Review of Prezi: The Zooming Presentation Editor

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August 5, 2012 by EmerJencyWEBB

Short post, but I’d like to share my thoughts on the unique online presentation software called Prezi: The Zooming Presentation Editor.  The name says it all.  If you haven’t seen a Prezi presentation yet, I’ll provide a sample (without audio overlay) at the end of this post.

Prezi? What is it?

Prezi is a unique online presentation software that takes the audience on a zooming tour of a single large slide.

Pros

Unique, engaging, innovative.  Great program for people with solid design skills. If done well, can provide seamless transitions to key concepts without overwhelming the audience with a deluge of word chaos (see pic below).

 Also, even though it is an online editor, you can save and present offline as well, which is really neat.  It also allows you to collaborate with others to produce a combined presentation.

CLICK HERE FOR AN EXAMPLE OF A GREAT LOOKING PREZI PRESENTATION.

Cons

The main disadvantage of using Prezi is that the software itself can be a huge distraction.  It can almost feel like you are riding on a roller coaster, especially when ‘slide’ transitioning is fast, or if you have to re-visit or skip topics for any reason.  This can make some audience members very queasy.  The other con is that unlike Powerpoint or Keynote, it is a little more difficult and lengthy to set up.  However, the producers of Prezi have attempted some ways to make this easier, with batch addition of pre-made powerpoint slides, and addition of photos and video by URL, which is a nifty concept.

How much does it cost?

The pricing structure can be found HERE.  I’ve only used Prezi as a free user, and it seemed to do what I needed it to.

Will I use Prezi again?

I think I will give it a go again.  I used it with moderate success at one conference, but knowing what I do now about the program, I will try decrease the amount of distraction and queasy factor that is easily created with it’s use.

So, try it out.  Post examples of your successes/failures (especially if your topics are EM related) in the comments section below.

Click HERE to see my first Prezi attempt, with a lecture on cold exposure injuries.