Free E-Book
By
Vivek Singh
Author of the blog All About Presentations
www.allaboutpresentations.com

E-Book: 14 Tips to Present Awesome Charts All About Presentations
I hereby give you every right to distribute this e-book. If you are reproducing or
quoting any part of this e-book you must mention my name and link to the
blog (www.allaboutpresentations.com)
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E-Book: 14 Tips to Present Awesome Charts All About Presentations
What is this E-Book about?
This e-book will help you make awesome charts in 14 simple steps. You will be able to
create charts that are effective and smart looking. These tips were first published as a series
of 14 posts on the blog www.allaboutpresentations.com. This is a revised and concise
version of the entire series. You can read all the posts online here.
Who will benefit from this e-book?
If you make charts and present it to others (through reports, presentations or any other
medium) this e-book is for you.
This e-book focuses more on presenting charts and not on creating them. Hence it does not
cover the basic steps of entering data and creating a chart from scratch. It assumes you
know how to make a simple chart (in MS Excel and/or MS PowerPoint).
However, in case of advanced usage (like adding a secondary axis to your chart) each and
every step is explained in detail.
Please Note:
1. All the tips on creating charts are based on MS PowerPoint 2007. However, people
using older version should not find any problem is using the tips contained in the e-
book.
2. This e-book uses the words ‘charts’ and ‘graphs’ interchangeably.
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Contents
Tip #1: The Bigger Picture .................................................................................. 5
Tip #2: Do you really need a chart? .................................................................... 7
Tip #3: Which chart type should you use? ....................................................... 10
Tip #4: What is your key message? .................................................................. 15
Tip #5: Chart Title............................................................................................. 17
Tip #6: Number of Data Points ......................................................................... 18
Tip #7: Data Labels ........................................................................................... 20
Tip #8: Chart Legend ........................................................................................ 21
Tip #9: Chart Axis ............................................................................................. 23
Tip #10: Data Source ........................................................................................ 26
Tip #11: Chart Colours ..................................................................................... 27
Tip #12: Chart Animation ................................................................................. 30
Tip #13: Highlighting ........................................................................................ 32
Tip #14: Chart Aesthetics ................................................................................. 35
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Tip #1: The Bigger Picture
When you create a chart you make a series of decisions (consciously or otherwise). You
decide on the chart type, chart colour, etc. What is the starting point of it all?
It all starts from what is the point you are trying to make. You create a chart from raw data
with a purpose. Your purpose can be the following:
 To share information, or
 To prove or disprove something
You might be trying to prove that sale in your area is growing very fast. If you just say this,
not many might believe. Hence, you support it with data. But, how do you present this data
which will prove your point (that sale is indeed growing well)? You can do the following:
 Create a chart (the most obvious choice, but not necessarily the best one)
 Create a table
 Make an infographic (more on it in Tip #2)
 Simply type out the data on the slide
Making a Chart: A 4 Step Process
1. What is your key message?
2. Do you really need a chart to support your key message?
3. Which chart type should you use?
4. How should you design your chart?
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After deciding to make a chart, there are two broad areas which you need to consider.
 Chart Core, and
 Chart Design
Your key message, the need for a chart and the right chart type form the chart core. They
come first and have to be answered. Chart design includes the other ten areas;
 Chart title, data points and data labels
 Legend, chart axis, source, colours
 Animation, highlight and aesthetics
Chart Core or Chart Design: Which is more important?
Many people worry only about the chart core. These people spend more time on the first
three areas of making a chart: key message, need for a chart and chart type. They totally
neglect chart design. This neglect might come from ignorance or lack of care. I call them
North Pole Presenters.
Then there are presenters who get lost in small details and forget the overall picture. They
spend more time on chart design. They try various kinds of line colours, markers, shadow
and gradients. You can throw them off balance if you ask, "What is the point you are
making?" Amidst all this design they forgot the key message. These are South Pole
Presenters.
Where do you find yourself in this world?
The best place to be is in the middle. Give
equal importance to Chart Core and Chart
Design. It is very important to crunch data,
choose the right chart type and know what
you are presenting. But if you are unable to
get it across (which is the role played by chart
design) then all this preparation falls flat.
Chart core has more to do with what you are presenting and chart design has everything
to do with how you are presenting it. A healthy mix of both is the recipe for an awesome
chart.
[Click here to read the original blog post]
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Tip #2: Do you really need a chart?
You have by now understood that your key message is the point you are trying to make and
chart is just one of the mediums to do that. We will now answer the following questions:
 What is a Chart?
