22 min read

Charts and Tables on Slides

Insert → Table for tour times. Insert → Chart for Year 7 intake. Format with Chart Design.

Tables and Charts on Open Day

Slide 3 needs a table for exact tour times. A chart can show Year 7 tour interest by department at a glance. James Okonkwo adds both to NorthgateOpenDay.pptx so parents compare the screen to the volunteer clipboard in the Main Hall.

A table lines up times and locations in columns. 1 Select the Tour schedule slide. 2 Click Insert \to Table and drag a 3 \times 4 grid (3 columns, 4 rows). 3 Row 1: Time | Location | Guide 4 Add rows such as 10:00 | Main Hall | James Okonkwo and 10:30 | Science Block | Dr. Marsh . 5 Click Table Design \to pick a style with a shaded header row. 6 Expected result: A 3-column table lists times, locations, and guides.

The table on slide 3 must match the volunteer clipboard in the Main Hall: Time Location Guide 10:00 Main Hall James Okonkwo 10:30 Science Block Dr. Marsh 11:00 Sports Block PE team James Okonkwo updates Insert \to Table cells when tour times shift — not speaker notes alone. Parents compare the screen to the sign at the door.

James Okonkwo shows parents that Arts and Science tours are nearly full. 1 Click Insert \to Chart \to Clustered Column \to OK . 2 Expected result: A sample chart and an Excel data sheet open. 3 In the Excel sheet, type departments (English, Mathematics, Science, Humanities) in column A and numbers such as 40, 35, 38, 28 in column B. 4 Close the Excel window. The chart updates on the slide. 5 Click Chart Title and type Year 7 tour interest (sample) . 6 Click Chart Design \to pick a style that matches the deck theme. Fix: If the chart shows old sample data, right-click the chart \to Edit Data and change the Excel cells.

After Insert \to Chart, type numbers in the Excel data sheet that opens beside PowerPoint — not in speaker notes or text boxes on the slide. Numbers typed as text boxes do not update the chart. Keep chart columns to four or five departments — a crowded chart is unreadable from the back row of the Main Hall.

Enrolment steps in order sometimes fit SmartArt Horizontal Process better than a table. Tables excel at exact times and labels; charts excel at comparisons; SmartArt excels at showing flow with arrows.

Example — Edit chart data: Right-click the chart \to Edit Data opens the linked Excel sheet. Change cells there and the chart updates on the slide. Table Design styles tables — it does not edit chart numbers.

Practice

After Insert \to Chart, where do you type the numbers?

Insert a Tour Schedule Table

A table lines up times and locations in columns. 1 Select the Tour schedule slide. 2 Click Insert \to Table and drag a 3 \times 4 grid (3 columns, 4 rows). 3 Row 1: Time | Location | Guide 4 Add rows such as 10:00 | Main Hall | James Okonkwo and 10:30 | Science Block | Dr. Marsh . 5 Click Table Design \to pick a style with a shaded header row. 6 Expected result: A 3-column table lists times, locations, and guides.

Tour Table Matches Real Departures

The table on slide 3 must match the volunteer clipboard in the Main Hall: Time Location Guide 10:00 Main Hall James Okonkwo 10:30 Science Block Dr. Marsh 11:00 Sports Block PE team James Okonkwo updates Insert \to Table cells when tour times shift — not speaker notes alone. Parents compare the screen to the sign at the door.

Insert a Chart

James Okonkwo shows parents that Arts and Science tours are nearly full. 1 Click Insert \to Chart \to Clustered Column \to OK . 2 Expected result: A sample chart and an Excel data sheet open. 3 In the Excel sheet, type departments (English, Mathematics, Science, Humanities) in column A and numbers such as 40, 35, 38, 28 in column B. 4 Close the Excel window. The chart updates on the slide. 5 Click Chart Title and type Year 7 tour interest (sample) . 6 Click Chart Design \to pick a style that matches the deck theme. Fix: If the chart shows old sample data, right-click the chart \to Edit Data and change the Excel cells.

Where Chart Numbers Live

After Insert \to Chart, type numbers in the Excel data sheet that opens beside PowerPoint — not in speaker notes or text boxes on the slide. Numbers typed as text boxes do not update the chart. Keep chart columns to four or five departments — a crowded chart is unreadable from the back row of the Main Hall.

When to Use SmartArt Instead

Enrolment steps in order sometimes fit SmartArt Horizontal Process better than a table. Tables excel at exact times and labels; charts excel at comparisons; SmartArt excels at showing flow with arrows.

Example — Edit chart data: Right-click the chart \to Edit Data opens the linked Excel sheet. Change cells there and the chart updates on the slide. Table Design styles tables — it does not edit chart numbers.

Practice

After Insert \to Chart, where do you type the numbers?