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A Unique Experience
No other conference on the planet shines a spotlight this bright and this strong on the presentation experience.
Breadth
Successful presentations are about more than software. They are about crafting sharp messages, creating intelligent design, employing smart PowerPoint techniques, and developing comfort before an audience. The Summit offers all of this at levels you won’t find anywhere else.
Depth
We deliver insight, inspiration, and community to create a conference experience that you will remember forever. Our breadth of coverage, depth of expertise, willingness to help, and passion for creating engagement all add up to a business conference that is completely unlike any other you will attend.
Scope
Spend three days with us and never look at a presentation project the same way again. Three days and immediately distinguish yourself from 99% of the people creating or delivering presentations today.
How we create our learning environment
At the Presentation Summit, you will get to choose among three concurrent seminars or workshops taking place at any given time.
Design
Looks at questions of design and aesthetics, story and message, and audience connection. This track explores the qualities that make up excellent presentation content and is where we showcase the work of prominent presentation designers and communication specialists.
Build
Dedicated to the nuts-and-bolts techniques and strategies that comprise effective use of PowerPoint and related software. It caters to those in the trenches—the ones who pump out slides by the truckload and need to learn how to be as efficient and as productive as possible. It is a haven for all of the nitty-gritty tips and tricks on myriad topics.
Deliver
Explores all the various ways, conventional and unconventional, in which presentations can be delivered to audiences. There are more than ever these days, with so many cloud-based technologies, but we will never lose sight of the personal dynamic of presenter meeting audience.
Schedule of Seminars and Events
Here is our 2020 seminar schedule. Seminar descriptions will be added gradually. Same with speaker bios, so some of the speaker links will fail. You can register for the main conference and add any of the options described below from the Register link at the top of this page.
Seminar topics are subject to change. Change in life is good…
DAY MINUS ONE
Sat, Aug 8DAY ZERO
Sun, Aug 9DAY ONE
Mon, Aug 11DAY TWO
Tue, Aug 11DAY THREE
Wed, Aug 12Full Schedule
Printable PDF
DAY MINUS ONE
Sat, Aug 8
9:00am – 4:00pm Special Event
Certification Prep Workshop
To help you pass with flying colors!
As our industry evolves and matures, so does the need to demonstrate proficiency and value to organizations that seek to employ or hire you. The Presentation Guild is taking a leadership position in this growing opportunity and is introducing Professional Certifications, a set of tests to enable you to demonstrate your knowledge and acumen and earn a credential for them.
The Presentation Summit is partnering with the Guild to offer an extraordinary opportunity to prepare you for and help you pass this comprehensive test. Our Certification Prep Workshop will take place the day before the conference begins, Sat, Aug 8, at our conference venue. Those who want to earn their stripes in the presentation profession need only come in one day early.
DAY ZERO
Sun, Aug 9
10:00am – 12:00pm Crash Course
Engagement!
The secret sauce of connecting with audiences
Sheila B. RobinsonYou have great slides and a good feel for public speaking. Now you’re thinking, “What can I do to get my audience involved in the presentation? How can I break up lecture and demonstration sessions so that the audience is doing something active?”
This course will show you WHY, WHEN, and HOW to involve audiences in your presentations. You’ll experience about a dozen no cost/low cost ways to engage audience members, ranging from five minutes to full days. You’ll come away knowing how to get audience members talking, walking, writing, interacting, and learning from each other.
12:30pm – 2:30pm Crash Course
Farewell to Death by PowerPoint
Everything you need to know to start creating wonderful presentations
Rick AltmanYou learned PowerPoint years ago and think you have decent instincts for building an effective presentation for your boss, client, or co-worker. But something inevitably derails you. The story gets changed, the boss wants an extra graph, and it all needs to be done by tomorrow. It is times like these when your job is no fun. You don’t like these changes but you lack the confidence to explain why. And your PowerPoint skills will be challenged by all these extras, so you go on auto-pilot and do what most do: you stuff it all onto the slide and hope for the best.
You can stop this madness! This two-hour crash course is the perfect jumpstart to the conference, guaranteed to get you off on the right foot by helping you craft, design, and strategize through the process of creating first-rate presentations.
3:00pm – 5:00pm Crash Course
Data Visualization
Creating effective charts and data stories for presentation
Nolan HaimsAs data becomes more important than ever for organizations, the ability to visualize that data and create effective charts on slides has become an absolute necessity for presentation designers. The designers who understand best practices for data visualization will see their professional stock rise as they can offer more than tired pie charts, offer solutions for spaghetti line charts, and know why clustered column charts are so ineffective.
Nolan Haims trains organizations all across the country in how to better communicate their data, and in this session will share the core of that training to help you create better data stories.
9:00pm – 11:00pm Late Night at the Summit
Entrepreneurs’ Round Table
Ready to hang out a shingle or connect with like-minded entrepreneurs?
Nolan HaimsDo you own a presentation business, speak professionally, or work freelance? Or do you hope to do one of these things one day? Being an entrepreneur is exciting, but also challenging when you don’t have an opportunity to gather with others and share best practices. On Sunday evening at the Presentation Summit, gather with others in similar situations to talk shop.
Veteran Summit presenter and entrepreneur Nolan Haims will moderate a free-flowing discussion focused on sharing best practices, solutions to common challenges and the latest tools and workflows. Our philosophy is that there is more than enough business to go around, and by making the pie bigger, we all get a bigger piece.
Come prepared to share what is working for you, whether it is a marketing idea, operations technique, or personnel approach. If you have a particular challenge in your business, bring that too and the group will help with ideas and experiences from our own businesses.
