18,99 €
A one-stop resource for an exciting new Web-based, slide-freepresentation tool! People who have been seeking a flashier version of PowerPointhave found it--and it's Prezi. A Web-based, slide-freepresentation tool, Prezi allows users to create and give rich,Web-based presentations complete with dynamic content, contextuallayouts, and eye-catching visuals. Prezi For Dummies getsyou rapidly up to speed, including how to think outside thetraditional slide, create your project, insert Flash and othergraphic files, and publish your presentation to a public domain.You'll also learn valuable tips on what makes a goodPrezi. * Introduces Prezi, a Web-based, Flash-friendly, dynamicpresentation tool * Explains how to use online and offline editors and insertimages, video, sound, Flash files, and other complex graphics * Covers presenting a Prezi, publishing it to a public domain,and collaborating with others * Offers tips and insights on what makes a good Prezi--andhow to think visually to create content that benefits your businessor organization Move beyond slides, put your visual thinking cap on, and get thevery most of Prezi with this timely, practical guide.
Sie lesen das E-Book in den Legimi-Apps auf:
Seitenzahl: 370
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2010
Table of Contents
Introduction
About This Book
Foolish Assumptions
Conventions Used in This Book
How This Book Is Organized
Part I: Establishing a Prezi Mindset
Part II: Exploring the Prezi Universe
Part III: Creating Show-Stopping Prezis
Part IV: Using Prezi beyond Presentations
Part V: Part of Tens
Icons Used in This Book
Appendix: Resources for Presenters
Where to Go from Here
Part I: Establishing a Prezi Mindset
Chapter 1: Getting Started with Prezi
Evolving Presentations
Finding Out Just What Prezi Is
Breaking the slide barrier
Getting to know the Prezi menu
Publishing online
Working offline with Prezi Desktop
Understanding what Prezi is not
Signing Up and Picking the Right Plan for You
Technical requirements
Meeting Prezi’s public face
Changing the Way You Present with Prezi
Telling your story
Planning differently
Thinking visually
Representing movement using layering
Exploring the big picture and details at the same time
Getting Ready to Present
Presenting online or offline
Working with Collaborators
Displaying Your Prezis
Developing a Presentation Partnership
Interacting with the Prezi Community
Seeing That Prezis Aren’t Limited to Presentations
Problem solving and brainstorming
Business plans and other business uses
Scrapbooks, recipes, hobbies, and so on
Understanding How Professionals Can Use Prezi
Educating with Prezi
Chapter 2: Preparing for Your First Prezi
Gathering Your Ideas in Analog
Suggested tools to use
Presentation planning basics
Things that make planning with Prezi unique
Developing Your Story
Defining your selling direction
Finding your key messages
Communicating with design
Creating your story design
Incubating your ideas
Testing your ideas
Reviewing before moving to the next phase
Opening Your First Prezi
Exploring Styles
Collecting and Creating Images, Text, and Graphics
Collecting digital objects for presentation
Developing text elements
Using content from other programs
Framing and Positioning Ideas
Creating a Path of Ideas
Following a unique order
Creating a definite focus
Iterating until You’re Ready to Present
Proofing your presentation
Practicing until you feel confident
Part II: Exploring the Prezi Universe
Chapter 3: Getting Familiar with the Online Interface
Introducing Prezi Components
Viewing Edit mode
Discovering Show mode
Navigating the Canvas
Interacting with the Bubble Menu
Using the Write bubble
Embedding Web links in your presentation
Grouping with the Frame bubble
Positioning your Frames
Creating your story line with the Path bubble
Styling with the Colors & Fonts bubble
Moving around using the Transformation Zebra
Taking Advantage of Smart Zooming
Printing Your Prezi
Chapter 4: Discovering the Prezi Desktop
Downloading the Offline Editor
Putting Prezi on your desktop
Installing Adobe Air
Getting the manual for the Desktop
Using the Desktop
Activating Prezi Desktop the first time
Editing your offline prezi
Using Prezi Desktop commands
Chapter 5: Navigating the “Your Prezis” Page
Managing the “Your Prezis” Page with Commands
Open
Download
Save during online revisions
Save a copy
Delete
Setting Up Prezi to Share the Work
Making your presentation public
Allowing reuse of your presentation
Keeping your prezi private
Sharing Prezis
Sending a private prezi
Sending a link to a public prezi via e-mail
Collaborating with Coeditors
Inviting coeditors
Embedding a prezi on a Web page
Publishing to a social media site
Rating and Commenting on Public Prezis
Checking out the Explore tab
Sharing your opinion
Delivering Prezis to an Audience
Using a projector to simplify the delivery
Navigating with Smart Zooming
Presenting from a browser
Setting up a Path
Using remote clickers
Autoplaying your prezi with timing intervals
Chapter 6: Engaging the Prezi Community
Scouting for New Ideas
Viewing prezis on the Explore page
Determining what makes a good prezi
Checking Out Prezi’s Online Resources
Prezi Academy
Live from the Prezi Universe
Manual
Quick Help
Sharing Your Questions and Answers
Part III: Creating Show-Stopping Prezis
Chapter 7: Making Great Presentations
Understanding How the Mind Watches a Presentation
Avoiding visual mistakes
Benefitting from the Prezi style
Recognizing your presentation style
Creating the Presentation Partnership
Understanding the context for your presentation
Gaining the audience’s trust
Establishing the promise: What’s in it for me?
