Introduction

In this chapter

Why You Should Use This Book

How This Book Is Organized

Conventions Used in This Book

Microsoft PowerPoint 2003 is the latest version of this powerful presentation graphics software program and is part of the Microsoft Office 2003 family. Using PowerPoint, you can create a basic slideshow quickly or you can delve into sophisticated features to create a customized presentation. Because it's part of the Microsoft Office suite of products, you'll find PowerPoint intuitive and very familiar if you already use any other Office applications, such as Word or Excel.

Because creating a successful presentation is more than just becoming a PowerPoint power user , we've included a special section in this book on presentation skills. After you master PowerPoint, you can master presentation techniques, such as creating a script, evaluating the use of multimedia and color , reaching your audience, rehearsing your speech, speaking in public, and dealing with the technicalities of presentation. This information combines with a thorough discussion of all PowerPoint's many features to create a complete reference manual for anyone who makes presentations using PowerPoint.