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.

  • Using the Snipping Tool for screen captures; Issue #368 July 19, 2016

    Certain topics in presentations benefit from being illustrated with screen captures. If you are showing how to use a system or website, a screen capture is a great visual to use. Adding callouts to screen captures can make explaining the step-by-step process much easier than a series of bullet points. While there are specialized screen…… Continue reading

  • Extracting data from a linked Excel graph; Issue #367 July 5, 2016

    When I work on the slide makeovers for my customized workshops, I often run into graphs that can be formatted in PowerPoint, but the data can’t be accessed. This is common because when you use the default paste (Ctrl+V) to paste an Excel graph into PowerPoint, you get a graph that has the data linked…… Continue reading

  • Show the difference; Issue #366 June 21, 2016

    When the difference in values is the message, just show the difference, not the values Continue reading

  • Strategic approach for presenting to Boards and Senior Management; Issue #365 June 7, 2016

    As I work with more executives and managers who present to Senior Management and Boards, I see an issue get raised repeatedly that I want to address in this article. The issue is ultimately about strategically sequencing the information that is sent/presented, although it rarely gets raised that way. Often I am asked if sending…… Continue reading

  • Make Deliberate Decisions; Issue #364 May 24, 2016

    In my customized workshops I share that we need to have a fundamental shift in philosophy when it comes to creating presentations. When I ask someone why they have done something a certain way in their presentation, the answer I almost always get is, “We’ve always done it that way.” I don’t think that approach…… Continue reading

  • New graph formatting interface in PowerPoint 2013/2016; Issue #363 May 10, 2016

    Almost all my clients are still using PowerPoint 2010, but I am starting to see the move to PowerPoint 2013 or Office 365. When I teach public workshops, I see more and more people coming with these newer versions of PowerPoint on their computer. Since I talk a lot about graphs, I want to point…… Continue reading

  • Creating some of the new graph types in older versions of Office; Issue #362 April 26, 2016

    Office 365, Microsoft’s subscription method for getting Office, has a big advantage over the standalone method we used in the past, where we bought a new version every few years. Every month Microsoft adds new features to the Office programs if you are on the subscription model. These new features don’t get added to the…… Continue reading

  • Converting financial notation to visual indicators; Slide Makeover #84

    Convert accounting notation to visual indicators the audience easily understands Continue reading

  • 2016 State of Financial Presentations; Issue #361 April 12, 2016

    A couple of weeks ago I wrapped up my 2016 State of Financial Presentations survey. Thanks to everyone who participated and promoted it. Today I want to share the highlights of the results and what they mean for presenters in general. The full report of results is on my website. In the first survey question…… Continue reading

  • Audience with different levels of knowledge; Issue #360 March 29, 2016

    In my six step RAPIDS approach to planning your presentation, the A is for analyzing your audience. A common question in my customized workshops is how to handle the situation where the audience has varying levels of knowledge about the topic you are speaking about. Some may be experts on the topic, and some may…… Continue reading