 When should you use a chart?
 What are the alternatives to a chart?
What is a Chart?
Chart (or Graph) is a visual representation of raw data serving many purposes:
1. It makes data easy to understand
2. It reveals relationships between data
3. It amplifies the impact of data
4. It converts raw data into useful information for managerial decision making
When should you use a chart?
You have some raw data which will support the point you are trying to make. Before making
the chart, ask yourself this question. “What value do I add when I present this raw data in
the form of a chart?” What happens if you just presented the raw data in the form of a
table?
If your chart does not add any value and does not fulfil any of the four objectives above, do
not make it.
Example 2.1: Your organization has grown leaps and bounds in the last 30 years. This is your
key message. To prove this to the new recruits you have this raw data.
If you present this raw data in the
form of a table, do you think you will
be able to impress the new recruits?
The impact of this table is nil. How
about presenting it like the bar graph
below.
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These New York Skyscrapers will nail the
point in the minds of the audience very
well. This visual representation meets
objectives 1 (easy to understand) and 3
(amplifies the impact).
Use charts only when you have more than one data point
Never make a chart with one data point. A chart which has one bar or a pie which has one
number does not make much sense. In these cases, try some other option.
Example 2.2: You conducted a market research and found that your product’s market share
is 5%. This is very low and you want the management to take strong cognizance. Here are
two ways of presenting this information:
It is much better to put the number
in limelight and initiate a discussion
rather than putting just another pie
and diluting the power of this
information.
What are the alternatives to a chart?
You have decided that chart is not a good medium to deliver your key message. In that case
you have the following options.
1. Create a table
2. Simply type out the data on the slide
3. Make an infographic
Point 1 and 2 are simple to understand. In example 2.1 we saw a table and in example 2.2
we saw how to type out the data on the slide.
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Infographic: This is a very unique and interesting way of presenting information. Look at the
following example:
Example 2.3: 16.7% of the world population lives is India. How do you present this
information? Because you have one data point, you should not use a chart. How about this?
This is a much more evolved way of presenting
information. If you are comparing the sales of three
countries, instead of making a table, you can try plotting
the numbers on a map.
Make charts which add some value to the information and enhance audience
understanding. Keep your options open. Be ready to look beyond charts.
[Click here to read the original blog post]
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E-Book: 14 Tips to Present Awesome Charts All About Presentations
Tip #3: Which chart type should you use?
After you have decided to go for a chart, the first decision you have to make is about the
chart type. How do you decide which chart to choose?
Do yourself a favour by not going to ‘Insert Chart’ in MS PowerPoint. PowerPoint gives you
74 types of charts under 11 varieties. There are pies, donuts and even spiders up for grabs.
Which chart type to use depends on what you are doing with your data. So instead of
worrying about 74 chart types, answer the following question:
What are you doing with your raw data?
You can do the following:
1. Compare data
2. Break data into smaller parts to see what it is composed of
3. See data over time
4. Discover correlation between two sets of data
Because correlation is an advanced usage and is used very rarely, we will keep it aside. We
now have three main usages of data. Look at the following image.
This is the framework which
will help you choose the right
chart type. Look at the image
carefully. We are going to
study 6 types of uses a data
can be put to. We already
covered 3 above.
A. Compare data
B. Break up data into parts
C. See data over time
From the interplay between A, B and C we get 3 more cases.
D. Break data into parts and compare the sub-parts (D=A+B)
E. Comparing data over time (E=A+C)
F. Break down parts of data and see over time (F=B+C)
We shall deal with each one of them with simple examples from real life.
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E-Book: 14 Tips to Present Awesome Charts All About Presentations
A. Compare data
When you are comparing data you are pitting them against each other. What’s the best way
to compare your height with your sister’s height? Make both of you stand near each other.
Rings a bell?
When you are comparing data, use a bar graph. Bar graphs are of two kinds; column
(vertical) and horizontal. Though both the graphs serve the same purpose and can be used
interchangeably you should prefer vertical graphs because it is easier for the eyes to
compare vertical distances.
Example A: Per Capita Consumption of Shampoo in India in USD
The chart on the left has been
taken from Hindustan Unilever’s
investor presentation. The
presentation is comparing per
capita consumption of shampoo in
India to other countries. I have
recreated the same in horizontal
bar as well (right). The vertical one
looks better.