DAY ONE
Mon, Aug 11
8:30am – 9:30am Keynote Address
From Danshari to Kamishibai
The Zen of Presentation
Garr ReynoldsA lot of practical tips based on concept in the Zen arts and other Zen-related simplicity ideas applied to presentation design.
9:45am – 10:45am
11:15am – 12:00pm
Design
The Makeover Mentor
Before-and-after examples of real work
Julie TerbergBefore-and-after pictures, stories, and programs are always popular because they allow us to see what can be. The same is true for the always-popular makeover sessions at the Presentation Summit. See what can be—and learn how to get there.
In this session, you’ll see real-world examples of before slides along with the redesigned after slides. We’ll cover what changes were made and why, discuss suggestions for further improvements, and share ideas that you can apply to your own presentation designs.
1:30pm – 2:30pm General Session
A Survivor
One woman’s story
Missy Byrd2:45pm – 3:30pm
Build
Six Principles of Animation
Yes to better storytelling, no to using the Bounce
Ingrid MengdehlAnimation is a critical component in presentations. It paces the flow of information, making things clearer for your audience. It supports more effective storytelling, with the visuals and animations doing a lot of the work and helping people understand the key points. And it can be used to produce beautiful looking presentations, with the animation enhancing your design, making everything appear more professional.
3:45pm – 4:15pm
4:30pm – 5:00pm
Design
Discussion Groups
Topic to come
Build
Discussion Groups
Topic to come
Deliver
Discussion Groups
Topic to come
5:00pm – 6:00pm Special Event
The PowerPoint Trivia Contest
The intersection of creativity, ingenuity, and foolishness
You haven’t lived until you have watched, or played in, our PowerPoint Trivia Contest, conducted exclusively within PowerPoint, explicitly about presentations, and entirely with an open bar. Three teams will square off in this all-for-fun competition that can be charitably described as a cross between Jeopardy and Family Feud, with a variety of ripped-off components from various other games and nonsensical challenges.
The contest takes place right after seminars conclude.
8:45pm – 10:00pm Late Night at the Summit
Women in Business
For women, by women, about women
Lori Chollar8:45pm – 10:00pm Late Night at the Summit
The Future of Presentations
Stay on the cutting edge
Lia BarnakovaEmerging technologies on the horizon will soon unlock new tools for visual communication and storytelling. In this interactive session, we’ll discuss the latest tech trends (with cool examples) around stage presentations, slide design, video content, and remote collaboration.
You’ll walk away with a broad view of the changing presentation landscape and the new skills needed to stay competitive.
9:45pm – 12:00am Late Night at the Summit
The Guru Session
Drop in and chat with your tribe
Ric BretschneiderModerated by a guy who started on the PowerPoint team back in the beginning, stay up and learn with us, and maybe teach us a thing or two. This legendary session features things you won’t get anywhere else.
DAY TWO
Tue, Aug 11
8:30am – 9:30am Keynote Address
Master of None
How to engage in the art of trying successfully
Barry JohnsonTake a look into the life of any great entrepreneur, artists, or leader and pick the one thing that they’re great at. It’s never one standout attribute that we all don’t possess. It’s often just that they’re highly inquisitive. They shun the norm and are often in search of what’s possible, without fear of the unknown.
In a country where we have access and ability to search out and become anything, everyone possesses the tools necessary to become renaissance artist, capable of being great in multiple areas. All that’s needed is a willingness to try a case of higher sensitivity.
9:45am – 10:45am
Deliver
PowerPoint Karaoke: No Joking Matter
Expect the unexpected
Ric BretschneiderPowerPoint Karaoke is a party game, presentation exercise, group challenge, and just plain hilarious all at the same time. Presenters will present slides they’ve never seen before. Thinking quickly on your feet while remembering all the important rules of good presenting is essential. You’ll take away an activity that is as at home in your office team building exercises as it is for home game night.
11:15am – 12:15pm
Design
Real-World Makeovers
For the busy pro for whom everything is due yesterday
Rick AltmanWe know that one of the results of attending this conference is your head spinning out of control as our design makeovers leave your jaw on the floor. We know that it is not entirely fair, showing you designs that you might not have the skills or the time to recreate. This session balances the inspiration you will feel with our other makeovers with the reality of your situation. The makeovers here, taken from patron submissions, carry the hope that you will look at them and say, “Hey, I can do that.”
Build
Advanced Animation
Examples of creativity you can achieve
Troy ChollarUsers and designers are getting more advanced with the use of animation. Providing examples of what is possible, with how-to instruction leads to more creativity and professional use of animation. Session summary: Breakdown advanced animations, all provided as a take-away reference file. Session details 7 advanced animation techniques, examples of each in use and detailed how-to to recreate each animation technique in your own projects.
1:30pm – 2:30pm General Session
Presentation Rap
We dish with Garr
Garr ReynoldsJoin us for an inclusive and participatory rap session on all matters presentation. Garr Reynolds returns to the ballroom to share his thoughts and to hear yours.
2:45pm – 3:30pm
3:45pm – 4:15pm
4:30pm – 5:00pm
Design
Discussion Groups
Topic to come
Build
Discussion Groups
Topic to come
Deliver
Discussion Groups
Topic to come
6:30pm – 10:00pm Special Event
Tuesday Night Celebration
DAY THREE
Wed, Aug 12
8:30am – 9:30am Keynote Address
On the Seattle Streets
When you can’t take a roof for granted
Marty Hartmann9:45am – 10:45am
11:15am – 12:15pm
Build
Fonts in PowerPoint
The good, the bad, and the downright frustrating
Nolan HaimsHas the time finally come to embed fonts or is it still a fool’s errand? How exactly do cloud fonts work? How do you know if a font is being substituted? Are there fonts to avoid if you’re on a Mac? Is there such thing as an attractive system font? What are the tricks for making Arial actually look good?
