One of my favourite blogs – Lifehacker – recently polled it’s readers on their favourite presentation software. The usual suspects were there, but there was one that I had not come across before – Prezi. The comments suggested that Prezi has garnered a bit of a following so I thought I would check it out. It is a rather interesting concept, and I frankly do not know what to do with it at the moment.
Most presentation software is based around the “slideshow” metaphor,o with one slide following another. Prezi starts from a rather different metaphor – the blank sheet of paper (or “canvas” if you prefer). The various ideas/concepts/messages are located wherever you want want on the canvas, and you can move from site to site, zoom in on certain areas, or zoom out for a bigger picture.
If you think of it as a slideshow meets a mindmap you are probably pretty close.
So how does Prezi work in practice? Check it out yourself – the website has a number of example presentations that you can look at to get ideas and even work off of.
As for me, I’m reserving judgement. The overwhelming impression I left with was of dizzyness. On the screen, at any rate, the motion overwhelmed the message, and I thought that was a poor tradeoff. I would be interested in seeing it in real life however, to see how Prezi works.
The uniqueness of the format might help you keep your audience engaged to begin with, at any rate, but it will be up to you – the presenter – to keep them engaged over the longer haul.
The Speaking Scientist 
Prezi? Wassat?
One of my favourite blogs – Lifehacker – recently polled it’s readers on their favourite presentation software. The usual suspects were there, but there was one that I had not come across before – Prezi. The comments suggested that Prezi has garnered a bit of a following so I thought I would check it out. It is a rather interesting concept, and I frankly do not know what to do with it at the moment.
Most presentation software is based around the “slideshow” metaphor,o with one slide following another. Prezi starts from a rather different metaphor – the blank sheet of paper (or “canvas” if you prefer). The various ideas/concepts/messages are located wherever you want want on the canvas, and you can move from site to site, zoom in on certain areas, or zoom out for a bigger picture.
If you think of it as a slideshow meets a mindmap you are probably pretty close.
So how does Prezi work in practice? Check it out yourself – the website has a number of example presentations that you can look at to get ideas and even work off of.
As for me, I’m reserving judgement. The overwhelming impression I left with was of dizzyness. On the screen, at any rate, the motion overwhelmed the message, and I thought that was a poor tradeoff. I would be interested in seeing it in real life however, to see how Prezi works.
The uniqueness of the format might help you keep your audience engaged to begin with, at any rate, but it will be up to you – the presenter – to keep them engaged over the longer haul.
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