Presentation Design - The Right Graph

Microsoft does not know a heckuva lot about presentation design, but one thing they do correctly in PowerPoint is to make available different types of graphs so that you can match the graph type to the point youre trying to make with your data. There are twelve different graph types available with PowerPoint 2000, but few of those styles work well in the low-resolution world of computer-based presentations. With few exceptions, here is how you want to use the following types:

Pie Graphs for Share

Bar Graphs for Comparative Amounts

Line Graphs for Trends, Time

Pie Graphs

Pie graphs (commonly misnomered pie charts) are one of the more overused, and hence misused, types of graphs, primarily because they are so easy to make, and easy to make look good. They are misused when chosen to show amounts rather than share. The beauty of pie graphs is that they show so clearly what they are supposed to show, i.e., how much of the whole each element contributes. In most cases the actual amounts in this case percentages are actually secondary to the area of the slices in terms of telling the story.

When you look at a pie graph with five or fewer slices, your brain can quickly ascertain which groups dominate. We often see pie graphs with more than 5 elements, but they then become more difficult to comprehend in short order. In most cases, consider whether your story needs to include details about all the players, or whether a group of insignificant contributors can be grouped as others.

If you want to show how much volume each element contributes, rather than what fraction, youll want to use a bar graph.

Bar Graphs

To show relative sizes of different segments as well as the actual amounts, youll want to use a bar graph. Bar graphs are designed to show volumes against a y-axis that clearly delineates the units of measure. By having a series of bars next to each other, we can see how each element compares with the others as well as what absolute volume the element represents.

There are variations on the bar graph, such as a stacked bar, where different elements are stacked on top of each other to form a series, or a 100% bar graph, where all the bars are the same height but are split to show what percent of the whole the volume reflects. In a presentation environment, esoteric options are best to be avoided.

Line Graphs

Line graphs have the unique advantage of speaking to inherent right-brain prejudices about information. That is, when typically conditioned western minds see a graph with no labeling, they automatically assign volume to the y-axis, with up meaning more, and a time-line to the x-axis, with the left side meaning most recent. Just as we read from left-to-right, rightward motion subconsciously means positive motion.

You would want to use a line graph, then, to show a progression in amount from one point in time to another. The elevation of the line at any one point represents the quantity of the tracked data at that moment. Audiences, wanting to be the first-to-know, will automatically make assumptions about the types of values x-axes and y-axes represent. Dont disappoint them.

Data labels

Graphs are a great way of making complex information easily understood. But graphs work best only when you properly integrate words, numbers and images. Whenever possible, label the elements of your graph directly on the elements themselves, rather than relying on the ever-popular clarity killer, the legend. Legends require too much effort on the part of listeners to discern exactly what each data point is. Just be certain your labels dont clutter up the otherwise clear picture a good graph can make.

If you have a number of graphs in your presentation, youll want to avoid dumping a data overload on your audience by over-labeling each one. In fact, in many cases you can tell your story forcibly enough by only the size of your data elements, without burdening their minds with numbers that theyre likely to forget by the end of the presentation. However, its also not a bad idea to have what we call reference slides that do contain all the data attached to the end of your main slide deck. To really impress your crowd, install hyperlinks to these slides from the ones in your main show, and when some vice-president makes a stink about wanting to know the whole story, zap to your total-info slide and give him what he wants. He probably wont ask again.

J. Douglas Jefferys brings twenty-five years of corporate training experience to his role as a principal of PublicSpeakingSkills.com [http://www.publicspeakingskills.com]. His firm changes presenters lives forever with their unique apporach to training presentation design and delivery skills. Discover how to design and deliver presentations that audiences actually listen to by visiting their website now.

Thinking About Buying Ornate Tin Ceiling Tiles?

Use Aluminium Instead Of Tin

An aluminum alloy has now been created to especially suit these beautiful art metal ceilings. Aluminum is a corrosion resistant, durable product which doesn't rust, unlike steel which is used by some manufactures of pressed tin. The panels are still widely known as pressed tin even though they are not made from tin.

