General
Information
Wikipedia describes Prezi as “a cloud-based presentation software based
on a software as a service
model. The product employs a zooming user interface, which allows users to zoom in and out of their presentation media, and
allows users to display and navigate through information within a 2.5D or parallax 3D space on the Z-axis.” I would describe Prezi as a dynamic presentation
template that is very similar to PowerPoint.
Prezi allows the user to zoom in and out in a 3D space or
image. The 3D space or image is comprised of sections similar to the slides that
comprise a PowerPoint presentation. The sections of a Prezi can be combined to
form a larger image on the the “canvas”. Prezi differs from power point in that
an entire Prezi presentation is displayed on a large “canvas” and instead of
scrolling through PowerPoint slides in a linear order Prezi does not have a
linear order. The presenter can zoom in on whatever section of the canvas they
want without scrolling through other sections to get there.
Purpose
The purpose of Prezi is to offer an alternative and
better way to present information to a group than through a power point
presentation. Prezi states it “makes you a better presenter” because
“No other presentation platform gives you as much visual
storytelling power as Prezi Business, combining spatial dimension and motion to
keep your audience engaged as you guide them through your message.” Prezi also
lists the following features it has to “make you a better presenter”:
- Analyze results
- Optimize your efforts
- Know who views your prezi, which parts of it, and for how long. Then target your message to the right people at the right time.
- Visual storytelling
- People are more likely to understand and remember your message when it’s accompanied by strong visuals. A picture’s worth a thousand bullet points, especially when it zooms and pans to show context.
- Conversational presenting
- Prezi’s open canvas lets you read the room and adapt on the fly to fit your audience. Fast-forward straight to the bottom line, or spend more time zooming in on the details.
- Training and webinars
- Offering virtual training and webinar sessions for basic tips and advanced tricks.
- Provides a community of experts
- Our global network of independent experts can help you nail your next presentation.
- Infinite canvas
- Unlike slides, Prezi uses an open canvas, allowing you to freely move in and out of ideas.
- Image editing
- Make your images even more stunning with advanced image editing.
- Reuse
- Explore our huge library of reusable prezis and templates.
- Privacy control
- Our premium programs give you a range of privacy control options.
- File types
- Prezi works with the popular file types you already use, saving you tons of time and effort.
Use in
Business
Prezi’s use in business is to offer a tool that will allow
employees to create high quality presentations that will effectively accomplish
the goal of that presentation. Determining if Prezi
is selected over PowerPoint to create a presentation is a choice made by the individual
employee. Adam Noar efficiently describes the pros and cons to both
Prezi and power point in his article “PowerPoint vs. Prezi | What’s The Difference?” I believe the provide a reasonable overview of the Pros and Cons with both software options.
PowerPoint Advantages
1) User friendly – technically
PowerPoint is very simple to use. Microsoft office programs (PowerPoint,
Word, and Excel) are taught in school, so most people have at least some
familiarity of how the software works.
2) Control – PowerPoint
provides seemingly endless possibilities when it comes to slide design. You
can choose from an endless amount of colors, fonts, graphics, and
backgrounds.
3) Builds, transitions, and
animations – you can use these visual enhancements to add to the
explanatory power of the presentation and also enhance your visuals.
4) Hyperlinks – allows you to
click on a link and be taken directly to the links location on the web or
somewhere else in the presentation.
5) Syncs with SlideShare –
lets you upload your presentation to the web so anyone can view your
presentation online.
6) Can print handouts of the
slides – allows people to follow along without having to focus on writing
notes on the presentation.
7) Charts and Tables – helps
you present various sets of data.
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PowerPoint
Disadvantages
1) Linear format – some people
complain how PowerPoint follows a script (linear) format, and is not easily
adaptable to an audience when needed. Getting to a specific slide, once the
presentation has begun, can sometimes be difficult.
2) Large file size –
PowerPoint can create really large files, especially when images, audio, and
video are added. This can sometimes make emailing a pain. However, users can
easily use cloud storage websites such as Dropbox
to share larger file sizes.
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Prezi
Advantages
1) Zoom – Prezi’s
unique differentiation is it’s zoom function. This allows the
presenter to simply click the background with the mouse and the presentation
zooms out to an overview, then the presenter can zoom into the area they
please. This allows you to explore ideas smoothly and naturally. In other
words, if you want to “zoom in” for emphasis you can. If you want more detail
you can zoom in again and then once you’re in a specific area you can “pan”
to expand on that idea or gain more detail.
2) Non-linear – allows the
presenter to choose his/her own paths. In other words, users can jump in and
out ideas and are given more flexibility when presenting ideas.
3) Sharing – can share
presentations online with up to 10 audience members which make collaborating
on projects easy.
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Prezi
Disadvantages
1) Limited design options –
limited backgrounds to choose from and each has pre-chosen fonts and colors
that can’t be changed.
2) Cost – for an offline
version to use on a desktop, one would have to pay $159/year! While there is
a student discount version provided online, it still offers limited file
space and storage.
3) Dizziness – often times
Prezi users can over use the zoom function which can ultimately take away
from the message of the presentation. Too much zooming and too much panning
can ultimately make users feel sick.
4) Learning curve – while
Prezi is fairly simple in nature, it does take some time getting used to.
Many people like to stay within their comfort zone, and Prezi is outside that
zone for many non-designers. However, the software is fairly easy to learn if
you’re willing to put in the practice.
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Assessment
Prezi does have
a place in business operations generally and should be used before PowerPoint
in creative industries. With all things being equal, Prezi can create a more
visually appealing presentation that PowerPoint is able to. Prezi can create a
WOW factor PowerPoint is not able to duplicate. This advantage creates better
comprehension of the information presented and an increased likelihood the goal
of the presentation will be accomplished.
However, there
is an opportunity cost with using Prezi. The software takes time and practice
to understand its features and efficiently create a presentation. Presenting on
Prezi also takes practice to adjust to and take advantage of the freedom of
movement through ideas it allows. Employees are typically far more practiced in
creating, presenting, and are more comfortable using PowerPoint. PowerPoint is
also software that will not be overtaken by a technologically superior Prezi
software. PowerPoint has regular upgrades by Microsoft to keep the it current.
My Experience
I have used
Prezi 3 to 5 times previously and have enjoyed using it and discovering the
features it has that are different from PowerPoint. The most significant
difficulty I had was keeping track of where information was placed on the
canvas. I also did not like the transcript feature. The transcript of what text
I had written was impossible to follow and nonsensical. I would certainly use
Prezi again if I had time to play with it.
References
Presentation Panda
Prezi
Wikipedia-Prezi
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