Building a presentation in powerpoint 2010 is really becoming a very easy thing to do, as it requires little training beyond a brief look at the help section, or perhaps even just playing around with some of the features in the new “ribbon”. I must say, it is a very cool program to use and can even be fun as well. I use it to make online videos practically every day. However, one of the major mistakes new users of this software frequently make is to use the standard themes that come with Microsoft Powerpoint.
There are a decent amount of themes available insdie the software, yes, but that does not mean they haven’t been used hundreds of thousands of times already. Remember, Powerpoint is one of Microsoft’s most popular selling programs.
The problem with using these included themes and backgrounds is that your presentation will end up looking like a gazillion others on the internet. The perceived value of your message then will immediately plummet in the eyes of your audience. Think about it from a viewer’s perspective – If they have seen the same boring backgrounds several times before, it instantly creates doubt about you and your message. This is something that you can potentially win back, but why start from behind? You want to impress your audience with your content right from the start, and keep them in there until your call to action.
Bottom line when using powerpoint 2010 – Don’t use the give themes ad backgrounds that are included. Either create your own, or hire someone on glance for example to create some for you. This goes the same if you are using Powerpoint to create screenflow or camtasia video presentations. You really want to be original in every way so that your message will be more pertinent to your audience.