Think About The Design In Your Ceiling Panels And whether They Will Suit The Measurements Of your Room

With a little forethought you can create a "tin" ceiling that exudes the "Wow Factor". The "Wow Factor" is the reaction you will receive when your visitors look at your new ceiling for the first time. To get that factor you need to spend a little time thinking about how the ceiling panels will fit your particular room. If the repeat pattern you have chosen measures two feet by two feet, will you need to trim all the outside panels in order for them to fit the dimensions of your room? If this would be the case then you need to re-think your plans.

You have two choices: choose a small all-over style which will look perfectly fine if trimmed to fit the room or you can use a border panel around the outside of your room and have the larger designs in the centre of the ceiling. Most of the larger designs require a border or filler strip around the edge, otherwise they don't look so elegant when installed. Border or filler panels most usually have a small pattern on them which complements the larger main panels in the centre of the ceiling. If you require a border around your main panels then it will be worth consulting an expert to find out how wide the border should be. It is easy to upset the balance of your ceiling by having a border that is too wide or conversely too narrow. Ask your supplier for help on this topic.

Is Crown Cornice Needed?

There is now a delightful range of crown cornice moldings made from aluminum. These come in a variety of sizes to suit various ceiling heights. Crown cornices need to be mitred in the corners of the room and there are now various accessories to suit the individual cornices. These accessories are very handy as they hide the mitred cut edges which can sometimes be a little rough for those home handymen who have little experience in mitring. An alternative to metal crown cornices are timber moldings. Plaster cornices should not be used with metal ceilings.

Can You Install Your Tin Ceilings Yourself?

The easiest way to install pressed tin is to firstly fix building ply to the old ceiling or walls and then nail the tin to the ply. Timber battens can be used but building ply makes the job much easier. It is best to remove existing cornice before the ply is fixed to the ceiling. Most reputable ceiling suppliers will offer detailed fitting instructions. If you lack experience in this area, you may prefer to employ someone with building experience. However, most metal ceilings are fitted by their owners. Tacking nails should be used initially until you are satisfied you have everything in its final position. Tacking nails are quite long and must only be partly nailed in so that they can be removed easily with pliers. When you are satisfied that everything is in the right spot then you can remove the tacking nails and finish the job off with small nails. Details of which nails to use should be in the manufacturers fitting instructions.

Painting your Metal Panels

Painting an ornate, aluminum ceiling in fine detail is easy because it is painted before it gets fixed to the ceiling. Most aluminum paneling is sold with etch primer already on it so it is immediately ready to paint. You can use one colour over the whole ceiling, you can add just a touch of colour on the moldings or you can can paint every detail in various shades of paint. The patterns in aluminum ceilings are more deeply pressed than other types of ceilings so they create lovely shadows themselves just from electric light or from natural daylight. Accordingly most people use one colour of paint over the whole ceiling. It is strongly recommended that pale shades of paint be used. Darker colours can be appealing in theory but in practice they can often give a heavy oppressive feel to a room. Oil based paints are recommended. If the nails are still visible you can dob each one with a little paint.

About The Author

Jean Morrison is owner of Heritage Ceilings, a unique ceiling decoration business dedicated to bringing beautiful ceilings back into our public buildings and homes.

Types Of Sailboats - An Introduction

There are many different types of sail boats, ranging from tiny one person boats to tall ships which can carry hundreds of sailors. Sailboats can be classified primarily by their sail configuration and hull type.

Sloop - The sloop is the most common sail configuration, consisting of a mainsail and foresail. There are several variations on the basic sloop design, such as adding more than one foresail, or the fractional rig. A fractional rig sloop is one where the foresail does not extend all of the way to the top of the mast this can give the boat better performance in some conditions.

Catboat - This design has one mast, like the sloop; unlike the sloop, it does not carry a headsail. The catboat is also characterized by its mast being placed well towards the bow of the boat.

Ketch - A ketch has two masts a main mast and a mizzen mast. A ketch may also use jib sails in front of the main mast.

Schooner - A schooner is a boat with two or more masts, and the second mast is at least as tall as the first mast. This differentiates a schooner from a ketch, as the mizzen mast on a ketch is shorter than the main mast.

In addition to sail type, sail boats can be classified by hull type. Most sail boats are mono or single hull boats, but some are multi hull or catamaran hull designs.

A Mono hull boat uses a keel or centerboard for stability (to leverage against the force of the wind on the sails), but a multi hull boat uses it's width to create stability. Multi hull boats are often quicker than mono hull boats. Of course, a mono hull boat will have more interior room than a multi hulled boat of the same size.