B. Break data into parts
When you break down data to analyze what it is comprised of then you can use pie charts,
stacked bar graphs and normal bar graphs. However a pie chart is the most preferred
choice. Some examples of what it means to break data into parts are as follows:
i. How much sales of your brand comes from North, South, East & West India?
ii. What is the market share of various soap brands in the US?
Example B: Shareholding Pattern as of June 30, 2009 of Infosys.
Here you are breaking down the equity share holding of various entities and hence you
should use pie charts. This data can be presented in three ways.
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E-Book: 14 Tips to Present Awesome Charts All About Presentations
The chart in the middle is a normal bar whereas the one on the extreme right is a stacked
bar graph. I advise you to stick to pie charts when breaking down data into parts.
C. See data over time
For presenting data over time , you can use line graphs, area graphs and bar charts.
Examples where you compare data over time are:
i. Stock price for last 12 months
ii. Sales & profits of a company over time
iii. Number of employees in an organization over time
Example C: You want to invest in the shares of Reliance Industries so you want to see its
stock price over the last three months. Here are two ways you can present this chart.
The area chart and the line chart
serve the same purpose here. The
area graph actually accentuates
the movements of the stock price.
The same data can actually be
presented as a bar graph.
However, bar graph will make the
chart cluttered because the
number of data points is very
large.
D. Break data into parts and compare the sub-parts
(Compare + Break data into parts)
Example D: In Example B we saw how to break down the shareholding pattern of Infosys
into its sub-parts. I now ask you to compare the shareholding patterns of Infosys with Wipro
& Polaris (as of June 30, 2009). How would you present this chart?
Because we are breaking down shareholding into its sub-divisions, we should use pie charts.
Going by the old logic our slide looks like this:
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E-Book: 14 Tips to Present Awesome Charts All About Presentations
Suddenly, the pie is complicating things. First we need more space for 3 charts and second,
it is tougher to understand and compare while looking at 3 charts. Look now at the right way
of presenting.
This Stacked Bar Chart looks better.
Remember you have done two things here.
One, you broke up each company's
shareholding pattern. Second, you
compared the smaller chunks with each
other. The analysis here could be that Wipro
is far more closely held (high promoter
holding) than Polaris and Wipro. To do any
meaningful analysis you need to understand
data first. Stacked Bar Chart helps you do that much better than a pie chart.
E. Comparing data over time (Compare + See data over time)
When we compare two or more pieces of data across many time periods we can use
Bar Graph or Line Graph.
Example E: You have sales and profits data of your company for the past 17 years. How do
you present this data?
The line graph and bar graph both
can be used. However, as the
number of data points keep going
up, you should prefer line over bar.
Having 15-20 vertical bars make a
slide cluttered.
Avoid bars as soon as the number
of data points crosses 15.
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E-Book: 14 Tips to Present Awesome Charts All About Presentations
F. Breaking data into parts and seeing it over time
When you have to break down data into parts and then see how the parts shape up over a
period of time what should you use? You can use both these charts; stacked bar graph and
stacked area graphs.
Example F: You are studying world's consumption of cooking oil over time. This is the data
you have (it is a hypothetical data).
If you look closely, we have broken down
world consumption into four oil sub-types.
Then we are looking at how the sub-types
change over time. You should present this
data using either a stacked bar chart (right) or
a stacked area graph (left).
Summary
You should remember these six cases or six treatments which your data can go through.
Here is a ready reckoner to remind you of which chart to use when.
I have not discussed about
special charts like bubbles,
radars and donuts because
they are complex. They
tend to confuse the
audience and don’t add
much value.
Avoid them.
[Click here to read the blog post]
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E-Book: 14 Tips to Present Awesome Charts All About Presentations
Tip #4: What is your key message?
The process of making a chart starts from the key message. Every presentation has an
objective. You are making an argument in the presentation. Each chart adds to that
argument in a small way.
How you arrive at the key message is beyond the scope of this e-book. You should know
what you want to talk about. We are concerned only with how to present it in the form of a
chart.
How should you present your charts’ key message?
To make an awesome chart, you need to know the following:
1. Know what your key message is. Know what point you are trying to
make/prove/disprove with the help of your chart.
2. Do not have more than one key message for every chart. Two is just too many.
3. Write down the key message on the slide in one complete sentence. Don't eat words
and make it small. Don't be verbose and make it too long.
4. You should write down the key message on your slide header. You can also write it in
a box near the chart. Make sure it is clearly visible and readable.
Example 4.1: Look at this chart from the investor presentation of Hindustan Unilever (HUL).