Tapping into audience learning styles
Acknowledging internal clocks
Using simplicity to make your presentation powerful
Researching for Content
Google Alerts
Talking to experts
Finding influencers
Discovering Stories That Connect with Your Audience
Devising the plot
Finding the hero of your story
Creating the hook to capture attention
Using a Five-Point Plan to Construct Your Story
Understanding the problem
Recognizing the constraints
Presenting the question
Uncovering the answer
Delivering a call to action
Putting the Show Together
Developing your speaking notes
Supporting online materials
Social media networks
Preparing to answer questions
Printing Your Show
Understanding the Back Channel
Chapter 8: Using Graphics to Increase the Value of Your Message
Creating the Best Design
Storytelling Using Visuals
Viewing the Big Picture
Looking at the Details
Using predetermined designs
Choosing backgrounds
Using Single Visual Elements
Presenting Multiple Elements
Flash Animation
Choosing Frames as Information Containers
Chapter 9: Helping Designers Use Their Creations
Understanding the Design Process
Evaluating Your Designs
Using Design Applications
Protecting Your Original Work
Understanding copyrights
Creative Commons license
Creating a Branded Prezi for Your Company’s Use
Creating your own branded prezi
Understanding what goes into your brand’s design
Developing a Prezi template
Adding a logo and tagline
Adding third-party graphics
Including copyrights and service marks
Part IV: Using Prezi beyond Presentations
Chapter 10: Brainstorming New Ideas
Generating New Ideas
Nonlinear thinking
Understanding your creative style
Techniques for new ideas
Dealing with presentation procrastination
Generating ideas within groups
Mind Mapping Your Thoughts
Benefits of using Mind Maps
Rules for great Prezi Mind Maps
Creating your first Mind Map
Using keywords versus long sentences in Prezi
Using New Scientific Findings to Visually Sell Your Ideas
Chunking your messages
Ordering information presented
Ten-minute transitions
Creating experiences
Using colors
Creating spatial relationships
Developing patterns
Applying visuals
Chapter 11: Presenting Business Plans
Introducing a Prezi Business Plan
Developing Visual Concepts That Sell
Plan Presentation Logistics
Collaborating with Team Members
Covering the Basics
Understanding the Business Model
Making the Numbers Interesting
Using Movement to Add Momentum
Using Web links
Sending without a Presenter
Sending a private prezi via e-mail
Designing special comments
Chapter 12: Educating with Prezi
Using Prezi in Schools and Universities
Obtaining an Education license
Understanding learning styles in the classroom
Communicating information
Thinking Visually in the Classroom
Applying Success Strategies
Using Prezi in Conferences
Getting Attention with Prezi Resumes
Chapter 13: Displaying Your Hobbies and Special Events with Prezi
Exploring Some Uses of the Digital Canvas
Choosing a Theme
Selecting a Style
Using Text to Set the Mood
Adding Fun Facts
Collecting Your Media
Demonstrating Movement
Embedding YouTube videos
Collaborating with Family and Friends
Printing Your Show
Part V: The Part of Tens
Chapter 14: Ten Ways to Fill a Blank Screen
Planning in Analog
Setting the Stage
Looking at Examples
Choosing a Potential Layout
Uploading Some Media
Thinking Up Questions Your Presentation Will Answer
Describing the Hero
Adding a Quote
Using Keywords to Describe the Problem
Creating a Timeline
Chapter 15: Ten Things You Should Know about Visual Thinking
It’s the Ability to See with Both the Eyes and the Mind’s Eye
It Helps People Learn Faster and Remember Better
It Includes Sketches, Doodles, Images, Photos, and Other Pictures
It Helps with Procrastination and Increases Productivity
It Affects the Ability to Understand an Environment
It Helps People Solve Problems
It Helps People Be More Empathetic
It Helps People Collaborate More Effectively
It Doesn’t Require Artistic Skills
Its Use Will Expand Due to the Graphical Internet
Chapter 16: Ten Tips for Mind Mapping with Prezi
Expanding Your Mind Maps’ Dimensions
Presenting Multiple Layers of Detail
Demonstrating Your Nonlinear Thinking
Enhancing the Experience with Visuals
Adding Dramatic Portrayals of Space
Extending Understanding through Color
Communicating with Keywords
Viewing Mind Maps to See What’s Missing
Recognizing the Patterns in Mind Maps
Collaborating for Consensus
Chapter 17: Ten Worst Things to Do with Prezi
Keep an Old Mindset
Lose Track of Your Story
Use Weak Clipart
Omit the Use of Movement
Miss Out on Sharing Presentations
Neglect to Use the Built-In Design Tools
Repurpose A Slide Show into Prezi without Making Revisions
Forget about the Prezi Community
Leave Out the Path
Fail to Use Prezis for More Than Presentations
Appendix: Resources for Presenters
Prezi™ For Dummies®
by Stephanie Diamond
Prezi™ For Dummies®
Published byWiley Publishing, Inc.111 River StreetHoboken, NJ 07030-5774www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.
Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com, Making Everything Easier, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: The publisher and the author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. The fact that an organization or Website is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the author or the publisher endorses the information the organization or Website may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that Internet Websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read.
For general information on our other products and services, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002.
For technical support, please visit www.wiley.com/techsupport.
Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2010933473
ISBN: 978-0-470-62586-6
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
About the Author
Stephanie Diamond is a thought leader and management marketing professional with 20+ years of experience building profits in over 75 different industries. She has worked with solopreneurs, small business owners, and multibillion dollar corporations.
She worked for eight years as a marketing director at AOL. When she joined, there were less than 1 million subscribers. When she left in 2002, there were 36 million. While at AOL, she developed a highly successful line of multimedia products that brought in an annual $40 million dollars in incremental revenue.
In 2002, she founded Digital Media Works, Inc. (http://digmediaworks.com), an online marketing company that helps business owners discover the hidden profits in their business. She’s passionate about guiding online companies to successfully generate more revenue and find their company’s real value.
As a strategic thinker, Stephanie uses all the current visual thinking techniques and brain research to help companies get to the essence of their brand. In the Marketing Message blog (www.marketingmessageblog.com), she shares her perspective about how companies can improve their marketing by understanding and communicating their value using stories.
Stephanie received a BA in Psychology from Hofstra University and an MSW and MPH from the University of Hawaii. She lives in New York with her husband and 14-year-old Maltese named Tyler.
Dedication
To Barry, who makes all things possible.
To my family for their encouragement and love.
Author’s Acknowledgments
It is my great privilege to write this book. I want to offer great thanks to Wiley Publishing, Inc. for letting me introduce Prezi For Dummies. Specifically, I want to thank the wonderfully creative group — Acquisitions Editor Amy Fandrei, Project Editor Chris W. Morris, Copy Editor Virginia Sanders, and Editorial Manager Leah Cameron for sharing their talents and support.
I want to thank the folks at Prezi for letting me share their great accomplishment with a waiting audience. Thanks to Adam Somlai-Fischer, Angelie Argawal, Zoli Radnai, and Patrick Wenger for their help and enthusiasm.
Thanks to Matt Wagner, my agent at Fresh Books, for his continued work on my behalf.
Finally, thanks to you for choosing this book to learn about Prezi. I wish you enormous joy on your exciting journey.
Publisher’s Acknowledgments
We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our online registration form located at www.dummies.com/register/.
Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:
Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Development
Senior Project Editor: Christopher Morris
Acquisitions Editor: Amy Fandrei
Copy Editor: Virginia Sanders
Technical Editor: Angelie Agarwal
Editorial Manager: Kevin Kirschner
Editorial Assistant: Amanda Graham
Sr. Editorial Assistant: Cherie Case
Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com)
Composition Services
Project Coordinator: Patrick Redmond
Layout and Graphics: Amy Hassos, Joyce Haughey, Ronald G. Terry
Proofreader: ConText Editorial Services, Inc.
Indexer: Infodex Indexing Services, Inc.
Publishing and Editorial for Technology Dummies
Richard Swadley, Vice President and Executive Group Publisher
Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher
Mary Bednarek, Executive Acquisitions Director
Mary C. Corder, Editorial Director
Publishing for Consumer Dummies
Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher
Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director
Composition Services
Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services
Introduction
Welcome to Prezi For Dummies. You’re entering the magical world of digital storytelling. I’m honored to introduce Prezi to you in this book. It will change your thinking about how presentations are created and delivered.