Deliver
Catching up with Pecha Kucha
Embracing constraint creates amazing presentations
Ric BretschneiderPecha Kucha is a form of presentation where presenters prepare 20 slides (no more, no less) with which to tell their stories. Each slide automatically advances in 20 seconds. What this means is that presenters prepare presentations that are focused, entertaining, and motivating, and they’re done in six minutes and forty seconds.
1:30pm – 2:30pm Special Event
Encore Performances
Reruns…by request
One of the greatest joys of this conference is the abundance of excellent presentations from which to choose. Of course, one of the biggest frustrations is having to make those choices. Here is your chance to catch a repeat performance of the one that you just hated to miss. In the scheduling section of the app, you will find a ballot for voting. Complete it before you leave for lunch on Wednesday. We will announce the encores at the end of the lunch break, both in Conference Central and through the conference app.
2:45pm – 3:45pm Special Event
Five Minutes or Fewer
Tips to match your attention span
The type and volume of tips, tricks, and advice that our team of experts could dole out is never-ending. But by the end of the day on Wednesday, our respective attention spans promise to be trashed. We’re probably not capable of paying attention for more than about five minutes, so that is precisely how we’ll end the conference: with five-minute tips on a broad range of subjects. These tiplets are brought to you by more than just our presenting and Help Center team—we’ll solicit the participation of any patron who feels he or she has something to contribute to our conference story.
5:00pm – 6:30pm Special Event
One Final Happy Hour
Full Schedule
Printable PDF
Schedule of Seminars and Events
We will announce our full schedule in early 2020. For reference, here is how we covered the presentation industry and community in 2019.
Sat
9:00am – 4:00pm | Special Event
Certification Prep Workshop
To help you pass with flying colors!
An all-day workshop to help you prepare to take the Presentation Guild’s Certification Presentation Specialist Test
Echo Swinford
6:00pm – 7:30pm
Saturday Night Happy Hour
At Charlie’s Longbar
Sun
10:00am – 12:00pm | Crash Course
Present with Presence
How do elite speakers succeed? Learn the secrets
Presenting is a blend of the artistic and the technical. This two-hour interactive workshop explores how elite speakers deliver messages with power and impact.
Ilene Bergelson
12:30pm – 2:30pm | Crash Course
Farewell to Death by PowerPoint
Everything you need to know to start creating wonderful presentations
This two-hour crash course is the perfect jumpstart to the conference, guaranteed to get you off on the right foot by helping you craft, design, and strategize through the process of creating first-rate presentations.
Rick Altman
3:00pm – 5:00pm | Crash Course
From Story to Slides
A killer start-to-finish approach to making amazing presentations
Create clear, compelling, and powerful presentations in less time and with higher success.
Mike Parkinson
5:00pm – 6:30pm
Welcome Reception, Hosted by Microsoft
6:30pm – 7:45pm | Evening Session
Presentation Guild Annual Meeting
For devotees and tire kickers
The fourth annual meeting of the Presentation Guild
9:00pm – 11:00pm | Late Night at the Summit
Entrepreneurs’ Round Table
Ready to hang out a shingle or connect with like-minded entrepreneurs?
Being an entrepreneur is exciting and it can be a challenge when you don’t have an opportunity to gather with others and share best practices. Here is your opportunity.
Nolan Haims
Mon
8:30am – 9:30am | Keynote Address
The Real Value of Visual Storytelling
Tapping into this undervalued skill
Often undervalued, visual storytelling’s true value is how it can help your career
Cliff Atkinson
9:45am – 10:45am | Design
Collaborating in Design
You need more than talent
If you want to collaborate successfully, you must work with and win over your fellow collaborators.
Lori Chollar
9:45am – 10:45am | Build
Template Talk, Part 1
Common template traps and how to avoid them
A comprehensive template can be a huge timesaver for those who must create presentations to reflect a brand.
Echo Swinford
Julie Terberg
9:45am – 10:45am | Deliver
Dollars and Slides
The business of PowerPoint
Producing and designing PowerPoint slides is big business.
Marshall Makstein
11:00am – 12:00pm | Design
The Makeover Mentor
Before-and-after examples of real work
Makeovers inspire us by giving us a glimpse of the possibilities.
Julie Terberg
11:00am – 12:00pm | Build
No Text Allowed!
Can you move an audience with just visuals?
A step-by-step guide to eliminating text and bullet points.
Richard Goring
11:00am – 12:00pm | Deliver
If I Only Knew
Questions for designers and presenters who team up
How can designers and presenters facilitate a productive creation process that leads to a successful presentation?
Ilene Bergelson
Nolan Haims
1:30pm – 2:30pm | General Session
San Antonio Success
Stories from the TEDx trenches
Three TEDx alumni share their experiences.
Harry Jimenez
Miriam Juckett
2:45pm – 3:30pm | Design
Super-Simple Slide Design
For the minimalist in all of us
These techniques will take you from busy and complex to clean and clear in no time.
Mike Parkinson
2:45pm – 3:30pm | Build
All About Video
Rules of the road for better creation
You don’t have to be a master cinematographer to make a video that sets you apart.
