Why Everyone Who Uses PowerPoint Should Take a Class with Camille Holden and Taylor Croonquist

Camille Holden and Taylor Croonquist are the co-founders of Nuts and Bolts Speed Training, which is a PowerPoint training agency that teaches professionals how to save time and gain peace of mind.

If you’re short on time but big on ideas, their training can help you use the tools of PowerPoint to create masterful presentations in a time-effective manner.

On the podcast, Camille and Taylor discuss the ins and outs of using PowerPoint to the fullest.

How Did Camille and Taylor Become PowerPoint Masterminds?

Camille and Taylor started turning their PowerPoint know-how into a business when they decided to leave behind the traditional corporate environment for a nomadic lifestyle.

Not only was there a gap in the PowerPoint training market, but it was also a way for them to make money that still allowed them to travel.

However, the business was so lucrative that they kept doing it even after they stopped traveling. To this day, they haven’t stopped.

What Are the Inner Workings of PowerPoint?

At first, Camille and Taylor were simply troubleshooting PowerPoint and testing its limits. After a while, they figured out how to do certain things that the creators of PowerPoint had never known were possible.

In fact, Camille and Taylor actually found uses for these “glitches,” going so far as to suggest to the PowerPoint team that they not be fixed.

Part of the reason they were able to find such “glitches” is that PowerPoint’s creator, Robert Gaskins, wanted the software to be flexible enough to do anything.

Are New Programs like Prezi Superior to PowerPoint?

As far as Camille and Taylor go, they’ve never heard someone say “send me your Prezi.” In other words, PowerPoint is still the Coca-Cola of slideshows. Taylor also finds Prezi’s motion feature to be too disorienting.

On the other hand, Camille and Taylor are all about speed, so they recommend using whichever software is easiest for you.

One of the major benefits of using PowerPoint, however, is its large selection of shortcuts. Using the keyboard, you can perform 80% of actions faster than would otherwise be possible. All the time you save making the slideshow can then be used on practicing your presentation.

How Can Templates Save Your PowerPoint Presentation?

Among the biggest issues that people have with PowerPoint is keeping their work consistent and polished. There’s also the situation where you might need multiple presentations that are basically the same, but with small tweaks.

Templates can help in both of these cases.

Those that are bought online are actually broken, so the only way to create a template is by making your own through PowerPoint. Doing this is part of Camille and Taylor’s training program, but they also have a YouTube series with some of this information, as well.

Where Can You Learn More About Camille and Taylor?

You can find Camille and Taylor on their website, NutsandBoltsSpeedTraining.com, where they offer a number of PowerPoint courses. Among their most notable courses is the PowerPoint 3X course, in which you’ll learn how to triple your speed in PowerPoint.

Another of their most popular courses revolves around graphics and animation, which can add a much-needed layer of flair to your presentations.

Camille and Taylor also have a YouTube channel called “Nuts and Bolts Speed Training,” which has around 150 videos on PowerPoint tips.