First save an Excel file and name it with the ".xls" file extension. This will allow you to revert back to the data in its original form should the conversion alter some of your information.
Save the file again, but this time choose to save it as a ".csv" file. It will ask you if you are sure you want to proceed because some data might be altered or deleted. Go ahead with the save since you have saved the data in Step 1 as an ".xls" file.
Open your ".csv" file in a different application; Microsoft Word will work fine. Check the data to make sure it converted to a readable file. What you should see is a document with text separated by commas. If the original data contained a comma, that data will be surrounded by quotes. This would be expressed as "Indianapolis, IN." If your data included an empty field, then there would be two commas in a row.