The developers of Prezi started with the notion that slides were the wrong medium for making persuasive arguments. Instead, they dreamed of an unlimited whiteboard as a powerful starting point. With Prezi, you now have the chance to create presentations of all kinds without limitations.
Like most people who begin to explore a new application, you may be approaching it with some trepidation. You ask yourself: “Will it be quick and easy to learn?” “Are there things that I won’t understand?” Be assured, as you begin working with Prezi, you should feel anticipation, not fear — it’s easy and fun! My advice to you is just to charge in and start playing with the digital canvas. Think back to a time when a blank slate was an opportunity to explore and create without fear. Prezi gives you the tools. You supply the creativity.
If you follow the steps I’ve detailed in this book to plan and get content on the canvas. you’ll feel a weight lifting from your shoulders. No more shoehorning charts, numbers, and words to fit on a single slide. No more counting bullets or wedging images together to represent a great idea.
Your prezis can start a whole new line of thinking, tell a persuasive story, or get you that raise you deserve. It’s all in the execution. So get started now!
About This Book
Because Prezi is such a unique and flexible application, I’ve made sure to highlight how to get up and running fast by covering the most important topics.
These topics include the following:
Using the main Bubble menu
Picking the right subscription plan to suit your needs
Planning in analog to jump-start your presentation
Setting up your storyline using the Path function
Working with the Smart Zooming feature to display the big picture and the details of each presentation
Uploading a variety of digital media to make your prezi stand out
Using the Transformation Zebra tool to make editing easy
Developing your story to sell your ideas
Navigating the Prezi canvas to work smarter
Mind Mapping to brainstorm using Prezi
Sharing your prezis with colleagues and friends
Presenting with a projector and remote clicker
Interacting with the Prezi Community
Using Prezi for more than business applications
Foolish Assumptions
As I wrote this book, I tried to cover all the different situations you would come up against when creating new presentations using Prezi.
I have a picture of you in my mind and make the following assumptions about you:
You’re not a professional presenter.
You’ve used other presentation software in the past and are looking for something with greater flexibility.
You’re willing to spend time finding out about using visual persuasion and storytelling to deliver your message.
You’re comfortable using your browser to view online software.
You want to use presentations to give yourself a competitive advantage.
Conventions Used in This Book
To make sure instructions are clear and easy, I follow these conventions:
When you need to take a specific action in a step list, they are printed in bold.
When you see something printed this way — http://prezi.com — you’re looking at a Web address (URL).
How This Book Is Organized
In this book, I cover what you need to know about Prezi to make the most of its powerful features. This book consists of five parts that show you how to use Prezi to develop amazing presentations. I’ve also brought together information about visual thinking and storytelling that will make your use of Prezi more effective. The chapters are modular so that you can skip around and focus on topics as they become pertinent to the current stage of your presentation.
Part I: Establishing a Prezi Mindset
In Part I, you start with the basics. First you look at what goes into creating a Prezi mindset. When you begin working with Prezi, you realize that it’s not going to fit into an old-style presentation mold. I introduce you to a new way of thinking about presentations. Chapter 1 covers how you can develop a mindset that makes your presentations more powerful. In Chapter 2, you find out how to create your first prezi from start to finish. You get to see the freedom a no-slide medium can deliver.
Part II: Exploring the Prezi Universe
Part II is an exploration of how the main interface — the Bubble menu — is used. In Chapter 3, you see how you navigate the open digital canvas and what the main functions are used for. Chapter 4 covers the use of the Desktop version of Prezi, which is available for Prezi Pro subscribers. Chapter 5 gives you an overview of the Prezi home base you set up online and shows you how to set up and collaborate with workgroups. Sharing prezis with friends and family is built right into the interface. Chapter 6 gives you a tour of the active Prezi community and how to find reusable content for your own prezis.
Part III: Creating Show-Stopping Prezis
In Part III, you discover how visuals impact your ability to persuade. Chapter 7 walks you through the complete planning process. You see how to create a structure, tell interesting stories, and deliver a memorable presentation. In Chapter 8, you look at the use of graphics to increase the value of your message. Chapter 9 covers what designers can do with Prezi to show off their custom work.
Part IV: Using Prezi beyond Presentations
Part IV introduces you to other uses for Prezi beyond the business presentation. In Chapter 10, you get an in-depth look at brainstorming for new ideas. You see how you can use Mind Mapping and new research about the brain to deliver more powerful messages. Chapter 11 shows you how to use Prezi to develop a business plan that sells your ideas. Chapter 12 introduces you to the use of Prezi in the classroom. Prezi has created a special education license that makes it affordable for teachers and students. In Chapter 13, you tour the wonderful world of Prezi for scrapbooks, collections, recipes, and much more.
