With February comes Valentine's Day so I thought I'd draw inspiration from William Shakespeare to address a common problem in slide layout: How do you format a quotation? Before Snore. Apart from the pleasant background color and graphics, this quotation is about as florid as a wet dishrag. This … [Read more...] about February Slide Makeover of the Month
How do you show bad news in PowerPoint?
Sometimes it's necessary to tell your audience something that's not so great. Most presenters really don't want to be the Bad Guy, but it's important that their audiences have all the facts about what's going on, whether it's an underperforming fund, a bad quarter, negative ratings, or flagging … [Read more...] about How do you show bad news in PowerPoint?
January Slide Makeover of the Month
This month's slide was adapted from a real presentation I worked on in December. So as not to reveal proprietary information, the data have been changed but the slide layout is essentially the same. Before This slide took me a little while to figure out. I can tell that the four data points are … [Read more...] about January Slide Makeover of the Month
PowerPoint vs. Prezi: Which is better?
Throughout history, there have been many great rivalries: Red Sox vs. Yankees, Coke vs. Pepsi, Mac vs. PC. In the battle for the hearts and minds of the presentation community, perhaps there is no greater clash than PowerPoint vs. Prezi. Up-and-comer Prezi brings its A-game to the fight. It's … [Read more...] about PowerPoint vs. Prezi: Which is better?
Ready, Fire, Aim! The wrong way to design a PowerPoint deck
I once got a call from a woman who wanted some PowerPoint advice. She said something along the lines of, "Well, I've finished all the slides, now I need to work on my script." "You fool!" I wanted to shout. "You've done it backwards! Throw it away and start all over again!" Then I pictured myself … [Read more...] about Ready, Fire, Aim! The wrong way to design a PowerPoint deck
Three steps to becoming a Thought Leader
Thought leadership is a relatively new term that describes being known for one's expertise on a certain topic. A thought leader is seen as a visionary, someone with ideas that can improve the way things are done. Yesterday I officially became a thought leader. Become a PowerPoint Ninja in 2012 is … [Read more...] about Three steps to becoming a Thought Leader