PowerPoint and Presenting Stuff

Creating Word Clouds for PowerPoint using Wordle

Have you seen a bunch of words with similar meanings that are arranged together to form a graphic? Such a graphic is commonly called a Word Cloud. These Word Clouds are primarily textual art and define subjects, scopes or even ideas. Such clouds may contain words that involve or influence the subject which the presenter or the user is focused on.

Learn how to create word clouds for PowerPoint.

Filed Under: Uncategorized
Tagged as: Graphics, Images, PowerPoint, Tutorials, Word Clouds

Get More SmartArt Graphics

In addition to creating SmartArt, and including a bunch of some great variants out of the box, Microsoft also created a way for individuals and developers to create their own custom SmartArt Layout files. These new SmartArt Layouts with the file extension, GLOX could drop into a designated folder, and this simple action would result in additional SmartArt graphics being available.

Learn how you can get more SmartArt graphic variants.

Filed Under: PowerPoint All Versions
Tagged as: Microsoft Office, PowerPoint, SmartArt, Tutorials

Text Pane For SmartArt Graphics in PowerPoint 2016 for Windows

We explored how you can convert your normal bulleted text to a SmartArt graphic with just a click or two. However, you’ll soon discover that it is neither easy nor intuitive to edit, add, or delete text within a shape inside a SmartArt graphic. Fortunately, all the text edits can be easily performed within the convenient Text Pane of the SmartArt graphic. In this tutorial, we’ll help you explore options for working within the Text Pane for SmartArt graphics in PowerPoint 2016 for Windows.

Learn how the Text Pane helps add text content to your SmartArt graphic in PowerPoint 2016 for Windows.

Filed Under: PowerPoint 2016
Tagged as: Microsoft Windows, Office 2016, PowerPoint 2016, SmartArt, Text, Tutorials

Chart Chooser Cards: Conversation with Dr. Stephanie Evergreen

Dr. Stephanie Evergreen is an internationally-recognized speaker, designer, and researcher. She is best known for bringing a research-based approach to helping researchers better communicate their work through more effective graphs, slides, and reports. She is the 2015 recipient of the American Evaluation Association’s Guttentag award, given for notable accomplishments early in a career. She writes a popular blog on data presentation at StephanieEvergreen.com. Her first book, Presenting Data Effectively: Communicating Your Findings for Maximum Impact, was published by Sage in Fall 2013. Her second book, Effective Data Visualization, was published in Spring 2016. Both books hit #1 on Amazon bestseller lists.

In this conversation, Stephanie discusses her Chart Chooser Cards she created with Gavin McMahon.

Geetesh: Chart Chooser Cards are such a fun way to learn about the different types of charting options—how did you come up with this idea? And do you have any tips on how to use them in the best way?

Stephanie: The reason I love Chart Chooser Cards so much is because they give you the space to think. In all of my work – whether its coming up with the design for a great slide or thinking up the right chart type for a dataset – the clearest thinking comes when the computer is turned off. When I’m at my sketchbook or playing with some visual aids, everything comes together.

Gavin (my card deck co-creator) and I both have found that people do our best work when we aren’t staring at the screen. In fact, in data visualization, I see that when people try to visualize with their software open, they tend to rely on the defaults the software program presents them. But with the Chart Chooser Cards, we are giving people a platform to think about what they are really trying to say and providing several options with enough description and context that they’ll land on the right chart types to test out.

Geetesh: Can you share a story about someone using Chart Chooser Cards that other users can benefit from?

Stephanie: In one of our first workshops where we featured the Chart Chooser Cards, Gavin and I left some open space in the afternoon for audience members to reflect on their own datasets. They have the time to talk over ideas with their team mates and take advantage of some on-the-spot coaching from Gavin or I so that they leave with revised visuals. It’s one of my favorite parts of our workshop.

And when we introduced the Cards into the mix, we saw people actually mapping out their new dashboards using the Cards from the deck. So they were getting a sneak peek of how their dashboard could look by laying cards out on their tables before cracking open their laptop and spending hours remaking visuals that might not have worked. By using the Cards to sort out their thinking and data story, our audience members were saving themselves hours slogging away at the computer. It’s a pretty rad sight.

See Also: Chart Chooser Cards: Conversation with Gavin McMahon

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: Interviews
Tagged as: Charting, Gavin McMahon, Interviews, PowerPoint, Stephanie Evergreen

More Spelling Options in PowerPoint 2016 for Windows

While it is indeed easy to spell check your entire presentation for any misspelled words, there are other options that you need to be aware of that will help to check your slides for spelling errors. Here are some tips to help you understand how you can do better proofing of your text content in PowerPoint 2016 for Windows.

Explore more spelling options in PowerPoint 2016 for Windows.

Filed Under: PowerPoint 2016
Tagged as: Microsoft Windows, Office 2016, PowerPoint 2016, Proofing, Spelling, Tutorials