Matt Pierce
2:45pm – 3:30pm | Deliver
Agents of Change
How can you be a force for good within PowerPoint culture?
Many organizations still demand that slides be brochures filled with text and data.
Cliff Atkinson
3:45pm – 4:15pm | Design
I Don’t Like It!
Giving good feedback on horrible slides
How to identify and fix design mistakes and not shatter someone’s confidence.
Stephy Hogan
3:45pm – 4:15pm | Build
Plug In and Rock Out
Behind the scenes with a PowerPoint add-in
Add-ins can transform PowerPoint with extra capabilities.
Jamie Garroch
3:45pm – 4:15pm | Deliver
Becoming a Virtual Virtuoso
Engaging in absentia
Virtual presentations require different skills than do in-person presentations.
John Rahmlow
4:30pm – 5:00pm | Design
Moodboards
And other esoteric things
Learn all about this often-overlooked tool, essential for clarity of design and unity of collaboration.
Tom Howell
4:30pm – 5:00pm | Build
Report Collaboration
Online tools help with group efforts
How to use SharePoint or OneDrive to efficiently maintain documents and presentations that require teamwork.
Glenna Shaw
4:30pm – 5:00pm | Deliver
Buzzword Bingo
Best practices for surviving today’s lingo
Let’s have some fun while we make fun of our culture and its lexicon.
John Rahmlow
5:00pm – 6:00pm | Special Event
The PowerPoint Trivia Contest
The intersection of creativity, ingenuity, and foolishness
You haven’t lived until you have watched, or played in, our PowerPoint Trivia Contest, conducted exclusively within PowerPoint, explicitly about presentations, and entirely with an open bar.
9:00pm – 10:30pm | Late Night at the Summit
The Summit Goose Chase
A modern-day scavenger hunt
Come be part of an hour of madness, as you and your team strive to complete several, um, missions. A winner will be crowned. We think. Maybe not. We’ll get back to you on that…
Rick Altman
9:00pm – 9:45pm | Late Night at the Summit
The Future of Presentations
Stay on the cutting edge
How do you stay relevant in changing times?
Lia Barnakova
9:45pm – 12:00am | Late Night at the Summit
The Guru Session
Drop in and chat with your tribe
Late Night Group Session, part customer service, part therapy, part drum circle.
Ric Bretschneider
Tue
8:30am – 9:30am | Keynote Address
From Ballet to Bullets
Reaching new heights of success as individuals and teams
This unique presentation highlights the skills needed for individuals to become successful leaders with integrity and to be the change that we all want to see in the world.
Christopher Fairbank
9:45am – 10:45am | Design
Inclusiveness by Design
Keeping up with ever-changing times
Audiences are changing and to keep up, we need to communicate across lines of age, gender, ethnicity, and much more.
Nolan Haims
9:45am – 10:45am | Build
Template Talk, Part 2
Advanced techniques to ensure success
Once you understand the basics of template construction, you realize that there’s so much more to learn!
Echo Swinford
Julie Terberg
9:45am – 10:45am | Deliver
U.N.I.Q.U.E
Finding your true self
Uncover the six essential steps to increase self-esteem and achieve success in every aspect of life.
Christopher Fairbank
11:00am – 12:00pm | Design
Real-World Makeovers
For the busy pro for whom everything is due yesterday
The makeovers during this hour, taken from patron submissions, carry with them the hope that you will look at them and say, “Hey, I can do that.”
Rick Altman
11:00am – 12:00pm | Build
Presenting in Enhanced Reality
Emerging tech reshaping presentation
Some of the coolest tools that you can start using today.
Lia Barnakova
11:00am – 12:00pm | Deliver
PowerPoint Karaoke: No Joking Matter
Expect the unexpected
You can literally expect the unexpected, you just have to practice.
Ric Bretschneider
1:30pm – 2:30pm | General Session
Ask Microsoft
A chat with the folks who develop PowerPoint
Sit down with the leaders of the software development team. You get to ask them anything.
Shawn Villaron
2:45pm – 3:30pm | Design
Taking Stock of Stock Photos
The ultimate resource guide
A roundup of visual sources, prices, plugins, and legal considerations for using better imagery
Nolan Haims
2:45pm – 3:30pm | Build
All About Animation
Because you can never get enough…
The latest ideas about the power of motion
Tom Howell
2:45pm – 3:30pm | Deliver
Teamwork, Act 1, Scene 1
A short drama
Watch two collaborators collaborate on the subject of collaboration
Rick Altman
Mike Parkinson
3:45pm – 4:15pm | Design
Designing with Morph
Creating beautiful visuals to impress
Morph is a powerful tool for geeks. It’s also a wonderful design tool.
Richard Goring
3:45pm – 4:15pm | Build
The Magic of Tunes
Our intriguing relationship with music
You can learn a lot from music’s ability to elicit an emotional response.
Brent Jensen
3:45pm – 4:15pm | Deliver
“Don’t Be Nervous”
Worst possible advice?
Nerves are your fuel and your friend.
Rick Altman
4:30pm – 5:00pm | Design
Hacking Morph
Advanced uses for advanced storytellers
Think Morph is just a fancy transition? This session will make you think again.
