UPDATED: PowerPoint Alternatives — Presentation Tools Roundup

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It seems like more and more of us are expressing our ideas visually.  We know that presentations work great for sales and marketing, and of course as a mainstay of the events industry.  BUT, we also know that Microsoft® PowerPoint, though while useful, easy and ubiquitous, has kind of “burned us out.”  At The Meeting Pool we have encouraged our readers, clients, and those we participate with in events to push the envelope a bit.  Try an alternative method of presenting those brilliant ideas in lieu of PowerPoint.  There are definitely creative ways to express yourself visually and still have your meetings go off without a hitch.

Here are a few alternatives to the usual presentation tools to get you thinking about how you can change it up at your next meeting:

1. Prezi

Prezi is just plain awesome. You get to start with a blank canvas (pun intended) and use cool transformation tools and templates to make your Prezi engaging. The presentation tool even lets you group different ideas together so that brainstorming the layout of your Prezi is super simple. Just check out some of the presentations others have created to see why it really is the coolest thing since sliced bread. http://prezi.com/explore/popular/

2. PowToon 

Explainer videos are great, but they’re usually pretty pricy – especially if you’re on a startup budget. Now, thanks to PowToon, explainer videos can be created without a professional animator. And for an incredibly low price! ‘How low?’ you ask. Try FREE!! If you want to unlock additional features, it will cost you a bit of money, but it’s really reasonable. Find out more by taking a look at PowToon’s free e-book. You’ll learn why an explainer video is a great way to promote your product or brand… plus a whole lot more! http://www.powtoon.com/cartoonmarketing/

3. Haiku Deck

Haiku Deck makes creating professional presentations as easy as 1, 2, 3. Haiku Deck is a great way to experiment with your presentation design. You can try out different fonts and layouts until you get one that looks just right.  You can also select from a wide variety of free backdrop photos, or use your own. Haiku Deck gets extra bonus points for making it easy to share your presentation across various platforms like Facebook, Twitter, e-mail, etc. You can even use it on your iPhone or tablet! Plus, you can use your iPhone as a pointer or clicker with Haiku Deck!

4. Reflector

The Reflector App is a great way to mirror, live stream, and record your iPhone’s screen right to your computer. And you know what that means: No cables to trip over! As long as Airplay mirroring is turned on and your mobile device or tablet is connected to the same Wi-Fi network as your computer, you’re good to go.

5. SlideDog

SlideDog is a great way to create playlists for your presentation files and media. From PowerPoint to PDF to Prezi – SlideDog can handle them all. The user-friendly interface makes it simple for even the most tech-challenged presenter to use and you can remote control the entire presentation right from your smartphone, computer, or tablet!

6. Presenter

You don’t have to know how to code to create, design, and publish a professional, interactive presentation. By simply dragging and dropping what you want where you want it, you can create animations, interactive infographics, product demos, landing pages, and a whole lot more.

7. Keynote 

From themes that give your presentation a professional look to interactive charts that let you display data via great design, Keynote is your go-to presentation tool. You’ll love the simplicity, data charts, and user-friendly design options. And your presentation will look pretty great, too.

8.  Slid.es

 

 

 

A SaaS application with the Slides editor available online, right in your browser. Unlike traditional presentation software, like PowerPoint, there’s no need to download anything. All of your work is stored securely on our servers, accessible wherever you are.  You can also present easily on mobile, share presos and control look and feel with HTML and CSS.  Nice!

Controlling Your Presentations

Did you know you can control your presentation with your iPad?  There are lots of ways now to leverage this handy mobile tool.  Look at a few recommendations here to get started.

• Keynote control for the Keynote user
• Slideshow Remote
• mbPointerHD
• And use this Pebble Smartwatch to control slides, if you really want to add that James Bond feel.

So, what do you think? Going to give one of them a try? We hope so!