Aligning PowerPoint object around a circle

PowerPoint has useful tools to align and distribute objects. Spreading things around a circle is more tricky though. Here is one solution that works with an even number of objects circling the center.

1. Draw the rough configuration…

How to create a McKinsey-style waterfall chart

The “water fall” chart is an effective way to summarize the quantitative impact of a number of drivers. For example, you need to put the following story in a chart: “Our profits went up by 7, the positive effect of higher prices and lower cost was…

Putting a color overlay on an image in PowerPoint

Often, the colors of images do not fit the color scheme of a presentation. One solution to this is to “take out the colors” of the image and replace it with a monochrome overlay with the most important color of your color scheme.

How to align bullet points in PowerPoint

One of the PowerPoint annoyances is that bullet point paragraphs are not aligned properly when overflowing to the next line. It’s easy to fix.

Display the ruler (view menu), select the text, and move the little markers, leaving the…

Googling for free McKinsey PowerPoint templates

Doing a Google search for “McKinsey PowerPoint templates” highlights many entries that are almost all a violation of copy right. Moreoever, the templates are of little use to someone who is not working at McKinsey team on a client engagement.

The McKinsey — or any consulting — presentation

The vast majority of Google traffic that lands on my site is looking for advice on how to write a “McKinsey presentations”. Let’s discuss them a little bit more, including my logic why they might NOT be suitable for just any communication…