Richard Goring
4:30pm – 5:00pm | Build
Theming Around
When all of Office needs to play nice
Why stop at good branding within PowerPoint? Do it right and you can brand across all of Office
Vickie Sokol Evans
4:30pm – 5:00pm | Deliver
Presenter View on Steroids
Learn how the pros use it
How to leverage PowerPoint’s or Keynote’s Presenter View to help you present flawlessly
Troy Chollar
6:30pm – 10:00pm | Special Event
Tuesday Night Celebration
At Henry’s Hollow
Join us Tuesday evening for an outdoor, fully-catered celebration. Barbecue, drinks, cornhole, and live music are on-tap for Tuesday’s after-hours reception. This is a wonderful way to celebrate all we’ve learned and new friends we’ve met on what will be for many our last night together. Make sure to wear your conference badge; it’s your ticket in.
Wed
8:30am – 9:30am | Keynote Address
The Accidental Storyteller
How one person touched 35 million others
Imagine how it was for this “socially awkward” scientist when her YouTube video got 35 million views.
Christine Figgener
9:45am – 10:45am | Design
Creative Imagery
Tools and techniques for designing with image effects
How to make your effects look professional, even if you’re not
Julie Terberg
9:45am – 10:45am | Build
Beyond Hyperlinks
Go wild with interactivity
Can you be so interactive that audience members feel as if they are co-presenting with you?
Richard Goring
9:45am – 10:45am | Deliver
From Huddle to Boardroom
Exploring intuitive meeting collaboration
Effective meetings involves research and creativity.
David Fitzgerald
11:00am – 12:00pm | Design
Bringing Emotion to Data
Without sacrificing truthiness
Designing memorable data can be tricky; here’s how you do it
Stephy Hogan
11:00am – 12:00pm | Build
Really Big!
Designing slides for gigantic screens
Spend an hour getting tips, tricks, and step-by-step instructions on creating slides to fit any custom display configuration.
Troy Chollar
11:00am – 12:00pm | Deliver
Catching up with Pecha Kucha
Embracing constraint creates amazing presentations
Twenty slides, 20 seconds each. The Pecha Kucha presentation style entertains, informs, and is the antithesis of Death by PowerPoint.
Ric Bretschneider
1:30pm – 2:30pm | Special Event
Encore Performances
Reruns…by request
Sadists at heart, we love torturing you with too many choices. Here is an opportunity to attend one of the sessions you missed the first time around.
2:45pm – 3:45pm | Special Event
Five Minutes or Fewer
Tips to match your attention span
By Wednesday afternoon, we’re all fried. So here is a friendly procession of short tips, pieces of advice, and anecdotes, as told by the conference team and patrons alike.
5:00pm – 6:30pm | Special Event
One Final Happy Hour
At Windmill Plaza
For those sticking around Wednesday night, join us for one final Happy Hour hosted reception. Bring a sweater, your walking shoes, and your conference badge to Windmill Plaza at 5:30p, where you will enjoy a cocktail or two prior to boarding a bus that will drop us off at the Alamo, easy walking distance to the famous San Antonio Riverwalk.
6:30pm – 10:00pm | Special Event
Road Trip to the Riverwalk
A night to unwind and stroll
Thu
Day trip into Seattle
The Summit FAQ
The Presentation Summit is not a web conference and it is not a big trade show. It is a user conference, featuring live presentations, workshops, and a hands-on support center. People attend in order to learn how to become better content creators, better presentation designers, better storytellers, better presenters, and better users of PowerPoint and other software.
They leave with a much broader and deeper understanding of the principles and best practices for presentation design, creation, and delivery.
The more wired, Internet-centric, and impersonal our professions become, the more important it is to create a sense of belonging with a group of users. You can only go so far with social media and webinars; there still is no substitute for meeting colleagues and peers face-to-face. It is almost magical the kind of energy created when several hundred people convene, all of whom have something in common before even meeting one another. And if it really does take a village to evolve a group of professionals, we are the ones to create it. We are now in our fourth decade of hosting conferences like the Presentation Summit.
It might not be terribly helpful to simply answer that this conference is for everyone involved in business pursuits, although it would be accurate, because if you are in business today, you need to present yourself and your organization in the best possible light. Let’s categorize:
FORTUNE 500 COMPANIES have obvious stakes in the game, whereby the first impression of a sales call in a conference room or a large-scale announcement could make all the difference in cultivating business relationships and winning hearts and minds. Large organizations have been slowly awakening to the realization that investing in presentation skills is essential, and with that comes the conclusion that neither “PowerPoint training” nor “public speaking classes” is sufficient on its own. They need a more comprehensive learning experience for their communication teams.
On the other side of the spectrum, ENTREPRENEURS and SMALL BUSINESSES are never not trying to distinguish themselves. Whether you are offering consulting services to law firms, graphic design services to the retail industry, or restaurant supplies to a downtown district, potential customers all want to know the same thing: how are you different than the next? If you know how to tell a compelling story and engage an audience, large or small, you immediately distinguish yourself from nearly all of the other people doing what you do. Good presentation skills make up a transferable commodity: audiences are more likely to trust you with your core message when they see the confidence with which you deliver it.
And in the middle are MEDIUM-TIER BUSINESSES, MARKETING TEAMS, and COMMUNICATION DEPARTMENTS across the country and around the world. People in these groups tend to go on auto-pilot, as it is all too easy to trot out the company template, freshen up the language, and head out the door with it. They rely on their slides to an unhealthy degree because they lack the perspective to question the conventional wisdom that likely has prevailed since before they took their current jobs. We don’t allow anyone to go on auto-pilot at the Presentation Summit — we question everything! And from this healthy scrutiny, you are certain to come away with a total reboot of how you approach the presentation process.
