Video clips in PowerPoint Presentations

I recently enjoyed a very good PowerPoint presentation. The slides were varied and the presentation included volunteers from the audience in numerous exercises. There were only a few slides with text on them and these did not distract from the overall presentation.

We also enjoyed video clips in the presentation. These clips were embedded in the PowerPoint slideshow - which is the very best method to utilize video during your presentaion. No fumbling around to open the video player software and find the correct starting point.

I noticed that the atmosphere changed during the video clip, which strengthens my belief that including video clips in your PowerPoint Presentation increases your risk of losing control of your presentation.

Here was the situation:
1. Audience is fully engaged with speaker.
2. Speaker runs 3 minute video clip.
3. Audience is interested in video clip.
4. Audience becomes engaged in video. (Atmosphere changes and video clip becomes the center of attention)
5. Video ends abruptly and speaker steps in. (Audience takes a moment to refocus and think "Where were we again?")

If you include video clips in your PowerPoint presentation, then:
1. Test your sound equipment ahead of time, so that the whole room will be able to hear the clip.
2. Introduce the clip and transition into it. Tell the audience what you want them to get out of the clip, what they should pay attention to, and so on.
3. Run the clip. Keep it under 4 minutes.
4. After the video has run, realize that your audience is not where you left them before the clip. The video took them somewhere else. Bring them back with a transition by saying, "Let's recap - what did you observe during this clip?"

Next time you are tempted to include video clips in your presentation, follow these four steps to ensure a successful experience for your audience.