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.

  • 2017 Annoying PowerPoint survey results; Issue #399 October 3, 2017

    In this newsletter I summarized a few of the results from the 2017 Annoying PowerPoint survey. You can read the full report here. Continue reading

  • 3 Alternatives to axis breaks; Issue #398 September 19, 2017

    Twice in the past few months I have seen column charts with axis breaks. Some software makes it easy to create these types of charts. In this article I want to recommend against using this type of chart and offer some alternatives. To start with, what is an axis break chart and why would it…… Continue reading

  • Total on stacked columns/bars; Issue #397 September 5, 2017

    Recently I wrote about how I think presenters should replace stacked column or bar graphs with better visuals (see the entire article here). In my customized workshops I have participants who need to create a stacked graph because the boss wants it or the audience expects to see the data presented that way. Often they…… Continue reading

  • Focus by using an All Others category; Issue #396 August 22, 2017

    Use an All Others category when showing ranked data to focus on the most important categories Continue reading

  • Proportion visual using characters; Issue #395 August 8, 2017

    Use ISOTYPE or group of items visuals to show proportion of the whole Continue reading

  • Will replacing presentations with interactive visual dashboards help executives make decisions?

    Recently I have seen more emphasis on creating interactive visual dashboards for executives in products such as Tableau and Power BI. These dashboards allow executives to visually play with graphs based on underlying data. They can apply filters for time periods, products, geographic regions, and many other dimensions. They can position their cursor on a…… Continue reading

  • Executive Summary slide; Issue #394 July 25, 2017

    Create an Executive Summary at the start of your presentation using text organized in shapes Continue reading

  • Showing a trend and comparing current value to last Q and last Y; Slide Makeover #88

    Use a line graph instead of a column graph to show both the trend and comparisons to previous values. Continue reading

  • Replace stacked column graphs; Issue #393 July 11, 2017

    Focus the audience on the comparison of the values in the important segments in a stacked column graph Continue reading

  • GPS for Presentations: A structured approach to planning presentations with a clear message and focused content

    Most presenters don’t use a structured approach to planning their presentations. They start by grabbing slides from presentations they and their colleagues have done in the past. They try to organize these slides into a coherent message and struggle to do so. The result is often an overload of information that doesn’t flow well. The…… Continue reading