Author Archives: speakingpowerpoint

Even More Ways to Print White Lines in PowerPoint – PowerPoint Video Tip #14

Posted on February 28, 2012 by speakingpowerpoint

In a previous video, I showed you white lines in PowerPoint are printed as black lines. And I showed you a workaround. Then presentation designer Krzysztof Baszton contacted me to tell me there are more elegant ways to accomplish this. Watch. … Continue reading →

Posted in how-to, videos | Leave a comment

Obama Re-Elected? Graphs Tell the Story

Posted on February 20, 2012 by speakingpowerpoint

Will President Barack Obama get re-elected? History shows Americans prefer to re-elect presidents instead of electing new ones, with 7 of the last 10 presidents winning their re-election bid. And what about President Obama? The numbers tell a gloomy story for President … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Show Percentage vs Goal With the Progress Bar Chart

Posted on February 16, 2012 by speakingpowerpoint

On the Microsoft Office LinkedIn group, someone asked this question: “Which chart is better to show percentage to goal results?” It’s common in business presentations to show progress toward a goal, like percentage of sales versus sales quota or percentage … Continue reading →

Posted in graphs | Leave a comment

Graph Makeover by Andy Arrow

Posted on February 15, 2012 by speakingpowerpoint

This is a great graph makeover by presentation designer Andy Arrow. The ideas expressed in this video are the foundational stuff of great graphs.   Some main principles 1. Clarify the graph’s main message in the title 2. Take what’s … Continue reading →

Posted in graphs, slide makeovers | Leave a comment

A New Way to Visualize Data = The Grable

Posted on February 6, 2012 by speakingpowerpoint

Cole Nussbaumer, at the Storytelling with Data blog, has introduced a useful term for data visualization in business: the Grable. It’s a combination of a table and a graph. Tables are good for some things, like looking up specific values and … Continue reading →

Posted in graphs | Leave a comment

Table Makeover: How Do I Avoid that Checkerboard Effect?

Posted on January 9, 2012 by speakingpowerpoint

It’s easy to create tables in PowerPoint. But it takes some thought and design skills to create a really attractive and effective table. In this blog article, I want to show you some principles for creating better tables. This post … Continue reading →

Posted in graphs, slide makeovers | 3 Comments

Why the Right Color Can Make or Break Your Presentation

Posted on December 30, 2011 by speakingpowerpoint

Slide colors are important because color affects our mood, which in turn can affect whether or not your audience will agree with you. I was reminded of this important point when I stumbled across this image of the funeral procession of North … Continue reading →

Posted in design | 3 Comments

WOW! Top 9 Tricks to Get Retweeted (Please RT!)

Posted on December 19, 2011 by speakingpowerpoint

Want more of your tweets to be retweeted? The #1 tip is to keep your tweets under 70 characters so that retweeters can add their own comments like “interesting” or “so true”. That’s the findings from this study. Here’s the top 9 … Continue reading →

Posted in News, research | 1 Comment

Graph Makeover – Chart of the Day, How Email Use is Changing

Posted on December 7, 2011 by speakingpowerpoint

The measure of a chart is how quickly it conveys the message while being visually pleasing. Conveying the message is, of course, the main point of the chart. Visually pleasing is also important because it enhances your credibility. Here’s the … Continue reading →

Posted in graphs, slide makeovers | 2 Comments

The #1 Best Advice for Choosing PowerPoint Fonts

Posted on December 5, 2011 by speakingpowerpoint

In my workshops, I’m often asked which is the best font to use on PowerPoint slides. The short answer is to choose a font the way you would a business outfit: use a font that’s readable, reflects your personality and … Continue reading →

Posted in design, Text | 3 Comments