15th June 2001

Have you ever tried to read the credits at the end of your favorite sitcom on TV? They go whizzing by so quickly that you can barely make out the text. In much the same way, standing in front of an audience for a presentation is different than practicing the timing all alone, with nobody else around. Your audience may not be able to keep up with how fast your presentation is moving, thereby reducing its effectiveness. From the practice-makes- perfect school of thought, you can use PowerPoint's timing rehearsal function to be sure you're giving ample time between slides. It's always a good idea to practice with a handful of your office mates before the big day. With the help of the internal rehearsal timer, you can approximate the perfect time for a slide's on-screen duration. Click Slide Show / Rehearse Timings. This will instantly start the presentation with a timer. As the clock ticks away, advance to each subsequent slide at the appropriate time intervals. When you're finished, the final presentation time will be displayed -- along with a prompt to save the new timings permanently. Now you'll be at your best and not get ahead of the group to which you're speaking. Unless it's Hyperactives Anonymous.