Last week, we looked at project plans, and before that class presentations. This week, we're taking a look at marketing plans as the last in our 3-part 5-minute makeover series for PowerPoint 2010.

Easily add themes, masters, and SmartArt graphics to make your presentation really pop. It's pretty cool to see just how much more professional, colorful, and interesting you can make a standard text-heavy presentation. And the best part? Your audience will love it -- they'll be more engaged with what you're saying, and will be much more likely to remember what you talked about and how you presented it.

Watch the video below, and then get the template used in the makeover.

-- Erik Jensen

This is the fourth in a series of quick video tips for business managers using PowerPoint by guest blogger, Bruce Gabrielle, author of Speaking PowerPoint.

Today Bruce shows how you can get exact color matches using this neat (and free!) software to pick the perfect color for any slide.

You can download Color Cop for free at http://colorcop.net.

-- Bruce Gabrielle

Last week, we looked at class presentations, and this week we're taking a look at project plans as part of our 3-part 5-minute makeover series for PowerPoint 2010.

Once again, the idea is to rid your presentation of too much text in favor of graphic elements (including converting text to a SmartArt graphic) that will better convey your message and keep your audience focused on key elements -- rather than having to read lots of text while simultaneously trying to concentrate on what you're saying. Pretty tough, if not impossible, to do both. This makeover is designed to help fix that situation, and quickly, without you having to start from scratch or take a lot of time to do so.

Watch the video below, and then get the template used in the makeover.

-- Erik Jensen

STAMP is a free public beta that increases the accessibility of your presentations. With it, you can easily add closed captions to video and audio files, which boosts their impact for those with hearing disabilities. STAMP lets you create captions within PowerPoint or import existing industry standard Timed Text Mark-up Language (TTML) files. Head over to Holly Thomas' new post for details about STAMP and another accessibility-oriented beta add-in for Word called Save as DAISY.

STAMP is available for download starting today and works in all the languages Office currently supports around the world. 

In this post, we'll take a look at how to install it and how to use it. You can find full details in the article Sub-titling text add-in for Microsoft PowerPoint (STAMP), and also find download files and documentation at SourceForge.

Often when it's time to present to your class, other people are slated to present before and after you do. With so many presentations to pay attention to, your audience might be tempted to snooze when you want them to watch.

Here's a fix--keep your audience engaged by making over your presentation in under 5 minutes, using PowerPoint. Use video and images instead of blocks of text to make your message visually interesting. The video below, part of the 5-minute makeover series, shows you how. And don't forget to download the free template while you're at it.

If you’re a student or involved in education, check out the Office in Education blog for more news and tips.

-- Erik Jensen

This is the third in a series of quick video tips for business managers using PowerPoint by guest blogger Bruce Gabrielle, author of Speaking PowerPoint. Bruce's second tip showed how to quickly create custom silhouettes using free pictures, and his first was about turning clip art into custom icons. 

You've got a great picture for a slide, but your slide title can't be seen against its cluttered background. Here's a great trick for quieting noisy backgrounds using shapes and gradients so your slide title stands out.

-- Bruce Gabrielle

Sure, there are lots of great new things about PowerPoint 2010, but for me it's all about the power of video. In the video below, I'll show you how PowerPoint 2010 makes it easier than ever to add and edit video.

Nothing grabs an audience like video and now you can edit right in PowerPoint. I'll walk you through some quick and easy steps and show you how to:

• Insert your video into a slide.
• Trim your video right in your presentation.
• Reduce your video file size for email delivery.

Are you ready to test your Hollywood skills?

Check out the video below and then try your hand at creating a video presentation in PowerPoint. Join us on Facebook and let us know how it's going.

When William Henry Harrison was elected President in 1841, his inaugural address (the longest ever) clocked in at 1 hour and 45 minutes. Don't follow his example. Keep your presentations short and sweet with PowerPoint.

For tips on using slide masters, Word outlines, autocorrect formatting, sound, handouts, alignment, Package for CD, and more tools to create powerful PowerPoint presentations, check out this article by Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Stephanie Krieger: 12 tips for creating better presentations.

-- Joy Miller, for the PowerPoint blog team

Recently, the Crabby Office Lady did a series of blog posts on Accessibility, including a round-up of the accessibility features and technologies available in all of Office 2010. And that got me to thinking about the many things you can do in PowerPoint to make your presentations more accessible.

Just like curb cuts that were originally designed for people using wheelchairs - but turned out to benefit people with strollers, skateboards, or bikes - many of the suggestions that PowerPoint MVP Glenna Shaw discusses in the articles below will make your presentations better for everyone.

This is the second in a series of quick video tips for business managers by guest blogger Bruce Gabrielle, author of Speaking PowerPoint. In case you missed it, Bruce's first tip was about turning clip art into custom icons.  

Bring boring slides to life by adding pictures of people. Where do you find these pictures? You make them yourself in about a minute using free pictures available online.

-- Bruce Gabrielle