Part V: Part of Tens
Part V is the popular Part of Tens section found in all For Dummies books. This is the section where you find all sorts of useful information in groups of ten. In this section are ten ways to fill a blank screen, ten things that you should know about visual thinking, ten tips for Mind Mapping with Prezi, and the ten worst things to do with Prezi.
Icons Used in This Book
To make sure that you are alerted to specific information, I use the following icons:
When you see this Tip icon, it means I want to share some information that will make things easier or quicker for you.
If this icon pops up on the page, it’s there to point out the information you need to store in your memory bank to use when you’re working with Prezi.
Pay special attention when you see this warning icon. Hopefully, it will prevent you from making a big mistake or having to backtrack.
Appendix: Resources for Presenters
The appendix includes resources that help round out your knowledge of presenting in a digital environment. I include some Web sites and books that you may find helpful in taking a deeper dive into specific topics.
Where to Go from Here
I hope this book helps you to use Prezi in ways you hadn’t thought of before. There’s so much you can do. Using this book, you can create presentations with a whole new attitude. As the application expands and Prezi incorporates new ideas, I expect it will become a staple of presenters around the world.
I’d love to get your feedback about how you’re using the book and what new things you’re doing with Prezi. Feel free to leave comments for me on my blog at www.marketingmessageblog.com.
Please note that some special symbols used in this ePub may not display properly on all eReader devices. If you have trouble determining any symbol, please call Wiley Product Technical Support at 800-762-2974. Outside of the United States, please call 317-572-3993. You can also contact Wiley Product Technical Support at www.wiley.com/techsupport.
Part I
Establishing a Prezi Mindset
In this part . . .
Welcome to the No-Slide Zone. You’re entering a world where presentations are not all alike. Your audience will be delighted that you can entertain as well as inform them. That’s a potent combination. But what makes this application so different from other presentation applications? And what do you need to do to dazzle your audiences with Prezi? The answers to these questions follow.
In Chapter 1, you see what you need to do to develop a Prezi mindset. You find out why Prezi is so different and how you can use it in a number of different ways. In Chapter 2, you create your first prezi and see what all the fuss is about. Fasten your seatbelt!
Chapter 1
Getting Started with Prezi
In This Chapter
Understanding the Prezi paradigm
Presenting without slides
Discovering unique uses for Prezi
Picking the right plan
Welcome to a new way of presenting. Hopefully Prezi can inspire you to think differently about your next presentation. Prezi can take your slide-driven talks in a whole new direction. Part of the appeal of Prezi is its totally unique way of presenting ideas. But it’s more than that: It’s a way to free yourself from the boundaries of time and space. Does that sound magical? I hope so. Your journey into Prezi will be exciting.
Unlike more conventional presentation applications, Prezi gives you the tools to work in several dimensions at once to wow a formerly bored audience. When you see how to traverse layers and zoom around, you’ll see what I mean.
In this chapter, I introduce you to a new presentation paradigm. And the price is right. You can start with the free version and decide where to go from there. Prezi is also hosted online so everything is just a little bit easier. The key to getting comfortable with Prezi is to jump right in and experiment.
Evolving Presentations
If you were unlucky enough to attend a business presentation before the mid-1980s, you saw a person standing in the front of the room, clicking through 35mm slides in a carousel or you saw a person slapping transparencies on an overhead projector.
Unfortunately, these presentations usually required a darkened room, which was a recipe for disaster. When the lights came back on, you’d see a bunch of bleary-eyed colleagues pretending they were awake the whole time. Of course, no one was fooled — or persuaded.
When computers came on the scene, there was some relief. Professional-looking graphics could be created without a camera or an extensive art department. People could show presentations as they had before, but now the slides were digital.
For 20 years, this method has prevailed. Some people are very comfortable with it and don’t plan to try anything new. Others, though, see room for alternatives. They want something that adds a more visual way of telling a story.
Enter Prezi. It provides something that the other presentation software applications don’t: movement. When you watch a prezi for the first time, you’re struck by the fact that your screen has layers. You can zoom into them and out again to explore the canvas. And you can put it on Autoplay and let it roll. That’s when the fun begins.
Finding Out Just What Prezi Is
Prezi describes itself as a digital storytelling tool. This is a deceptively simple description. To understand the difference between Prezi and other presentation tools, you need to look at the difference between a process and its content.