Oriental NC Sailing - Oriental NC is one of the top rated places in the US to sail...try it for yourself!

Productive Traffic Building - Advance in Traffic Building

Building traffic towards your web site is very important. No web site today can survive without a regular flow of web traffic. The internet marketers have to pay all due attention towards this fact. If a web site starts getting visitors, it will start getting business. Traffic building is thus very important. All the highest gross earners on the internet are those web sites which get a lot of web traffic each day. All those web sites which do not get web traffic are not able to expand their business. Building web traffic is very important. There are many ways of doing it. You can choose many of the traditional and nontraditional methods of promoting a web site. These methods have their own pluses and minuses, but the best thing about all these methods is that they result in generating more traffic towards your web site.

You can start off with search engine optimizing your web site. You need to make your web site a search engine favorite. If your web site is a search engine favorite, the search engines will pick you up whenever any one conducts a related research through a search engine. Add keywords to the content of your web site and submit it to the search engines. Having done that you can move on to link popularity. Place reciprocal links of the web sites on your web site. Place your banner ads on proper places on the web. You can use article marketing, email marketing and social media to your advantage in traffic building. Using all these ways will help you in building traffic towards your web site. This will be beneficial for your business.

Do you want to learn more about how I do it? I have just completed my brand new guide to article marketing success, Your Article Writing and Promotion Guide

Download it free here: Secrets of Article Promotion

Sean Mize is a full time internet marketer who has written over 1574 articles in print and 11 published ebooks.

MLM - Duplication Can Cost You a Lot of Money

Ill bet that the first time you ever heard of MLM, the word duplication wasnt far behind.

Its long been accepted as gospel that for big success in MLM, you must have duplication. But the fact is, mindless duplication can cost you a lot of money.

Back in 1989, I was reading the business opportunity ads in the weekend edition of USA Today. I circled a few ads and called one in particular. I got a voice mail message and left my contact information. The message offered me a free audiotape. The ad wasnt specific. I didnt know what it was about until I got the tape in the mail.

So I listened to the tape. It was by a fellow by the name of Dayle Maloney. You may well know Dayle, an old-time MLMer, very successful.

I Wanted Nothing To Do With MLM

I had been there and done that and had been killed a number of times in MLM. So I wanted nothing to do with it back in the late 80s. But I listened to Dayles tape and he had some interesting ideas. One thing in particular he said just stuck with me. What Dayle said was that if you are ever going to make it big in THIS business, if you are ever going to be a player in network marketing, youve got to do your own audiotape. You HAVE to do your own audiotape. Theres no argument you just have to.

And that thought stuck with me. So a few years later, I was in a position where I had found an MLM product that I thought was outstanding. I figured if there was ever any product I could sell, it would be that one. I very definitely remembered what Dayle said. So I wrote a script and then rented studio time and recorded a 90-minute audiotape. And I had good success with it.

Over the next few years, I did 6 or 8 different audiotapes. And every one of them built a business for me. Most of them were scripted. Some of them, I recorded with other people. The technology is obviously different today. I am not telling you that you have to do an audiotape today, because you dont.

But To Have Major Network Marketing Success, You Need To Brand Yourself

That first audiotape set me apart from others in the business. There were quite a few MLM audiotapes at that time, but even so, anyone who actually did one, who took the time and learned enough to do it it branded them, set them apart, differentiated them.

And as I built my business, that tape gave my people an exclusive tool to use that nobody else had. (THAT is where the duplication comes in!) And it made it easier for me to recruit to build the business, because I have this tool that nobody else had. In MLM, you are always talking about how important duplication is. And it definitely is important. Youve got to have a system that duplicates that other people can use.

But if you are ever going to be the big leader who has the huge success, who makes the really big money, you also have to differentiate yourself. You have to brand yourself somehow. Figure out a unique message and a unique way to deliver it video, podcast, email, conference call figure out something that makes you different. You have to decide how you are going to do that. You have to both duplicate and differentiate and then network marketing becomes a REALLY interesting and fun game.

Richard Dennis (Go Success Team) started in network marketing in 1977. He writes often about how to get more good leads for your MLM team.