From all three of these broad categories, we attract active content creators, heavy users of PowerPoint, and those who are tasked with delivering presentations to audiences, both in person and virtually. We also garner the attention of the department heads who lead the afore-mentioned people. Advertising departments, market research, sales, educational, judicial, financial, medical, government, military…in short, anyone who wants to become more proficient, more productive, and more effective with presentation content is a likely candidate to apply for registration.
Every detail about this conference is designed for and dedicated to the presentation professional and the end users of presentation software. Your pursuit to become more capable, more creative, and more productive make up our Job One.
It’s true, PowerPoint is not difficult to pick up and begin creating slides. Our host’s daughters began creating slides when they were each 8, and we all know people who installed it and immediately began creating slides in advance of an upcoming presentation they had to give. It is probably the easiest program in the Office suite to learn.
This is the bad news, not the good news.
This is why the risk is high with PowerPoint. This is why Death by PowerPoint is in everyone’s lexicon. With other creative apps, such as Adobe Photoshop and Microsoft Access, potential users know that it is too difficult to develop proficiency without help. But inexperienced PowerPoint users can already be on their fifth not-so-attractive slide within 15 minutes of breaking the seal. And PowerPoint presentations are rarely created for private use — they are made to be shared with others. That means that an entire company’s reputation goes along for the ride when an inexperienced user begins creating and delivering presentations.
New PowerPoint users need something like the Presentation Summit precisely because the program is so accessible. They need to begin developing taste, sensibility, and restraint before they become a hazard to their own careers!
Perhaps more important, proficiency with the software does not imply expertise with crafting and delivering an engaging and successful presentation. In fact, all too often, the software actually gets in the way. The Summit goes far beyond mere PowerPoint training, covering the whole of the presentation process in a uniquely organic way.
Intermediate users stand to gain even more; they are ready to begin mastery of the techniques that could separate them from the pack. They know how to create slides; now they need to understand how to craft a message that will have maximum impact. They know how to animate bullets; now it is time to learn how to create animation schemes that complement the message. They understand how to import photos to a slide; they will learn how to integrate evocative visuals with simple text messages to ensure that audiences feel the weight of their messages. They will learn these and dozens of other similar skills at the Summit.
Advanced users up the ante even further and this conference delivers with fully-conceived workshops on advanced automation, interactive UI development, eLearning, deployment across thousands of seats at an organization, and a host of secrets revealed for working at maximum speed and efficiency.
When we debuted this conference in 2003, presentation skills were barely on anyone’s radar. Companies were content to invest in traditional advertising and branding initiatives, secure in a belief that PowerPoint was an easy skill to pick up.
Everything has changed.
From Fortune 100 firms to the sole proprietor, everyone now realizes the importance of creating professional-grade presentation content and delivering it with maximum impact. With the result of bad PowerPoint everywhere you look, the danger of being ill-equipped in this medium is crystal clear.
If you are the head of a communications department who wants to improve presentation skills, your choice is to hire new people with those skills or to train the people you have. Even in an improving economy, Door No. 2 is the most viable option, and the last thing you need is just to send your team to another PowerPoint training class or to a vaguely-defined learning event that promises to turn them into presentation gods or rock stars. They need a more complete exposure to the principles, philosophies, and finer points of presentation design and creation. They also need to widen their network of peers and support avenues. No event on the planet delivers these resources as well as the Summit.
If you are the independent contractor, small business owner, or employee of a budget-strapped firm, you make yourself instantly more valuable to your clients or your bosses when you give your presentation skills this kind of shot in the arm. We choose our cities carefully and manage our cost structures diligently so that we can remain affordable to small businesses and independent professionals.
If you need help convincing your boss of the value of the Presentation Summit, here you go…
The end users who join us at the Presentation Summit in the fall will not have to sit through keynote addresses about sales forecasts, industry trends, or document object models. Instead, if you are one of the 200 to secure a seat at this conference, you will be watching the true experts in the presentation community. You will be watching the most talented presentation experts showcase their talents and speak on dozens of salient topics:
- How to choose the most effective way to communicate your message.
- How to deliver that message with maximum impact.
- How to connect with your audience on an emotional level, not just an intellectual one.
- How to tell an engaging story, not just recite facts and figures.
- How to create content for e-learning and instructional design projects.
- How to increase your understanding of the software many times over.
- How professional templates are created.
- How transitions are tuned.
- How animations are perfected.
- How slide layouts are made to look inviting and not obnoxious.
- How to scrutinize your own work and be your own best critic.
- How to ensure that your presentation looks as good on a notebook PC 3,000 miles away as it does on your own computer.
- How to work seamlessly on tablets, mobile devices, and in the cloud.
- How advanced users can write powerful scripts to automate workflow.
- And how to become dramatically more efficient and productive.
Our conferences spawn lasting relationships. We bring people together who share a common bond and spirit and we turn them into colleagues, business partners, best friends, soulmates…even bride and groom (it’s happened three times).
As we said above, the Presentation Summit is independently owned and operated. The host, Rick Altman, is a computer journalist of over 30 years with a noted lack of shyness for offering opinion and commentary. So while many trade show events have as their primary purpose the selling of goods, services, and technology, our primary purpose is the teaching of them.
Trade shows offer carefully-staged demos in which the software always looks terrific; our presenters are there to show you what to do when the software doesn’t look so terrific. If a feature is awesome, we take delight in showing you. And if a feature doesn’t work properly, we take seriously our responsibility to tell you so, and more importantly, to show you the way around it.