Most slide programs dictate a process. They’re set up to organize material for a presenter to talk about in a linear fashion, which is great for the presenter but not always great for the audience. Prezi, on the other hand, uses content to create a story line. With Prezi, the organization of the material doesn’t dictate a particular process — the story does.
Just like any tool, you have to figure out how to make Prezi work for you. It’s easy to use, however, and when you get rolling, you’ll probably prefer it to other presentation software. But you’ll have to open your mind to a different way of thinking about what goes into presenting.
First and foremost, Prezi helps you tell a persuasive story that can change people’s minds. With Prezi, your only limitation is the amount of time you have to spend on creating something unique.
Breaking the slide barrier
Can you imagine creating a presentation that doesn’t include slides? Up until now, you likely couldn’t. Breaking your addiction to information in rectangular bullet lists is going to be key to using Prezi. If you think I’m kidding, I’m not. When you first try Prezi, your impulse may be to try to put all your information into the built-in Frame tool (brackets, circles, and rectangles) and show them one by one like a slide show. Resist this urge!
What if directors had taken the new medium of TV as an opportunity to show people reading radio scripts at a microphone? At first, this might have been acceptable, but eventually people would have started to balk, because this approach didn’t take advantage of the visual medium that television is. The medium of television meant that storytellers no longer had to just tell, they had to show as well. That’s what Prezi lets you do.
With Prezi, you need to use the visual medium and the ability to zoom in and out — not make it fit an old paradigm. You need to think differently about how things are displayed and discussed. When you get comfortable with it, though, this new paradigm will spur your creativity. Don’t be afraid to put anything on the canvas and play with it. Your results will be better, and your audience will thank you for it.
One of the best ways to retrain your eye is to look in the Prezi Explore tab and see what others have done. You’ll begin to notice how some people try to experiment with new ideas and others just try to re-create a slide motif. When you recognize this, you’ll be able to avoid it.
Getting to know the Prezi menu
The Prezi Bubble menu is the heart of the application. In keeping with Prezi’s uniqueness, it doesn’t look like the ordinary Windows-style menu. It’s called a Bubble menu because each menu choice is a circle that looks something like a bubble. The main menu consists of one major center bubble with five smaller bubbles around it. (See Figure 1-1.)
All the action takes place here. Using these command bubbles, you can create anything you can imagine. In Chapter 3, the menu is presented in complete detail. Here I list the main bubbles and their functions.
The menu consists of the following bubbles:
Write bubble: This is where you can add and format text.
Transformation Zebra: Located in the Write bubble. It allows you to move, resize, and rotate any object you upload to the canvas.
Insert bubble: The submenu includes Load Files and Shapes bubbles.
Frame bubble: The submenu offers you Bracket, Circle, Rectangle, and Hidden Frame bubbles.
Path bubble: Here you find the 1-2-3 Add, Capture View, and Delete All bubbles.
Colors and Fonts bubble: Here you select the style for your prezi. It includes several choices of colors and fonts.
Show bubble: This is the mode from which you present. When the prezi is in Show mode, the Bubble menu recedes, and the canvas lines are removed. From here you can set timing intervals and Autoplay, manually zoom in and zoom out and expand to use the full screen.
It doesn’t take long to understand how to use the menu. Just dive right in and experiment. You can’t break anything. Nothing is irreversible. All you need to do is click the Undo link in the upper-right corner if you don’t like something.
Publishing online
Prezi wants to make it easy for you to distinguish between Prezi, which is the company name, and prezi, which is a presentation created with Prezi. This capitalization convention is used throughout the book. Prezi is hosted online, so publishing your prezi is very easy. Your options are dependent upon which license you have. If you have the Free license, your prezi is automatically published (made public) and appears in the Explore tab.
If you have the Enjoy or Pro license, you can decide when or whether you want to make your prezi public. To put it in the Explore tab to share with others, you must make it public. (See Figure 1-2.)
Figure 1-1: Prezi Bubble menu.
Figure 1-2: A public URL for your prezi.
Working offline with Prezi Desktop
With Prezi Desktop, you can work on your desktop without worrying about staying connected. No Internet today? No problem. (See Figure 1-3.)
Using the Desktop software offers you several benefits, including the following:
You can work offline anywhere without an Internet connection.
You aren’t limited by the designated online space for your account. You’re only limited by your hard disk.
It provides an extra layer of security because you can work offline and then upload your Prezi online or do the opposite, so that you have a duplicate in another place.
The Prezi Desktop is available to subscribers with Pro or Edu Pro licenses. The Bubble menu works exactly like the online application, so there’s no learning curve. After you download the application to your desktop, you can quickly get started. At the opening screen, you can see both your online and offline prezis on the desktop if you log in. If not, you only see the prezis you have on your hard drive. The available prezis look like sticky notes. When you open one by clicking it, you see the familiar Bubble menu.
