My Current Presentation Tools

I usually make three to four major presentations a month. In January, for example, I made presentations at our Quarterly Business Review Meeting, our All Employee Meeting, and The Thomas Nelson Way session. In February, I will make four presentations.

I often get asked what tools I use to create my presentations. Currently, I am using eight:

Cut Travel Costs with Video Conferencing

Like every other company, we are looking for ways to cut costs. One of the things we have been experimenting with is video conferencing.

Two years ago, I looked at a very sophisticated video conferencing system. It had cameras that you could move and zoom on both ends of the conversation. But it was about $80,000—a little more than I wanted to spend.

Why Most Meetings Still Suck

Leading people and conducting meetings go hand-in-hand. Yes, you can use email, blogs, Twitter, Basecamp, or any number of additional tools. But at the end of the day, you will still need to schedule and lead meetings.

As long as you have to have meetings, you might as well do them well. Before you plan another meeting (and suffer the rest of us to sit through them), make a commitment to do the following:

Don’t Use Your Logo on Every Slide

Today, I was reviewing a colleague’s PowerPoint presentation. The first thing I noticed was his company’s logo was on every single slide. After a few slides, I found myself getting annoyed.

I know it is standard practice to put a logo on every page, especially in the corporate world. However, I would suggest that you avoid this practice. Here’s why:

Why I Am (Still) Excited About Christian Retail

Last Saturday, April 12, I spoke to Christian Retailers at our inaugural Open House event. It was video-taped, and you can watch it here if you are interested.

Because the file was so large, I had to upload it as five separate videos. The total length is 40 minutes or so. However, if you click on the link above, it will play all five videos as a YouTube “playlist,” with each video playing one after the other.

How to Shave Ten Hours Off Your Work Week

Almost everyone I know is working more time than they would like. That’s why a book like The 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss has been such a big bestseller. This is a great book, but the promise is a little over the top. I don’t know of anyone, including Tim Ferriss, who really only works four hours.

But what if you could shave ten hours off your work week? In my opinion, that is much more do-able. Virtually anyone, with a little thought and effort can do it. Here’s how:

How Not to Use PowerPoint

I was just browsing SlideShare.net and stumbled across an excellent set of slides called, “Death by PowerPoint” by Alexei Kapterev. (Click on the image below to watch it.) He talks about why so many PowerPoint presentations are so bad. More importantly, he teaches you what you can do to make your presentations stand out.

If you use PowerPoint (or Apple Keynote) to make your presentations, this is well-worth a careful look. If you want even more help, I recommend two sites. The first is Presentation Zen. This is Garr Reynold’s site and one of my personal favorites. He doesn’t post that often, but it is always worth the wait. He also has a book by the same title coming out in January. I can’t wait to get my hands on it and have already pre-ordered it.

ICRS: Day Four

I never thought I’d be so glad to see Wednesday. ICRS continues though Thursday, but we were done early. I was ready to get home.

I ate breakfast with Mike Coleman, CEO of Integrity Media, the largest Christian music company in the world. I did not really know Mike until we met at last year’s convention. We bought Integrity Publishers from him, and he and I became friends through that transaction. I always enjoy being with him.

ICRS: Day Three

Tuesday at ICRS was tiring, but not nearly as exhausting as Monday. I think this was because I had the evening free, which was a first since I arrived. Ten hours non-stop sure beats fifteen.

My first appointment of the day was the “CEO Breakfast” hosted by CBA, the association for Christian Retail. I sat between Bob Munce, CEO of The Munce Group, a marketing group providing services to some 600 independent Christian retail outlets, and Marshall Gage, president of Kirkbride Bible Company, publisher of the famous Thompson Chain Reference Bible. Marshall and I spent most of our time chatting about the National Bible Association. (He is on the Board.)

ICRS: Day Two

Monday was another full but exhausting day at the International Christian Retail Show in Atlanta (ICRS). Thankfully, the cool weather is still with us. Although the humidity was quite high (85%), the temperature remained in the 70s and low 80s. Even Denver, where we’ve had the convention for the past two years, wasn’t this cool.

I had breakfast with Dale Hansen Bourke, former publisher of Today’s Christian Woman and now a writer for Religion News Service (RNS). She had not attended ICRS for several years but was back to do a story on trends in the Christian marketplace. We’ve known each other for 25 years. As Jerry Jenkins quipped last night at the Book Awards show, “we’ve known each other since the Dead Sea was merely sick.”