Microsoft PowerPoint, Word, and Excel make it possible to do so much with regards to our jobs. The trio has something to offer for almost everyone. But, what exactly is the difference between PowerPoint, Word, and Excel, and what does each piece of software do? Let’s find out!
The main difference between PowerPoint, Word, and Excel is the purpose of each software. PowerPoint is used for making presentations. Excel is the most helpful for capturing, tracking, and analyzing data with the help of graphical charts. Word is used for creating documents such as reports and books.
But, there is a lot more to it and in this article, I’m going to talk about what each one does, the differences between the three, and finally, how can we leverage the power of the three applications by working with all of them together. So, keep reading!
A Quick Note Before We Begin – if you want to make jaw-dropping presentations, I would recommend using one of these Presentation Designs. The best part is – it is only $16.5 a month, but you get to download and use as many presentation designs as you like! I personally use it from time-to-time, and it makes my task of making beautiful presentations really quick and easy!
Although these three applications can be used in a way that all three work together, there are differences that set them apart. Each application is used for different tasks and in this section, that is what we are going to talk about. So, let’s get into it.
As you can see, each application has a different goal, and thus are designed to be different from each other. Obviously, if the goal or the objective of the software is different, there are bound to be several differences in the functionalities. That said, I shall not focus on the differences in the functionalities of the three applications as pretty much everything will be different.
Microsoft PowerPoint is one of the most powerful tools that any company can use when it comes to meetings and presentations. PowerPoint uses a slide show method of giving presentations.
PowerPoint has a wealth of features that help professionals get their messages across to their colleagues or clients. We have a large library of articles that cover everything that you need to know about PowerPoint. So, after reading this article, why not go check some of them out.
To use PowerPoint, you need to have Microsoft Office installed on your PC, laptop, or Mac. Most new machines come with Office pre-installed with no payment necessary. In some cases, you will only have a free trial and will need to buy a license key.
If you do not have Office at all, you can buy it from a retail store or online. Regardless of which method you choose, you will most likely need to download it. Here is a link to the Microsoft website where you will be able to download the MS Office Suite.
Once Office is installed, you will be able to open PowerPoint and start making presentations.
PowerPoint is used for making slide show presentations. You may need a presentation for various reasons. For instance, you may want to create a presentation giving an overview of your organization, or a pitch presentation for your investors, or perhaps a summarized performance presentation for the annual report.
The purpose of creating a presentation can be endless. The type of presentations that you make depends on what your profession is. Below is a small indicative list of professions and what they use PowerPoint for.
The main advantage of using PowerPoint is that you can create intriguing and visually appealing presentations for your clients, boss, or a classroom of students. PowerPoint has a massive selection of features that allow you to create truly personalized representations of your data, product, or service.
For us to talk about the difference between PowerPoint and Word, the easiest way to do this would be to talk about what Word is and what it does first. Let’s get straight to it.
MS Word is a word processor. It is part of the Microsoft Office suite. MS Word is the most commonly used application within all the offerings of MS Office. Here are some of the reasons why MS Word is so popular. This list should also help explain exactly what MS Word is used for –
The difference between Microsoft Word and PowerPoint is pretty big. While MS Word is used to create detailed documents, PowerPoint is used to present as much information with as little text as possible.
PowerPoint can be seen as a visual representation of data and MS Word is a text-based representation of data. Other than that, it is hard to mention other differences because they are completely different applications.
We have already discussed, in some detail, what PowerPoint is. So, for this section, we will focus more on Excel and this should highlight what the differences are between the two. Let’s get straight to the point.
Excel is a program that is commonly used by accountants within a company. It can be used to manage any form of data that needs to be organized and managed. It can also be used to summarize data by creating graphs and charts.
There is one major difference between PowerPoint and Excel and that difference is the use of data.
Excel manages and organizes data and while you can turn the data into charts, Excel is not really the program that you want to use to present the data. PowerPoint is the better program for representing data.
You can use PowerPoint to present your Excel data. Let me share what I mean by that in our next section.
Now this is where everything gets interesting and to be honest, this is where the power of Microsoft Office really stands out. All the programs can be used together to create a smooth workplace that runs like clockwork. Here’s how PowerPoint, Word, and Excel can be used together.
You can place your presentations inside of MS Word documents which can help to remove the tediousness of repeating the same points in your presentation in word. Here’s how to do it.
Doing this will allow real-time changes within word if they are done in PowerPoint.
You can use PowerPoint to present your Excel data by creating a chart in PowerPoint and linking it to the Excel file. We have a full tutorial on this which you can read by clicking on the link below –
I run a Presentation Design Agency. Through this blog page, I share really helpful design best practices with some of the best tips & tricks that will take your presentation a notch above the rest. Information that I share is the stuff that I wish I knew when I worked in my corporate job! Goal of this blog is to provide you with helpful content that will make your presentations the best!
This site is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. We are compensated for referring traffic and business to Amazon and other companies linked to on this site.
