Become a first-class presenter with Keynote
With our help, soon you’ll be showing Tim Cook how to use Keynote
lmost nothing makes us happier that we’re not forced to use PCs than Keynote. It’s far more pleasant to use than PowerPoint. Here are our favorite features to power up your presentations!
1 Use two or more screens
With your MacBook connected to a projector or TV, you can mirror its display to the external screen, or, in System Preferences > Displays and Keynote’s preferences, show your presentation on the external screen and other stuff on the Mac’s screen — a timer, notes, the next slide, and so on. If you can connect even more screens, you can choose what’s on each with the stacked rectangles icon on the presenter display.
2 Tailor your view
Set up the Presenter View by choosing Play > Customize Presenter Display. It’s wise to show a countdown timer, and you can scale and rearrange elements.
3 The dress rehearsal
The difference between a good presentation and a great one is practice. Choosing Play > Rehearse Slideshow lets you do so until your skills rival Tim Cook’s. Even if you have only a single screen available, the presenter display will show, so you’ll get comfortable with exactly what you’ll be seeing on your screen when you talk to an audience.
4 Keynote Live
If your audience can’t all be in the same room, give your presentation online! Click Keynote Live in the toolbar, and you’ll be given a web address to distribute. You can set a password for joining your presentation, but remember to send this separately!
Think about using this to broadcast things other than business talks, such as showing pictures to a far-flung relative, reading a bedtime story, or walking someone through a recipe.