learning powerpoint

renerian, BSN, RN · Nov 2, 2003

Go the library and get a book. I love power point and that is how I learned it.

renerian

medicrnohio, RN · Nov 2, 2003

Check with your community college to see if they have a community education department. Ours offers a 1 day 4 hour course on things such as powerpoint, word, excel, etc. Also check your library for books or classes.

Lecia · Nov 3, 2003

I'm with renarian...

There's a windows for dummies book that has powerpoint covered in it... that's how I learned... I'm not sure if there's a powerpoint for dummies or not.

Also, if you have any pc know how... which you do, or you wouldn't be on this bb, you can pretty much go in and mess with powerpoint... it has a good help section and isn't hard to pick up the basics.

Good luck and it will certainly add polish to your presentation.

kimtab · Nov 3, 2003

As a Microsoft office program, Power Point has that annoying little paper clip that will pop up every time you press any button whatsoever and try to tell you what to do. So go ahead and let it. If you just mess around with it you can figure out enough to do a basic presentation. It comes with templates and layouts for different types of slides and a lot of the commands and menu items are the same ones you see in say, Word for instance.

VickyRN, MSN, DNP, RN · Nov 3, 2003

As a self-proclaimed PP "expert"--here are a few suggestions for your slides (to make them truly look professional):

1. Use a font that doesn't have a serif (Don't use New Times Roman, use Arial instead).

2. No more than 7 descending points on each slide.

3. Be as concise as possible--don't want "busy" slides.

4. Google.com under "Images" is a great resource for pictures. Check about copyright, though.

colleen10 · Nov 3, 2003

I learned Power Point in a few days but getting the PP software and book and spending many hours at a time going through the book Chapter by Chapter and practicing by making up my own PP presentations.

I think it really depends on how you best learn, whether self practice/self teaching or via instructor.

Good Luck, I found that PP has a lot of nifty advantages and is relatively easy to use with some practice.

B.T.H · Nov 3, 2003

Thanks everyone for the suggestions and pointers. I will go ahead and get the powerpoint program and book and at least try to get a basic understanding of its usage.

I have a feeling I will need to do more oral presentations in the future, so I might as well get use to it now.

B.T.H

a_clay · Nov 4, 2003

Get 1 of those "Video Professor" CD's that they are always advertising on tv. It will VISUALLY teach you Powerpoint at your own pace. You get the first course for free and only have to pay $5 or $6 for shipping. http://www.videoprofessor.com/

NicuNsg · Nov 5, 2003

Hi!

Best advise I can offer is to take some time to pop into your computer lab at school. There is should be either a computer major or a faculty member there to answer questions, they can get you started. That's how I learned, hands on. Good luck :cool:

Havin' A Party!, ASN, RN · Nov 6, 2003

BTH -- Like many that have responded, I too taught myself PP in a few days. Not bad at all -- you can do it.

My wife needed a presentation for work. I agreed to do it for her and got the opportunity to learn something new.

As suggested, lots of folk fall for the temptation to super-load the slides with info / detail. Don't do it. Instead, limit individual slides to only several ideas / sub-ideas.

Go for it!