Figure 1-3: The Prezi Desktop before you open a prezi.
Understanding what Prezi is not
Because Prezi looks different and changes well-worn presentation paths, some people may have some misconceptions about using it.
Before you get started, you should be aware that Prezi is not the following:
A way to reuse slide presentations as-is: You can take a slide presentation and just convert it to a prezi, but the end result is just boring. Some have tried, all have failed.
A program that requires design skills: There’s no need for design skills. You can use any kind of graphics that suit your presentation, and you can show the big picture and the details at the same time. Prezi offers a Smart Zooming feature so that the best way to zoom is predetermined. No algorithms need to be harmed in the process of creating your prezi.
Like any other presentation software: Because Prezi developers threw out the slide motif on day one, you need to rethink how you present. Don’t worry; it will be fun. It will spur your creative thinking.
A way to make weak art look good: No software program is going to make that smiling-bear-holding-a-sign clipart look right in your presentation. On the other hand, if you have good visuals, you can use them in ways you haven’t done before.
Only for presentations: There are lots of other uses for Prezi, including Mind Mapping, note-taking, and sharing information such as photos and recipes. When you see what Prezi can do, you’ll find your own favorites.
Signing Up and Picking the Right Plan for You
Prezi offers five subscriber options, so you can pick the one that works for you: Free, Enjoy, Pro, Edu Enjoy, and Edu Pro. All the plans allow you to create a Prezi online and download it to present offline. If you’re just experimenting, the free 30-day trial may be the right choice to start. When you see how much online storage space you think you’ll need and how you’ll use it, you can choose either the Enjoy or Pro plans. The available plans are as follows (see Figure 1-4):
The Free plan: The Free plan allows you to create and edit prezis online. You get 100MB of free storage space and you can present a downloaded prezi offline. On the flip side, you can’t make content private or remove the Prezi watermark. If you don’t have the need for large storage or private prezis, then this might be the choice for you.
Enjoy: Cost $59 annual fee; 30-day free trial. The Enjoy plan gives you 500MB of online storage space to use for your prezis. When you present, you don’t see the Prezi watermark on the left side of the screen like you would if you had the Free plan. Your prezis remain private unless you make them public.
You can share a public or private prezi. Using the Get link or Share downward arrow, you can send an e-mail via Prezi with a link to the prezi.
Pro: Cost $159 annual fee; 30-day free trial. The Pro plan gives you 2,000MB of online storage space. When you present, you don’t see the Prezi watermark. With this plan, your prezis remain private unless you make them public.
Edu Enjoy and Edu Pro: Prezi is becoming hugely popular in the classroom. Teachers want to be able to use the software and have their students use it as well. Prezi recognized that educators were not able to afford the program for themselves and their students, so Prezi created separate educational plans. Teachers and students who request and qualify have the option of using the Edu Enjoy Plan (500MB of online storage) for free or the Edu Pro plan (2,000MB of online storage) for $59 annually. Nonprofits that request and qualify for the Edu Enjoy plan may also access the Edu plans.
If you choose to cancel your account, you’ll be able to show the prezis you’ve already created if you leave your account open. This means that you won’t lose the work you’ve completed. But you won’t be able to create or edit new ones unless you sign up for a new free account.
Figure 1-4: Prezi plans.
Technical requirements
To use Prezi, your computer must have the following:
Adobe Flash Player 9 or higher: You don’t need a Flash Player installed on your computer, but you do need to be able to run it online.
Minimum 1GB memory.
A mouse or touchpad.
You must have one of the following operating systems to use Prezi Desktop or Prezi.com:
Windows: XP, Vista, 7
Mac: OS X
Meeting Prezi’s public face
When you go to Prezi.com (http://prezi.com), you find three tabs in the upper-left corner of the site. They are Your Prezis, Learn, and Explore. Before you sign up, the Home tab shows you the features and benefits of Prezi. After you sign up, the Home tab changes to the Your Prezis tab
The following content is found on each of the tabs (see Figure 1-5):
Your Prezis: After you sign up, the Home tab becomes the Your Prezis tab, and this is where you access all the prezis you create. In this tab you see all your prezis laid out for you. You can also sort your prezis by title or by last opened. You can display this sort by all, those owned by you, or those shared with you.
Learn: There are three columns on this page where all the e-learning content is located. In the first column, you see the Prezi Academy where you can find Basic, Advanced, and Expert lessons. Next you see the Live from Prezi Universe column where you find tips, ideas, and updates from Prezi. The third column is where you find a link to the manual and links to the different Prezi tech support sites.
