Latest posts

Below are the most recent articles or resources I’ve published. If you are looking for help on a specific topics, it would best to look at the topics in my Articles archive as I have grouped my recent and best articles by topic there.

  • Three ways to use PowerPoint’s built-in content to make a job interview presentation more visual & more effective

    If you have a job interview for a position in HR, operations, finance, customer service, or another area, you may be asked to prepare a ten-minute presentation to test your communication ability. Here are three ways you can use PowerPoint’s built-in content to make your presentation more visual & more effective. Continue reading

  • Three tips to prepare for your next virtual job interview presentation

    Are you one of the thousands of professionals in HR, finance, operations, or other areas who has recently been laid off or made redundant? Do you know someone who has recently lost their job due to the current economic downturn? If you are in this situation, delivering a short virtual presentation to the recruiter and… Continue reading

  • AFP Online: 5 Ways to Visualize Data: Thanksgiving Edition

    Dave was one of the experts AFP asked to provide an example of a data visualization related to American Thanksgiving. See Dave’s example on the change in consumption of different meats on the AFP website. Continue reading

  • Have two connections to the same Teams meeting on one computer so you can see what attendees will see when sharing content

    In a recent course someone asked if there was a way to see what the attendees see when sharing PowerPoint slides or other content in a Teams meeting. One option is to have a second device with a second account connect to the Teams meeting. This is difficult if you don’t have a second device… Continue reading

  • Use this hack to add the data series names in the columns of a graph instead of using a legend in Excel

    When you are using a clustered column graph in Excel that has two or more data series, how do you tell the viewer which set of columns is which data series? The default method is to use colors and the legend. This video shows you a way to add the data series names into one… Continue reading

  • Solve inconsistent audio quality in hybrid meetings with an Anker PowerConf speaker

    If you are running hybrid meetings, where some people are in the room and some are attending virtually, you’ve likely run into the common issue with audio quality. When you are using your laptop mic as the room mic the remote attendees can’t hear the people who are sitting at the other end of the… Continue reading

  • FinancialViz Makeover: Table of metrics to 3 visuals based on the message for each metric

    This makeover is based on a recent example from a session I delivered at a conference in Philadelphia. I commonly see tables of related metrics in the slides from the participants in my FinancialViz training courses. In this video I show you how to turn the table into 3 visuals, each one based on the… Continue reading

  • Thank the creators of YouTube videos that solve your problem

    Like many people, I search for solutions to problems with Excel, Outlook, Office 365, and home repairs on YouTube. Often I will find a video that solves the exact problem I am having. I am so thankful to the creators who produce these videos. For many people YouTube is considered a free training site. Some… Continue reading

  • FinancialViz makeover: Make a Top 5 / Bottom 5 bar chart communicate clearly

    This makeover is a recent visual I worked on and is similar to the “Top 5 / Bottom 5” visuals I see in my FinancialViz training courses. In this video I show you how to make the message clearer and it is done only using Excel, what you are already using. If you want to… Continue reading

  • YouTube is a poor substitute for a customized software training course

    Too many managers have decided that they don’t need to train their staff on any common office software like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, or Teams because their staff can find the answer to any question on YouTube. They figure it saves the cost of a training course from an expert. I think they are wrong… Continue reading