PowerPoint Slide Makeover - Labeling graphs to make them clear

Just a quick note to let you know that a new Slide Makeover Video Podcast based on the ideas in "The Visual Slide Revolution" is available for your viewing through the iTunes Store, online or through my YouTube channel. Presenters struggle with graphs that are cluttered with too much information that takes away from the data being shown. This makeover shows how to clean up a graph to make it clear for the audience.

This slide was one I found on the Internet, but many are submitted by one of the participants in a workshop - someone just like you who is looking for a way to make their presentations more effective. If you want to submit some of your slides to be considered for a future slide makeover, e-mail them to me at Dave@ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com.

If you have already subscribed through iTunes or another podcatcher, the new podcast should be automatically downloaded when you next run the program.

To subscribe via the iTunes Store, click here.
To view online or get the RSS file for other podcatchers, click here.
You can also watch all the podcasts on my YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/ThinkOutsideTheSlide

If you have subscribed via iTunes or YouTube, please provide your positive feedback on the videos in the Comments and Ratings areas of the service so others know the value you get from the videos.



To get your own copy of "The Visual Slide Revolution", click here.
To access quick "how-to" videos for only $1.99 each, click here.

PowerPoint Tip: Upgrading from PowerPoint 2003 to 2007

I am planning to buy a new laptop next year after the new Core i7 chipset comes to laptops. One question I am struggling with is whether to load the 2007 or the 2003 version as my primary Office version. I still plan to load both versions and run one of them via a virtual machine as I do now so that I can demonstrate the proper version in my workshops. But the primary Office version will be the one I work in most of the time.

I am currently running Office 2003 as my primary version. Why would I run a version that is at least six years old? Because my surveys show that most corporate clients are running Office 2003 and a number are running even earlier versions, like 2000. The cost of upgrading is one expense that many organizations are putting off until the economic situation changes. But an even bigger cost is the cost of retraining because the user interface is so different between Office 2003 and 2007.

If I decide to go with the 2007 version, the first stop I will make is here to download the interactive guides. When I talk to people who have made the step to Office 2007, one of the biggest challenges is learning where common commands or features are in the new interface. These interactive guides allow you to find the command you are looking for in the Office 2003 menu and then the guide will show you where that feature is located in the Office 2007 interface. You can use the guides online or download them so you can use them any time.

As with any upgrade, you need to determine whether it is worth it – does the upgrade have enough features to warrant the time and expense? Here are some of the key differences I have found between PowerPoint 2003 and 2007 that I think make it worth considering:

• More shapes to choose from which makes creating diagrams easier
• More effects for shapes to enhance the professional look of your visuals
• The use of Excel to generate graphs inside PowerPoint which gives you access to the calculation power of Excel within PowerPoint
• The ability to create a PDF version of your slides from within PowerPoint, which aids in distributing slides, especially to mobile devices
  

I’ve talked with many people who have made the change to Office 2007 and they say that after you get used to the interface, you are more productive than before. I also don’t want to fall too far behind in the product cycle given that we expect to see a new version of Office released next year. We’ll see, but for now, I’m leaning towards moving up to Office 2007 with the new computer. I hope that my thoughts have helped you think about the next upgrade you are thinking of, whether it is to Office 2007 this year or to Office 2010 next year.

What presenters can learn from Sapranos Pizza

This summer we spent a week in Alma, NB and one day, after kayaking around the Hopewell Rocks, we were tired and needed dinner. So I popped into the local pizza place, Sapranos Pizza. Instead of simply asking what I wanted to order, the lady behind the counter asked how many I was feeding and how hungry we were. Based on my answers, she suggested what size of pizza would work best for our family that night.

How does this relate to presenting? Too often I see presenters who don’t take the time to find out what the audience needs. They simply show up and deliver their canned presentation. The audience doesn’t leave feeling like their needs were met because those needs were never even identified. The pizza lady first took time to determine what our needs were and then presented the best solution.

If you want to take your presentations to the next level, start by asking the audience where they are now and where they’d like to be. Come prepared with a non-linear presentation so you can go in whatever direction will best satisfy the hunger of the audience. They will leave full and satisfied.

And if you are ever in Alma, NB at dinner time, drop by Sapranos Pizza for a really good pizza!

