Latest posts
Change indicator characters; Issue #425 October 16 2018
The difference between two numbers is a common element of many presentations. It could be the difference between actual and budget, this year and last year, industry average and our performance, or any two numbers that measure an important metric. Visually showing...
Accurate Design Ideas-like Timeline; Issue #424 October 2 2018
In a previous newsletter I showed an example of how PowerPoint’s Design Ideas feature (last week Microsoft changed the name from Designer to Design Ideas) can create a visual from a bullet list of dates for events. Here is the example it created. I like the idea of...
FinancialViz Makeover Change in sectors over time; Issue #423 September 18 2018
The latest FinancialViz makeover I posted illustrates a better way to show change in values over time. The original visual was published in the July 2018 issue of the Globe and Mail ROB magazine. Here is the original visual. I selected this visual because it...
FinancialViz Makeover: Change in sectors over time
This makeover shows how using color and the right visual helps the audience compare the change in sectors between two time periods. (this is a silent video and you can pause it to spend more time on any of the slides) https://youtu.be/wOCBOUwZNPY
SWD Challenge September 2018
I think makeovers of slides or visuals is a great way to see what is possible in our own presentations. If we have never seen a visual used in a certain way before, we would never think of applying it to what we present. The makeovers that I use in my custom workshops...
Getting Designer ideas without Office 365 at work; Issue #422 September 4 2018
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...
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...
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...
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...
“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...