Voice Presentation

This project is a practical application of using Audacity and OpenOffice Impress for a voice presentation.

Impress Basics

This project is based on employing two programs, Impress and Audacity for building a voice presentation. Impress will start by default with an AutoPilot that will takes the user through 3 quick steps to the place where they will be entering information into the presentation.

Step One is the decision about starting an empty presentation or if opening an existing one from a template or a presentation that has already been created. Note the preview window that is available and the option to start Impress without the AutoPilot.

Step Two allows choose one of the default backgrounds to get going quickly.

Step Three asks the user to make a decision on the transition between slides. Each time a user clicks on a transition the preview will show what it will look like when the transition is made. The speed of the transition is an additional option. The next setting is an important one, deciding what settings to trigger the next slide. The default does not change slides until the user clicks the mouse. Users can set how long a duration for the pause and then set the slide to make an automatic transition.

Once the user clicks Create, they will have the option to choose a slide that is pre-formatted for the project that they will start working on. Users may choose a blank slide but often it works better to make a choice in terms of the first slide. In the example, the Title, Clipart and Text slide was chosen, which makes for a good informational slide.

Notice that the Background and Objects boxes are checked to display those items. At this point it is easy to make the mistake of selecting a layout that doesn't fit specific needs. A common mistake is to chose a layout that does not fit with the presentation. Experiment with different layouts before moving on.

Here is what Impress will look like when it opens for the first slide.

When the new slide opens all the user has to do is click the title and and then enter the title that they want, double click the image area and the program opens to for inserting images. Click on the image and it is inserted. One problem that users often run into when inserting images is trying to figure out where they placed the images in the file system that they want to use. Be careful to place images in a location that is easy to find. Then add text to the bulleted list and one slide is ready to go.

Now if users want to add to the slide show or make modifications there is a Presentation Menu that is opened when the program is started. Click on the “Insert Slide” and the option to add a slide and choose a name for the slide will be available. By choosing “Modify Slide layout” users are able to modify the layout of the slide they are viewing. “Slide Design” allows users to choose any designs that they have already created from previous work.. Then slides can be duplicated or expanded.

Often users will use the duplicate feature to create a slide that they can quickly modify with an addition of text and images.