The PowerPoint Live User Conference 2008  •  Sep 21-24  •  San Diego

The Official FAQ Page

What type of an event is this?

PowerPoint Live is not a web conference and it is not a big trade show. It is a user conference, where people attend to learn how to become better content creators, better slide designers, better presenters, and better users of the software.

Every detail about this conference is designed for and dedicated to the end-user and his or her pursuits to become more capable, more creative, and more productive in the field of presentations.

PowerPoint is easy—why would I pay to go to a conference?

It’s true, PowerPoint is not at all difficult to pick up and dabble with. Our host’s daughters began creating slides when they were each 10, and we all know people who installed it and immediately began creating presentations.

This is the bad news, not the good news.

This is why the risk is high with PowerPoint. With other creative apps, such as Adobe Photoshop and Microsoft Access, potential users know that it is too difficult to begin using without help. But inexperienced PowerPoint users can already be on their fifth not-so-attractive slide within 15 minutes of breaking the seal. And PowerPoint presentations are rarely created just for fun or for private use—they are made to be shared with others. That means that an entire company’s reputation goes along for the ride when an inexperienced user begins creating and delivering presentations.

New PowerPoint users need something like PowerPoint Live precisely because the program is easy to work with. They need to begin developing taste, sensibility, and restraint before they become a hazard to their own careers!

Intermediate users stand to gain even more. They too would benefit from the professionals discussing the finer points of presentation design; furthermore, they are ready to begin mastery of the techniques that would separate them from the pack. They know how to create slides; do they know how to create global formats? They know how to animate bullets; do they know how to create animation schemes that complement the message and can be duplicated in an instant? Do they know how to take a good design and deploy it to hundreds of other presentations? Do they know how to pump out well-conceived presentations in a fraction of the time that most users spend? They will learn all of these skills at PowerPoint Live.

Advanced users up the ante even further and this conference delivers with fully-conceived workshops on automation techniques, programming concepts, and the quest for working at maximum capacity and efficiency.

How do I know it won’t be boring?

The end-users who join us at PowerPoint Live this fall will not have to sit through keynote addresses about sales forecasts, industry trends, or document object models. Instead, if you are one of the 250 to secure a seat at this conference, you will be watching the true experts in the user community. You will be watching the most talented PowerPoint users spin their magic:

• You’ll see how professional templates are created.

• How transitions are tuned.

• How animations are perfected.

• How slide layouts are made to look inviting and not obnoxious.

• How to ensure that your presentation looks as good on a notebook PC 3,000 miles away as it does on your own computer.

• How advanced users can write powerful scripts to automate workflow.

• How to choose the most effective way to communicate your message.

• How to increase your understanding of the product many times over.

• And how to become dramatically more efficient and productive.

Here at R. Altman & Associates, we have been organizing and hosting user conferences since 1989. We know precisely the formula for a successful event:

     1. Amass the most talented team of experts and trainers.
     2. Instruct them to tell you everything they
         know—the good, the bad, and the ugly.
     3. Create an atmosphere of informality and friendliness.
     4. Practically force the patrons to meet and get to know one another.
     5. Pack outrageous amounts of tips and tricks into eight hours each day.
     6. Wind down and socialize at 4:30pm.
     7. Go out on the town with new friends each evening.

Our conferences spawn lasting relationships. We bring people together who share a common bond and spirit and we turn them into colleagues, business partners, best friends, soulmates...even bride and groom (it’s happened three times).

What types of people come to PowerPoint Live?

Users, and those who lead teams of users. This is not an industry analyst event; it is an end-user event, featuring live presentations, workshops, and a hands-on support center. As such, we will attract those who create PowerPoint presentations in a number of scenarios: advertising departments, market research, sales, educational, judicial, financial, medical, government, military...those who create and then deliver presentations and those who design and create presentations for others to deliver.

In short, anyone who wants to become more proficient, more productive, and more effective with their presentation content is a likely candidate to apply for registration.

Is this a Microsoft event?

No it is not. The conference is owned and operated independent of Microsoft. Redmond contributes in a very important and tangible way, but does not participate financially. This suits both parties just fine—we produce an independent event, in which you know you are getting real-world advice and instruction, and Microsoft can support a conference that doesn’t create a resource drain.

Do I need to be an advanced user to attend?

Definitely not. We design PPTLive for those who use the software regularly, or expect to do so, but we make no assumptions about your level of expertise. We offer up to three tracks of concurrent seminars and workshops, and there will always be a seminar taking place designed for beginning and/or intermediate users. So we are by no means a conference just for experts (although you’ll surely meet your share of them there). We think of ourselves as a conference for earnest users, for those who have made a significant commitment to the presentation industry.

How do I know that it won’t be a bunch of hype?

