There are plenty of places on the Internet where you can upload and share your slideshow. From your own personal webpage to sites like Slideshare, it’s easier than ever to have people you’ve never even met check out your presentation materials without you standing in front of them. Now this feature is great if your slides are full of information that make sense with no additional context required. However, if you’re the type of person who likes to use minimalist styles such as the Takahashi or Godin method, your slideshow is bound to be a little boring without you there to explain the point of each frame. The solution is Slidecasting. The product of a happy union between a slideshow and a podcast; Slidecasting represents a new form of presentation tool that combines your slides and images with audio allowing you to present your ideas to a wide audience without ever leaving your house.
There’s Audio in my Slides!
It’s okay to admit it if the idea of combing a slideshow with audio brings back bad memories. We’ve all had to sit through a Powerpoint presentation made by someone just discovering the program who has loaded it up with annoying kitsch sound effects. While Slidecasting does give you the tools to add any sort of MP3 file you like to your show, the concept is meant to be a bit more sophisticated then that. With a Slidecast you can record a speech and then play it over your slides, timing the transitions to synch with the audio. It’s really easy and will let you expand your audience to include, well, the entire world actually.
Recipe for Success
To start, you’ll need a few tools at hand. First, and this goes without saying, but you need a slideshow. Whether it’s your best Powerpoint show or something you’ve just cooked up on the fly, you can’t come to the Slidecast party unless you B.Y.O.S. (Bring Your Own Slides.) With slides in hand, you are ready to add the second ingredient; the audio. You are going to need a microphone for this project. It doesn’t have to be fancy, it just has to work and sound clear to your listeners. You may have received one with your computer, or you may need to go out and get one. It shouldn’t cost you much, however, and then you’ve got one for life. The microphone is just the hardware though; it needs software to go with it. Your computer should have come with a basic audio recording device, but if not, Audacity is a great program and a free download. Next, record your speech into the microphone. The best part about using an audio editing program is that you can do different takes, making sure your infliction is at its best or that you can be understood clearly. When speaking, keep in mind that you will be synching the slides to the audio and not the other way around.
Share Your Voice With the World!
With both of your main pieces completed, you’ll need to turn to a site such as the previously mentioned Slideshare, which has features that allow you to create a Slidecast. Simply upload the presentation normally and then once it has been published, you can edit it to turn it into a Slidecast. You will need to have first uploaded your MP3 file to another website in order to have a URL that you can use to link to your audio. Once that has been taken care of, you will be given the option to edit your audio so that it times with your slides. This won’t be as daunting of a task as you think. Just play your audio and stop it when you want the next slide to pop up. There will be blue arrows indicating the changes in slides on your audio display. Simply move the arrows over in the timeline to synch up the audio to the slides. For fine adjustments you can use the arrow keys. With enough savvy you could even convert Pecha Kucha or Ignite presentations into Slidecasts. It all depends on the quality of your audio and your skill in synching it with the slides. Try turning one of your most recent presentations into a slidecast and share it with the world!
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