Software and services are always looking for ways to improve our work, and PowerPoint is no different. About two years ago PowerPoint introduced a feature called Designer. This feature interprets the content on your slide as you create it and suggests different layouts to improve the look of the slide. Designer suggests a more visual…
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.
Four places to find headlines in your slides; Issue #421 August 21 2018
In my customized workshops one of the key takeaways from the section on creating effective visuals slides is to start by writing a headline for each slide. A headline summarizes the key message you want the audience to understand. Think of the headline for your slide like the headline of a news story or article.…
Graph using Excel Data Bars; Issue #420 August 7, 2018
Most business professionals are familiar with creating graphs in Excel using the powerful built-in graph features. Today I want to show another feature of Excel that can be used to create a bar graph quickly in Excel. It has limitations but can be particularly useful when you want to create multiple bar graphs of related…
Redefining the KPI acronym; Issue #419 July 24, 2018
In a presentation I did earlier this year at a number of regional Association for Financial Professionals (AFP) conferences I suggested that we redefine the acronym KPI. As organizations have started to measure more activities, they are deciding on which metrics should be Key Performance Indicators, the traditional definition of the acronym KPI. I suggest…
CPABC Course: Hands-on Tools and Techniques for Creating Effective Financial Visuals in Excel and PowerPoint (July 24, 2019; 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 (July 23, 2019; 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…
The Globe and Mail July 19, 2018
Suggestions from Dave’s article on presenters mistakenly thinking the audience wants ALL the data were included in Harvey Schachter’s online Power Points column on July 19, 2018.
“But they want ALL the data!”; Issue #418 July 10, 2018
Earlier this year a new record was set for the largest number of cells I have seen copied from an Excel spreadsheet onto a PowerPoint slide: 3,128 cells! I couldn’t make that up even if I tried! This beat the previous records of 2,100 and 1,975. When I share this in my customized workshops I…
FinancialViz Comparing common elements; Issue #417 June 26, 2018
I recently posted a new FinancialViz makeover that illustrates a better way to compare common elements using color and position. The original visual was published in the May 2018 issue of the Globe and Mail ROB magazine and looked like this. One reason I selected this visual is because it is a good example of…
FinancialViz Makeover: Comparing common elements using color and position
This makeover shows how using color and position helps the audience compare common elements in two categories or data series.