1.      Use the slide master feature to create a consistent and simple design template.  It is fine to vary the content presentation (i.e. bulleted list, 2-column text, text & image), but be consistent with other elements such as font, colors, and background.

2.      Simplify and limit the number of words on each screen.  Use key phrases and include only essential information.

3.      Limit punctuation and avoid putting words in all capital letters. Empty space on the slide will enhance readability.

4.      Use contrasting colors for text and background.  Dark text on a light background is best.  Patterned backgrounds can reduce readability of text.

5.      Avoid the use of flashy transitions such as text fly-ins.  These features may seem impressive at first, but are distracting and get old quickly.

6.      Overuse of special effects such as animation and sounds may make your presentation “cutesy” and could negatively impact your credibility.

7.      Use good quality images that reinforce and complement your message. Ensure that your images maintain their impact and resolution when projected on a larger screen.

8.      If you use builds, have content appear on the screen in a consistent, simple manner; from the top or left is best.  Only “build” screens when necessary to make your point because they can slow your presentation.

9.      Limit the number of slides.  Presenters who constantly “flip” to the next slide are likely to lose their audience.  A good rule of thumb is one slide per minute.

10.     Learn to navigate your presentation in a non-linear fashion. PowerPoint allows the presenter to jump ahead or back without having to page through all the interim slides.

11.     Know how to and practice moving forward AND backward within your presentation.  Audiences often ask to see the previous screen again.

12.     If possible, view your slides on the screen you’ll be using for your presentation.  Make sure they are readable from the back row seats.  Text and graphics should be large enough to read, but not so large as to appear “loud.”

13.     Have a Plan B in the event of technical difficulties.  Remember that transparencies and handouts will not show animation or other special effects.

14.     Practice with someone who has never seen your presentation.  Ask them for honest feedback about colors, content, and any effects or graphics you’ve included.

15.     Do not read from your slides.  The content of your slides is for the audience, not for the presenter.

16.     Do not speak to your slides.  Many presenters face the direction of their presentation rather than their audience.

17.     Do not apologize for anything in your presentation.  If you believe something will be hard to read or understand, don’t use it.

18.     When possible, run your presentation from the hard disk rather than a floppy disk.  Running from a floppy disk may slow your presentation.

Some technical Tips:

Fonts

• Select sans-serif fonts such as Arial or Helvetica.  Avoid serif fonts such as Times New Roman or Palatino as they are sometimes more difficult to read.
• Use no font size smaller than 24 point.
• Clearly label each screen.  Use a larger font (35-45 points) or different color for the title.
• Use a single sans-serif font for most of the presentation.  Use different colors, sizes and styles (bold, underline) for impact.
• Avoid italicized fonts as they are difficult to read quickly.
• No more than 6-8 words per line
• For bullet points, use the 6 x 6 Rule.  One thought per line with no more than 6 words per line and no more than 6 lines per slide
• Use dark text on light background or light text on dark background.  However, dark backgrounds sometimes make it difficult for some people to read the text. 
• Do not use all caps except for titles.

To test the font, stand back six feet from the monitor and see if you can read the slide.

 Graphics and Design 

• Keep the background consistent and subtle.
• Use only enough text when using charts or graphs to explain clearly label the graphic.
• Keep the design clean and uncluttered.  Leave empty space around the text and graphics
• Use quality clipart and use it sparingly.  The graphic should relate to and enhance the topic of the slide.
• Try to use the same style graphics throughout the presentation (e.g. cartoon, photographs)
• Limit the number of graphics on each slide.
• Check all graphics on a projection screen before the actual presentation.
• Avoid flashy graphics and noisy animation effects unless they relate directly to the slide. 
• Limit the number of transitions used.  It is often better to use only one so the audience knows what to expect.

Color 

• Limit the number of colors on a single screen.
• Bright colors make small objects and thin lines stand out.  However, some vibrant colors are difficult to read when projected.
• Use no more than four colors on one chart.
• Check all colors on a projection screen before the actual presentation.  They may project differently than what appears on the monitor.

 General Presentation 

• Check the spelling and grammar.
• Do not read the presentation.  Practice the presentation so you can speak from bullet points.  The text should be a cue for the presenter rather than a message for the viewer.
• Give a brief overview at the start.  Then present the information.  Finally review important points.
• It is often more effective to have bulleted points appear one at a time so the audience listens to the presenter rather than reading the screen.
• Use a wireless mouse or pick up the wired mouse so you can move around as you speak.
• If sound effects are used, wait until the sound has finished to speak.
• If the content is complex, print out the slides so the audience can take notes.
• Do not turn your back on the audience.  Try to position the monitor so you can speak from it.

