SlideRocket Blog

Big News, SlideRocket Has Been Acquired by ClearSlide!

By Chuck Dietrich on March 5, 2013

It’s true, two of the leading innovators in online presentations are joining forces! Together, SlideRocket and ClearSlide will progress to a whole new level our shared passion for amazing presentations, engaging stories, collaboration, sharing and presentation analytics.

Meet ClearSlide!

ClearSlide is revolutionizing the relationship between sales teams and customers. You can launch web presentations with no technology hassles, and seamlessly show web pages, videos, and demos. You can share presentations with just a link and track how prospects interact with your slides with presentation analytics. And your sales team has access to a library of up-to-date presentations so their content is always fresh.

By acquiring SlideRocket, ClearSlide will expand its rich presentation capabilities for sales teams to engage customers more effectively and close more business.

Get a demo of ClearSlide!

SlideRocket Continues Its Rapid Ascent

SlideRocket users will continue to be able to create and share stunning presentations. Eventually, we’ll bring the best of SlideRocket into the ClearSlide platform, and we’ll keep you informed as new features and integrations are introduced.

There’s a presentation revolution underway and, together with ClearSlide, we’ve only just begun!

A Presentation Template to Enliven Your Inspiring Ideas

By John Rode on February 27, 2013

There can be a yawning gap between inspiration and communication. We may see, read or experience something that spurs a new idea or unique perspective and the burning desire to share it. And if it’s a fairly complex idea to share with a broad audience many people look to presentations as the palette to breathe life into their inspiring ideas.

Trouble is many of us are better thinkers and/or speakers than we are presentation designers. And this gap can lead to a deflating experience.

Fortunately our friends at Ethos3 have stepped in to help SlideRocket users quickly turn their big ideas into inspiring presentations. The first in a series of free presentation templates from Ethos3 is embedded below. SlideRocket users can get a copy from the Templates library in the app. If you’re not yet a user, you can get a free SlideRocket account here.


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Presentation Skills and Cat’s Pajamas: An Infographic

By John Rode on February 26, 2013

When it comes to delivering a presentation, are you the cat’s pajamas? Well 32% of us sure think we are. While 23% of us would rather melt into the carpet than give a presentation. The rest of us fall somewhere in between. We conducted a Presentation Delivery survey with over 600 respondents. Check out this presentation skills infographic for more fun facts about presenting.

5 Fun Presentation Skills Facts

  1. 11% of people are “Terrified” of delivering a presentation. 7% “Feel Like Superman”. So, the majority of us fall somewhere in between. Not bad!
  2. Just like with presentation design, we skew towards thinking we’re a bit better than average at delivering presentations.
  3. We’re surprising good at practicing with 64% practicing their presentation at least twice. Good on you!
  4. Above all else (designing nice slides, being energetic, funny or well rehearsed), your audience (38%) wants you to tell them a story, not lecture. Point taken!
  5. When viewing presentations online, 75% prefer your slides to have voice-over rather than having to read them.

Hopefully this infographic will help direct you to effective ways to bone-up on your presentation skills. Be sure to also check out our other recent infographics:

Content Marketing New School vs. Old School: An Infographic

By John Rode on February 21, 2013

Is your marketing old school or new school? Have you embraced the content marketing revolution? Over 700 folks responded to our (unscientific) survey to let us know where they fall on the content marketing continuum. We then rolled all that fabulous fodder into the animated infographic presentation below.

From budgets to targeting, videos to blog posts, we tried to reach across the key content marketing topics to uncover what folks are thinking (and doing).

5 Key Findings From the Survey

#1. The majority of us do a good job of targeting our content. But still, 31% of us do not target. Hmmm, there’s certainly some low-hanging fruit here.

#2. Cost is the biggest challenge when creating content. Perhaps we’re not looking at content as the “gift that keeps on giving” that it really is?

#3. We’re splashing the cash. It was refreshing to hear that the vast majority of folks are spending at least 40% of their marketing budget on content.

