Does anyone else get PowerPoint files submitted to them where the author has managed to create all (or almost all) of their slides with the title "Untitled?" Sometimes the way people fail to use PowerPoint the way it was designed makes me want to cry...
The "Untitled" slide title is the least of the horrors I sometimes see when I see some of the PPs that are sent to me.
I've found that some people don't know about the Enter key and they use the space bar to wrap the text to the next line in text boxes. Does this make you feel better :-) ?
Truth is that some people don't see the need to learn to use PP (or any piece of software for that matter) properly. They get what they like, that's enough for them. I just accept that.
Hi, Will: Well generating content has to start somewhere, and the nice thing about PPT is that it lends itself to a chunking of content, that is, most people now know that it's not cool to cram text in 8pt font on the slide.
Usually when I receive a powerpoint from a content expert who is not an ID, I just think of it as a rough storyboard. It is only a starting point to begin a project. It may have good content, but as IDs it is our job to add the polish, or move the content into a more appropriate platform.
So yes, you will see a lot of stuff come to you that is absolutely horrible. But my expertise is my ability to take that and turn it in to a presentation. As long as I continue to get all of that content in such a horrible condition, I know I still have a job.
Another thing that drives me crazy is when, after you've already created a draft of the module, someone sends an email like this, "Hey, we reviewed our PowerPoint and made some edits, can you update the module? The PowerPoint is attached."
I've found that sending a published Word output of the module and saying, make your edits on this please (write a description of the changes under the image of the slide), is a good solution though. (Don't forget to turn on track changes).
I find these beginner mistakes funny. I guess when you are up against a deadline it can be annoying, but in the end, I agree with Daniel that people have to start somewhere. Of course it would be nice if everyone invested time in learning the software that they are using, but that would be a perfect world, which ours is not. I've made mistakes when first learning software. It's all part of the learning process. It takes more knowledgeable people to kindly point out those errors to help people learn.
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I shudder pretty much everytime I get something in PowerPoint...
The "Untitled" slide title is the least of the horrors I sometimes see when I see some of the PPs that are sent to me.
I've found that some people don't know about the Enter key and they use the space bar to wrap the text to the next line in text boxes. Does this make you feel better :-) ?
Truth is that some people don't see the need to learn to use PP (or any piece of software for that matter) properly. They get what they like, that's enough for them. I just accept that.
Hi, Will: Well generating content has to start somewhere, and the nice thing about PPT is that it lends itself to a chunking of content, that is, most people now know that it's not cool to cram text in 8pt font on the slide.
Hi Will,
Sure, who hasn't?
Usually when I receive a powerpoint from a content expert who is not an ID, I just think of it as a rough storyboard. It is only a starting point to begin a project. It may have good content, but as IDs it is our job to add the polish, or move the content into a more appropriate platform.
So yes, you will see a lot of stuff come to you that is absolutely horrible. But my expertise is my ability to take that and turn it in to a presentation. As long as I continue to get all of that content in such a horrible condition, I know I still have a job.
Another thing that drives me crazy is when, after you've already created a draft of the module, someone sends an email like this, "Hey, we reviewed our PowerPoint and made some edits, can you update the module? The PowerPoint is attached."
I've found that sending a published Word output of the module and saying, make your edits on this please (write a description of the changes under the image of the slide), is a good solution though. (Don't forget to turn on track changes).
I find these beginner mistakes funny. I guess when you are up against a deadline it can be annoying, but in the end, I agree with Daniel that people have to start somewhere. Of course it would be nice if everyone invested time in learning the software that they are using, but that would be a perfect world, which ours is not. I've made mistakes when first learning software. It's all part of the learning process. It takes more knowledgeable people to kindly point out those errors to help people learn.
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