In any project or business meeting, having a well-thought-out presentation can certainly be a dealbreaker. Utilizing a great presentation software will always make a difference. In a nutshell, the aim of these presentations is to communicate the company’s ideas, be it in a proposal and even in a simple meeting. The goal is to have a streamlined order of key things to discuss. This can also contribute a lot in having a successful meeting.
Nowadays, there are a lot of presentation softwares available online. Each one has its own flair and advantages. These softwares are essential as they can give life to your presentation. Add to that, most of them are very user-friendly. Everyone can actually give it a try. With their available templates, you can also learn how to organize and present your thoughts properly. That’s a win for everyone.
In this guide, we’ll dive into the importance of presentation softwares and discuss the pros and cons of these popular tools. These can very much help you take your presentation to the next level.
Why Is It So Important?
A presentation software is a computer application that contains pre-made templates that enhance the way you present your ideas to your colleagues. You’ll be able to easily add or modify the formatting, as well as the graphics and other objects. These tools give any presentation a professional touch. Hence, helping you engage your target audience.
Using a presentation maker offers loads of advantages. Despite having different features, the following benefits are very similar, if not the same, to all available softwares. Here are reasons why it is so important.
They can capture your audience’s attention due to the visualizations they can provide
Gone were the days that slides only had blocks of text with minimal to no graphics.
Using presentation softwares, you can add various visual cues, such as graphics, animations, backgrounds, transitions, and many others. Having these objects can provide more meaning to the ideas being shown.
This is a more effective strategy to catch and extend the attention span of the viewers.
It is very convenient to use, especially for beginners, as they have templates
With the ready-made templates available, these softwares can essentially provide a step-by-step guide on how to make a proper presentation. If you are a newbie, fear not. You can always start learning with the templates they have to give you the opportunity to choose the type of presentation to do.
The more you use these softwares, the more practice you get. Though, you can also use a blank template and start from scratch.
Presentations can be interactive and dynamic
Due to the latest technologies, presentations nowadays have chat boxes, polls, and other interactive displays. These can aid in engaging the audience from start to finish.
Also, having these upgrades can help a presentation run accordingly and timely.
Addition of multimedia are available
A simple read-through presentation is already a thing of the past. Now, you can incorporate audio tracks, videos, and GIFs. These can make your slides more appealing.
Also, this can stimulate various senses that can fully communicate your thoughts. Plus, no download is necessary.
Remote broadcast of your presentation is now possible
Because of the recent pandemic, the situation forced many businesses to resort to virtual meetings and presentations. In spite of some people being unfamiliar with this feature, presentation software made remote broadcast a norm.
It actually breathed a new life on how we present to the viewers whether physically or virtually.
Presentation tools allow a collaborative approach
It is very vital in team presentations. These tools now give access to multiple people to create the presentation. Aside from that, they could also chat and even leave comments and notes.
This gave a whole new meaning to group presentations.
Minor drawbacks of presentation softwares
Having said all of the benefits, users can encounter a few minor downsides of using these tools. These include:
- Technical issues are quite relevant, especially for remote presentation
- Presentations can sometimes be overdone due to the overwhelming amount of multimedia effects
The Best Presentation Softwares In The Market
Choosing the presentation maker is no easy task. It entails a lot of consideration to know which one suits your needs the most. We have listed down the best recommended softwares you can find in the market, together with their edge and drawbacks.
Canva
As one of the most popular online platforms, Canva offers design and visual-centered services. Launched online in 2013, it quickly gained fame due to its free-to-use contents. Its users were able to create their own contents by simply signing up and even without the need for a subscription.
It also offers paid content and competitive plans for both personal and business accounts.
Pros
- Canva’s free version has a lot of content that you can use.
- It has a user-friendly drag and drop format. Anyone can try their hand at designing content.
- You can find a lot of templates you can use for different platforms. There are templates for Youtube thumbnails, Facebook banners, LinkedIn banners, and a lot more.
- You can create your own designs using Canva. Make use of their stock photos, audios, and animations. You can also upload videos and GIFs that you can use.
- Canva is available on both desktop and mobile. It is also a cloud-based app, meaning presentations can be viewed on any connected device.
Cons
- Some content needs to be bought or only accessible in the paid version.
- Design elements like alignment can’t be fine-tuned unlike in programs such as Photoshop and Indesign.
- What you see on the program may be different to the printed version. Also, you can’t export to programs like Microsoft Powerpoint.
- No analytics and lead generation available.
Visme
Deemed as an all-around online tool, Visme offers an array of presentations you can choose from. This completely-customizable visualization software is user-friendly. Users can enjoy so many template options based on your chosen plan.
Pros
- The Presenter Studio allows you to record a video of yourself doing a presentation. You can either record a video or audio alone.
- Users have the freedom to embed other content like forms, quizzes, and polls. Take advantage of these integrations to make your content more interactive and engaging.
- Their library consists of thousands of stock photos, audio, video, icons, illustrations, charts, and graphs that you can use in your presentations.
- Visme can be used on both desktop and mobile devices. It is also an online, cloud-based application.
- When a presentation is shared using a live link, it can be analyzed for sharing and views. Here it shows the habits of your viewers, like which slides are most viewed and how long viewers watched.
- You can collect leads by adding signup forms to your presentations. This will allow you to build a list of potential clients.
Cons
- On a free account, you can only do up to 3 projects. You’d have to select among the paid plans if you want to access premium content and maximize Visme.
- Its plans are priced higher compared to its competitors.
Prezi
This is another presentation tool that gives an alternative to the traditional presenting format. Instead of slide by slide, you can create animated, non-sequential flows complete with topics and subtopics. It is a bit more complicated to use, but this is a good choice for more creative presentations.
Pros
- Like its peers, Prezi has a ton of templates to choose from. Templates differ in color and style.
- You can easily share your presentation on most social media platforms using their share button.
Cons
- Its content library has some basic icons and shapes. You will need to avail their premium plans to access the majority of icons and images.
- Users cannot embed third-party content.
- Features like voice overs, brand kits, analytics, and offline viewing are only available on premium plans.
Google Slides
This is the presentation software that comes with your Google account. The interface is very similar to Microsoft Powerpoint. This is free to use as long as you have a Google account.
Pros
- This software is free to use as long as you have a Google account. All features are available.
- Very easy to use and navigate. You can animate the elements in each slide.
- Users can upload photos, videos, and GIFs. Anything in your Google Drive can also be used here.
- Presentations can be shared via email or link.
Cons
- Not much template selection to choose from.
- No analytics, brand kit, and lead generation available.
Keynote
This is a presentation software designed for the Mac platform. It was developed by Apple to be part of the iWork productivity suite. This software is also compatible with other Apple products like iPad, iPhone, and iPod.
Pros
- If you are familiar with Google slides and Microsoft Powerpoint, then using Keynote is very easy as it has a similar interface with these softwares.
- Free to use on any Apple device and PC as long as you have an Apple ID. You can also use it on both desktop and cloud.
- Users can add images, GIFs, audios, and voice overs to the presentation.
- Slides and objects can be animated in various ways.
Cons
- Users cannot embed third-party content.
- No analytics, brand kit, and lead generation available. There is also no option to share on social media.
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