This is the final blog about how I prepared my Prezi presentation for Prezi day 2013 in Amsterdam. With my Mind Map and script already in place it’s now time to build the Prezi. This blog explains my process and how I created the imagery you’ll see in the final presentation.
The home stretch
So in the last two blogs I’ve told you how I approach my Prezi designs so far. In the first installment I spent some time Mind-Mapping to help me plan the presentation structure and content. Then in the second blog I showed you how I write my script and how that process inspires the imagery I might need for the final step mentioned below.
Building Prezis is a piece of cake!
You may have seen previous blogs of ours in the past that tell you the best approach to building your Prezi design. We always tell everyone in our Prezi Training programs that building a Prezi design really is a piece of cake. I have to admit that most new users on those training sessions look at me blankly when I say that with a ‘Ye right!’ look in their eyes, but it is true.
The secret is just to approach your Prezi design in a logical order, and in pretty much the same way you’d bake a cake.
1- Bottom layer of sponge
2 – Cream and Jam in the middle
3 – Top layer of sponge
Taadaaah!
Or in Prezi it would look something like this:
What normally happens though is new Prezi users approach the design with their old PowerPoint hat on and just throw all the content onto the canvass at once. BIG MISTAKE in Prezi because…..well……it isn’t PowerPoint!
Start from the bottom layer
So in your Prezi design the bottom layer of sponge should always be your background image or as we like to call it ‘The BIG Picture’.
How do you know what this is? well if you’ve followed the steps from the first 2 blogs in this series you have a great Mind-Map and script, so you should know what your background image will be.
You can use online libraries like Shutterstock to source imagery, or if you’re lucky enough you can ask your designer to build you something.
Which ever route you take always add the background image to your Prezi design first.
The cream and the jam
Mmmmmmmmmm cream and jam taste so good don’t they. Well in your Prezi design the cream and jam is really the content of your presentation. Those tasty little bits of information that you’ll be sharing with your audience need to go in next. And now that you already have your background image in place you should be able to zoom in and position your content exactly where you need it. RESULT 😉
The top layer of sponge
Have you guessed what this is in your Prezi design yet? The image above is a give away!
Your final top layer of sponge to your Prezi design is the frames and paths. It’s the flow of your presentation and how your audience see’s each section.
I would strongly recommend you focus on this last once you have your content (cream and jam) in place. It really allows you to focus on the flow of your Prezi design and you’ll make sure the audience has the best view of everything.
What’s next?
Now it’s time for the scariest part of all. To present it……..Aaaaaaaaarrrrrggggghhhh cringe!
Rest assured though that if you’ve followed the steps I’ve outlined you should be in a very good place with your Prezi design by now. BUT one thing I just have to mention which people tend to overlook a lot.
PREZI DOES NOT MAKE YOU A GOOD PRESENTER!………..Make sure you practice your presentation and even invest in some presentation skills training so that you and your Prezi design are both as amazing as one another on the day. There is nothing worse that a bad presenter not doing justice to an amazing Prezi design, and of course the same is true the other way around.
Below is a recorded version of my presentation for Prezi Day 2013. It went fantastically well and if you’d like to view the Prezi online to deliver it to your own teams the link is also here.
