By: Kaitlyn Neese

If you work in an environment with a lot of presentations, you’ve probably heard of Prezi. It is gaining popularity among the younger generation of the workforce, but I imagine that it is soon going to be utilized by all ages.

If you are unfamiliar with Prezi, it is a free, web-based, more visually appealing version of PowerPoint. It is pretty simple to use and the final product always looks stunning. Prezis are typically much more interesting than PowerPoints, and even the most boring information comes to life with Prezi.

Prezi is new and different. It is fun and it looks so much smoother and more sophisticated than PowerPoint.

So what’s the problem? Why isn’t everybody and their mother flocking to download Prezi and kick the outdated PowerPoint to the curb forever? Long-time PowerPoint fans have a hard time retraining their brain to effectively use Prezi.

Personally, I have become comfortable with the setup of Prezi, but will admit that I have had technical difficulties in the past. Saving presentations has been an issue, and sometimes it takes a while to open up a saved presentation. This can be awkward if you are in front of a group and about to present.

A complaint of Prezi audiences is that it can be distracting. Listeners may be so involved in how gorgeous your presentation looks that they do not hear a word you say. So that definitely defeats the purpose.

So what presentation aid to I prefer to use? I’m going to have to say Prezi, despite its downfalls. Though I will admit Prezi can be distracting and confusing at first, the seasoned Prezi user will learn the tricks of the trade and be able to create excellent presentations. PowerPoint is just too mundane, outdated and limited.

So yes, I believe that Prezi is the future of presenting. If you are uncomfortable with Prezi now, you might as well get used to it. Although your hesitations are probably valid, Prezi is eventually going to be everywhere, so I suggest getting ahead while you still can!

What do you think of Prezi? Are you a loyal PowerPointer? Why?