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Interesting and Unusual Information Conveying Formats can Add a Spark to Your Next Lecture or Presentation
When you are preparing a presentation or content for a lecture, including compelling, fun visuals can add so much bang! Not only will they help your presentation to be more visually appealing, they can make the information easier to digest and interpret, as well as further engage your audience.
But what are the differences between the different types of visual formats and which ones are the best to use for different purposes? Here are a bunch of formats and ideas for getting the most out of them.
Map vs Generic Infographic
Maps are an excellent way to visualize information – whether it be on a global or local scale. You are easily able to see exactly where the statistics are and how much of an area they affect in comparison to the other regions featured on the map.
Maps are especially useful for showing economic statistics or health statistics, just to name a few. Maps are easier to read than an entire infographic and can show the entirety of the data in a visually appealing way.
Apps like Piktochart and Venngage include templates for making map graphics.
Iceberg Charts
Iceberg charts are extremely useful in any tactical planning for day to day purposes or even long term strategic planning. Iceberg charts are named as such due to the resemblance of an iceberg. You can see the present state of things, yet go deeper into potential or expected outcomes or information that lies beneath the surface of what is currently known. Mathematical presentations often use iceberg charts to represent theories or equations.
Here is an example of an iceberg chart.
Funnel Chart
Funnel charts are popular due to the ease of use and readability of data input into the charts. You can see how a funnel affect works for the data you need. Funnel charts are often seen in business use and/or marketing use since they can easily see the path for how their campaigns are converting into leads.
Funnel charts can be used to depict a variety of data, but to have an effective funnel chart, the data must be sequential and move through a minimum of four stages. These aspects will give the funnel chart it’s shape and function.
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Example funnel chart
Speedometer Chart
A speedometer chart is named after its namesake, the speedometer, since they use needles to show how well or how poorly the data is performing. Typically seen in three stages or colors to differentiate how poor or well the data is performing, speedometer charts are a quick way to see how well your data is performing. Any statistical information or any sort of goals can be measured easily with a speedometer chart as they measure performance values against the set data.
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Water Bubbles Chart
A water bubbles chart is similar to that of a scatter, yet without the lines. You will have your set data on either plane – vertical and horizontal values as well as size- and you can easily depict how well the data is doing and for how long. Visually, you can see three dimensions of data, which makes them useful for three sets of data. Water bubbles charts are especially useful for showing sales outcomes or any financial data.
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Example Water Bubble Chart
Question-answer Infographic
Infographics are often used in businesses, but you can also use them effectively for educational presentations. Combining neat images and little text, you can easily represent the ideas and data to your audience in a readable and fun way. Question-answer infographics can be used to show the direct paths of specific data to find the overall outcome. Think of it like an informative ‘quiz’ so to speak. Nearly any information can be represented in a question-answer infographic and if you include nice imagery, you’ll be sure to engage your audiences.
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Example Question-Answer Infographic
Pyramid Chart
The infamous triangle of the food pyramid is an excellent example of how to use a pyramid chart. Pyramid charts can display a wide range of information in terms of health, economics, or business. They provide an easy to see correlation of the represented data.
Anytime you need to represent your data in a hierarchical structure, or quantity or size, pyramid charts are the perfect go to. Similar to a funnel chart, a pyramid chart shows the data in different levels based on the hierarchy, quantity, or size. And again, the information will need to be sequential and move through at least four stages within the hierarchy of data to make the pyramid chart work.
When it comes time for your next presentation, incorporate any of the above listed graphs or charts to improve the overall effects of your presentation. Not only will you be able to stand out by using any of these unique styles, but you can showcase the data or information you are presenting in a visually pleasing way. Engage your audiences and get the important information across by using one of the best visual formats for educational presentations.
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The classic Food Pyramid chart
Many of today's popular graphics programs include templates for formats like these. So have fun with it and add some visual POP! to your next presentation!