It’s finally up! The video of the workshop given by Alex Chan at the Toastmasters District 61 Spring Conference 2012 is now online.

During the workshop, Alex had mentioned that he’d post a video so that those who attended could consult it at leisure and more easily remember the points that were discussed.

(Or, if you wanted to attend the workshop but unfortunately missed it, here’s the perfect chance for you to catch up!)

— Deliver More Effective Powerpoint Presentations —

(Click to see a larger version of the video in HD)

References:

And here are some useful links to references mentioned during the workshop:

(more…)

Please join Alex Chan at the 2012 District 61 Toastmasters Spring Conference as he presents a workshop entitled:

“Deliver more effective PowerPoint Presentations“.

Alex is the current VP Membership of the St. Lawrence Toastmasters Club, and is also Webmaster of this fine website.

Are you looking for suggestions to help improve your Powerpoint presentation skills? Learn how to prepare more effective Powerpoint presentations through tips and pointers that are easy to implement. No need to be a Powerpoint guru!

Workshop description:
This workshop will show you what it takes to make clear, logical, and easy to follow presentations.

Technical skill required:
Basic to medium knowledge of Powerpoint.

Workshop details:
“Deliver more effective PowerPoint Presentations“.
Friday April 27, 2012 at 6 PM
District 61 Spring Conference 2011
Conference room name: “Lotbinière”
Château Vaudreuil
Vaudreuil, Quebec
http://www.toastmastersconference.com/spring/2012

The Toastmasters Competent Communication manual is comprised of 10 projects to help members develop their speaking skills one step at a time.  In Project 8 “Get Comfortable with Visual Aids”, the goal is to use visual aids as a way to help the audience understand and remember what they hear.  Often this could be done with the help of PowerPoint presentations, overhead transparencies, flip charts, whiteboards.  But speakers can also use other props like a hat, sunglasses, or other objects that will help to give the desired impact for the speech.

Here is an interesting presentation that definitely makes an interesting and effective use of the iPad as a visual aid.  It was taken during MIPIM 2012 held in Cannes Paris, on behalf of Stockholm — the Capital of Scandinavia. MIPIM is an International Real Estate Conference for professionals which had nearly 20,000 participants.

(Click here to view the video directly on YouTube.)

One of the overlooked benefits of Toastmasters is that it can help us during some of the hardest times, for example to give a eulogy (praise of someone recently deceased).

On the Toastmasters International website, there is an article with tips and techniques to speak from the heart when giving a eulogy.

“Speaking at a funeral or memorial service is probably one of the most difficult speaking assignments imaginable. It’s one thing to speak coherently in front an audience; it’s another to keep from falling apart emotionally when giving a tribute to a deceased family member, friend or coworker.

But speaking at such an important event is a gift. By communicating what’s in your heart to people who need help to deal with grief, you fulfill a collective need for comfort.”

Here is a link to some inspiring eulogies that were given for the recent passing of Steve Jobs, founder of Apple.

Do you want to improve some of your PowerPoint presentation skills?

A big thanks to Erik Jensen at PowerPoint Blog for mentioning that there will be a series of free webinars for anyone interested in improving their slide design and presentation skills.  We think this can definitely be useful for all Toastmasters.

The webinars will take place throughout September and October 2011.

Here is a brief description of the webinar series:

Learn how to eliminate Death by PowerPoint and make your presentations come to life. Listen to guest experts share their best techniques and answer your questions!

To find out more, please head directly to the PowerPoint Blog where we found out about this ourselves:

Improve your slide design and presentation skills (Free webinars)

The article gives a description of all the presenters and their profiles, the dates of the presentations, as well as how to register for the webinars (once you’re registered, you will receive the links to join each of the webinars).