XplanaZine

Being a technology trainer, and an educator, I am often faced with the arduous task of creating and giving presentations. I say arduous because nine times out of ten it is hard to create an exciting presentation from a dull topic. With all things being equal, audiences, and students alike, are much more likely to remember a presentation, and the content of that presentation, when it is visually appealing. An average audience has most likely seen all of the standard templates that Microsoft’s PowerPoint has to offer and is not impressed by the graphics and look and feel. Additionally, most presenters do not have the time to create new master slides with graphics and effects that can hold an audience’s interest.
For these reasons, and more, I decided to give Apple’s Keynote a try. Keynote is Apple’s answer to Microsoft’s PowerPoint. In some regards, it is not as feature-rich as PowerPoint, but it is does provide a more intuitive interface. According to Apple’s product literature, Keynote is an easy to use presentation tool that provides visually appealing graphics that can captivate audiences. Additionally, there had been a number of rumors circulating, at the time of the initial release, that this software was created so that anyone could use it to produce amazing results… Even Steve Jobs!

Working with Keynote

When I first tried Keynote, my ultimate goal was to create “snazzy” looking presentations that could enhance my otherwise lackluster presentations. Right out of the box, Apple provides twelve great looking presentations that can fit into a wide variety of situations from academic to corporate. If these themes are not enough to please you, there are a number of small companies who provide excellent, professionally created, themes for nominal charges.

Creating a presentation is a quick and easy task that begins with choosing a theme. Adding slides and content is just as straightforward, as each theme contains anywhere from five to fifteen different master slides to choose from. The process of choosing a master and applying content takes place in the typical clean, intuitive interface that we have all come to expect from Apple.

One of the best features that Keynote has to offer is a built in tool to help you create charts and graphs. Each theme includes a number of different chart and graph styles. These charts and graphs use colors, fonts and styles contained in the theme.

Once a presentation is finished, it can be easily exported to PowerPoint, Acrobat or as a QuickTime movie. The ultimate goal is to provide the presenter with a number of different ways to present their topic. Since I began playing with Keynote, I have found that exporting to Acrobat is a great way to provide the audience with a clean looking printout of the slides. Furthermore, I have also found that exporting to QuickTime is a perfect way to distribute a presentation over the Web.
While exporting is a great feature, Keynote also provides a number of importing options. The most obvious is the ability to import a PowerPoint presentation. Importing a PowerPoint presentation is important to anyone looking to use Keynote. By using this feature, presenters will not have to remake presentations in order to use this software. The process of importing is very easy, and I have found that Keynote does an excellent job of preserving the original format and look of a PowerPoint presentation.

Putting Keynote to the Test

The most attractive feature of Keynote is the presentation itself. Keynote was designed to work with the presentation technologies found in most of Apple’s laptop computers.
Using the “dual display” capabilities of either a PowerBook or an iBook, Keynote is able to display the slides on one monitor (usually a projector) and the notes on another monitor (usually the laptop’s screen). While this is certainly not a new technology, it is extremely useful. A presenter can display their slides through a projector and reference a script on their laptop. For those who do not wish to be tied to a podium, Keynote welcomes USB-based wireless presentation devices. I find these particularly useful, as I like to hide them in a pocket and “magically” force the slides to advance whilst I move about the room!
But, the biggest advantage is the impact of the graphics on the audience. In all of the Keynote-based presentations I have given thus far, I have found that the graphics and screen effects impress audiences. I have noticed that participants pay attention longer and retain more information. As we all know well, audience captivation is the key to a successful presentation. Keynote can help anyone achieve this!
While Keynote does not contain some of the high-end features found in PowerPoint, it is extremely easy to use and intuitive. Furthermore, it can turn the blandest presentation into a work of art with a minimal investment of time. But, the true benefit of Keynote comes in the presentation itself. Any presenter can use this software to “wow” over even the most demanding audience.

Additional Resources

Apple’s Keynote Site
http://www.apple.com/keynote/
Keynote Pro Themes
http://www.keynotepro.com/keynoteproweb/home.html
Keynote Theme Park
http://www.keynotethemepark.com/