Keep Track of Action Items During a Slide Show

Keep Track of Action Items During a Slide Show



THIS ONLY WORKS IN POWERPOINT 2000 AND BELOW VERSIONS! When giving a presentation, have you ever needed to make a list of ideas, comments, suggestions, or action items? Instead of using a flip chart, use PowerPoint. Here's how:

In Slide Show view, right-click anywhere in the slide, and then, on the shortcut menu, click Meeting Minder.
Click the Action Items tab.
Type your information into the Description, Assigned To, and Due Date boxes, and then click Add.
Repeat step 3 if you want to add more action items, and then click OK.

Your items appear on a new slide at the end of your slide show. You can use this slide as a way to review the ideas or suggestions that came up during the slide show or as a reminder of the action items that need to be addressed.


You can export your action item list to Word or Outlook. Here's how:

On the Tools menu in PowerPoint, click Meeting Minder.
In the Meeting Minder dialog box, click Export.
To create a new Word document that contains your list of ideas or action items, select the Send meeting minutes and action items to Microsoft Word check box.
To place them on your task list in Outlook (and assign each task to the appropriate person later), select the Post action items to Microsoft Outlook check box.
Then, click Export Now.

Recording your own sound effects on your PC

If you don't have a WAV file on your PC, don't worry, you can record your own WAV files using your PC's sound recorder. All you need is a microphone and a sound card with a mic input. To record a sound effect, make sure your microphone is hooked up properly and then choose Programs | Accessories | Entertainment | Sound Recorder from the Start menu to open the Sound - Sound Recorder dialog box. Note, if you're using Windows 95, choose Programs | Accessories | Multimedia | Sound Recorder to open the Sound Recorder dialog box. Once you're ready to begin recording, click the Record button and say something into the microphone. Use your imagination and try to create your own unique sound effect. As you're recording, the green line in the center of the Sound - Sound Recorder dialog box should begin moving in a wave format. When you've finished recording, click the Stop button. You can play back your recording by clicking the Play button. If you like the recorded sound, you can save it as a WAV file. To do this, first choose File | Save As to open the Save As dialog box. Next, choose a location for your sound and enter a name for it in the File Name text box. Finally, click Save.