Feb 15 2010

How to Create a Sexy Curved Arrow in PowerPoint – Part II

More work

Add a tapered "swoosh" arrow to your slides.

Back in December 2008, I published an article on how to create “sexy” curved arrows in PowerPoint 2007. I never thought that particular post would become one of my most popular articles. It highlights a problem within PowerPoint 2007 where you can no longer edit and curve the default arrows. The article shows you a workaround approach that enables you to create a nice flowing — dare I say “sexy” — curved arrow in PowerPoint 2007.

In this Part II article, I’d like to add to your curved arrow technique to your PowerPoint design toolbox — the curved swoosh arrow. It’s a little more work to create than the “standard” sexy curved arrow, but I think the effect might be worth the extra effort in some situations. Continue reading “How to Create a Sexy Curved Arrow in PowerPoint – Part II”

Tags: , , , , , ,

Jan 31 2010

PowerPoint SmartArt is Dumb

Theres no Bob Ross feature in PowerPoint to guide you through the process of visual communication.

SmartArt is not PowerPoint + Bob Ross.

PowerPoint is often criticized for encouraging presenters to rely too heavily on bullet points and not helping people to communicate more visually. Microsoft added a feature known as SmartArt to help convert text into various stylized graphics. When you’re designing your PowerPoint presentation, you can quickly rotate through various shapes, colors, layouts, and styles in order to find the right graphic for your presentation.

For novice or casual PowerPoint users, SmartArt can be a handy tool for quickly making your presentation more visual and professional looking. If you decide to use SmartArt in your PowerPoint slides, you need to be careful because SmartArt is dumb. Continue reading “PowerPoint SmartArt is Dumb”

Tags: , , , , ,

Jan 16 2010

How to Keep Your PowerPoint Creativity Flowing

Must...finish...this...presentation (c) Shutterstock

Must...finish...this...presentation. (c) Shutterstock

It’s getting late, and you’re the last one in the office besides the late-night cleaning crew. With the soft buzz of a distant vacuum in your ear, you wonder how you’re going to bring everything together in time for tomorrow’s big presentation. You stare blankly at the empty slide in front of you, thinking just a few more slides and you’ll be done. Two hours later, tired and hungry, you’ve made some progress (if you call one mediocre slide progress) and even the cleaning crew has gone home now. Continue reading “How to Keep Your PowerPoint Creativity Flowing”

Tags: , ,

Dec 21 2009

7 Tips for Presenting to Senior Executives

Dont be initimidated by executive presentations!

Don't miss an opportunity to impress the execs! (c) Shutterstock

When it comes to presenting, knowing how to present to senior executives within your own company or another company is going to have the biggest impact on your career. Some presenters figure it out to their great success. Other people crash and burn only to lament an opportunity missed.

I’ve compiled a series of tips that will hopefully come in handy the next time you’re going to present to a CEO, CMO, Senior VP, VP, etc. Continue reading “7 Tips for Presenting to Senior Executives”

Tags: , , , , , ,

Dec 05 2009

Wayfinding in PowerPoint Presentations

How far to the good content? (c) iStockphoto / ulamonge

Ever sit through 23 slides of a presentation and still have no idea how many more slides are coming? Maybe the presenter is just getting warmed up or maybe they’re wrapping up — who knows? You can’t always assume just because there are 5 minutes left, the presenter must be wrapping up. It can be difficult to determine where a presenter is in their presentation without some guidance. Continue reading “Wayfinding in PowerPoint Presentations”

Tags: , ,

« Previous Page — Next Page »