As we said above, PPTLive is independently owned and operated. The host, Rick Altman, is a computer journalist of over 20 years with a noted lack of shyness for offering opinion and commentary. So while many trade show events have as their primary purpose the selling of software, our primary purpose is the teaching of it. Trade shows offer carefully-staged demos in which the software always looks terrific; our presenters are there to show you what to do when the software doesn’t look so terrific. If a feature is awesome, we take delight in showing you. And if a feature doesn’t work properly, we take seriously our responsibility to tell you so, and more importantly, to show you the way around it.

Our sole interest is in expanding your understanding. We expect that by attending this conference, it means that you are already a PowerPoint user or have already decided to become one; the last thing you need is a sales pitch.

If it is not a trade show, will there be vendors present?

PowerPoint Live is not a trade show, but it includes a trade show. PPTLive focuses on its conference tracks, and qualifies approximately two dozen third-party vendors to exhibit their goods and services on one of the days. The PowerPoint Live Expo is held on the Tuesday of the conference, and we integrate it into the program, so you can visit the vendors and not miss out on any seminars you want to attend.

If this is an independent show, will Microsoft be there at all?

Yes. There will be several representatives at the event, ranging from customer service reps, product managers, programmers, and developers. If you have a new feature to request, chances are you’ll be able to share it with the person who decides what features go into the next versions. If you want to ask about a company policy, you’ll find a receptive ear for that, as well.

What happens on Sunday?

Sunday is our Registration day and also our so-called Crash Course day. On this day, we offer optional seminars for those who are new to the software or who want to brush up on their fundamentals before the main part of the conference begins.

Our Sunday Crash Courses are the only part of the curriculum not covered in the conference fee. They carry an extra charge of $110 per two-hour course.

Why should I choose PowerPoint Live over a hands-on training course?

This is the question we are asked the most. We think that PowerPoint Live offers the best of all worlds, as we provide both hands-on and hands-off components.

The formal seminars are presentation style, with sessions typically attended by several dozen people, sometimes over 100. If they were conducted like a training class, all in attendance would be forced to go at the pace of the slowest person, and you would not be satisfied. Instead, you will be watching the program in action on a large screen with a state-of-the-art projection system, professionally prepared and paced by one of our accomplished presenters.

The hands-on component features our renowned Help Center, at your beck and call from morning to night every day. At the Help Center, a staff of experts flanks a small armada of networked computers, and their job is to say “Yes Ma’am” or “Yes Sir” when you approach them with any question or problem. You can bring files with you on media or bring them on your notebook. You can watch over their shoulders, have them watch over yours, or have them clear out so you can just experiment. However you decide to utilize it, the Help Center is about as hands-on as you can get. We have patrons who come just for the Help Center, and others who describe to us about the 15 minutes spent there on Sunday afternoon (before the conference officially began) that made the entire event worthwhile.

You write often about “experts”—who are these experts?

Got an hour? The list reads like a who’s who of PowerPoint VIPs. We combine the following groups of people to form our team:

• Members of Microsoft’s Most Valued Professional (MVP) team of volunteers who assist users online in the newsgroups and in person at user group meetings.

• Technical specialists who have developed international acclaim for their books, tutorials, training experience, and general expertise with the product.

• Leaders of firms who create presentations for some of the largest organizations in the world.

• Members of the Microsoft team of product developers, the very people responsible for creating the software.

Visit the Conference Team page for our complete roster.

What if the topics to be covered don’t address my particular needs?

See our comments above about our incredible Help Center. There, you can ask any question under the sun, including how to convert PowerPoint slides into Flash files, and where the best place might be to rent a boogie board before heading to Mission Beach once the conference concludes.

Can I bring my spouse and will he/she have to pay full price?

Yes and no, respectively. Spouses are welcome, and we have a three-tiered program for accommodating them (four, if you count just sending them off to the golf courses and shops during the day). Your spouse or domestic partner can accompany you for meals, sit in on the seminars, or get full conference access. For details and pricing, call or e-mail us.

So meals are provided?

Yes. Continental breakfasts each morning, full sit-down lunches on Monday and Tuesday, morning and afternoon snacks, and a few evening happy hours. Wednesday’s lunch is on your own, as many in attendance choose to head upstairs to pack and prefer to arrange their own lunch.

Will there be after-hours events?

Yes, we are already busy checking out all of the city’s hotspots. And you haven’t lived until you’ve watched or participated in our famous PPTLive Trivia Contest, which will take place on Monday, right after the seminars conclude. Imagine a cross between Jeopardy and Family Feud, set to questions about PowerPoint. Here are a few photos from a recent contest.

How should I dress?

You should be comfortable, however you define it. Some people wear business suits and dresses to our conferences, but most don’t. Most wear pants and slacks, many wear jeans and conference t-shirts.