Thanks for investing in the book Select Effective Visuals! On this page you will find additional resources to help you use the ideas in the book. Most of the resources are links to other content that you can choose to explore. There are links to videos, other example visuals, articles, calculators, and more. If you find something you think I should add to this page, or if you find that one of the links is broken, please let me know by emailing me at Dave@ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com.
I’ve organized the resources in the order of the content in the book so it is easier to find what you are looking for.
You can use these links to jump to a particular section, or you can scroll through the entire list of resources.
Category 1: Comparing numbers/values/size: Graphs; Group 1: comparing to a standard; Group 2: comparing values; Group 3: Components; Group 4: Trend
Category 2: Relationship of Sequence
Category 3: Relationship over time
Category 4: Relationship of Entities
Category 5: A person, place, or object
Category 6: Example or demonstration
Step 3: Focus the audience during delivery
Step 1: Write a Headline summarizing your message
Article on how headlines are like tweets that go viral
Step 2: Select and create an effective Visual
Category 1: Comparing numbers/values/size
There are many visuals in this category that are graphs. Here are some articles & videos on creating, cleaning up, and delivering graphs in PowerPoint.
Creating graphs:
Video of adding a graph in PowerPoint with data from Excel
Article on using Excel data to create a PowerPoint graph
Linking an Excel graph to a PowerPoint slide
A very comprehensive list of Excel charting tutorials by Jon Peltier
Cleaning up a graph:
Article on additional cleanup for column graphs (ideas apply to other graphs as well)
Delivering a graph in a presentation:
Article on why animating a graph can make it easier to understand
Group 1: Comparing values to a standard
Article on effective dashboard slides
Good example from The Wire of a Ranking visual on rank of top candy bars over time
Example of ranking chart from Wall Street Journal
Article on effective dashboard slides
Group 2: Comparing values to each other
Proportional Object Collection Calculator; video on using the calculator
Article on proportional object collections
Grouped item comparison example from CNN website
Grouped item comparison from Wall Street Journal
Slide makeover showing a grouped item comparison
Article on where to get vector icons to use as shapes in grouped item comparisons
Article on adding visual indicators to a table of insights
Article on diverging stacked bar charts
Slide makeover showing use of a diverging stacked bar chart
Diverging Stacked Bar Chart Calculator; video on using Diverging Stacked Bar Chart Calculator
Diverging stacked bar chart examples from Darkhorse Analytics
Article showing a makeover using small multiples bar charts
Small Multiples Calculator; video on using Small Multiples Calculator
Other small multiples articles/examples: http://annkemery.com/data-table-to-small-multiples/; http://annkemery.com/disaggregating-with-small-multiples/; http://stephanieevergreen.com/declutter-dataviz-with-small-multiples/; https://twitter.com/BBGVisualData/status/562251745712414720/photo/1; http://www.prooffreader.com/2013/11/canada-strong-and-free-but-maybe-not-as.html;
Slide makeover showing a graph of ranges of values
Group 3: Showing components of a total or whole
Article on correct use of pie charts
Video on creating a basic waterfall graph
Waterfall Graph Calculator; video on using the Waterfall Graph Calculator
Waterfall chart tutorial by Taylor Croonquist
Stacked Bar Breakdown Calculator; video on using the Stacked Bar Breakdown Calculator
Group 4: Showing a trend over time
Article on using a line chart instead of a column graph for trends
Article on use of dual-axis graphs
Slide makeover showing a line graph used instead of a stacked column graph
Article on how the scale of a dual-axis graph can be used to give a false interpretation of the data
Category 2: Relationship of Sequence
Article on showing steps in a process
Article on using pre-made diagrams from Diagrammer.com
Slide makeover showing the use of a decision tree
Category 3: Relationship over time
Video on creating a Gantt chart (also for creating a timeline)
Video on creating a Gantt chart using a table
Category 4: Relationship between entities
Article on different ways to format text instead of bullet points
Article on reducing the text on slides
Article on formatting text in tables
Category 5: A person, place, or object
Article on how copying images from the web can be detected
Article on sources of free images
Article on finding & using vector icons
Category 6: Example or demonstration
Article on using quotes on slides
Article on using quotes of regulatory text
Article on formatting text in text boxes
Article on the grammar of text on slides
Step 3: Focus the audience during delivery
Slide makeover showing the use of callouts in a spreadsheet
Video on creating callout shapes that can be easily seen
Slide makeover showing the use of reveal animation with tables
Article on using builds to give context before conclusion
Videos/tutorials on using animation to build slide elements
Article on using exit animation
Video on using reveal animation
Dave Paradi has over twenty-two years of experience delivering customized training workshops to help business professionals improve their presentations. He has written ten books and over 600 articles on the topic of effective presentations and his ideas have appeared in publications around the world. His focus is on helping corporate professionals visually communicate the messages in their data so they don’t overwhelm and confuse executives. Dave is one of fewer than ten people in North America recognized by Microsoft with the Most Valuable Professional Award for his contributions to the Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams communities. His articles and videos on virtual presenting have been viewed over 4.8 million times and liked over 17,000 times on YouTube.