HUL's spend on advertising and promotion
(A&P) has gone down in this quarter. Being
the biggest spender in India on advertising,
their investors might be worried seeing this
chart. So they have added a key message
below the chart. They say, even though they
are spending less yet they remain competitive
in spends on brand building. Investors have
nothing to worry.
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Exception to the Rule:
When you are just sharing information and there is nothing ‘key’ to share with the audience,
the chart need not have a key message. Look at the chart from Starbucks below:
Example 4.2: Starbucks performance in its Annual Report,
2008
This chart merely tells you that the number of stores is on
the rise. There is nothing more that they want to
communicate. Hence, no key messages here.
[Click here to read the blog post]
This marks the end of our topics on Chart Core. We now move on to Chart Design.
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Tip #5: Chart Title
Purpose of having a Chart Title
A chart title tells the audience what the chart is for. It helps the audience read and
understand the chart faster. Try removing the title from a chart you would have presented
recently. The audience will take more time to grasp it. Remember that the audience gets
only a few seconds to see the chart and make sense of it while you are presenting.
What should a Chart Title be like?
The title tells the reader what the data on display is and helps him/her understanding it
faster and better.
1. Chart title should be descriptive and not too short.
2. Chart title should also have the time period mentioned. The year should be written
in full. 2008-09 is better than 08-09.
Example 5.1: Take a look at this chart from an investor presentation by Hindustan Unilever
(HUL).
What is the pie chart showing?
Break up of sales (turnover) or
profits (EBIT)?
Obviously sales? You know this
but the investors do not. How
does an investor figure this out?
You are (subconsciously)
assuming your audience knows
what you know. Hence you omit
some information by mistake.
Having a proper title will
eliminate such confusion.
Summary
Understand who your audience is. Realize they have limited exposure time to see and
understand the chart. Admit that it is they who will decide whether your charts are good or
bad.
A simple solution to all your problem is this: Put chart title in every chart you make.
[Click here to read the blog post]
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E-Book: 14 Tips to Present Awesome Charts All About Presentations
Tip #6: Number of Data Points
After choosing the chart type and giving a chart a proper title, you now need to consider
how many data points to display on the chart.
What is a Data Point?
If your pie chart has 10 parts then it has 10 data points. If the bar chart has 4 vertical bars,
there is 1 bar for each of the 4 data points. If you are making a one year chart of the stock
price of Infosys, then you will need 365 data points (actually you would need somewhere
around 310 because there are 52 Sundays plus some holidays when the share market is
closed).
How do you decide on the correct number of data points?
As you know, a chart is used to prove or disprove a point to the audience. In order to do the
analysis, you might need 20 data points but to prove the point in the presentation you
might only need 10. So when you 'present' your chart you must have only 10 data points.
What to remember while choosing the number of data points?
1. The more the data points, the more complex the chart becomes. Audience
understanding is inversely proportional to the no. of data points your chart has. The more
data points your chart has, the lesser the audience will understand in a given time.
2. When presenting data over time, choose data points at equal time gaps.
Example 6.1: KK Consultants (name
changed) are making a presentation to the
new employees of their organization. They
are sharing how their organisation has
grown leaps and bounds in the last three
decades. This is how the chart looks. We
have seen this chart already in Example 2.1
(Tip #2)
Good. But think of the new employee looking through this and trying to read 14 data points.
The key message here is 'that our organization has grown leaps and bounds over the last
three decades’. To make this argument, you might need to analyze 14 data points, but to
present you can manage with only 4. Take a look at this new chart.
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Great! An audience to understand 14 data
points will take time and does not add much
value. By reading 14 data points, it is tough
to draw this conclusion (added 2 employees
per day!). Humans cannot mentally analyze
so many data points. But with 4 data points,
the audience gets the key message far more
easily and far more powerfully.
Example 6.2: Look at this chart from the American Heart Association. It talks about the heart
disease mortality rates (deaths in thousands for males and females).
Look closely at the chosen data points; 1979,
1980, 1985, 1990, 1995, 2000 and 2005. While
1980 to 2005 are at 5 year gaps, there is also
an unwanted 1979. Visually all data points look
equally far away from each other in time. But
they are not. This situation should be avoided.
Choose equidistant data points.
[Click here to read the original post]
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Tip #7: Data Labels
After you have chosen the number of data points and created the chart, you now need to
label your data. We discussed in the last post that you might require 30 data points to do
your analysis but you can present it with only 10. Do you still need to label all 10 data
points? Need not.