#4. Guerrilla marketers prefer blogs and slide presentations. Scout’s honor we didn’t load this question. But those were selected as the “least expensive but most effective marketing content”. Of course, our respondents likely skewed to presentations.

#5. Big budgets like video and events. Not surprisingly perhaps, video and events were ranked tops for content that “costs the most and delivers the greatest benefit”.

#6 Social media rocks content distribution. Probably not surprising that social media is king for content distribution. But I was surprised that SEO and blog were lowest on the list. Kind of thought they’d be #2 and #3.

Online Presentations and the Flipped Classroom

By Carrie Whittier on February 19, 2013

Increased classroom sizes are becoming more and more of a struggle for teachers in the public education system. It’s challenging to accommodate varying student needs when the majority of classroom time is spent on behavioral management. While it doesn’t look like classroom populations will be shrinking anytime soon, there is a solution available. Creative teachers are using a concept called Flipped Classrooms to address multiple teaching dilemmas. (more…)

Design and Deliver Memorable Presentations: 6 Free Ebooks

By John Rode on February 14, 2013

Regardless of your level of experience delivering speeches or crafting slides, a memorable presentation is within your reach. From colors to storylines, transitions to preparation, these 6 free presentation Ebooks (in presentation format of course!) will help you build and deliver outstanding presentations.

Beginner’s Guide to Presentation Design

For beginners the road to better presentations is simple. And at this point you’ll probably experience the greatest degree of improvement in how your slides look. Use this Ebook to learn how to inject more pop into your story, keep it brief and introduce eye-catching imagery. (more…)

Get Noticed: 4 Customizable Infographic Templates

By John Rode on February 5, 2013

Infographics are a fantastic way to attract and engage your audience. But the challenge has always been how to actually create an infographic if you lack a design degree or a big budget. Problem solved! Use these templates to build your next infographic!

Each element in these infographic templates can be customized from the images to the colors and animations. You can then display your infographic as a slide presentation to share on your blog, via email and on social media via your presentation link. If you can use PowerPoint or Keynote then navigating your way around is a cinch!

Interactive Infographic Template

Hyperlinked images, text, and a top navigation allow your audience to select the information they most want to learn about.

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Choose The Perfect Org Chart Template

By John Rode on February 4, 2013

Org charts may not be the most thrilling visual you’ll ever create, but they are important! Choose an org chart template from this collection and you’ll be off and running in no time. Each template is available for free in the Templates library of the SlideRocket app. If you’re not yet a SlideRocket user you can register for free.

Org Chart – Dark Theme

Org Chart – Contrast Theme

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Presentation Survey Pointing to Storytelling, Preparation

By John Rode on January 31, 2013

Surprising findings are bubbling up in our presentation survey. And there’s still time to share your views in the survey below:

Here is a quick look at the survey results to date:

Leave the jokes at home, we want to hear a story

While we’re still collecting results for the presentation survey, a few surprises are already emerging. When asked what advice they would give to presenters I expected folks to shout from the rooftops “stop with the ugly slides”. (more…)

Rock Your SXSW Presentation With a Free SlideRocket Pro Account

By John Rode on January 25, 2013

SlideRocket is thrilled to announce that all SXSW 2013 presenters are eligible for free SlideRocket Pro Accounts!

SlideRocket will be at SXSW in full force. By that we mean we’ll have a rock’in booth right next to the SX Saloon bar! You’ll also see us at your presentation cheering you on and helping you drive attendance on Twitter via our 28,000+ followers, and our blog’s 50,000+ monthly visitors. So go ahead and get your account today via the link above.

What You’ll Get

  • Full-featured SlideRocket Pro account for 1-year
  • Cinematic transitions and effects
  • Free presentation templates
  • Ability to add videos and music
  • Share slides on Twitter, Facebook and websites/blogs
  • Presentation analytics
  • A dedicated “SlideRocket Coach” to handle any questions

It’s easy to get started by uploading your existing PowerPoint presentation or starting fresh with one of our free templates. Either way, SlideRocket will help you stand out from the crowd at SXSW!

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