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Architects and designers can spend as much of their time communicating their designs as working to design them. And while PowerPoint remains a mainstay, there are other apps and tools that can help you either maximize your PowerPoint slides or take you in a different direction completely.
The trend in presentations is for more interaction, tighter timeslots, and less of a canned feel.
Paper for iOS
Paper turns your iOS device into a sketch pad. The interface is clean and simple limiting tools to a few for quick capture of ideas with a surprisingly effective output. The diagram tool straightens shapes and lines, and the watercolor paintbrush creates a hand-painted vibe. Combined with the company’s newest release—Paste—Paper can become a presentation and team sharing tool. But quite frankly, just flipping through one of the app’s digital journals in front of a client is impressive.
Doodly
Have you seen the videos where a hand sketches concepts on a whiteboard at super speed to illustrate a concept? Well, Doodly has automated that process. You upload your image, choose a hand-type to draw it, then lay in a vocal or music bed to play behind the video. You can also add text, or one of Doodly’s animated characters. Once you are happy with your edits, you download the video to use in your presentation—or you can just send it to the client.
Presentation Clock
While your phone may have a countdown timer, few are set up to make the numbers as big as your display. Presentation Clock’s digital numbers are as big as your screen, and give you the option to assign colors to times that change from green, to yellow, to red so it is obvious if you are running long in your delivery.
iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/presentation-clock/id391324914?mt=8
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cholick.pclock&hl=en_US
PowerPoint for iPhone and Android
One of the best parts of downloading PowerPoint to your phone is that you can elegantly present from the device in your hand. Not only that, but there is also a markup tool which makes highlighting something on a screen in real time a breeze.
iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/microsoft-powerpoint/id586449534?mt=8
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.microsoft.office.powerpoint&hl=en_US
Google Forms
Google Forms is an easy tool to create quick surveys, making it easy to report results using charts and graphs. The next time you want to truly tailor something to the group you are presenting to, create a short 5-question survey, send it out ahead of time, then use part of your presentation to show the results. And, if you really enjoy using Forms, you might decide to jump from PowerPoint to Google Slides, the G-Suite presentation platform.
https://www.google.com/forms/about/
Visme
When the optimal presentation format is an infographic, Visme can be your best friend. With thousands of templates and graphics, it is easy to select one that is close to what you need and customize it with your own data. You can test drive Visme for free, then upgrade to the paid version if you need to create more infographics.
Canva
Sometimes, you just need to create an image with interesting typography—fast. Canva is a free tool for creating social graphics. There are in-app purchases for premium photos and layouts, but most cost just a dollar.
Hashslider
If you want to stream other people’s Instagram content during a presentation in real time, check out Hashslider. You select the hashtags and usernames you want pulled into the feed. You even have options for moderating content and selecting the layout for the show. This app is most effective when your presentation is part of an event and has a hashtag associated with it. Or create your own hashtag for the group and have them post whatever you ask for.
Poll Everywhere
Poll Everywhere is an app for live audience interaction. Ask a question, and the audience can post answers to the screen in real time. The subscription is monthly, scaled by the size of the audience and you can cancel at any time.
https://www.polleverywhere.com
Unsplash
Most of the time, our presentations rely on project images, but sometimes you just need a concept photo. But where to find one that is royalty-free? Unsplash has thousands of free, high resolution images which can serve as the perfect backdrop to whatever you are talking about.
Zoom
While there are tons of applications for virtual meetings, one of the things that people love about Zoom is that you can invite people to the meeting via a URL link making it effortless for people to join the meeting. Not only that, but the interface is easy to use—which really matters when you are presenting virtually. After all, your thoughts should be on the presentation, not the tech!
The trend in presentations is for more interaction, tighter timeslots, and less of a canned feel. Leveraging these tools can help you be more effective in your creation and delivery so that the presentation doesn’t get in the way of an awesome message.
[Editor's note: Originally posted in June 2018.]
