How to present information
How to present information
How to Present Data Effectively
You’re sitting in front of your computer and ready to put together a presentation involving data.
The numbers stare at you from your screen, jumbled and raw.
How do you start?
Numbers on their own can be difficult to digest. Without any context, they’re just that—numbers.
But organize them well and they tell a story.
In this blog post, we’ll go into the importance of structuring data in a presentation and provide tips on how to do it well. These tips are practical and applicable for all sorts of presentations—from marketing plans and medical breakthroughs to project proposals and portfolios.
What is data presentation?
In many ways, data presentation is like storytelling—only you do them with a series of graphs and charts.
One of the most common mistakes presenters make is being so submerged in the data that they fail to view it from an outsider’s point of view.
Always keep this in mind: What makes sense to you may not make sense to your audience. To portray figures and statistics in a way that’s comprehensible to your viewers, step back, put yourself in their shoes, and consider the following:
Providing a context helps your audience visualize and understand the numbers. To help you achieve that, here are three tips on how to represent data effectively.
3 essential tips on data presentation
Whether you’re using Google Slides or PowerPoint, both come equipped with a range of design tools that help you help your viewers make sense of your qualitative data.
The key here is to know how to use them and how to use them well. In these tips, we’ll cover the basics of data presentation that are often overlooked but also go beyond basics for more professional advice.
Use the right chart
The downside of having too many tools at your disposal is that it makes selecting an uphill task.
Pie and bar charts are by far the most commonly used methods as they are versatile and easy to understand.
If you’re looking to kick things up a notch, think outside the box. When the numbers allow for it, opt for something different. For example, donut charts can sometimes be used to execute the same effect as pie charts.
But these conventional graphs and charts aren’t applicable to all types of data. For example, if you’re comparing numerous variables and factors, a bar chart would do no good. A table, on the other hand, offers a much cleaner look.
Pro tip: If you want to go beyond basics, create your own shapes and use their sizes to reflect proportion, as seen in this next image.
Their sizes don’t have to be an exact reflection of their proportions. What’s important here is that they’re discernible and are of the same shape so that your viewers can grasp its concept at first glance.
Note that this should only be used for comparisons with large enough contrasts. For instance, it’d be difficult to use this to compare two market sizes of 25 percent and 26 percent.
Keep it simple
When it comes to making qualitative data digestible, simplicity does the trick.
Limit the number of elements on the slide as much as possible and provide only the bare essentials.
See how simple this slide is? In one glance, your eye immediately goes to the percentages of the donut because there are no text boxes, illustrations, graphics, etc. to distract you.
Sometimes, more context is needed for your numbers to make sense. In the spirit of keeping your slides neat, you may be tempted to spread the data across two slides. But that makes it complicated, so putting it all on one slide is your only option.
In such cases, our mantra of “keep it simple” still applies. The trick lies in neat positioning and clever formatting.
In the above slides, we’ve used boxes to highlight supporting figures while giving enough attention to the main chart. This separates them visually and helps the audience focus better.
With the slide already pretty full, it’s crucial to use a plain background or risk overwhelming your viewers.
Use text wisely and sparingly
Last but certainly not least, our final tip involves the use of text.
Just because you’re telling a story with numbers doesn’t mean text cannot be used. In fact, the contrary proves true: Text plays a vital role in data presentation and should be used strategically.
To highlight a particular statistic, do not hesitate to go all out and have that be the focal point of your slide for emphasis. Keep text to a minimum and as a supporting element.
Make sure your numbers are formatted clearly. Large figures should have thousands separated with commas. For example, 4,498,300,000 makes for a much easier read than “4498300000”. Any corresponding units should also be clear.
With data presentation, don’t forget that numbers are still your protagonist, so they must be highlighted with a larger or bolder font.
Where there are numbers and graphics, space is scarce so every single word must be chosen wisely.
The key here is to ensure your viewers understand what your data represents in one glance but to leave it sufficiently vague, like a teaser, so that they pay attention to your speech for more information.
→ Slidesgo’s free presentation templates come included with specially designed and created charts and graphs that you can easily personalize according to your data. Give them a try now!
Top Tips for Effective Presentations
How can you make a good presentation even more effective?
This page draws on published advice from expert presenters around the world, which will help to take your presentations from merely ‘good’ to ‘great’.
By bringing together advice from a wide range of people, the aim is to cover a whole range of areas.
Whether you are an experienced presenter, or just starting out, there should be ideas here to help you to improve.
1. Show your Passion and Connect with your Audience
It’s hard to be relaxed and be yourself when you’re nervous.
