Maybe I should finally start from the beginning. It does not matter what project you are working on. It does not matter what analysis you are tasked with doing. It does not matter what presentation you are finishing. Whenever you find numbers to incorporate in your final outcome, start by creating visuals.
Begin always with these five basic charts in mind.
As they say, too much of everything is not good. The same is true for charts; the fewer, the better. The more you use, the less the audience will remember. Use 1 chart and people will remember 100% of it; use 100 charts and people will remember nothing.
Charts are a form of language that you want to use to communicate your messages. And as with every language, you need to practice to be proficient. It takes time and practice, but there are some basic principles that you can use to speed up that process. We will be talking about them very soon.
Now, I can see you start asking – but what chart do I pick to tell my story? Well, the clear answer is: “IT DEPENDS“. I know that I did not help right away, but keep reading, and you will understand why.
Even after many years of my experience, my team often asks me what chart to use for a slide. Many times I answer, “I don’t know.” And I truly don’t know till I see the data and formulate my story or message.
So I always tell them, you need to start with these three things :
In the next blogs, we will go one by one what they mean. Looking eager to it already!
“No one ever made a decision because of a number.
They need a story.”
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