Presenting for Effect with Video Backgrounds in PowerPoint

PowerPoint presentations designed around static PowerPoint templates have always been the safe and only reliable presenting tool for any presenter.

But anyone who has ever sat in the audience in an auditorium, conference, or event and sat through presentation after presentation knows only too well the impact of any presentation is more or less none.

There’s usually nothing we haven’t seen before. No template color scheme. No bullet text. No presentation layout, no clever effects that make us sit up in our seats, take notice, and pay attention to the speaker.

I have to be honest, as any conference continues I usually find myself being distracted by any and just about everything. I begin to think about meetings lined up for when I return to the office, or emails that I need to send. In fact, I almost always find myself thinking about everything else other than the arguments, thoughts, and ideas of the speaker presenting.

And perhaps unsurprisingly, when I look around I see most other audience members are doing exactly the same. So why is that? Why do we attend conferences and conventions to look at PowerPoint presentations which are almost anonymous? Which are not only uninspiring but for the better part almost instantly forgettable. Why do we sit there desperately trying to stay interested in anything the speaker is saying when every facial muscle is working against us, testing us, teasing us to just go ahead and yawn? Is there no escape from the monotony of PowerPoint?

For years I have often wondered when will PowerPoint change? When will presenters be able to use PowerPoint in such a way so as it not only makes the audience sit up. But makes them think "wow". After all have you ever seen the front page of a newspaper read something like "Global economy weakened"?

These days it seems every newspaper reads "Global market collapse!" or "Financial crisis threatens jobs!" or "Homes repossessed. Thousands homeless!"

Every newspaper editor knows if you want to get the readers attention, you can’t do it by simply being anonymous. You have to stand out. You have to shout to be heard. You have to lift your voice above the others to get attention.

Of course in the newspaper industry. This is often achieved with large sensationalist headlines. And in the presentation industry, I don’t think any presentation would make a greater impact simply by using larger type. And it might perhaps be ill advised to interpret the need to "stand out" as the need to shout your message at your audience. I’m not sure any audience would be comfortable with any presenter shouting his or her message at the top of their voice as a way to being considered the most important speaker.

So what can a presenter do? Abandon PowerPoint all together? After all less is sometimes considered more. So maybe just standing in front of your audience without any visual aids, props, or presentation to refer to is a preferred option?

For some perhaps, but for the majority there is always something very reassuring about having a PowerPoint presentation on hand. To have bullet points to refer to. Key arguments to reference. And a slide to look at whenever you drift, become sidetracked, or lose your way in the middle of your speech.

So what can we as presenters do to gain more attention from our audience? And more importantly what are our alternatives to gaining attention?

I’ve seen many presentations where the presenter starts with a video. Plays a clip that gets the audience attention and curiosity only to revert back to bullet points, traditional slides, and the good old dependable PowerPoint template. And all the potential, and enthusiasm of the opening falling flat by the finish.

I’ve often thought if a presenter wants to show a video why not just show a video clip and drop the PowerPoint presentation? Well…I guess we go back to the presenters security of having slides and points to refer to. But if video creates an impact (and it obviously does). Since it creates excitement and it creates attention. Then why not create PowerPoint presentations with video backgrounds? Why not simply replace static PowerPoint templates with full screen moving backgrounds that create attention and excitement with the audience?

Well that seems to be the problem. The "Achilles heal" if you will of PowerPoint.

By default PowerPoint does not allow you to insert video into the backgrounds of slides to play behind slide content. If you insert a video into PowerPoint then it always plays in front of slide content which is not very helpful for any presenter referring to slides, bullet points, and key figures. So this perhaps explains why PowerPoint presentations have and are always made with static PowerPoint templates. But does it excuse it?

Not one to be easily deterred I scoured the web hoping to find a solution. An alternative to the repetitiveness and uniformity of PowerPoint templates. And did it exist? Well I found many companies touting their claim at offering "Videos for PowerPoint", and many claiming that inserting videos in PowerPoint slides was simple. Experience, and their small print however, read otherwise. For whilst it seems that there are many online vendors offering "video backgrounds for PowerPoint" and "animated PowerPoint backgrounds", what they are not doing is offering or providing the presenter with any way to insert them into PowerPoint.

This seems a little bit like selling Bermuda shorts to Eskimos. Sure they can buy them but how can they ever use them?

The 123PPT Video Backgrounds Player
Allows presenters to insert video backgrounds into PowerPoint presentation slides for greater impact and effect.