To sell a product or service, you need a way to connect. Having a quality presentation can do the job, but how do you find the software tools to create or produce a presentation?
Looking for software and tools to create or produce a presentation?
Possibly in need of software to do the presentation offline or online?
Where do you start?
On a budget? Need free presentation tools?
Here is my list of presentation software and tools.
(Don't limit their use to just presentations, though!)
Jing (free) Screen capture recorder, 5 minute limit. When you love Jing, you will then graduate to Snagit. (This is a favorite)
Wink (free) Screen capture recorder. Output is flash so size is limited. Free, basic, tested and found Jing better. (Not a big fan but you may like it.)
Snagit (price) Multiple uses including screen capture / recorder with editing. Output is AVI. (This is a tool I use daily and might be too dependent on it.)
Camtasia (price) Top of the line screen capture / recorder / suite for creating tailor made video presentations (integrates with MS {PowerPoint}). (I have owned Camtasia for years and highly recommend it.)
Animaker should be at the top of your list to check out. It is a free online video creation tool. Click and Choose. Drag and Drop. Edit and Play.
They make it easier than ever to Create a new video. Watch the video to see how: Animaker is quite remarkable. Pricing starts at $10/month.
VEED.IO Create videos with a single click. Add subtitles, transcribe audio and more. VEED's all-in-one video tool allows unlimited recordings without any time constraints and the number of recordings you make!
VEED price starts at FREE. Try it now, no account required >
Fishbole.io A newer entry and very interesting. It will appeal especially to those who want something simpler. Simple and yet powerful, it makes a presentation professional AND personalized. Fishbole allows you to record yourself giving a presentation and then effortlessly share it with your audience, allowing you to present in a visually engaging way. Price starts at free and as you evolve, there is a paid version available.
Here is a quick demo of Fishbole:
Camstudio (free) Screen capture / recorder. Output is flash. It is free and functional. (Not my favorite but others prefer it.)
Articulate Presenter (price) Powerful program takes PowerPoints to another level. If you already know MS PowerPoint, this integrates with it.
Animoto (free) With upgrade available. Takes photos / slides and gives them pizazz in a Hollywood style of presentation. Automated after you upload photos and music. Variable outputs. http://animoto.com. I love Animoto!
Presentation Tool - Windows Movie Maker (free) Similar visual to Camtasia. More limited but does allow for a variety of media to be inserted into a presentation including a variety of video, audio, graphics. Variable outputs. Sadly, Windows Movie Maker by Microsoft is no longer supported as of January 2017. It is no longer available for download.
Caution: There are many download websites with "Windows Movie Maker" available. I have tested several. There is risk of adware and more. I do not recommend trying these alternates. There are many other tools to use.
SlideShare Upload and share your PowerPoint presentations and Word documents on SlideShare. Share publicly or privately. Add audio to make a webinar. This is not a production tool, simply a means to present. FREE.
SlideRocket SlideRocket appears powerful with lots of options to take a presentation to the next level. Other than minor testing, I am not familiar enough with it. They offer a demo though! For online presentations.
Audacity No presentation can be produced without good audio and Audacity is the one I use. FREE and powerful software. (I love Audacity)
Brain Betty I know the name is silly but Brain Betty provides FREE tools, templates, audio, music and more to help you create a PowerPoint presentation.
Microsoft PowerPoint Can't leave this off the list. You can now create videos with PowerPoint.
Impress The FREE option from OpenOffice.org to Microsoft's PowerPoint and some say it is even better.
WikiHow WikiHow can get you started if you feel stumped.
brainshark.com Online Presentations...On Demand. Create, Share, and Track multimedia presentations with ease. Brainshark helps business people and organizations communicate faster and more cost-effectively than ever before (added 12/1/09)
Prezi This online presentation software can give your presentation a bit of WOW. You can use Prezi by importing media such as PowerPoint slides, images, videos, YouTube videos, PDFs, etc.
Roxio Pro Roxio of course has been in the software market many years and has good reviews. They say there have been over 350 million copies shipped worldwide.
Thoughts:
I find Camtasia to be a top contender for creating presentations and videos (with screen capture). It does have a price tag but with the excellent options and power it is well worth every penny. The others have a great potential for filling needs when doing small projects.
You may not want to invest the money if used rarely for smaller projects. Jing, Camtasia and Snagit are all Techsmith products. Techsmith provides tutorials to get you over the humps.
If your budget is low, go with Jing (limit of 5 minutes each screen capture but first class).
If your budget is low and you want to learn the software quickly, add narration, and keep it simple, go with Wink.
I suspect the new entries VEED or Fishbole.io is likely to be a your first choice.
If you value your time and need to have power, go with my favorite, Camtasia.
If you want to keep it simple and low cost, use OpenOffice.org Impress and upload to Convey or SlideShare. As long as you have the internet connection, you can present to a group in a conference room or online.
I gave you the full menu since each person has their own budget and knowledge base. The latest MS PowerPoint has plenty of options as well. The issue, of course, is HQ if you are using it for conferences or streaming online, etc. This lead me to PowerPoint / Camtasia / Articulate / Animoto if you intend to show it on a screen. They have been successful for me in rooms up to 100+ (if the screen size is very large, I have not tested these as of yet).
In my original search, I came across a two more resources but since I did not follow up, there is no testimonial or testing done: Netbriefings (for very large groups) ConnectLive (for larger events, including live)
I hope this streamlines your search. (or at least eliminates what not to look for) 
Keep me posted if you find something!
updated 5-18-2022
