're about to open your mouth and speak, your mind goes blank. Need help? Read more.
So here's a trick you can use:press the B key.
In this case, B means blackout, and this shortcut turns your presentation into a blank black screen. Doing this will immediately shift your audience's attention to you. When you want to show your next slide, press B again to disable blackout.
If you prefer white to black, press the W key (which of course means white). It is the same concept. Hit W again to turn it off again.
This trick definitely works in both PowerPoint and Keynote, but it also works in many of the alternatives to PowerPoint and Keynote Presentations Evolved:4 Alternatives to PowerPoint and Keynote Compared Presentations Evolved:4 Alternatives to PowerPoint and Keynote Compared Although you can create really effective presentations with PowerPoint and Keynote, these apps are passé (not to mention relatively expensive), and it's time to try something new. Here are four refreshing alternatives. Read more . The shortcut key may not be exactly the same, but the functionality is pretty universal.
Have you ever used the blackout (or white) feature during a presentation? Do you think it is really useful or not? Let us know by dropping a comment below!
