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Thoughts and impressions of happenings in the world of PowerPoint and presentations, continuously updated since 2003.
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PowerPoint and Presenting Notes
PowerPoint and Presenting Glossary
PowerPoint isn’t just a handy tool—it’s a powerhouse in your workflow! Not only does it come packed with tons of features, but it also plays nice with a bunch of different file formats. You can open and save files in many formats, making it super versatile. But here’s the kicker—PowerPoint can even open some file types that it can’t save as, expanding its file-handling superpowers even more!
Learn about various file types that can open and work in PowerPoint for the Web.
Filed Under:
PowerPoint for the Web
Tagged as: Interface, Mac OS, Microsoft Windows, Office, Office for the Web, OneDrive, PowerPoint, PowerPoint for the Web, Tutorials
Sam Schreim is the entrepreneur behind StoryTelling Charts, a free PowerPoint plugin that empowers professionals with top-tier data visuals. Over two decades in strategy and management consulting, plus five years in corporate America, Sam recognized the need for clarity and polish in data presentations. He holds an MBA from Columbia University and a MS in Computer Engineering from the University of Connecticut. Sam trademarked his Storytelling with Charts framework, authored a 2022 book of the same name, and now dedicates himself to democratizing professional-grade data storytelling for audiences worldwide.
In this conversation, Sam discusses StoryTelling Charts.
Geetesh: What inspired the creation of StoryTelling Charts?
Sam: StoryTelling Charts was born out of a frustration familiar to many a professional: default PowerPoint charts don’t tend to excite an audience nor do they effectively communicate complex insights. In my early corporate days, I’d spend tens of hours poring over data, looking for trends in patterns or numbers, and analyzing metrics—but the potential impact of my findings often fizzled off in passably mediocre slide design. All my time and effort went to waste because I messed up in the presentation and the visualization of my analysis.
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Interviews
Tagged as: Add-in, Charting, Interviews, Sam Schreim, Stories
We first look at how you can insert arrows as part of your text content, as a symbol. Using arrow symbols in presentation slides can enhance clarity, organization, and engagement. Next, we explore if a picture is really worth a thousand words? Are there any scenarios when this observation is not true?
Celebrated author Jerry Weissman then explores the commonality between the thoughts of Winston Churchill and teenagers. Additionally, we’ve curated an array of inspiring quotes and practical templates to keep you informed and prepared.
Stay up to date with the latest tutorials, tips, and news on PowerPoint and presentation techniques.
Filed Under:
Ezine
Tagged as: Ezine, Indezine, News, PowerPoint
By Clare Norman, author of Cultivating Coachability
Often, coaching can be less effective than intended. There can be numerous factors at play. For example, it can be because the person receiving coaching doesn’t appreciate or fully buy into the idea that they are the one needing to do the hard work of thinking – they are the thinker in the coaching process. However, many times it’s because coaching relationships are no longer set up for success as well as they used to be. My theory—backed up by twenty plus years of experience as a coach—is that organizations tend to want the benefits of coaching without the up-front investment in strategic screening for coaching readiness.
Image: Yay Images
This is down to the coaching custodian. That is, the person who is responsible for coaching in an organization. That may be the:
If you hold one of these roles, the return on investment and expectations of the coaching is in your hands. That’s quite a responsibility and it requires more than a cursory introduction to a coach in your coaching pool.
Here are a few ways you can make the investment pay higher dividends:
What is the strategic intention (focus and purpose) of this coaching and how will it meet organizational needs?
For example, the focus might be maternity/paternity return to work, first 100 days in a new lateral role, emerging leader, increased scope and scale, parental coaching, executive coaching, leadership coaching, retirement coaching, wellbeing, enhancement of diversity and inclusion, high potentials. The purpose might be business-driven, individual development needs driven, goal-led, or program-led. What is it that your organization needs?
Include this in the coaching brief that you send to the coach. And keep your coaching pool in the loop about business changes that may have an impact on the employees for whom you provide coaching.
Before any member of your staff embarks on a coaching journey, you must ensure they are ready for the process. Ask the following questions:
Don’t throw coaching at everything. For example, might training be a better fit for a newly promoted team lead? Or might the line manager be trying to outsource to someone else to give the difficult feedback that they have shied away from giving to the individual. Perhaps it’s the line manager who needs coaching.
This is a big commitment on their part. They can’t just show up and hope that everything will get better for them. Your role is to brief them on what coaching is and is not and how to make the most of it. Yes, the coach will do this too, but people need to hear things more than once for it to sink in; and if they are not motivated, there is no point wasting their salaried time or the coach’s time by putting them forward for a chemistry meeting if they don’t want coaching in the first place.
Choice is important for the thinker, but they don’t always have the tools to discern who will be the best fit coach for them. So, match them with the coach who you think will offer just enough challenge and let the thinker know that they can ask for another match if they discern for themselves that:
This cuts down on unconscious bias in the matching process, so if you are serious about diversity, inclusion and equity, it’s important to match that in mind.
Given that the coaches will likely choose their own supervisors and work in a silo in your organization, don’t forget to harvest the systemic learning across the work that they are doing for you. What is coming up time and time again that individuals cannot resolve in one-to-one coaching? For example, is there a bullying problem that keeps showing up? Are minorities finding it hard to make progress due to systemic barriers that need to be addressed by the whole organization? What is the temperature gauge around potential burnout?
This is a big ask for those of you who have been tapped on the shoulder to add this to your burgeoning to-do list. But ensuring that coaching is a success within the organization is not just another transaction to be ticked off the list, it’s a strategic imperative to get this right. You are the major custodian of results here, the protector of business spends and the talent multiplier. The choices you make will have an impact – so make them wisely.
Clare Norman is author of Cultivating Coachability (2024) and founder of Clare Norman Coaching Associates. Clare is a Master Certified Coach (MCC) with the International Coaching Federation (ICF), a Master Mentor Coach and a Certified Coach Supervisor. She has a Masters in Training and has received multiple awards for ground-breaking leadership development. For over 25 years, Clare has focused on maximizing individual, team, and organisation effectiveness, enabling people to express their needs, in service of a more caring world. Clare’s two previous books are The Transformational Coach (2022) and Mentor Coaching: A Practical Guide (2020).
The views and opinions expressed in this blog post or content are those of the authors or the interviewees and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer, or company.
Filed Under:
Guest Posts
Tagged as: Clare Norman, Coaching, Guest Post
Need to add arrows to your slide? No problem! Whether you’re labeling stuff or just pointing out the obvious, arrows have got your back. And guess what? PowerPoint makes adding arrows as easy as pie with a few quick keyboard shortcuts. It’s fast, it’s simple, and it’s perfect for slide designers who are always on the go. So go ahead, point things out like a pro!
Master the use of arrow symbols to enhance presentations in PowerPoint 365 for Windows.
Filed Under:
PowerPoint 365
Tagged as: Arrows, Microsoft 365, Microsoft Windows, Office 365, PowerPoint 365, Text, Tutorials
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