Please introduce yourself, and your field in education!

My name is Olav Sorenson, I am Professor of Organizational Behavior at Yale School of Management. I have been teaching classes on the commercialization of technology, venture capital and organizational design. My research focuses on economic geography and economic sociology. For example, some of my recent papers have examined whether and how the availability of venture capital affects local economies. 

How did you first hear about Prezi? 

Last March, I led a group of Yale SOM students on a trip to Estonia and Hungary. When asking around for interesting startups that we might visit in Budapest, someone mentioned Prezi. That led me to the website. But I don't think that I fully appreciated Prezi's power as a presentation tool until I had a chance to see Adam Somlai-Fischer presenting the story of Prezi using a prezi.

What were your first experiences when you started to use Prezi yourself?

At first I found it a little difficult. The interface is intuitive and easy to use but I found the process of creating a presentation quite different. With Keynote or Powerpoint, you can throw material onto a slide without having a sense of how or where it will fit into the presentation. You can then try to weave the details into a storyline. With Prezi, I found it much better to work in the other direction: Start with the storyline and then start filling in details. It requires a little different frame of mind. 

How did your students react to your first prezi?

I think they found it cool and engaging. Within weeks, I saw students using prezi for their own presentations in classes and clubs.

Anything you might recommend to teachers getting started with Prezi?

As I noted earlier, Prezi requires a somewhat different approach. I would recommend starting with an outline---major points, minor points, asides. From there, it's pretty natural to assemble a presentation using prezi.

Check prezis created by Yale teachers and students in our library!