You are showing the share price of Reliance Industries from April to June 2009. Will you
label all the data points? No. Because that will make the chart cluttered and will serve no
purpose. You can just label a few data points which help you convey the key message.
What you must remember about labelling your data?
1. All relevant data points should be labelled. There is no compulsion to label every data
point. It depends on what point you are trying to prove with the chart (key message).
2. The labels should not clutter the chart and hurt audience understanding. Space them out
and make them legible (greater than 18 font size).
3. Position the label properly on the chart. Labels on a pie chart can be inside the pie or
outside. The objective that drives this choice is how easily readable and understandable the
label is.
Example 7.1: Take a quick look at this chart from ACC and answer this question. What is the
capacity utilization (%) for the 5 years (see the line graph)?
86, 93, 18.7, 19.9, 20.8. Right?
Wrong! Take a look again. For the
first two data points, the label for
the line graph was above the line.
For the next three, it went below
the line and changed its colour
from black to white.
The solution: If you put a % after
the numbers it will be far simpler
to read the chart. Also, be
consistent with colour coding of
data labels and don’t mess with
their positions.
Use different colours for labelling different graphs (in this case, use different label colours
for bar and line graph). Use this colour coding when the labels appear so close to each
other. When the labels are far away, colour coding is not needed.
[Click here to see more examples in the original blog post]
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Tip #8: Chart Legend
What is a legend?
A legend, as you know, is a guide that helps the audience read your chart. If you are
comparing the share prices of Microsoft and Yahoo and your chart has two line graphs, then
your legend tells the audience which line denotes which company. The legend is a 'visual'
symbol of the data series that has been plotted on the chart.
When you don't need a legend?
By definition, a legend tells you which bar or line chart is for which data series. Hence, you
need a legend only if you have more than one data series on your chart. You don't need it if
you are showing the growth of sales over time and have just one line graph (or a series of
bar graphs). Most of the graphs you would have seen in your life will have a legend even
when there is only one data series. Why?
Reason 1: Because the legend comes by default in the software.
Reason 2: Because of your ignorance.
Where do you place the legend?
The legend by default is always placed to the right. But there are in total 5 places where you
can place it. Top, Right, Left, Bottom and Inside the Plot Area (along with the data points).
Where you place it has a huge impact on the usefulness of the legend. Remember the
objective of a legend is to make the chart easy to read.
Few examples of legends
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Lesson (pie charts above): Placing the labels outside the pie chart (without having a legend)
is much better. Pie chart on the right looks much smarter and friendly.
Lesson (bar charts below): The legend should be in sync with the bar graphs. If your bar goes
from left to right then you legend should be read from left to right.
Lesson (line graphs above): Labelling the lines on the right is better than a legend.
To Summarize:
1. Do not use a legend when you have only one data series (example, sales over time).
2. When making pie charts, put the series name with the data labels outside the pie itself.
Do not create a legend.
3. Place the legend where it is logical. Make it sync with the way data has been presented.
4. When using line graphs, label the line graphs instead of putting a legend.
[Click here to read the blog post]
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Tip #9: Chart Axis
1. What is an axis?
An axis in a chart or graph is the line along which we measure our variables. It is nothing but
a scale (or a ruler). The x-axis and y-axis tells you what are being measured and lets you read
the measurements.
2. What should you know about an axis?
First, you should know the purpose of an axis. An axis tells you what is being measured and
also lets you read the values. As an audience, you should always check out the axis before
looking at the bar or line graph.
Second, because the axis tells you how to read the chart, you have to label the axis with
what is being measured and the units of measurement. This is however theory. It is better,
at times, to write down the chart title as ‘Sales (in $mn)’ than to say just ‘Sales’ in chart title
and put ‘in $mn’ in axis title.
3. Playing with the axis?
Left click to select the axis and then right click to choose Format Axis.
3a. Line Colour & Styles
Choose vertical y-axis -> Format Axis -> Line Colour.
Solid Black. Then Line Style -> Width 4. Again,
choose horizontal x-axis -> Format Axis -> Line Color.
Solid Black. Line Style -> Width 4. You chart will look
better with a thicker axis.
3b. Axis Options
Choose the vertical y-axis -> Format Axis -> Axis
Options -> Change the 'Minimum' from Auto to Fixed
and enter 80. See what happens.
The y-axis now starts counting from 80. The growth in
sales now looks far better than it looked when the axis
started from zero. Which one is better? What should
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you do?
