In a previous newsletter I showed how using semi-transparent shapes to show categories or groups of items can help explain a complex diagram or image. In the example, I used rectangles because the groups of items were located neatly beside each other. What if the items you want to group are not in a neat…
Category: Diagrams
How to add the Draw ribbon to PowerPoint so you can use Inking features
PowerPoint contains inking features that can be very useful to many presenters when creating slides. The challenge is that the way the default settings work, you might think you can’t use these features unless you have a touchscreen device. But you can use the inking features even if you don’t have a touchscreen. Here’s how…
Clues to indicate diagrams; Issue #439 May 14 2019
Participants in my customized workshops often find the makeovers I’ve done of their own slides the most impactful part of the session. The makeovers demonstrate how the ideas apply to the presentations they create and deliver. How do I know when to select a specific type of visual? I explain my entire process in my…
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 the events being placed on a timeline…
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 layouts to improve the look of the slide. Designer suggests a more visual…
How to select information for a Gantt chart; Issue #416 June 12, 2018
No matter what area of an organization you work in, you are likely involved in projects. They may be called initiatives or some other term, but they have a clear goal, specific deliverables, and tasks that need to be done to complete the project. You will have to report on your progress to a steering…
Process/sequence diagrams with many steps; Issue #415 May 29, 2018
Sometimes you may have to discuss a process or sequence that has many steps. It is a good idea to show a process using a sequence diagram such as a shapes and arrow diagram. The challenge when you have many steps is fitting them all on the slide. Here is an example based on a…
Creating a Monthly timeline Gantt chart with Milestones in Excel or PowerPoint
How do you create a Gantt chart in Excel? You can create a Gantt chart to show project tasks and timelines in Excel using a stacked bar chart. You can include milestones if needed. By using a chart in Excel, when the dates of the tasks change, the Gantt chart is automatically updated. In this…
Creating a Gantt chart with Milestones using a Stacked Bar Chart in Excel or PowerPoint
When you need an accurate Gantt chart, you can use a stacked bar graph in Excel to create it
Minutes/seconds on clock visual; Issue #386 April 4, 2017
One of the messages you may want to communicate in a presentation is a length of time measured in minutes or seconds. It may be the time it takes for a step in a process, it may be the time it takes for processing a request, or the goal for answering customer service calls. While…