Patrice-Anne Rutledge is a business technology author specializing in social media, online collaboration, and presentation technology.
Her latest books include:
-- Using LinkedIn -- Using Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 -- Teach Yourself Basecamp in 10 Minutes -- The Truth About Profiting from Social Networking -- The Web-Savvy Writer
There for a while PowerPoint seemed to be an overused presentational resource. Everyone loved how easy the software was to use so every presentation (big or small) was presented in bullet points with a few graphics and pictures. Then, we all had to sit there and fain interest while the presenter read each and every point. Very tedious for all involved.
Fortunately, PowerPoint has matured quite a lot since those times. Using Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 shows how given a bit of imagination and creativity, presentations don`t have to be bland and boring anymore. Moreover, the 2010 version has added a few important extras such as creating sections and the ability to save the presentation as a pdf file (great for handouts).
Most useful though is the ability to add audio and video to our presentations. Now, we can literally make automated versions that we could stream on a website or have running continuously at a trade show. Manipulate the image and add a bit of animation and the presentation comes alive.