Companies in their annual reports do play this trick very often. You should as a rule, always
start you axis from zero. In case you are not doing so, for some justified reason, then you
must inform the audience of this aberration.
4. When and how should you use secondary axis?
Let us take an example. You have to make a chart to show the financial highlights of
SpaceTel (a hypothetical company). Here is the raw data.
Using our framework from Tip #3, you can create a bar graph or a line graph (because you
are comparing data over time). You create a bar graph. Here is how your chart looks like:
What is wrong with the graph on the left?
The software looks at all the values and
tries to fix a scale (axis) which includes
the maximum value of 500. Hence, it has
taken the scale up to 600. By doing this,
the profit percentage data which is
maximum 35% (=0.35) becomes invisible.
How do you solve this problem?
You need a different axis in the same chart. That 'other' axis is called 'secondary axis'. On
this we measure the profit percentage.
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Adding a secondary axis
Step-1 Choose the data series 'profit percentage' by
clicking next to the profit bar in red.
Step-2 Right click -> Format Data Series
Step-3 Series Options -> Choose Secondary Axis ->
Close
Are you in deeper trouble now?
No. Click on the data series again (one click on any green bar will select all bars). Right click
and select 'Change Series Chart Type'. Choose a Line Graph. Click Ok. Your chart is ready.
Summary of what you learnt about Axis:
1. Axis is a scale which tells you what is being measured and its unit of measurement.
2. These two pieces of information have to be present in every chart. You need not label
them near the axis. You can mention it with the chart title.
3. Your axis should start from zero. In case it does not, inform the audience about it.
4. When you are measuring variables (like sales, profits) whose values are different from
each other or the gap between maximum and minimum value is too big, then add a
secondary axis.
[Click here to read the detailed blog post]
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Tip #10: Data Source
Your chart is made from raw data. But this raw data is not a fiction of your imagination. It
has a source. A place from where you culled out the data for analysis and representation.
Why you need to worry about the source?
You are in-charge of new product launches in your company. You have studied the fairness
soap market for men in India and in your presentation to the CEO you are recommending to
launch a new soap brand. In the process of research you would have come across lots of
data. During your presentation, your CEO might ask; "Where did you get this data from?" All
that he is asking for is; tell me the source of data.
For the audience to accept your charts' key message (the point you are trying to make), they
need to know if the chart is credible. They might not ask for the source always, but having it
on the chart enhances the credibility of your argument.
When should you mention the source and when you should not?
Though every chart has a source, you need not mention it all the time. It is required when
there is a need to boost credibility. Talking about credibility, there are two situations you
need to consider:
i. Internal Credibility - Source of data is optional
ii. External Credibility - Source of data is necessary
When you are presenting something from your area of expertise (domain), you do not need
to compulsorily mention a source. The credibility comes from you (the presenter) and your
audience knows about your expertise. They trust you. But, it is possible that you are
presenting something outside your domain. In which case, the audience would like to know
the source of your data.
Remember, the taller your claim, the more credibility you require to support it. You can't get
away by simply making bold claims and recommendations and not backing it up.
How and where to mention the source?
The source is generally mentioned below the chart in a font size that is easy to read. But in
how much detail you should mention the source?
Ask yourself this question and you will know in how much detail you should write the
source: "If your audience wanted to check your data with the source, can they do that
easily." If no, then re-write the source to make it easier to verify.
Remember, you trust yourself more than others trust you. You are honest does not mean
you will not furnish the source of your data. [Click here to read the original blog post]
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Tip #11: Chart Colours
While we are talking about chart colours, I can see many eyebrows rising. "We make formal
presentations and all this colouring has no place in our company. Let's talk data."
This post is not about how to make your chart colourful and get noticed. This post is about
how to balance the colours on a slide so that chart colours become invisible.
The way I look at colours is:
"Colour is that ingredient of your dish (chart) which does not have a taste of its own. It
enhances the taste of the dish without getting noticed. If the colour of your chart is getting
noticed, you have failed."
The role of colour is thus two-fold:
1. It has to make the job of audience easy to read the chart
2. It should not distract and draw attention towards itself
Example 11.1: Look at this chart from the
presentation of the FMCG major, Emami
Limited. Do you even feel like reading the
chart? Would you be proud of presenting this
chart?
How many colours should your chart have?
To colour a chart you need to take care of many things. It is not only the colour of the bar or
line graph. You need to consider the following four:
1. Colour of the bar/line graph
2. Colour of the plot area
3. Colour of the chart area, and
4. Colour of the slide.
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Look at this image.
