You want to project the spreadsheets themselves?
Can't you summarize them or put them into visuals?
I dont know if you can get a datashow from your IT department but that is what I use and it works like a charm - go ask your IT guys if you can check out the datashow - its easy to use!
Why isn't this in "Breaking News"? -;)
am thinkin 'bout goin to mod. 'bout this thread-inappropriate here!!
If you're only doing spreadsheets, stick with Excel and tab your workbook. Powerpoint presentations are lame and serious people dislike sitting through them.
Find an administrative assistant who will help u. They are the GODS of powerpoint and excel and presentations.
Buy "Microsoft Office for Idiots."
Use pictures, lots of pictures. Spreadsheets are "eye charts".
What is your take away message?
Your first chart should assert your hypothesis, your "take away message"
The following charts should support your assertion.
The final chart restates your original message.
Keep it simple, avoid too many details. Have back up charts for any points that might be unclear or controversial. Keep your back up charts in your back pocket, figuratively.
If you need both Powerpoint slides to help you explain things, and the spreadsheets themselves, you can put hotlinks to the different spreadsheets on a Powerpoint slide. Then, you can walk through Powerpoint and cut over to the sheets when you need them. Just have them open and ready to go so you won't have to wait for them to open. ALT-TAB back to Powerpoint to continue the presentation material.
If you just want to make a readable graphic out of the spreadsheet try this:
1. In Excel, change the zoom percent until you have the size you want on the screen.
2. Alt-Printscreen will place your image on the clipboard
3. Open a graphic program like Photoshop or Paintshop Pro and paste the picture into a new graphic. Crop the graphic and save it.
4. Insert the graphic onto a PowerPoint slide.
While this doesn't allow the spreadsheets to update, it does give you easy control over size and placement within PowerPoint.
And remember:
PowerPoint sucks and is boring.
Text slides are evil.
Dark rooms are evil.
People who stand with their backs to the audience and read
the slides are evil.
Handouts with all of your slides are evil and should not be
distributed until after your presentation.
The "b" key toggles the presentation off and on leaving a
black screen.
The "w" key toggles the presentation off and on leaving a
white screen (provides light to room).
First, PowerPoint doesn't handle spreadsheet imports cleanly. It'll take a lot of tweaking to make it legible, let alone attractive.
Second, spreadsheets - unless VERY simple - are not good projector viewing. Think of a very dense document projected up there; you're not gonna be able to read it. Spreadsheets are the number version of that.
I'd recommend summarizing, making a nice slide with bullet points of your summary, and printing out the spreadsheets to hand out.