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Ivan Petkov

Communication is an art because it is a fairly complex and multi-layered process. It is not so easy to deliver a certain amount of information in a way that is comprehensible for your interlocutors. We often do not realize this because, when everything is clear to ourselves, we immediately assume that it is clear to everyone else too. We even get angry and cannot believe how the other party cannot understand something so "simple" and "clear".

Things get more complicated when it comes to making a presentation before an audience because we do not know in advance the type of our audience and how ready it is to accept the information we will deliver. So, we can use presentation tools that help to visualize our ideas and facilitate the communication process but here comes the problem: the presentations are often boring and monotonous in graphic terms! It is not easy to design a beautiful, dynamic and compelling presentation, you need experienced designers for this.

However, this is no longer the case. I would like to introduce you to a presentation tool which allows everyone to express their ideas in an original and compelling way. Prezi changes our perception of a presentation. Prezi is a popular online service (there is an option to install it on your computer and there are versions for iPad and iPhone too), which enables you to make presentations which you never imagined that you could create!

The increasing number of Prezi users is a sure sign of its quality:

To see for yourself I suggest that you watch one of the many presentations made with Prezi. Wait for the video to load and use it:

What do you need?

A computer, a good internet connection, a modern browser (Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Chrome ...) and Adobe flash. Even if you do not understand the meaning of some of the words probably you meet all the conditions, especially if you are actively using the internet and watching videos on You Tube.

Modern technology now allows you to create content without having to install anything on your computer. If your internet connection is not good, you can always download the installation version. However, be aware that it offers only a 30-day trial period after which you cannot use it for free.

Creating an account and getting started

It is needless to teach you how to create an account but I will mention that if you have previously logged in to your Facebook account when registering on Prezi's website, you can see which of your friends are using the service. You can register by using your Facebook account too.

The first thing you need to choose is the free or paid version of the service. The differences between the two are presented below:

I would like to note that if you use the free service, all your presentations will be public. Keep this in mind if you are planning to make a presentation for a limited number of users!

Let us watch the first of the tutorials introducing Prezi to us:

So, after having obtained the theoretical background we can go ahead!

Open a new document and the first thing you can do is to choose a suitable template:

There are quite varied and very beautiful templates offering an almost complete presentation to which you only need to add your information. If you have no experience in making presentations, I suggest that you open the template you have chosen and try to use it without changing it, just to see how Prezi works. The workspace could not be easier. To the left you can see all the slides of your presentation which you can rearrange, remove and add new ones.

Here is the appearance of one of the templates open in Prezi:

Select successively each slide and you will get an idea of ​​how your presentation will move.

Let us start with the easiest step, namely text input:

Prezi allows you to select and add bold, italic and standard font, and to change the colour, size and alignment. In the free version I did not find the option of changing the font. Note that in some of the templates you may not be able to use the Cyrillic alphabet because the selected font does not support it.

You can add different elements to your presentation as well as import a PowerPoint presentation. The available elements are not many but they are sufficient and include circle, rectangle, line, arrow, and a few more:

Also, there are symbols and diagrams arranged by style. To add them, you simply have to grip, drag and drop the item into the desired place:

The different elements can be resized, rotated and grouped.

The templates support more than one style and you can experiment by changing them to your preferred colour scheme.

You can change the pace of the animation by pressing the small button with a pencil on it, which is above the slide box, after which you will see lines indicating the order in which the "camera" is moving:

It is very easy to make the change - just grab the required number of the movement of the imaginary "camera" and move it. To add a new move, click on the plus sign which is behind the finished number. This will add another movement right after this "frame" or slide. Prezi automatically adds a new slide and a zoom effect if you put the new "frame" on an element of the slide as shown by number 6, 7 and 8. If you put it beside the slide as shown by number 5 and 9 then the entire slide will be displayed.

There is not much to show you. To me, using Prezi was a pleasure. Prezi is simple and easy to use but new users will need some time to get used to it. While making the sample presentation I realized that I was automatically using different combinations of buttons that I am used to working with. This will be useful for more experienced users. If you have to make a large and complex presentation, perhaps it is better to use the installation version for offline work. Prezi will synchronize everything with your account and you will have it available online too.

Perhaps my only gripe is the lack of a history of changes. It may be available in the paid version. So, be careful what you are saving and how.

Once you have finished the presentation, you can take a link and send it to the people for whom the presentation is intended. It can be watched online too. You can also download it in PDF and save it for offline use, which is especially useful in the absence of internet connectivity. Moreover, you can share the presentation on Facebook.

Prezi is a very good alternative for making impressive presentations. I would recommend it to anyone who frequently delivers presentations. With Prezi, you will bring colour to your presentations and will definitely make them more interesting to your audience.

Here is what I have created with Prezi for the purposes of this article: