With organizations measuring more metrics than ever before, the time it takes to update all the charts you create for senior managers seems to increase each month. You’ve streamlined the analysis using tools in Excel like Power Query, Pivot tables, and various formulas. Once you’ve identified the insights you need to communicate, it takes a…
Author: Dave Paradi
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.
How to add the Draw ribbon to PowerPoint so you can use Inking features
PowerPoint contains inking features that can be very useful to many presenters when creating slides. The challenge is that the way the default settings work, you might think you can’t use these features unless you have a touchscreen device. But you can use the inking features even if you don’t have a touchscreen. Here’s how…
Zooming in on a column graph; Issue #446 August 20 2019
In a previous article I talked about giving context first for complex diagrams by showing the overall view before zooming in to look at the details. The same approach can apply to a column graph where the values don’t differ by much. Too often I see column graphs where the vertical axis does not start…
CPABC Course: Hands-on Tools and Techniques for Creating Effective Financial Visuals in Excel and PowerPoint (August 14, 2020; Vancouver, BC)
Description Prerequisite This is not a basic level Excel or PowerPoint course. You need to come already being familiar with the programs and have intermediate level skills, especially in graphing. If you are comfortable with all the skills in this article/video, you will be adequately prepared for this course. Special Note This is a hands-on…
CPABC Course: How to Present Financial Data Effectively Using PowerPoint (August 13, 2020; Vancouver, BC)
Overview Accountants often use PowerPoint to present financial data to peers, executives, suppliers, and others. It is critical that others understand the impact of the financial analysis so that decisions can be made and the bottom line positively impacted. Audiences want financial professionals to tell them the story behind the numbers, not overwhelm them with…
Big Data Tools and Executive Reporting; Issue #445 August 6 2019
In the opinion of some commentators, presentations of results and analysis to executives will soon be replaced by dashboards created with big data tools such as Power BI or Tableau. They claim that by giving executives access to these tools, the executives will be able to discover all the insights they need and presentations from…
Virtual sessions for health care company (July 31 – September 25, 2020)
Delivering eight 90-minute sessions (equivalent to a two-day workshop) covering how to structure content, reduce information overload, select the right visuals, present in a virtual setting, and the Excel and PowerPoint techniques to create effective visuals. Delivered over Microsoft Teams.
Contextures Excel Newsletter July 16 2019
Dave’s article on creating a net income flow diagram in Excel was mentioned by Excel MVP Debra Dalgleish in her July 16 2019 issue of her Excel Newsletter.
Comparing actual to budget with explanations; Slide Makeover #95
Comparing actual spending to budgeted spending is an important topic in many presentations. Too often the actual and budget amounts are shown in a table and the audience is expected to subtract large numbers in order to understand the difference. This makeover demonstrates how you can use a diverging bar chart with explanations to show…
Comparing actual to budget with explanations; Issue #444 July 23 2019
Comparing actual spending to budgeted spending is an important topic in many presentations. Too often the actual and budget amounts are shown in a table and the audience is expected to subtract large numbers in order to understand the difference. My latest makeover demonstrates how you can use a diverging bar chart with explanations to…