Presenting and discussing tables during a presentation is part of everyday work for many and always requires special attention from both the presenter and the audience. While designing tables is (relatively) easy, there are some details that should be considered when working with them. This article will cover the following topics:
1) Creating tables in PowerPoint
1.1) Creating a table on a slide
1.2) Importing cells from Excel
1.3) Create a table using a slide layout
1.4) Importing a table from Word
1.5) Working in Excel and the table in PowerPoint updates immediately
On to the second part of this article.
1) Creating tables in PowerPoint
Basically, you have four options for creating tables:
- By creating a table on a slide
- By importing cells from Excel
- Directly via a slide layout or
- By importing a table from Word
We will introduce you to these different approaches and then show you how your changes in Excel tables are automatically transferred to PowerPoint.
1.1) Creating a table on a slide
Depending on the size and scope of the desired table, you can quickly and easily create one using PowerPoint's standard tools. In the ribbon , under Insert > Table, you can quickly determine how many columns and rows your table should have based on the displayed grid.
Even though you made a choice here initially, you can always increase or decrease the number of columns and cells later. However, this method is very effective for initial setup, as you often decide to use a table to better present the facts when structuring the content of a slide.
Simply move your mouse cursor over the grid cells, and some of the cells will be highlighted. These highlights correspond to the number of columns or cells (see next image). Once you click with the left mouse button, the table will be displayed or inserted directly onto the slide. By default, this "new" table always uses the "Medium Style 2 - Accent 1" table style.
TIP: While you're determining the number of columns and rows in this grid, also take a look directly at the slide. The table changes instantly as you move the mouse pointer. This preview makes selecting the number of columns and rows even clearer.
TIP: If you suddenly realize after completion that you need one more row, right-click in the bottom right corner of the last cell and press the Tab key. 
An additional row is immediately appended below. Further commands for expanding your table can be found under > Table Tools/Format > Layout in the Rows and Columns section.
If you already know the number of columns and rows, you can proceed as follows and enter numerical values directly:
A) Select Insert > Table again from the ribbon. The familiar drop-down menu will appear.
B) Below the grid, select the menu command > Insert table
C) A small menu appears. Here you can enter the number of columns and rows numerically.
In special cases or for scientific presentations, the table is not structured symmetrically or with equally sized cells. In this case, select > Draw Table and design your table cells completely individually.
After selecting this menu item, the mouse pointer changes to the familiar pen icon, which you're probably already familiar with from drawing in PowerPoint. You can then freely design each individual field, one after the other.
This approach, however, requires some experience and a bit of finesse. Often it's better to start with a standard table and then create irregular cell structures by merging and inserting cells later. As mentioned before, it helps to roughly sketch out the layout on a piece of paper beforehand.
The cells created in this way can then be designed like normal cells in a table and behave in the same way – for example, when filled with text (automatic cell expansion).
A) The individually shaped cells can be edited like normal table cells, e.g. to enter text.
B) Regardless of the shape of your self-created table, the cells behave like cells created with automatic table creation, i.e., in this case, the cell automatically enlarges if there is not enough space for the additional text entered.
C) In the same way, you can of course change the fields in color and their text attributes accordingly.
TIP: If you regularly work with self-created spreadsheets, it is advisable to try out all the customization options to gain experience with these settings.
TIP: For highly customized table layouts, it's usually more practical to create the fields from standard shapes. These are then easier and quicker to modify individually, and experience shows that many changes are necessary during and after creation. Such relatively irregularly structured tables are much easier to modify graphically using individually created shapes.
A) This graphic was created in table mode. Each individual cell was drawn separately.
B) Here, standard shapes were used. Creation is many times faster and graphically easier to modify.
1.2) Importing cells from Excel
You're probably most familiar with tabular presentations from the Office program Excel. In PowerPoint, you have two ways to work with tables from Excel.
The first option is already shown in the displayed drop-down menu: "Insert Excel table". The text suggests that a ready-made Excel table will be inserted. This is not correct.
Selecting > Insert Excel Table will NOT insert an existing Excel table located on the hard drive, but will first completely change the PowerPoint display on the screen.
A) At the same time, a small “mini Excel table” appears on the slide, and you first have to create a new Excel table.
B) Excel is opened IN PowerPoint. The overall view on the screen essentially changes from the PowerPoint to the Excel view.
C) The green Excel view appears in the ribbon as you are familiar with, and this view remains as long as you work within this small Excel window. If you click anywhere outside the small spreadsheet window, the view changes back, and PowerPoint displays normally. It makes no difference where you click on the screen.
By default, two columns and two rows are always displayed. Click on one of the black dots in the wide striped border, then you can drag the table with the mouse and freely resize the Excel window, thereby creating more columns and rows.
Just a reminder: As long as you are in this window, you are in the OFFICE program Excel, which is embedded directly in PowerPoint in this way.
You can still fill any number of cells with text in the small 2x2 Excel window that opens, because Excel's automatic function works the same way. Pressing Return automatically moves you to the next cell.
Since not everyone is equally aware of this dual activity of PowerPoint and Excel, here are a few more tips.
A) Text has been inserted into additional rows in this Excel spreadsheet. If you click only the border and then drag one of the corner handles, the view will enlarge, but you will not see any additional rows.
B) You need to click INSIDE THE TABLE and Excel will restart. Then you can drag the black dots in the frame to enlarge the area.
