If you have a PowerPoint to source your content, use software to convert it to web viewable content.  It looks much better than anything that comes native to PowerPoint.

 Tools like Adobe Presenter, Articulate, Presenter and Camtasia can translate these PowerPoint animations to web friendly flash web content.  My next post will give an analysis of these 3 tools.

1. Make sure you have professional audio narration.
2. Use a picture on every page, sometimes use 2.
3. Sprinkle in some animation, it is easy to do in PowerPoint, (no flash know-how needed at all), and the tools listed above can do the flash translation for you when they process the entire PowerPoint.
4. Use SmartArt in PowerPoint.  This is a very effective way to make well balanced diagrams without having graphic design skills
5. If you are stuck with lots of bullet points, split them up into multiple screens, and don’t forget the picture on each screen when you split them up.
6. Photo sources include dreamstime.com and istockphoto.com.  The dreamstime.com subscription is the best deal, but sourcing photos seems to be quicker with istockphoto.com.  I have used both of these sites, and a comparison seems like a great topic for another blog entry
7. When using photo sites, buy the smallest size possible.  These work fine, 72 pixels per inch is what is displayed on a computer monitor, and looks fine.  Bigger files also weigh down your presentations, and slow down load time.
8. Sprinkle in some quizzes to reinforce learning content.  You will need to make these quizzes in a PowerPoint flash conversion tool.  You cannot do this native to PowerPoint
9. Don’t be afraid. Download a free trial of flash based PowerPoint software and give it a whirl.  Please let me know if you want to see some simple demos of how to use some of this software.