PowerPoint Slide Makeover - Showing accumulating financial changes

Just a quick note to let you know that a new Slide Makeover Video Podcast based on the ideas in "The Visual Slide Revolution" is available for your viewing through the iTunes Store, online or through my YouTube channel. When different factors add up to an overall financial change, many presenters use a stacked column graph with a legend. This makeover shows how to create a better visual that makes each change clear and easy to understand.

This slide was submitted by one of the participants in a workshop - someone just like you who is looking for a way to make their presentations more effective. If you want to submit some of your slides to be considered for a future slide makeover, e-mail them to me at Dave@ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com.

If you have already subscribed through iTunes or another podcatcher, the new podcast should be automatically downloaded when you next run the program.

To subscribe via the iTunes Store, click here.
To view online or get the RSS file for other podcatchers, click here.
You can also watch all the podcasts on my YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/ThinkOutsideTheSlide

If you have subscribed via iTunes or YouTube, please provide your positive feedback on the videos in the Comments and Ratings areas of the service so others know the value you get from the videos.



To get your own copy of "The Visual Slide Revolution", click here.
To access quick "how-to" videos for only $1.99 each, click here.

PowerPoint Tip: What’s new this fall

Summer is over for those of us who have kids. Our kids started back to school today and I know many others started back in the last few weeks. As children all over the world start discovering new ideas and embark on new learning adventures this month, I wanted to let you know about what is new for you this fall.

First, I’ve launched a new version of the seven day e-course that all new subscribers to the newsletter receive. It has been totally rewritten and the focus is on helping your PowerPoint presentations be more effective. It includes the latest ideas I have been working on and has links to resources for more detailed information. If you’d like to check it out (and I suggest you do), you can access all the lessons at http://www.ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com/ecourse.

Next, it is time to do my survey on what annoys you about bad PowerPoint presentations. I’ve done this survey every two years since 2003 and it always forms the basis of much discussion and insight. The chief reason people participate in the survey is because they want to see the results so that they can make sure they aren’t annoying their audiences. It only takes two minutes to complete, so go to http://sn.im/pptsurvey2009 and do it now. I’ll have the results in a newsletter next month.

I’ll also present the results at PowerPoint Live during my keynote address on the last day of the conference. If you don’t know about this gathering and you are serious about improving your PowerPoint skills and knowledge, you need to mark off Oct 11-14 in Atlanta, GA. Some of the things you’ll learn this year: how Cliff Atkinson is changing the world one deck at a time, how you can share your slides with others via the web, incredible design ideas and makeover examples from Julie Terberg, ideas on ways to use PowerPoint that you’ve never thought of with Glen Millar, Echo Swinford’s ideas on graphs and her sneak peak at what’s coming in PowerPoint 2010 and so much more. Get all the details and sign up at www.PPtLive.com – I’ll see you there!

I had a great summer and made some time for relaxing and recharging. I hope you had an opportunity to do likewise. I am looking forward to ramping up again now that the kids are back in school and I look forward to sharing many more ideas with you on how you can improve the effectiveness of your PowerPoint presentations.

PowerPoint Slide Makeover - Explaining the relationship between roles

Just a quick note to let you know that a new Slide Makeover Video Podcast based on the ideas in "The Visual Slide Revolution" is available for your viewing through the iTunes Store, online or through my YouTube channel. Instead of writing paragraphs to explain each role in a situation or organization, use the ideas in this makeover to create a visual that the audience can easily follow.

This slide was submitted by one of the participants in a workshop - someone just like you who is looking for a way to make their presentations more effective. If you want to submit some of your slides to be considered for a future slide makeover, e-mail them to me at Dave@ThinkOutsideTheSlide.com.

If you have already subscribed through iTunes or another podcatcher, the new podcast should be automatically downloaded when you next run the program.

To subscribe via the iTunes Store, click here.
To view online or get the RSS file for other podcatchers, click here.
You can also watch all the podcasts on my YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/ThinkOutsideTheSlide

If you have subscribed via iTunes or YouTube, please provide your positive feedback on the videos in the Comments and Ratings areas of the service so others know the value you get from the videos.



To get your own copy of "The Visual Slide Revolution", click here.
To access quick "how-to" videos for only $1.99 each, click here.