A lot of people don’t know the benefits of using graphs in PowerPoint. They try to save time by pasting in Excel spreadsheets directly. This makes the presentation look less visually appealing and difficult to understand. Using graphs looks good compared to spreadsheets for numerical data, but animated graphs look even better. Here, we will be discussing when and how to make animated graphs in PowerPoint.

When To Use A Graph?

A graph should be used when there is enough data to potentially confuse people. If you have some numbers in a spreadsheet, then put them in a graph. You want to make the data as easy as possible for people to comprehend. Do the hard work for them, present the data visually. Different graphs are used to show different things. A pie chart is used to show parts of a whole. Line and bar graphs are used to display changing trends.

Why Change The Way A Graph Appears?

The default setting in PowerPoint is to make the whole graph appear all at once. This works perfectly fine in simple and small graphs, but you can choose to make data in a bigger graph appear slowly, especially if you will talk about the change in data. This can be done using very basic animation effects in PowerPoint. You can reveal parts of the graph slowly, or choose to build only a part of the graph in one slide then build the next point in the following slide.

You will need to decide how you want the animated graphs to appear while you talk. Once you have it in your mind, you can start using PowerPoint’s animation tools to make that vision a reality. Visuals and animation should be used sparingly yet effectively. Avoid using too many fancy effects and keep it simple to avoid annoying the audience. If you animate something, people’s eyes will follow it. Use this to your advantage and sell that product/service. Good Luck!

Image Courtesy:

by LucasVB [public domain] via Wikimedia Commons