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We’ve all heard the expression “Death by PowerPoint”, and it’s likely you’ve been exposed to a presentation consisting of nothing but one list of bullet points after another. If you have, just think how much more interesting a bit of variety and visual interest could have brought to that
presentation – after all “A picture paints a thousand words”, another expression most of us are familiar with. In the case of numbers and figures, presenting these in some sort of graphical format makes them so much easier to understand too. What would make more sense to you, a list of numbers comparing, for examples sales figures by region, or a bar chart illustrating those same figures? You can add a chart onto any slide in a PowerPoint slide deck or can copy and paste a chart from
Excel. In both instances, you have the full power of Excel’s chart formatting tools at your fingertips. Today’s post will look at adding a chart directly in PowerPoint, meaning that even if you don’t feel comfortable working in Excel, you can still use PowerPoint’s charts. When you create a new slide using one of the standard slide layouts, you will see a chart icon in the placeholder. Alternatively, you will find a Chart icon on the Insert
Ribbon.Adding a chart from the placeholder
After clicking on the Insert Chart icon, the next step is to select the type of chart you want to use, i.e. Column chart, Line chart, Pie chart, etc. Once you have chosen this, the PowerPoint screen changes and you can see Excel running inside PowerPoint.
Enter your data in the mini-Excel spreadsheet that opens and you will see the chart change as you enter the data.
Once you have added all your data, close the Excel spreadsheet. All the regular chart modification options that you have in Excel are available to you on the Chart Design and Format tabs.
Use the Chart Design Ribbon to make major changes to the chart and the Chart Format Ribbon to make smaller changes to different elements.
How easy is that! You now have an attractive, easy to understand graphic of your data, created in a matter of minutes – just think how much more difficult it would have been to put it in words!
To learn more about using PowerPoint go to the Course Directory and choose from the PowerPoint Courses there.
Or better yet, get
The HUB and get access to ALL my courses. You also get any new courses as they are added! The best value!
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The session was well structured and the explanation was very clear. It was amazing how Shelley managed to squeeze so much info in just one hour and a half! Colin’s support and contributions were also very valuable, and so were “Virtual Veronica”‘s. Thank you for a most interesting and useful training session at the Miss Jones Virtual Summit!
I haven’t used PowerPoint in 20 years, this has really boosted my confidence.
Course is packed with so much valuable information in a easy-to-understand and follow language, even for a complete beginner. I can respect the fact that sometimes it’s very hard for an expert to break the information down to basics. but Shelley has done it brilliantly. I was sure that I knew quite a bit but Shelley has proven me wrong even at the very beginning of the basics of PowerPoint. Lessons are short and precise which allowed me to easily transfer the new skill into practice without being overwhelmed and to carry on adding on more with each lesson. I had so many ‘Aha!’ moments and for most of them I couldn’t believe I used to pay graphic designer to do it for me, now, thanks to Shelley, I am looking forward to creating, designing, converting my presentations all by myself!
Shelley was very thorough and knew a lot of tip’s for using Teams, thank you 🙂
Very informative, constantly getting everyone in the meeting involved, loved every bit of it!
Fantastic and informative training and great to see all of the exciting functions with Microsoft Teams.
Shelley was really clear in her teaching and went at a pace that was helpful to us. We covered all we needed to know to get us started, as a small team, using MS Teams. She was also very helpful in the run up to the session, with check in calls and ensuring our platform was set up correctly. I would highly recommend Shelley to anyone wanting to learn to navigate their way around MS Teams.
Microsoft Teams One to One Training Session
Shelley was approachable, easy to work with, and agile with answering questions to apply the session to my specific needs
A course on Outlook had been on the top of my list when Shelley asked VA’s what they wanted to learn.
It was a real case of ‘so that’s how you do it’ or ‘I never knew that’. I have to say that I learnt so many great tips it has definitely improved the way I work in Outlook and my inbox is looking colourful and organised and I can’t wait to share this knowledge with my clients.
A great course with lots of examples and step by step instructions. I can now confidently create infographics and as a bonus, I learnt a lot of new PowerPoint functionality that will enhance all my PowerPoint work and save me so much time.
I really like Shelley’s courses. She has a clear and easy to follow teaching style. In ‘How to Create Fillable Forms’ I’ve learned about the functions of the Developer ribbon which will mean I’ll be able to create a bespoke Returns Form for a client who has an online shop
Shelley was really clear in her teaching and went at a pace that was helpful to us. We covered all we needed to know to get us started, as a small team, using MS Teams. She was also very helpful in the run up to the session, with check in calls and ensuring our platform was set up correctly. I would highly recommend Shelley to anyone wanting to learn to navigate their way around MS Teams.
Absolutely superb course, easy to follow and to refer back whilst putting it all into practice! I was unaware of the extent you can customise a presentation and it’s just made me want to know more – what’s next Shelley?
I thought I had a pretty good grasp of Outlook until I did this course! In her videos, Shelley is clear and concise, and the language she uses is straightforward and jargon-free. Each module is broken down into manageable chunks, which helps keep your attention and means the course is easy to fit in around other commitments. I’ve created email templates and implemented rules that are already saving me time, and as all the other things I’ve learnt start to become second nature, the positive impact on my efficiency is fast becoming clear. This course has been incredibly beneficial and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking to strengthen their skills and boost productivity.
I thought I knew Powerpoint really well, but I wanted to specifically learn how to use Powerpoint to create better infographics, easily and quickly. Shelley explains everything in a very logical and clear way, so I understood everything the first time I heard it. The most useful thing I learnt was that Powerpoint can do so much more than I thought it could. By also using the short cuts that Shelley showed me I am much quicker than I have ever been and I thought I was already quick!
Shelley Fishel of Tomorrow’s VA has a wealth of experience in Microsoft Office. I met her in person 2 years ago at the PA Show in London. I also saw her in action in a fab workshop and knew she was the whizz that everyone had told me she was. I have since bought a lifetime access to her HUB and all the courses in there are a MUST if you are a VA on a mission. The courses will give you confidence in all the Office 365 components and will catapult you to dizzy heights