Spreadsheet applications have become quite popularly used nowadays, especially when it comes to doing accounting work where you have to deal with so many figures at hand. Microsoft Excel has become one of the most popular spreadsheet applications used all over the world. Not only is it very convenient and user-friendly to use, it also comes with commands and functions that can make data analysis and data storage very effective on your part. Moreover, there are so many ways to find in Excel certain data that you have stored. This is important to note because the Excel processor, after all, has so many cells that would surely contain your multitude of data.

The single Excel file contains 16,777,216 million cells, and this is at its minimum since there are different versions of the spreadsheet application itself. Moreover, each cell can also contain any figure reaching 32,767 characters. The number of worksheets that you can create in a single Excel file is limitless as well, so as long as your computer’s memory can handle the file itself. When you have such a file, obviously, searching for particular data can be pretty daunting and frustrating on any person. Fortunately, Excel’s search function is more than capable enough to handle such a huge task. It even makes the search process simple.

One amazing and incredibly practical command integrated in this spreadsheet application is the Find and Replace function. This can be found in the Edit tab of the application. The great thing about this function is that it gives you a lot of options so that you can make your search for a particular text content or number more precise. Basically, these options help narrow down your search, so to speak. Once you activate the Find and Replace dialogue box, you then type the numbers or characters that you want to find. After which, you then click the Find All button and Excel’s built-in search engine will present to you all cells that contain that text or number you are looking for. These cells would contain the text or number in question, whether this is independent or part of a set of numbers or even that of a whole word.

For example, you want to look for the number “32″ in all of the cells in your Excel file. Even the cells that contain the array of numbers “45.432″ would be presented. The first highlighted cell is actually the first cell that contains the number in question. Once you hit the Find Next tab, you will then reach the next cell where the character in question appears again.

Another great thing is that you can search through all of the worksheets within a single file. You are given several options to narrow down your search; you can choose to search by row, or by column, or through the values, formulas, or comments contained by the cells themselves.

There are indeed so many convenient ways provided to find in Excel files. By learning the basics, you can maximize the use of your spreadsheet application in no time at all.

Data in a MS Excel spreadsheet is usually presented in headed columns, i.e. in two dimensions: You read across to find the column you are interested in, and then you read down for the data. You might sort and filter this to find data more quickly.

Sometimes your query might be more complex. For example, you want the information in column B, for a particular range of values within column A, over a particular time period. Using filtering and sorting, this might take quite a while to figure out.

What a pivot table does

When you make a pivot table, you are in effect creating another table using the headings from your original data. This allows for much more complex analysis, while remaining fairly straightforward to view and understand.

First steps

Data must be formatted before you can put it into a pivot table. Ensure that there are no gaps, and no empty cells (run “find and replace”, filling all empty cells with “NULL” or something similar). The data must also be “flattened”, meaning all formulae should be removed. This can be achieved by selecting the whole dataset (ctrl + a), copy (ctrl +c), and then right-click and use the paste special function. Paste the data as “values only”.

You should also check for any obvious outliers. Use the A-Z and Z-A sorting functions to check for any obvious errors.

Building the table

In a separate worksheet, go to the toolbar and click “data”, then “pivot table and pivot chart report”. Follow the instructions to create a pivot table. Essentially, you just need to select the whole dataset and create the pivot table in your new worksheet.

Using the table

All the column headers from your dataset should appear in a control box on the right of the screen. You can drag-and-drop these into fields on your table.

The table has four parts. At the top of the page, you can list broad groups, which can be filtered; for example, if you were interested in data for a particular month, you might put the year at the top of the page, and select only the current year. You can do this by clicking the arrow to the right of the heading, and checking the appropriate boxes.

The column and row fields function as you would expect, and with a bit of practice you will find that the data can be combined and presented in a variety of ways.

You can not drag just anything into the data field; for example suppose you had put months in the left column, and revenue across the top. You can’t drag “year” into the data field. “Transactions”, or “Sales”, would make more sense.

If you right-click row or column header in the pivot table, and click “field settings”, you can select how you would like the data presented: As an average, sum, count, etc.Of course there is much more to learn, but the advice in this article should be enough to get you started creating pivot tables of your own, and saving the time you currently spend trawling through spreadsheets!