C) Now you can see the other lines.
A) The table is displayed without the typical Excel settings after the Excel operations are completed. All design changes must be made in Excel. This may take longer, especially if changes are made to the table later.
B) Double-clicking on one of the cells in this table will automatically reactivate Excel mode, allowing you to work as in Excel, for example by filling more cells with content.
C) If you click on the slide again outside this window, the display will change and all the content and changes you just entered will be applied.
The difference in the display will become even clearer if you want to change attributes – without starting Excel.
A) If the frame is clicked, a color is applied to the > fill effect .
B) When applying a color to the frame, the problem becomes clear: ONLY the frame is changed and not the cell lines or similar.
C) The reason: If you only clicked on the table border, the tab for the drawing tools will open, not the tab for the table tools.
D) That's why many buttons are only displayed in gray and you have very few choices.
How to copy cells directly from Excel
Many users like to select data series in Excel, then copy them directly from Excel and paste them into PowerPoint.
A) An already created Excel spreadsheet is opened.
B) Select all affected cells with the mouse. Then select copy.
C) The table looks like this after being inserted into PowerPoint.
When inserting the table, you are offered five different options that significantly influence the presentation and further processing in PowerPoint.
A) “Use target styles” means that the Excel fields are inserted and PowerPoint then displays them normally as a standard table. Graphics are included as described in B).
B) With "Keep original formatting," all graphic attributes such as colors, font, etc., are copied from Excel and inserted into PowerPoint as a standard table. If graphics or similar elements are inserted into the cells of the Excel table, they are inserted completely as image objects in the top left corner.
C) When "embedding," the image of this table initially looks like the one described in B). However, if you then double-click directly into a cell of this table, Excel opens again as described above. Graphics remain in the cells. This is a real advantage when displaying and using such Excel tables.
D) “Graphic” means that the Excel spreadsheet is inserted as an image/graphic and can then be edited with the image editing tool – similar to a photo. However, the individual text elements can no longer be changed.
E) With "Only copy text," only the content of the Excel cells is copied – creating a text format that you can further edit with the drawing tools. The rows are created by paragraphs and the columns by tabs.
NOTE: Depending on your computer's performance, the number of applications you have open simultaneously, and the size of the open files, switching between PowerPoint, Excel, or Word may take a moment. Don't be surprised if the on-screen display looks a little unusual when switching between applications.
1.3) Create a table using a slide layout
In the slide overview on the left, select a slide and then right-click to choose, for example , > Layout > Title and Content . In this and other layout templates, this symbol in the upper left corner indicates that you can insert a table directly. 
Click on the table icon in the placeholder in the upper left corner.
The menu shown on the right will open again, allowing you to specify the number of columns and rows numerically.
1.4) Importing a table from Word
Similar to the descriptions for importing tables from Excel, the procedure for tables from Word is identical. From embedding to importing as a simple graphic, you have the same options. Double-clicking within the table also causes PowerPoint to disappear into the background and the Word table to open.
IMPORTANT: Tables originating from the old Word version (.doc) will also open in the old Word version. Tables from newer versions (.docx) will open in PowerPoint 2013.
1.5) Working in Excel and the table in PowerPoint updates immediately
In certain cases, you may want to – together with the entire audience – first work out/agre on specific figures in Excel. At the same time, these entered values should be immediately updated in PowerPoint.
Simply "embedding" copied Excel cells is insufficient here. No update occurs. For clarity, the following images show PowerPoint and Excel open side-by-side.
The image on the right shows a created and highlighted Excel spreadsheet. On the left is a blank PowerPoint slide.
The table is now inserted into PowerPoint using > Embed .
If you change a value in Excel on the right, you want it to update immediately in PowerPoint. Unfortunately, this is not the case.
On the right, the highlighted cell (C5) has been changed to the value "9999" – on the left, nothing happens in PowerPoint.
Clicking on a cell in the embedded table on the left does change the PowerPoint display to Excel by default, but even then, no update takes place.
But there's another way! If you haven't already, save your Excel spreadsheet to your hard drive. In PowerPoint , select Insert > Text > Object from the ribbon.
The "Insert Object" dialog box opens. Select > Create from File and click on your Excel file in the file directory on your hard drive. You will then see the path and name of the Excel file in the display field. Now check the box next to Link.
You will then see the first table from the Excel file in PowerPoint. The planned procedure is now working. If you change a value or make design changes in Excel, these will be displayed in PowerPoint the moment you press RETURN in Excel, e.g., cell C8 ("88888"; cell fill, text color, and size have been changed).
TIP: Are you familiar with the "presenter view" when giving presentations? Then set it up so that the audience only sees the PowerPoint presentation and you can work in Excel on your computer at the same time.
As is so often the case, "many roads lead to Rome." Accordingly, it's also possible to copy cells from Excel and then paste them directly into PowerPoint, linked to each other .
- In Excel, select the cell ranges and right-click > Copy.
- Switch to your PowerPoint slide.
- WARNING: Do not right-click now and do not select any of the five paste options already known!
- Instead, activate Insert > Paste Special in the ribbon.
- The selection menu shown below will open. Click > Insert link and select (if it hasn't already been selected automatically) > Microsoft Excel Workbook Object .
- Now you can again make entries in Excel that are almost immediately transferred to PowerPoint.
We hope you enjoy trying it out!