But time and again, the great presenters say that the most important thing is to connect with your audience, and the best way to do that is to let your passion for the subject shine through.
Be honest with the audience about what is important to you and why it matters.
Be enthusiastic and honest, and the audience will respond.
2. Focus on your Audience’s Needs
Your presentation needs to be built around what your audience is going to get out of the presentation.
As you prepare the presentation, you always need to bear in mind what the audience needs and wants to know, not what you can tell them.
While you’re giving the presentation, you also need to remain focused on your audience’s response, and react to that.
You need to make it easy for your audience to understand and respond.
3. Keep it Simple: Concentrate on your Core Message
When planning your presentation, you should always keep in mind the question:
What is the key message (or three key points) for my audience to take away?
You should be able to communicate that key message very briefly.
Some experts recommend a 30-second ‘elevator summary’, others that you can write it on the back of a business card, or say it in no more than 15 words.
Whichever rule you choose, the important thing is to keep your core message focused and brief.
And if what you are planning to say doesn’t contribute to that core message, don’t say it.
4. Smile and Make Eye Contact with your Audience
This sounds very easy, but a surprisingly large number of presenters fail to do it.
If you smile and make eye contact, you are building rapport, which helps the audience to connect with you and your subject. It also helps you to feel less nervous, because you are talking to individuals, not to a great mass of unknown people.
To help you with this, make sure that you don’t turn down all the lights so that only the slide screen is visible. Your audience needs to see you as well as your slides.
5. Start Strongly
The beginning of your presentation is crucial. You need to grab your audience’s attention and hold it.
They will give you a few minutes’ grace in which to entertain them, before they start to switch off if you’re dull. So don’t waste that on explaining who you are. Start by entertaining them.
Try a story (see tip 7 below), or an attention-grabbing (but useful) image on a slide.
6. Remember the 10-20-30 Rule for Slideshows
This is a tip from Guy Kawasaki of Apple. He suggests that slideshows should:
This last is particularly important as it stops you trying to put too much information on any one slide. This whole approach avoids the dreaded ‘Death by PowerPoint’.
As a general rule, slides should be the sideshow to you, the presenter. A good set of slides should be no use without the presenter, and they should definitely contain less, rather than more, information, expressed simply.
If you need to provide more information, create a bespoke handout and give it out after your presentation.
7. Tell Stories
Human beings are programmed to respond to stories.
Stories help us to pay attention, and also to remember things. If you can use stories in your presentation, your audience is more likely to engage and to remember your points afterwards. It is a good idea to start with a story, but there is a wider point too: you need your presentation to act like a story.
Think about what story you are trying to tell your audience, and create your presentation to tell it.
Finding The Story Behind Your Presentation
To effectively tell a story, focus on using at least one of the two most basic storytelling mechanics in your presentation:
Focusing On Characters – People have stories; things, data, and objects do not. So ask yourself “who” is directly involved in your topic that you can use as the focal point of your story.
For example, instead of talking about cars (your company’s products), you could focus on specific characters like:
A Changing Dynamic – A story needs something to change along the way. So ask yourself “What is not as it should be?” and answer with what you are going to do about it (or what you did about it).
To see 15 more actionable storytelling tips, see Nuts & Bolts Speed Training’s post on Storytelling Tips.
8. Use your Voice Effectively
The spoken word is actually a pretty inefficient means of communication, because it uses only one of your audience’s five senses. That’s why presenters tend to use visual aids, too. But you can help to make the spoken word better by using your voice effectively.
Varying the speed at which you talk, and emphasising changes in pitch and tone all help to make your voice more interesting and hold your audience’s attention.
9. Use your Body Too
It has been estimated that more than three quarters of communication is non-verbal.
That means that as well as your tone of voice, your body language is crucial to getting your message across. Make sure that you are giving the right messages: body language to avoid includes crossed arms, hands held behind your back or in your pockets, and pacing the stage.
Make your gestures open and confident, and move naturally around the stage, and among the audience too, if possible.
10. Relax, Breathe and Enjoy
If you find presenting difficult, it can be hard to be calm and relaxed about doing it.
One option is to start by concentrating on your breathing. Slow it down, and make sure that you’re breathing fully. Make sure that you continue to pause for breath occasionally during your presentation too.
If you can bring yourself to relax, you will almost certainly present better. If you can actually start to enjoy yourself, your audience will respond to that, and engage better. Your presentations will improve exponentially, and so will your confidence. It’s well worth a try.