When I talk about chart colour I am
talking about the colour of these 4
elements (slide, plot area, chart area and
bar/line). The colour of your bar cannot
be seen in isolation from the colours
around it.
Steps in colouring a chart
Step – 1: You start by taking the slide background colour as given. You do not decide the
slide background colour after creating the chart. Hence, if your background colour is white
then you have to start from that point. It is always better to have a white slide background
colour.
Step – 2: Merge the Chart Area, Plot Area and the Slide Background. If the slide background
is white, make the other two white as well. To change the colour of the chart area, click on
the chart area and choose white colour from ‘Format -> Shape Fill’.
Step – 3: You now have to choose the colour of bar/line graphs from the five types on the
left (see image below).
It is better to use solid colours for the bar graph which provides good contrast with the
background colour. Using gradients and images will reduce visibility.
If your chart has more than one data series (sales & profit) then you have to differentiate
between the bar graphs representing these data series. You can use shades of the same
colour (light and dark blue) if there are two data series. If you have more than two data
series use multi colour bar graphs.
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Summary
1. The fewer the number of colours you use, the better your chart becomes.
2. Do not do anything that draws attention of your audience towards the colour of the
chart.
3. Stay away from gradients, flashy colours and using images in your bars. They reduce the
visibility of your chart.
[Click here to read the detailed blog post]
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E-Book: 14 Tips to Present Awesome Charts All About Presentations
Tip #12: Chart Animation
By animating a chart we mean animating that line graphs or bar graphs of the chart.
Animation would make each data point or series of data points come one after the other,
with a clear purpose.
When to use animation and why?
Animation is a powerful tool. It brings your presentation to life. When slides after slides are
static, animation comes in to break the monotony. It draws the attention of the audience
and gets your point across very effectively. You should use animation when:
1. You want to draw the audience attention to an important point
2. You want to share information in a phased manner
3. When you have too much information to present in a chart, it is better to animate and
present in a sequence.
How to animate a chart?
We will understand chart animation with the help of an example.
Example 12.1: You, the CEO of Red Soaps, is presenting at a press conference ahead of your
IPO (new share issue to public). Because your soap brand (Red No. 1) is not advertised it is
not popular in the media. Your charts' key message is that your brand is much bigger than
the 4 more popular soap brands in the market. These four brands regularly advertise and
are more popular than Red No. 1. How do you draw the attention of the public who are
going to give you $100mn if your presentation impresses them? Here is your chart.
You can present this chart at once and
make the point; "You know these big
brands. But did you know we are bigger
than them?"
A better approach: Create a story.
Animate the five bar graphs (animation
effect: wipe from bottom) and ask the
audience to guess the turnover of each
brand. After they guess for one brand,
you animate and show whether they
were right. At the last, when your
brand's bar goes past all these popular
brands, your audience will get the message loud and clear. They will remember this
animation and will also remember the message.
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Step 1: Right click on your chart -> Edit Data -> Arrange the series in ascending order of
sales. (Your source data has to be in the ascending order)
Step 2: Click on the chart to select it -> Animations Tab (in version 2007) -> Custom
Animation -> Add Effect -> Entrance -> Wipe
Step 3: In Custom Animation -> Make Direction from Bottom -> Speed Fast -> Start On Click
Step 4: Drop down menu -> Effect Options -> Chart Animation Tab -> Group Chart By
Category -> Do not Start animation by drawing the background
The result: In slide show mode, the axes and title would be present. Your bar graphs will
come one by one mouse click.
How to avoid animation misuse?
Animation is a 'special' effect which works when used very few times. Then only it breaks
the monotony and draws audience attention. Do not do the following:
i. Do not animate every possible chart in your presentation
ii. Do not use wrong effects (line graph coming as 'wipe from bottom', horizontal bar coming
as 'wipe from left')
iii. Do not use wild & weird effects. Use simple effects like fade, zoom, wipe, ascend,
descend, expand, compress, etc.
iv. Do not use more than 1 type of effect in a chart. Every sub-part of pie should come as
fade in. Do not make one part zoom in, another zoom out and the third fade.
If used prudently, animation can become the secret weapon that will give your
presentation an undue advantage over others.
[Click here if you wish to read the complete blog post]
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E-Book: 14 Tips to Present Awesome Charts All About Presentations
Tip #13: Highlighting
To highlight (verb) means to make something more prominent. It is different from the noun
highlight which means the most important part. We are concerned with the verb form here.
What do you highlight?
