Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit

This book is not as much about reading as it is about seeing and doing! That’s why we call it a kit. Full-color pages show you exactly how your slides will look as you follow the makeover steps, and all presentations in various stages of the makeover are on the accompanying CD.

Each of the eight makeovers has been carefully chosen so it’s relevant to anyone who has ever used PowerPoint. And if you just upgraded to PowerPoint 2007, this book gives you a great introduction to the new version of the program, along with ample experience in using all the new features. There’s no better way of getting up to speed with PowerPoint 2007.

          •        Learn the tricks used by the creators of award-winning presentations

          •        Every makeover includes step-by-step instructions that are illustrated in full color

          •        Separate chapters dedicated to the PowerPoint 2007 interface and galleries

          •        Explore everything from choosing appropriate colors to visually representing data

          •        Perfect presentations by incorporating high-impact animation and multimedia elements

             ON THE CD

          •        All sample presentations, plus all the files you need to do the makeovers

          •        Royalty free pictures

          •        Music tracks

          •        Templates and Themes

Amazon.com® Reader Reviews (Ranked by Helpfulness)

Average Amazon.com® Rating:  Based on 11 Ratings

Glitzier slides, but not clearer - 2009-04-25
Reviewer Rating:
This book explores all the rich colors and templates available in PowerPoint and shows how to add glitz to dull, drab slides. However, the glitz doesn't add clarity and the After slides are just as confusing as the Before slides, just with bevelled edges and drop shadows, decorative backgrounds and harmonious fonts.

The authors do have a good grasp of the many new tools in PowerPoint 2007 and I was able to find a few nuggets, like converting a bulleted list into separate slides, and creating custom color palettes.

If you just want to put lipstick on crummy slides, then the Makeover Kit can help you with that. But it won't make your message comprehensible for your audience. For clearer PowerPoint communications, I'd recommend "Clear and to the Point".

One technical book worth the price. - 2008-07-23
Reviewer Rating:
I have read, reviewed and edited many books on the topic of software and design. This is one of the most engaging and practical software books I've read on the specific subject of a specific application.

Bajaj and Swinford have used an engaging "makeover" approach to demonstrate the features of PowerPoint. This gives the reader an unusually (and welcome) practical application of the concepts--much more useful than reading a technical manual.

The ideas and lessons in the book are not limited to PowerPoint 2007! The design concepts are sound. (Just because you have a design tool doesn't mean you design well, so learn about both!)

If you use PowerPoint to communicate, influence or entertain, get this book.

Good Book For Advanced Power Point Users - 2009-09-04
Reviewer Rating:
Power Point 2007 Complete Makeover Kit appears to be a title for more advanced Power Point users. I say this because the first 10 pages or so are an introduction to Power Point while the rest of the book covers specific presentations.

There are some colorful illustrations that attract the reader's attention and the book seems to be reasonably well-written.

If you are looking for a more basic book, then I would check on other titles. For more advanced Power Point users, then this book could be a good fit.

You can wow your audience by adding extras. - 2008-11-30
Reviewer Rating:
If you're willing to spring for all of the add-on software that the writer of this book recommends, then you can truly "wow" your audience. This book has good reference coverage on color wheel usage. Also good coverage on creating custom presentations. It could have gone deeper on the Power Point VBA, but hey, this is a book on presentations, not VBA coding!!

Fix Those Bad PowerPoint Presentations!! - 2008-07-13
Reviewer Rating:
Geetesh Bajaj and Echo Swinford are both Microsoft PowerPoint MVPs. Both have written excellent books detailing how to get the most out of PowerPoint. Now they've joined forces to show you how to give your presentations a makeover. PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit contains eight case studies of presentations that need some help. Each presentation is OK as it has been done, but Bajaj and Swinford show how, in just a few steps, each presentation can be made better.

The book starts off with a section detailing how PowerPoint 2007 differs from previous versions. There are a lot of changes that have been made, especially the Ribbon menu interface, and it's important for people who have used previous versions of PowerPoint to understand how these changes affect how you use PowerPoint 2007.

Once the basics have been covered, the case studies start. Bland corporate presentations, basic and boring school project presentations, kiosk displays -- they're all covered, and all made over. The addition of Themes in PP 2007 helps designers a lot -- you can give a consistent look to your PowerPoint and other Office documents, and Bajaj and Swinford use Themes to great advantage in this book.

Of course, the book includes a CD-ROM. Each makeover, both before and after slides, is included, as well as many templates and themes, images, and PowerPoint tools. The CD content is valued at over $100, so it's certainly worth the price of the book just to get the CD!

But the book is valuable in itself. You can read and read instructions on how to do something, but sometimes it doesn't really sink in until you actually do something on your own. You can sit down with the 'before' slides in this book and follow along step-by-step with the book, or you can try your hand at doing it yourself, using the techniques you learn in the book. And then you can get to work on all the dull presentations you've got on your hard drive, kicking them up a few notches.

Obviously, PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit assumes you know how to use PowerPoint, and that you have a copy of PP 2007 of your own. But PowerPoint users of all skill levels can learn something from Bajaj and Swinford.

Browse Similar Topics

Top Level Categories:
Desktop Applications

Sub-Categories:
Desktop Applications > PowerPoint