Explore: This area is a great resource. Here you can find all the prezis that have been created by those with Free licenses. You can also find prezis that have been made public for the purpose of sharing them with others. People may also designate their prezis as Reusable so that you can use them as a foundation to build your own prezi. The Explore area is searchable by topic and whether or not it is reusable.
Figure 1-5: Prezi content tabs.
Changing the Way You Present with Prezi
If you’re comfortable with a presentation process that can’t be varied, then Prezi is not for you. Prezi gives you options. Options can be scary, but only until you try out a few. Then they can be liberating.
Comparing Prezi to traditional, slide-based programs is like comparing a large digital whiteboard to a deck of cards. On the whiteboard everything is laid out before you. No content is hidden. With the deck of cards you need to go card by card to see the content.
Imagine starting a slide presentation with slide number five and then zipping back to one and then out to ten. The audience would be frustrated for two reasons: first because the information is out of order, and second because moving back and forth seamlessly is clumsy and awkward. I’m sure you’ve seen a presenter scanning back and forth, frantically trying to find information on a slide near the beginning. It’s not pretty.
With Prezi, you avoid this problem completely. All your data is available to you on one canvas. If you want to speak about something, you can access your presentation content like you would on a whiteboard: You point at it. It’s all there to see at once. If you want to tell the story in a different way to each audience, you don’t need to reorder anything. You just follow the story in a different way.
Telling your story
Fiction writers have it much easier than business writers when they want to plot a story, or so some people think. They can make up anything they want and let the story take them anywhere they want to go. When it comes to telling a business story, however, there are constraints based on facts, figures, and outcomes. But is this really such a limiting factor?
Actually, it’s not, if you think about it differently. You aren’t trying to make up a story. Your job is to tell one that already exists. Your job is different. You need to take the ideas you want to convey and weave them into a story that people can understand and relate to. This is covered more thoroughly in Chapter 8.
Take the following actions as you construct your story:
Look at the plots. You don’t need to get too complicated with your plotting for a business presentation. Luckily, you know how it turns out before you begin your presentation so that you can pace it effectively.
Decide who the hero is. Even in a business presentation, the hero is still important. You need to make the audience care about the outcome. That’s what the hero does. Remember, in this case the hero doesn’t have to be a person. It does have to resonate with the audience.
Figure out the hook. Every story needs a hook — the thing that makes people sit up and pay attention instead of texting their friends or looking for a great sushi restaurant in the neighborhood. If you don’t supply one, don’t wonder why your audience can’t seem to settle down and listen at the beginning.
Figure out the sequence of events. Prezi gives you the opportunity to create a story line and set a Path to follow. Creating a story line makes your presentation stronger. You can also ensure that people can see the content in the order you intended if you’re not present by having them set specific timing intervals you suggest.
Planning differently
Even if you’re a die-hard keyboard user, I recommend that you plan your first prezi using a pencil and paper or other sketching medium. Prezi presents you with options that require you to think in ways you haven’t before. To do this effectively, you need to think and draw first.
For example, your first prezi might include the following planning sequence:
1. After your story is created as described in the preceding section, decide what you’ll use as your key phrases and text content.
2. Find and assemble the visuals that support your ideas. You determine what visuals you already have, what you need to create, or what you need to purchase.
3. Figure out how to place these visuals on the digital canvas in a way that provides meaning just by looking at it. Should you use a metaphor? What about using a familiar pattern that relates to the content?
Because you want to show both the big picture and the details, a random arrangement without grouping will be inefficient.
4. Figure out what order you want the content to be viewed in and how to zoom in and out to reach that content.
You can see how planning on paper would support this process more easily. When you get the hang of it, you may want to work directly online.
Thinking visually
When you creating a prezi, you translate some of your ideas and concepts into visuals. Thankfully, prezis don’t lend themselves to heavy text passages and ponderous bullet lists. There are built-in design tools that Prezi provides to help you break down the text into more easily digested pieces.
Throughout this book, I also talk about how to use visuals that you create with other software programs or find from outside sources. I list the acceptable formats in the next section.
The visuals themselves might include the following:
Story illustrations
Word art
Custom designed keywords and phrases
Metaphors
Mind Maps
Flow charts, graphs, statistics
Maps and timelines
Personas
Photos and stock images
Hand-drawn images (see Figure 1-6)
Animation, video with audio
Scrapbooking material
Representing movement using layering
When you lay your elements on the Prezi canvas, you can focus on it using three built-in movements: You can zoom in, zoom out, and rotate it. Think about how different this is than just placing a static image on the screen. (See Figure 1-7.)