Presentation Software

Presentation software?

Presentation software generally is used to create slide shows for business and academic purposes. These slides can be present in text, graphics and sometimes even embedded audio and video. Presentation software packages should be chosen based on the specific purpose of the presentation and the user's technical knowledge and comfort level with it. There are many example of the presentation software that commonly used in presentation for example Microsoft Power Point, Prezi, Adobe Persuasion, Flowboard, Kingsoft Presentation, Apple Keynote, OpenOffice Impress, Corel Presentation and others.

Among all these presentation software, I will make a comparison between Microsoft Power Point and Prezi. Both of it are commonly used by a student nowadays.

The similarities of these program is the information can be present in the form of text, images, chart, sound and videos in order to make an interactive presentation.

MICROSOFT POWER POINT

 Microsoft PowerPoint is a slide show presentation program currently developed by Microsoft. PowerPoint initially named "Presenter", it was created by Forethought Inc.. Microsoft's version of PowerPoint was officially launched on May 22, 1990, as a part of the Microsoft Office suite. PowerPoint is useful for helping develop the slide-based presentation format, and is currently one of the most commonly-used presentation programs available.

Advantage

• User friendly – technically Power Point is very simple to use. Microsoft office programs (Power Point, Word, and Excel) are taught in school, so most people have at least some familiarity of how the software works.
• Control – Power Point provides seemingly endless possibilities when it comes to slide design. You can choose from an endless amount of colors, fonts, graphics, and backgrounds.
• Builds, transitions, and animations – you can use these visual enhancements to add to the explanatory power of the presentation and also enhance your visuals.
• Hyperlinks – allows you to click on a link and be taken directly to the links location on the web or somewhere else in the presentation.
• Syncs with SlideShare – lets you upload your presentation to the web so anyone can view your presentation online.
• Can print handouts of the slides – allows people to follow along without having to focus on writing notes on the presentation.
• Charts and Tables – helps you present various sets of data.

Disadvantage

• Linear format – some people complain how Power Point follows a script (linear) format, and is not easily adaptable to an audience when needed. Getting to a specific slide, once the presentation has begun, can sometimes be difficult.
• Large file size – Power Point can create really large files, especially when images, audio, and video are added. This can sometimes make emailing a pain. However, users can easily use cloud storage websites such as Dropbox to share larger file sizes

  

 Example of Microsoft Power Point

PREZI

 

  Prezi is a cloud-based presentation software based on a software as a service model.The product employs a zooming user interface (ZUI), which allows users to zoom in and out of their presentation media, and allows users to display and navigate through information within a 2.5D or parallax 3D space on the Z-axis. Prezi was officially established in April 2009 by co-founders Adam Somlai-Fischer, Peter Halacsy and Peter Arvai.

Advantage

• Zoom – Prezi's unique differentiation is zoom function. This allows the presenter to simply click the background with the mouse and the presentation zooms out to an overview, then the presenter can zoom into the area they please. This allows you to explore ideas smoothly and naturally. In other words, if you want to “zoom in” for emphasis you can. If you want more detail you can zoom in again and then once you’re in a specific area you can “pan” to expand on that idea or gain more detail.
• Non-linear – allows the presenter to choose his/her own paths. In other words, users can jump in and out ideas and are given more flexibility when presenting ideas.
• Sharing – can share presentations online with up to 10 audience members which make collaborating on projects easy.

Disadvantage

• Limited design options – limited backgrounds to choose from and each has pre-chosen fonts and colors that can’t be changed.
• Cost – for an offline version to use on a desktop, one would have to pay $159/year! While there is a student discount version provided online, it still offers limited file space and storage.
• Dizziness – often times Prezi users can over use the zoom function which can ultimately take away from the message of the presentation. Too much zooming and too much panning can ultimately make users feel sick.
• Learning curve – while Prezi is fairly simple in nature, it does take some time getting used to. Many people like to stay within their comfort zone, and Prezi is outside that zone for many non-designers. However, the software is fairly easy to learn if you’re willing to put in the practice.

Example of Prezi

Among these two software, I prefer to choose Power Point because it is more simple and user friendly. Since it can be used without internet connection, information easy to deliver in order to make an interactive presentation. It is suitable if you have limited time and need to display ideas in a simple way. Most of the student, lectures or client (for business purpose) familiar and know how to use Power Point. From this entry we can know what the example of presentation software and their function.