Improve your Presentation Skills
Follow our guide to boost your presentation skills learning about preparation, delivery, questions and all other aspects of giving effective presentations.
How to Organize Your Main Points When You Present in English
This lesson has been updated from its original version posted in 2016.
Everything you need to know to organize the main points of your introduction.
Preparing a presentation in English is hard work. You want to be sure your speech is clear, easy to understand, and well-organized. And that’s what today’s lesson will help you do.
Today we’re focusing on the body of your presentation. This is the core or focus of your presentation. This is where you give all the important key points plus the details you need to support your talk.
In the lesson, you’ll learn the best way to organize the body of your presentation and key expressions to help you.
Make sure your presentation is smooth and easy to understand.
Lesson by Annemarie
How to Organize Information When You Present in English
Here is a very simple way to think about the organization of your presentation.
In this example, we’ll imagine a 15-20 minute presentation with 3 Key Points:
How many key points should you have?
When you are preparing your presentation, you want to be careful about how many key points you share. You want your audience to stay focused and interested. If you have too much information, your audience may become confused or bored.
As a general rule, use:
How To Present Information?
Ideas for presenting content Take a multisensory approach – use real experiences, physical activity and manipulables. Provide multiple visual and concrete examples of information. Use infographics, real objects, images, video, and interactives on devices. Support text with visuals and audio.
What are ways to present information?
10 Ways to Represent Information and How to Make the Most of Them
What are the three main methods of presenting information?
There are four basic methods (sometimes called styles) of presenting a speech: manuscript, memorized, extemporaneous, and impromptu. Each has a variety of uses in various forums of communication.
How do you present information in the workplace?
10 Tips for Presenting at Work
How do you write a creatively present report?
25 Creative Presentation Ideas for 2021/2022
How do you display information creatively?
15 Cool Ways to Show Data
How do you present information to children?
Tips for Making a Presentation That Will Keep Kids’ Attention
How do you present information online?
Online Presentations: 10 Creative Ideas For eLearning Professionals
How do you pass information effectively?
Below are tips for effective workplace communication that will help increase productivity and improve relationships with co-workers.
How do you share a hard piece of information?
How to Communicate Difficult Messages with Confidence
How do you present information to your boss?
8 Tips for Presenting to Your Boss
How can I spice up my presentation?
10 ways to spice up your presentations
How can I spice up my PowerPoint presentation?
10 Tips and Tricks to Liven Up Your Next PowerPoint Presentation
How do you present in PowerPoint?
Try it!
How do you organize information visually?
15 Mind Map Templates to Visually Organize Information
What are 3 other tools that you could use to present information in class?
Alternative Technology-in-the-Classroom Presentation Tools
How do students learn new information?
Students learn new ideas by relating them to what they already know, and then transferring them into their long-term memory.Students without adequate background knowledge, or who are otherwise not given enough instructional guidance, can be quickly overwhelmed in the classroom.
What are different ways to present a project?
72 Creative Ways for Students to Show What They Know
How can I start my online presentation?
10 Tips for Giving Great Online Presentations
How do you introduce yourself in an online presentation?
Tell your audience who you are
Start your presentation by introducing yourself. Along with sharing your name, give your audience some information about your background. Choose details that are relevant to your presentation and help establish you as an expert in your chosen topic. Example: ”Good morning.
What should I say in a good presentation?
Clear speech (loud enough, not rushed, clear enunciation) Voice interest (not monotone, showing your interest and enthusiasm) Eye contact (looking mostly at audience) Supporting gestures (appropriate for what you are saying)
14 Ways to Present Information Visually
by Ryan Skinner | March 29th, 2015
[This is an update of a popular post written by Ryan Skinner a few years back. We wanted to add a bit more value, linking to new examples and making new suggestions. Hope you like it! If you do, you may also like our whole content marketing agency site. And these posts on infographics in marketing:]
Data Comes From Anywhere – an interview with Jer Thorp data artist
Lots of information to share? Making an infographic? Here are 14 ways to visually organize your information, with examples and tips on when to use them.
There are two ways to discover the best way to go about presenting information or a story visually:
For this post, I’ve tried to do the latter for you (if you want to cultivate your zen garden, I can’t do anything for you).
The process:
I went to Visual.ly (an excellent source for infographics, and the community around them) and reviewed a couple hundred of the most popular infographics by pageviews. This trawl revealed 14 visual metaphors. Here I’ll share them, and answer a few questions for each:
When does a particular visual approach really work?
What’s worthwhile keeping in mind, from a design perspective?
What are a few good examples?
