Original content by AlexAnndra Ontra and James Ontra
Enhanced by Geetesh Bajaj
In the last part of this Presentation Management series of posts, we looked at how presentation management balances both sides of the enterprise: the high-level corporate brand and objectives with the everyday tasks of the employees out in the field. In this post, we will take the concept further, and explore how content gets transformed as a result of presentation management.
Once cloud storage, active files, slide libraries, visualization and search are up and running, anyone at your company can use it to build better presentations using the best content from your best people. And as that discipline spreads throughout your organization, you will notice some very interesting effects on the culture of presentations.
The old idea of one-and-done presentations fades away, and a new culture of reuse takes over. And the more a file and slide are reused, the more productive they become, and the higher the return on your content investment. Here are other ways the concept of presentations changes after the implementation of presentation management.
Employees Create New Presentations from Existing Content
Employees will use a slide or file many times over again in different presentations for different meetings. More bang for your buck. Find the slide and file you need, when you need it, and then create a custom presentation using that file or slide. Presentation management strategy expedites this process.
Also, when this slide gets updated, employees can get an updated deck almost instantly. So if you had fifty or five-hundred employees using this same slide, editing the slide once could push updated content to all of them.
Internal and External Usage Gets Easier
When companies think of enterprise, they think internal for their employees only. That’s great for company employees who are collaborating on a project and can all access the material and review it together through the same drive. But presentation management also includes external usage. Those same files, accessible from the same repository, can be shared on-demand with a client or partner outside of the enterprise. Presentation management includes the ability to share and collaborate externally, via shared links, webinars or chats.
Internal and external usage is controlled through permissions and security. So your company can still manage how, where and with whom files and slides are shared. Confidential information will stay that way. One version of the content – one source of truth — can be used in multiple scenarios. This limits the need for multiple versions in different locations. One enterprise asset, repurposed for different needs.
Presentation management can change the overall meeting experience. Old-school linear presentations, prepared the day before and followed slide by slide, force the presenter to talk at his audience. No one likes to be talked at. With accessible files, the presenter can comfortably go “off-slides” because he has the content to support his message. At the same time, the other meeting attendees are encouraged to participate and contribute to the meeting. The result is less proselytizing and more conversation, which means that more information gets shared and everyone is more productive.
The presentation follows the conversation.
In the next post of this series, we will look at interactive presentations.
Presentation Management Series: All Posts
All posts from the Presentation Management series are listed on this page, Presentation Management: The Entire Series.
Quiz
First, try and answer these questions. Feel free to read the post again if needed. Then, scroll down to below the author profiles to find the answers.
Q1: Cloud storage, active files, slide libraries, visualization and search: these are all components of presentation management. Is this true or false?
Q2: How can files placed within your presentation management platform be shared on-demand with a client or partner outside of your enterprise?
AlexAnndra Ontra, co-founder of Shufflrr, is a leading advocate for presentation management. She has been providing presentation technology and consulting services to global enterprises for over 15 years.
At Shufflrr, Alex advises Shufflrr clients through the process: from trial, to content architecture, through the launch, training and then on-going software upgrades. She’s hands-on. She is a leading expert in presentation management strategy, implementation, and adaptation.
James Ontra is co-founder and CEO of Shufflrr. His 30-year career has focused on the highest profile presentations for world class companies. His clients have included: American Express, Bloomberg, Epcot Center, Mercedes Benz, NBC Olympics, Warner Bros. and many more.
His vision and strategy have been driving Presentation Management to become a recognized communication discipline. James combined this passion with technical development to build Shufflrr. Presentation Management is smart communication strategy.
Geetesh Bajaj is an awarded Microsoft PowerPoint MVP (Most Valuable Professional), and has been designing and training with PowerPoint for more than two decades. He heads Indezine, a presentation design studio and content development organization based out of Hyderabad, India.
Geetesh believes that any PowerPoint presentation is a sum of its elements–these elements include abstract elements like story, consistency, and interactivity — and also slide elements like shapes, graphics, charts, text, sound, video, and animation. He explains how these elements work together in his training sessions. He has also authored six books on PowerPoint and Microsoft Office.
Quiz Answers
A1: Yes, this is true. Presentation management is a technology that’s encompassing.
A2: Presentation management includes the ability to share and collaborate externally, via shared links, webinars or chats.