Making an Image Transparent In PowerPoint

As I was preparing for an upcoming workshop on PowerPoint, I wanted to show people how to make thier own custom background using the Slide Master. What I wanted to do was show them how to take an image an make it semi transparent so I could use it as a watermark. In the past I would just do this in Photoshop, but many in my audience do not have access to Photoshop, and plus I wanted to keep this workshop strickly PowerPoint oriented. Since I can do many things with an image in PowerPoint now, I figured making it transparent should be a breeze, but as I soon found out there is not. Well there is a way, but it is a very easy cheat and it is as symple as inserting a shape box (retangle box).

The cheat: Well after some playing around I found a way. It was quite simple actually and I also could add a blur and adjust it so it would make the perfect watermark. Check out the tutorial video here. 

Getting to Know the Slide Master in PowerPoint

At a recent conference I had polled my audience with audience response pads (see the previous post) and I had asked them what their comfort level was with using the Slide Master within PowerPoint. Only a few people knew what they did and the majority had no idea. So I thought to myself that this was a perfect idea for a tutorial.

Why should you learn how to use the Slide Master? Have you ever wanted to freshen up an exisitng presentation? Maybe you want to add a logo that appears on every slide or change the fonts throughout a presentation. Then the easiest way to accomplish this is to use the Slide Master within PowerPoint. This short tutorial will help you understand the basics and get you started. Please enjoy responsibly. Check it out the tutorial here.

Using Audience Response Pads at EMS Today

At the 2012 EMS Today Conference I was selected to present 4 different sessions. I planned on using Audience Response pads (ARS) in all of my sessions where each attendee would interact with my presentation. These little devices allow me to ask questions during my PowerPoint so I know what the audience knows.   

To get started, I thought I would ask a few polling questions in the Photoshop for PowerPoint  session and see where people where at. I didn’t expect the pads to contribute much other than being kind of “cool”, but boy was I wrong.  

The first polling question confirmed for me the direction I wanted to take during the presentation, plus I received additional information I wasn’t counting on.  The question seemed to be a very logical straight forward question:

What is your comfort level with Photoshop/Elements?  
A) Very comfortable (7%)
B) Somewhat comfortable (23%)
C) Not comfortable (38%)
D) I don’t have either (30%)

As you can see, 38% of the audience stated that they were not comfortable with Photoshop (this I expected), but what I did not expect was that 30% didn’t even have Photoshop/Elements.  

This question helped me on many different levels during and after the session.

#1. It helped me confirm the direction I planned on taking during the session. I had geared the session for the novice user and the poll confirmed to me that I took the right path.

#2. In regards to 30% of the audience not having Photoshop or Elements, I expected a few, but not this many. I used this data when I talked about the difference between Photoshop and Elements.

Because the results were visible to everyone in the session, those that chose Very Comfortable (7%) would have a better understanding of why I needed to keep things pretty basic in this session. Also I feel that people feel a sense of comfort knowing that they are on the same level as the majority of attendees in the session.

As I look to my next session, I plan on making the ARS pads a integral part of my presentation, not because they are cool, but that they really DID add more value to my presentation and will now be a must for any presentation I do in the future.

Check out a Blog by Dave Konig, The Social Medic who attended this session click here

Turning Technologies Users Conference

A few months back I was asked to speak at the San Diego Turning Technologies Users Conference. This was my second Turning Technologies Users conference I have presented at. I had two standing room only sessions. I wish I could say my sessions where packed because of my charming personality, but the reality is people are just really hungery for different ways to create interactive training. When you watch the video you will note the Kiss images behind me. The conference was held Hard Rock Cafe in San Diago. 

Drawing In PowerPoint

So the question came up this week in a EMSEducast Podcast that I  was invited to as a guest (to hear podcast click here) about tracing EKGs in PowerPoint and how to do that. I promised my host that I would do a tutorial to show how to do this.  Normally I would draw whatever I needed in Flash, Illustrator or Photoshop, but I realize many people do not have these programs, so I decided to take a closer look at the drawing tools in PowerPoint. To my amazement, I found that I could do quite a bit in PowerPoint. I first decided to “warm up”  tackling some more difficult drawings like tracing a heart illustration and drawing a pencil with highlights. Once I was warmed up I got to the request of the week and started off with the first tutorial on Basic Drawing in PowerPoint where I show you how to trace a EKG and the second tutorial covers how to make a basic grid in PowerPoint using a square as the starting point . Check it out and let me know what you think.

Basic Drawing in PowerPoint 

Creating a Grid in PowerPoint