The 10 + 4 Visual Conceits
Anatomy
An anatomy visual or infographic provides an annotated exploration of the contents of a large and complicated object or idea. It can either be metaphorical (like the “Anatomy of an SEO” infographic below) or straight (like the “Anatomy of a Perfect Website” infographic below).
When do you use it? Any time you want to educate about something with many moving constituent parts, which are not widely or easily understood.
Design notes: Although our goal is to illustrate and elucidate complexity, you need to resist the temptation to get too detailed and explicit.
Timeline
These are great to demonstrate (or create) a series of cause and effect relationships, or evolution.
When do you use it? Whenever change over time is your main point
Design notes: Do you start late and work backwards or do you start early and work forwards? Generally the latter, unless the point you’re trying to make concerns the historical roots of something. Pay attention to time scale – try to conserve gaps and bunches.
Taxonomy
Like this post, we all try to classify things. Somehow bucketizing stuff puts our chimp minds at ease. It also allows you to communicate breadth AND depth.
When do you use it? If you want to clarify significant and recognizable differences between sub-groups
Design notes: Use this only if you have multiple elements that differ on many different axes (if you have only two things, you may want to use side-by-side comparison (below); if only one axis, maybe scale (below))
Examples: Nuts & Bolts of Chart Types and a new favourite: The Magnificent Multitude of Beer by PopCharts Labs and their 200 Super Powers chart.
Tree example: Eloqua Blog Tree
When do you use it? Whenever you want to communicate proximity, distance and direction between a number of different items, or data points.
Design notes: If you can pack significance into the layout of your map (that is, distances, objects and sizes all have meaning), the better it’ll be.
Some examples: Flowtown Social Networking Map, The Creative Process Map and The amazing, interactive Distance To Mars demonstration by David Paliwoda and Jesse Williams.
Enjoying the post? I hope you’ll share it with like-minded people. Tweet it. LinkedIn share. Or like it.
Chutes and ladders
You know the game – you jump forward and slide backwards seemingly by chance, always struggling from start to finish. Participants proceed through one-part design and one-part chance.
When do you use it? When you want to explain a process, wherein pretty much everyone wants to start and end at the same place (but the route from start to finish is highly variable)
Design notes: Generally there’s little debate about the steps along the way; spend your time and effort on the leaps forward and backwards, because those will draw the most attention.
Space equals space
It’s one of the first lessons from nursery school: some things are big, other things are little (but only compared to each other). The space equals space infographic plots two or more things against each other using the same scale.
When do you use it? Whenever you want to communicate the relative size or number of disparate things, because the relationship is unexpected or interesting
Design notes: Often it’s great to set a baseline, then compare and contrast with that. Changing the baseline can be confusing.
Scale
Everything in the universe, no matter how unique, is on a sliding scale – we must just ask ourselves what the scale is. For example, a pink unicorn is on a sliding scale from “is a pink unicorn” to “is not a pink unicorn” where most things in the universe are towards the endpoint of the second group.
When do you use it? Anytime you want to prioritize or rank a number of objects against a criterium that your audience will particularly like
Design notes: Top-down scales will tend to make the top look good, and bottom bad; side to side rankings will not give one end of the scale preference.
Side by side comparison
We all know the basics of this visual from the classic feature table. You start by selecting a model or example on the top, then you go down the chart to see what that model does or does not have. The point of these is easy comparison.
When do you use it? Whenever you have a limited amount of items that you want to compare or contrast quickly.
Design notes: When you go down to two elements, these elements will often end up looking like they are in conflict.
An example: Geek vs. Hipster
Decision tree
These can be fantastic when they are straight, and these can be fantastic when they are comic. They are designed to answer every possible circumstance with an appropriate answer.
When do you use it? Decision trees are great for guiding people mentally and visually from an indeterminate starting point to any one of many different end-points.
Design notes: You will need to structure each point to have only one or two closed-ended (easy to answer) responses, end with a concrete recommendation and come to a conclusion very quickly.
Venn Diagram
The Venn diagram comes from the philosopher Rudolf Venn-Herschelderferer who never lost a fight; he just added another layer of complexity. In all honesty, these diagrams are about forcing people into trade-offs. You can’t have it all, have it all pure and have it altogether, ever.
When do you use it? When you want people to see that a situation has no ideal scenario, but rather a series of trade-offs and compromises. Or to show a Sweet Spot where two zones overlap.
Design notes: I’ve never seen a successful Venn diagram with more than max. four big circles. Doesn’t mean it’s not possible, but I’m just sayin’.
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