Our sole interest is in expanding your understanding. We expect that by attending this conference, it means that you are already a user of PowerPoint, Keynote, Prezi, or another software tool, or that you have already chosen to immerse yourself in the presentation medium. The last thing you need is a sales pitch.
Jamie Garroch on the open and direct dialogue that the conference promotes.
Definitely not. We design the Summit for those who use the software regularly, or expect to do so, but we make no assumptions about your level of expertise. We offer three concurrent seminars and workshops, and there will always be a seminar taking place designed for beginning and/or intermediate users, or else there will be instructors in the Help Center dedicated to working with new users on fundamentals and basics.
So we are by no means a conference just for experts, although you’ll surely meet your share of them there and your career is likely to be enhanced by the relationships you’ll be able to cultivate with them. We think of ourselves as a conference for earnest users, for those who have made a significant commitment to the presentation industry.
Microsoft is represented by its MVP (Most Valued Professionals) team — a robust group of experts whose job it is to help the community better understand the software. They lead many of our seminars, they staff our Help Center, and in most cases, they are life-long friends of the user community.
The Presentation Summit is not a trade show, but it features one. The Summit qualifies up to a dozen third-party vendors to exhibit their goods and services. The Summit Expo is held on the Tuesday of the conference, and we integrate it into the program, so you can visit the vendors and not miss out on any seminars you want to attend.
Sunday is our Registration day and also our so-called Crash Course Day. On this day, we offer optional seminars for those who are new to the software, who want to brush up on their fundamentals, or who want to explore a topic more deeply before the main part of the conference begins. Our Sunday Crash Courses are the only part of the curriculum not covered in the base conference fee. They carry an extra charge of $169 per two-hour course.
Sunday evening, we officially kick off the conference with our Welcome Reception, beginning at 5:00p, open to all patrons and partners.
This is the question we are asked the most. We think that the Presentation Summit offers the best of all worlds, as we provide both hands-on and hands-off components. The formal seminars are presentation style, with sessions typically attended by several dozen people.
If they were conducted like a training class, all in attendance would be forced to go at the pace of the slowest person, and you would not be satisfied. Instead, you will be watching the program in action or illustrations of ideas on a large screen, with a state-of-the-art projection system, professionally prepared and paced by one of our accomplished presenters. You are most welcome to bring your notebook computer down from your room to follow along (about 25% do), but it is neither required nor expected.
The hands-on component features our renowned Help Center, at your beck and call from morning to night every day. At the Help Center, a staff of experts flanks a small armada of networked computers, and their job is to say “Yes Ma’am” or “Yes Sir” when you approach them with any question or problem. You can bring files with you on media or bring them on your notebook. You can watch over their shoulders, have them watch over yours, or have them clear out so you can just experiment. However you decide to utilize it, the Help Center is about as hands-on as you can get. We have patrons who come just for the Help Center, and others who describe to us about the 15 minutes spent there on Sunday afternoon (before the conference officially began) that made the entire event worthwhile.
Got an hour? The list reads like a who’s who of presentation professionals and PowerPoint experts. We combine the following groups of people to form our team:
- The true luminary and transcendent figures in the presentation industry, such as Garr Reynolds and designers from Duarte.
- Members of Microsoft’s Most Valued Professional (MVP) team of volunteers who assist users from around the world.
- Technical specialists who have developed international acclaim for their books, tutorials, training expertise, and perspective on presentation.
- Leaders of firms who create presentations for some of the largest organizations in the world.
See our comments above about our incredible Help Center. There, you can ask any question under the sun.
Seattle has been on a short list for several years now, and all the planets aligned in 2020, as we announced the participation of Garr Reynolds, one of the most recognized names in our industry. A professor in Japan, he can only travel to the U.S. in the summer months, and August is the best weather month in the Pacific Northwest. For more on this decision, see our November 20 announcement.
Yes and no, respectively. Spouses, domestic partners, and companions in general are welcome, and for as long as we have space available, we offer three options for accommodating them:
1. Single-day attendance at $500 per day. This includes full access to sessions, breakfast, lunch, breaks, and an after-hours reception for the day.
2. After-hours social activities at $150 for the duration of the conference. This provides access to our hosted after-hours receptions, which we hold every evening, Sunday through Wednesday.
3. If your spouse/partner would like to join you for all conference meals in addition to after-hours receptions, $375 includes access to all food and beverages hosted by the conference over the entirety of the event.
If you would like to provide for a companion through any of these options, he/she must register in advance and show a conference badge to enter the ballroom or reception area. Should the conference sell out, we will be unable to accommodate anyone not registered.
For more information, please call or email us.
Yes, you will be well fed. Buffet breakfasts each morning, full sit-down lunches on Monday and Tuesday, morning and afternoon snacks, and evening hors d’oeuvres on multiple days. Wednesday’s lunch is on your own, as many in attendance choose to take some time for themselves or head out in small groups to local restaurants.
BREAKFAST: The conference provides a buffet-style continental breakfast which includes sliced fruit, breakfast breads, and a protein enhancement.
LUNCH: There is a plated lunch on Monday and Tuesday. We can accommodate certain dietary restrictions at lunch. Should you require it, please indicate during the registration process whether you’d prefer a vegetarian, vegan, or gluten-free option. Special lunch selections must be ordered in advance.
Luncheon selections are published several days in advance via the conference app. If your individual dietary needs are not met by the above, there are many other dining options available within walking distance of our host hotel.
Yes, we are already exploring the areas around the hotel, including Lake Washington. In fact, we’re probably not supposed to say this yet, but the words “cruise” are in the works for Tuesday evening.
