Perfect those tables!
Perfect those tables!
5 ways to communicate your key points
I’m a fan of using tables to make complex information more readable. When done well, tables help communicate the story you want to tell, reduce the overall wordiness of your document, and make it easier for the reader to find the details they need.
There are a few areas, though, where we could all use a refresher. Here are five ways to avoid a lot of the “little things” that add up and lessen the benefits of using a table in the first place.
1. Decide on what’s most important from the reader’s perspective.
Of course, you have key points to make, but if you also consider what your reader will be interested in, the table will provide more value.
Organize the table in a way that helps you emphasize the most relevant points.
If size or scale is most important, list items from largest to smallest (or vice-versa).
If geography is most important, establish a format, like east to west.
If actions are needed, prioritize them (from highest to lowest.)
Before
How you choose to organize the table depends on what the document is about. In this case, you could organize the cities alphabetically, if the locations are what’s most important. You could also choose to emphasize the population size or the growth trend, by listing the data from biggest to smallest.
After
In this case, because what I think what is most interesting is that the largest city in population size grew less than the other two cities. To emphasize this, I put it at the end of the list.
2. Be descriptive with your column headings and the table’s title.
If you want to reduce some of the wordiness in your document and help the reader get the info quickly from a table, make your titles and headings count. Be descriptive but don’t go overboard. Be concise. This is a bit of an art. It’s usually the thing I edit last, once I have a handle on what follows, so the table supports the continuation of the overall storyline.
Before
If your reader has to study it to understand the point you’re trying to make, you have a bit more work to do!
After
Organizing it by rank, in this case, helps to emphasize which age group is the largest.
3. Be consistent.
Make sure the naming convention is the same from column to column and row to row. If you start with a verb, make sure all start with a verb. If you include a symbol, like a percentage sign, in one column heading, add the symbol in the other columns (as applicable). Don’t repeat it with every row. If you use a period in one cell, use it in every equivalent cell.
Before
There are a lot of little things here that make this table more work than it should be.
After
How much cleaner is this? In the “Before” table, the first column shows the provinces written differently each time, and the table header expresses both the dates and the metric differently. This is an oversimplified example, but you can image how messy it would get with a longer table! Use short forms and explain them if you need to with a note at the end of the table.
And don’t forget, how you name the table can help you reduce words and symbols in the table!
4. Clean up those symbols and signs!
In the spirit of helping your reader focus on what’s most important, put all symbols and signs in the column headings, not on every row! The only exception is when there is a crucial difference in each row, like when values are expressed in different currencies. In that case, you would put the currency type in each row.
Before
After
By putting less info in each cell, you’re helping the reader take in the key data. Sometimes this takes a lot of work, but it’s worth it!
5. Now, make it even easier to read.
One thing I’ve been doing in the “after” examples above is a bit of formatting. Take advantage of the shading and alignment options to make your tables more readable. A few layout tips:
Take up space. Don’t squish everything into narrow rows. White space helps someone see what they need.
Don’t be too creative. Don’t let the design dominate – it’s there to help you, not show off on its own!
Keep the lines light or invisible – you want the data to be the focus, so people can read row by row or column and column, finding what they need easily.
Make sure any notes or sources are provided in full at the end of the table.
You’ll start to develop your own signature style that works best with the type of reader and content that you have.
Pro tips for formatting:
Start with a simple table. Add your headings and the content of each cell.
Click on the table and then select Table Design from the ribbon at the top of the page. Select one of the formatting options or create your own by adjusting the shading and border styles. Keep it simple!
Click on the table again and select Layout from the ribbon at the top of the page. From here you can choose how the text should be aligned in each cell, and its size. I usually start with the text aligned to the left and increase the height of each cell to create more white space. I usually centre the headings; left justify the text in the cells, and right justify the numbers.
To sum it up:
Always edit your tables, and if you have more than one table in a document, make sure they are all written and formatted the same way.
I can’t stress this last point enough (ok, it’s a 6th best practice!)
Edit your tables to be:
accurate (check the data);
consistent (phrasing, styles, formatting); capital letters, commas, and symbols are all presented the same way; and
clear (does the table help your reader understand? If not, text may be a better choice).
Always reference your table at least once in the main body of the text!
Final tips:
Edit all the tables at once. Don’t read the body of the document – focus only on the tables.
If you spot a really long paragraph that contains a lot of similar or repetitive phrases, see if you can replace it with a table!
Check out the APA Guide to Style (7th Ed.). I find their “rules” to be really effective at making tables clear, consistent, and readable!
In other news…
You may have noticed I’ve left the paid Substack model behind. Just not into it.
Thank you to those of you who did contribute with a paid membership – it was a great motivator! I’ll continue to publish here, but maybe a bit less frequently – we’ll see how it goes. Most of all, I want this to be a useful resource; for me that means giving you great content, not just filler because it’s Wednesday.
Anyway, I’m grateful to all of you. Please continue to get in touch with your ideas, questions, comments - and offers to step in with a guest post!
- Lisa