Naba Ahmed
February 06, 2023
When he discovered Prezi Video, Andrew Tarvin, a bestselling author and keynote speaker, said, “Holy schwow, this is the easiest, quickest way to do picture in picture, and it’s smooth, so I’ve been using it for all of my virtual presentations ever since.”
And now, he’s used Prezi Video for 121 virtual presentations and counting.
Andrew has delivered more than 500 talks, in-person and virtual, one of which was a viral TEDx talk that has over 13 million views (only half of which he claims came from his mother). He’s primarily spoken to corporate audiences, including Microsoft, IBM, NASA, and the FBI.
Typically, Andrew had been presenting in person, but when the pandemic hit, all of his presentations shifted to virtual. He hated the idea of sharing his screen, which forced him into a tiny little box. What he aspired for in his virtual presentations was to have picture-in-picture slides. He had tried other tools, including Ecamm Live or ATEM Mini, but then was hooked once he discovered Prezi Video in April 2021.
“I have a degree in computer science & engineering, so theoretically I could build out the perfect system using OBS and Elgato Stream Deck,” Andrew shared. “But Prezi Video already does it so well, there’s no reason to.”
Andrew’s keynotes and workshops cover a wide range of topics, such as how to build a culture of using humor in the workplace, how to be more effective while working remotely, how to deliver engaging virtual presentations, and how to make work suck less.
With Prezi, Andrew has also been able to collaborate and present side by side with other speakers. For one virtual presentation, Andrew presented alongside author and founder David Nihill, and they would both switch between presenting their Prezi video presentations.
What Andrew really likes about Prezi is how it enables him to connect with his audience.
“It’s primarily the ease to transition in and out of slides for me, connecting and engaging with the audience by making eye contact, while at the same time then bringing up a visual right next to me. Now I can be speaking and show a picture, video, or meme right next to me to make a point,” Andrew said.
Ease of use is a big part of his message and he demonstrates things that he wants other people to feel like they can do very easily. Therefore, he loves the function of designing in PowerPoint and then importing it into Prezi Video because it’s simple, quick, and effective.
It’s also enabled him to take slides that he had used for in-person talks and easily upload or import them into Prezi so he could get more use out of his presentations without having to reinvent the wheel — and just like that, he gets picture in picture.
“It lowered the bar in terms of what it takes to get started while also raising the bar of how engaging virtual presentations can be,” Andrew said. “It made users feel like ‘Oh, I can do that,’ making it more accessible.”
Andrew also likes how Prezi Video’s desktop app makes recording so seamless, whether that’s recording a video in one take, or sometimes, 37. Features like presenter notes at the top of the screen, the pause functionality, and the countdown all make Andrew love using Prezi Video for recording asynchronous videos and as a capture tool.
One of Andrew’s favorite features is that he can edit his Prezi video presentations on the fly. While he’s on a call or sitting in the audience during a virtual conference, he can go in and change his notes to customize a point or add another slide to reference something that was said earlier, which always amazes his audiences.
“I continue to use Prezi Video because it is by far the easiest way to very quickly make a more engaging, more compelling virtual presentation experience. I can so quickly and easily get into picture-in-picture views, fluid slide transitions, fluid zoom in and zoom out,” Andrew stated. “It’s almost inevitable that people will ask, ‘How did you have the slides right next to you?’ and the answer is always Prezi Video.”