Meanwhile, you haven’t lived until you’ve watched or participated in our famous PowerPoint Trivia Contest, which will take place on Monday, right after the seminars conclude. Imagine a cross between Jeopardy and Family Feud, set to questions about PowerPoint.
You should be comfortable, however you define it. Some people wear business suits and pants suits to our conferences, but most don’t. Most wear pants and slacks, many wear jeans and conference t-shirts. In recent years, Seattle has been warm in August, reaching into the mid- to upper-80s.
Seattle/Tacoma International Airport (SAT) is serviced by all the major airlines, including Southwest, and offers robust international service. Hundreds of U.S. cities offer non-stop service, as well as dozens of international cities and there are almost no parts of the world that cannot get to Seattle in one stop.
It is about a 15-minute drive to our host hotel, the Hyatt Regency Southport, and taxis and Uber drivers are in abundance.
Sights and Sounds from the Summit
Photo Gallery
Reunions start early
Conference host Rick Altman (right) with veteran patron Tom Hutchins, reconnecting Saturday evening.
Happy hour
Many dozens of people show up for Saturday evening happy hour, a day before the conference begins.
Go Time
Sunday evening's hosted reception is where conference friendships first form.
Birds of a Feather
Before the seminars begin, people are already gathering and networking, like this group of presentation entrepreneurs.
Meaning of life
The simplicity of life, according to Carmen Simon.
The kid
Youngest speaker in conference history: 15-year-old Caleb Maddix.
Meaty Seminars
Tom Howell, performing a deep dive into his design process.
Lights, Camera...
Altman interviewing a patron, producing the video, and uploading it, all in one 60-min seminar.
Presentation Rap
Sally Zimney, Nolan Haims, and Carmen Simon, dishing on the presentation experience.
The bunny
Mike Parkinson, the conference's energizer bunny.
Secret to success
Our mantra for choosing seminar topics.
The Expo
Tue is Expo day at the conference, with over a dozen vendors showing off their wares.
The Expo
Kristina Dolan of EcosPrez, all ready for the Expo.
Lots of Demo Time
Julian Kornmaier and Victor Rodriquez from Made in Office take advantage of easy one-on-one time during the Expo.
Altered states
Johanna Kneifel from Inscale, showing how to look cool while wearing VR goggles.
The PowerPoint Trivia Contest
Conference insanity at its finest.
PowerPoint Charades
Could you get your teammates to say this phrase?
Colleague encounter
One of our favorite stories: Four colleagues with GhostRanch Communications, each working remotely, met for the first time at the conference.
Conference virgins
A few of the 60% that make up first-time patrons each year.
Dancing fools
A recent poolside reception featured non-stop dancing.
Tuesday Evening Reception
Everyone comes out for our hosted party.
All Together Now!
Just a few who now consider themselves permanent members of the Summit community.
Video footage from our seminars
Nancy Duarte: The Power of Story
Better Storytelling through Animation
Julie Terberg: Avoiding Color Anarchy
Nolan Haims and the One-Second Chart
Carmen Simon: The Right Kind of Unforgettable
Mike Parkinson: Do it Yourself!
Heather Ackmann: How to be a Video Hottie
Echo Swinford Gets Geeky
My name is Rick, and I'm a dog: 20 slides, 20 seconds each
Snippets from our patrons
An Atmosphere of Sharing
Best Conference I Attend. By Far.
I Love it. I Absolutely Love it.
Wonderful People, Great Connections
The Best Feedback We Could Possibly Get
A Generosity of Spirit
From the host
No Substitute for Face-to-Face Contact
"Best Technical Support on the Planet"
The Summit Never Sleeps
We Want Presenters who Bleed all over the Place
They Come for the Learning, They Come Back for the Friends
It was incredible to find my people. The energy, enthusiasm, and operational excellence have fostered a wonderful community. I can't say enough about the interactions I had and what I learned from my colleagues.
Daren LewisDir, Content and Strategy, The Presentation Company 
One of the best conferences ever. I already miss the kindness, support, and talent that surrounded me. The Summit is about passion, sharing, and top-notch visual communication. Every moment is crafted to help you become a better presentation professional and feel part of a wonderful and generous family.
Ines NataleCreative Dir, Lattice Semiconductor
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Our 2019 Partners
Join us in 2020 and get access to the most vested and informed consumers the presentation industry knows.
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Affordable, Accessible, Invaluable
Continuing a tradition of being one of the best values in end-user education, the Presentation Summit has maintained small business-friendly pricing since its inception in 2003. While comparably-sized conferences have fees that run in the several thousands, we maintain a perfectly-tuned infrastructure specifically designed for events of 200 patrons. We promise to keep our prices below the $2,000 mark for several years to come as long as you promise not to equate low prices with low quality.
Main Conference
Mon-Wed
$ 1,595
Until Mar 21
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All seminars and workshops
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Unlimited access to the Help Center
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Buffet breakfast each morning
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Full sit-down lunch on Mon and Tue
Optional Courses
Sun, Aug 9
$ 169
Per course
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Two-hour deep dives into fundamental topics
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Small classes, lots of individual attention
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The perfect jumpstart to the conference
Host Hotel
Hyatt Regency Lake Washington
$ 215
Per night
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New hotel with state-of-the-art conference facilities
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Fifteen minutes from Seattle Airport
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Breathtaking views of Lake Washington
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Call 425.203.1234
CANCELLATIONS: 80% refund given if cancellation is received in writing more than 21 days before event; 40% refund if between 14 and 21 days before event; no refund within 14 days of event.