Information And Data : Presenting Information

You may need to pass information that you have onto another person. When this happens you must choose how to present the information to make sure that the other person understands and remembers it. The same information can be presented in many different ways. For example :

1. Information about the profits that a company has made could be presented as a table of figures or a graph.
2. Information about what a person looks like could be presented as a photograph or a written description of the person's features.

The best way to present information will depend upon :

This table shows how the same information can be presented in different ways when used for different purposes :

Information Purpose Presentation Method
Profits made by a company in the last twelve months. To show the public how well the company is doing. As a graph which will show the information simply and highlight any trends.
So that an accountant can calculate the tax that the company owes. As a table of figures which can be used in the calculations.
To explain to shareholders why the company has made the profits that it has. As a typed explanation on a page possibly with graphs or tables to support it.

Some audiences may have special needs, so the method used to present information may need to be tailored to these. For example :

Audience Presentation Method
Young Children Short words that are likely to be in the childrens' vocabulary will need to be used. Bright colours and images will help to keep the childrens attention, as could animation.
Visually Impaired People People who have impaired visual senses may not be able to see standard size text on a screen. Information could be presented in a large or simple font and in colours that are easier to perceive. Alternatively a speech synthesiser could be used to read out text.

Computer software such as a word processor, desktop publisher, spreadsheet or graphics package can be used to help present information. Information can be presented on paper as a hard copy or on screen in the form of a multimedia presentation.

Information systems present the results of processing using an output device.

GCSE ICT Companion 04 - (C) P Meakin 2004