Everyone is flocking to Microsoft PowerPoint when they need to make a presentation again, but there are plenty of other programs and services that allow you to do that. In this article we look at competitors such as Prezi, Google Slides and Sway to make the best presentation without Powerpoint.
Tip 01: Prezi
The best-known alternative to PowerPoint is undoubtedly Prezi, a service that allows you to quickly create slick and interactive presentations. You can use the service for free, but then your presentation can be viewed by everyone. If you want more privacy, you have to pull out your wallet. Go to www.prezi.com and click Get Started. Choose Basic and under Start today for free click on Continue. Enter your name and e-mail address and choose a password. Confirm you are not a robot by checking I´m not a robot to put and click Create your free Basic account. You can also sign up via Facebook by clicking or sign up with Facebook but this may not be a good idea due to Facebook's collecting frenzy.
Do you have no experience with Prezi? Then choose templates labeled Novice Tip 02: Choose a template
Prezi asks you what kind of presentation you want to make. You can choose from five options. You do not have to select an option, but if you want to get started quickly, it is smart to, for example, H.R. / Training or Student to choose and press Next to click. If you want a tour, click on the video Getting Started. If you want to dive right into the deep end, choose New presentation. A new browser window will open from where you create your presentation. Under each template you will find a small graph with the text Novice, Skilled or master. Choose Novice if you have no experience with Prezi: these templates are simpler than the options Skilled or master. Once you click on a template, you can view it by clicking the arrows below it. If you want to use the template, choose Use this template.
Tip 03: The Prezi Method
Prezi works differently than PowerPoint. You navigate through your slides (or slides, as PowerPoint calls it) by clicking on something, which opens yet another slide. This way you can put a lot of information on one slide. You keep navigating back to your main screen and select another point in your slide that you can then magnify again. Sound complicated? That fits very well. Just click on a few templates and you'll get the concept in minutes. In a presentation you can not only put text, videos and images are also easy to insert. On the left you see a slide overview as you are used to from PowerPoint. First, it is useful to give your presentation a name. Click on the top left Untitled presentation, change this to a name of your choice and click OK. Follow the steps at the bottom right to adjust the template to your needs. If you want more information about how to make a good presentation with Prezi, you will find a lot of information here. When your presentation is ready, click Present top right.
fish
Visme is a new service and is currently in beta. It has the same business model as Prezi and here you choose Basic if you don't mind your presentations being public. If you want to be able to arrange your privacy, you have to put ten dollars a month on the table.
The appearance of Google Slides is very similar to that of PowerPointTip 04: Google Slides
Are you looking for a free alternative to PowerPoint? Then take a look at Google Slides. The service can only be used online and is part of Google Drive. Go here and sign in with your Google account information. If you don't have a Google account yet, create one, because you can't use the service without a Google account. At the bottom right, click on the big plus to create a new presentation. The design is very similar to a basic version of PowerPoint and has the advantage that as a PowerPoint user you do not need long to understand the program. On the left you see your slides. Add a slide by pressing Dia / New slide to click. At the top click on Unnamed presentation to rename your file.
If you want to make your presentations a little more beautiful, you can use themes Tip 05: Choose theme
If you want to make your presentations a bit more beautiful, you can use themes. To do this, right-click on one of the themes. If you don't see the available themes, click the button at the top Theme. The themes are not as extensive as the templates in Prezi, but they are all perfectly usable for a professional presentation. click on Click to add a title or opt for Click to add a subtitle to fill your slide with information. At the bottom you can enter notes per slide; this can help you during your presentation. You can make a transition between two slides by pressing . at the top Transition and if you want to set a background image, choose Background. When you're ready, choose View presentation. By the way, all your changes are automatically saved.
Tip 06: SlideShare
SlideShare is a presentation service from LinkedIn and intended to share presentations with others or discover presentations of other people. Do you have a good idea or an interesting topic that you know a lot about and do you want to share it with the world? Then sign up via your LinkedIn account. You do not need an account to view presentations. Just click on a presentation and click the triangles to navigate through the presentation. The website is very reminiscent of YouTube and, as with the popular video service, you can comment on presentations and contact the creators of a presentation. You can also use SlideShare for private presentations. Once you create a presentation, click Upload and select your private on the next screen. below Advanced Settings choose you behind Who can view the option People with the secret link. A secret link will now appear below this option that you can share with others. You can optionally add a password to your presentation.
Like two drops of water: LibreOffice is very similar to Microsoft Office – but for free Tip 07: LibreOffice
An outright clone of Microsoft Office is LibreOffice. And the name says it all: the program is completely free. Go here and click Download / LibreOffice Fresh. You need to download and install the latest version and then click Translated User Interface click to install the Dutch translation of the program. Unlike Microsoft Office, all programs can be started from one application. Open LibreOffice and click Impress Presentation. Choose one of the templates and click Open to edit the presentation. You also have to manually change the language in the program preferences. click on Languages and select English. You have to restart the program and everything can now be seen in Dutch. Do you need help creating your presentations? Then take a look at the handy LibreOffice help pages. LibreOffice is well maintained and updates appear regularly.
Tip 08: Microsoft Sway
Microsoft itself also has an alternative to PowerPoint called Sway. The biggest difference with PowerPoint is that Sway can be used entirely online. You just need to sign in with your Microsoft account. You can view a short presentation or immediately start a new presentation by pressing Create new to click. Sway also has a number of templates available if you're looking for inspiration. Click below for this Start with a template on one of the options. The templates look very good and by clicking on the icon at the bottom right of the screen, you see a horizontal overview of all your slides. Sway also gives you tips for a good presentation: where to cover your main point, where to develop interest in your presentation, and so on. You can export a presentation as a PDF file or as a Word file. Oddly enough, you can't save your presentation as a PowerPoint file. Sway is more intended to quickly create a nice looking document than to give a live presentation with it.
You do miss some features from the desktop version, but PowerPoint Online still feels quite complete Tip 09: PowerPoint Online
If you just want a basic version of PowerPoint, but find Sway's presentation options too simple, you can just use the free online version of PowerPoint. You log in with your Microsoft account, choose one of the templates or create a new presentation by clicking New empty presentation to click. You can also upload an existing PowerPoint presentation by clicking Upload presentation to click. This way you can continue working on your presentation online. You obviously miss some features that you only find in the desktop version, but PowerPoint Online still feels like a fairly complete program. Your file is automatically saved to your OneDrive account in between, and if you want to open the file again in the desktop version of PowerPoint, just click Open in PowerPoint.
Swipe
Swipe is an interesting new way that allows you to create fully online presentations. You can share links with people right away and your audience can rate the presentation afterwards. Swipe is not a replacement for PowerPoint, but for a short presentation that you want to show via your browser or mobile devices, it can be a good alternative.
Tip 10: PowToon
If you're looking for a unique way to get your message across, check out PowToon. This is a service that allows you to create beautiful animation videos and presentations without any prior knowledge. click on Start Now and sign up with your name and e-mail address or choose Sign up with Google, Facebook or LinkedIn. If you sign up with your email address, you will need to confirm your address with an activation email. Click on one of the options offered @Work, 4Edu or Personal or click Skip and remind me later. If you want to make an animation video for the first time, it is useful to click Customize a popular template to click. If you know exactly what you want to say, then go ahead Start from scratch. At PowToon you have a free option with the limitation that others can also view your project. A monthly subscription where you can adjust the privacy settings is very pricey at 19 dollars per month and really only suitable for companies.