You highlight a data point or a data series or a relation between two data points (or series).
When do you highlight something important?
By definition, you highlight something that you want to make prominent. It is not already
conspicuous (obvious to the eye). Some instances when you highlight are:
i. You highlight to point out the change in values of a variable (a growth in sales over time).
By looking at the graph, the growth is obvious but the percentage is not.
ii. You highlight to give a reason for change in values of a variable (a sudden fall in sales, a
dip in share prices). The reason is not captured in the graph and hence needs to be
separately mentioned.
iii. You highlight to make something stand out. Something that is already there but as part of
a crowd. Like your company's sales graph when compared to 9 other companies.
iv. You highlight to bring out the relationship between two variables. You have plotted sales
& profit bar graphs but profit percentage is not captured in the graph. You can highlight
that.
Examples Illustrating Instance 1 & 2:
Chart #1 shows the sales
growth of ACC over time.
They have highlighted the
number 5% which is the
change in sales. It is possible
that industry was in a bad
phase and 5% is something to
take consolation from.
Remember:
Never highlight what puts
you in a bad light
unnecessarily.
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Chart #2 has been taken from FMCG major Dabur. They are showing quarterly revenue
growth over the last 8 quarters. They are giving a reason (a clarification) that the good
growth of 22.1% is not coming majorly from acquisition of another company Fem. The
growth is mainly organic (which is a good sign).
Examples Illustrating Instance 3 & 4
Chart #3 is from the
website of Reliance
Industries. Talking about
world's largest refining
companies they highlight
their own place among 16
other companies by giving
their bar a red colour. This
is a good way to stand out.
In the same chart, they
have also marked state-
owned companies and
made them stand out by
giving it another shade of
blue. But it does not stand
out. They should have
used another colour.
Chart #4 presents the sales and profits of a hypothetical organization. Profit as a percentage
of sales is important to know and has not been captured in the graph. To bring out this
relationship between sales and profits they add a text; '46% is the 3 year average
profitability'.
How do you highlight something important?
If you have carefully observed you will notice that colour and shapes are used to highlight.
Merely text is not sufficient. In Chart 3, if the RIL bar was given a gradient, the effect will not
be as great. Using colour is better and using red even better as it attracts our eyes the most.
You can highlight by:
1. Using shapes and colours along with text, and
2. Using animation
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Animation is a medium you should use to highlight something important. In Chart #2, after
having presented and discussed the growth rates in sales, the presenter can, on mouse click,
circle the 22% and make the attached text appear. Read more on animation in Tip #12.
Highlights & Key Message
Chart highlight is not the same as key message. While talking about key message we
discussed that key message is the point you are trying to prove with your chart (to read
about key message click here). Highlighting can be a good way of supporting your key
message.
The key message for Dabur in Chart 2 above could be; "We have grown very well over the
years purely due to the efforts that have been put by the company. Contrary to popular
belief it has not come from acquisitions like Fem in 2009-10." The highlight in this case
supports the key message.
[Click here to read the original blog post]
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E-Book: 14 Tips to Present Awesome Charts All About Presentations
Tip #14: Chart Aesthetics
Aesthetics deals with beauty and taste. In our context, chart aesthetics would mean the
overall look and feel of a chart. For an audience to understand and read a chart, they need
to like it first. It does not mean that a chart has to be a piece of art. It simply means the
chart has to 'fit' in the slide and should not look out of place. It has to be such that your
audience can easily read and remember the chart.
Why bother about chart aesthetics?
After all you are a serious presenter. It is a presentation in your college or office. And here I
am teaching you aesthetics. So why should you bother? Let me show you two formal charts.
Assume that you made these charts. Would you be happy showing these to your boss?
Chart #1 (Left – Dabur): Do you think your boss would even like to read this chart?
Chart #2 (Right – BILT): Will you ever be able to prove your point when you present a chart
like this? (Notice that each bar has numbers written inside it. A data label which your boss
can never read)
Go back to Tip #11 on colour and check out the chart by Emami Limited. Do you think
people would even like to read such a chart? What will they think about you after you have
presented this chart?
How to enhance the appeal of your chart in 10 easy steps?
Aesthetics is a vast subject and leaving it at a theoretical level will not be good. Here is a
technique you can use to dramatically enhance the aesthetic appeal of your chart in 60
seconds.
Technique: After you have made your chart, go through these 10 steps (in any order).
Follow all the steps and within 60 seconds you will have a dramatically improved chart.
Step 1: Remove all the grid lines (major and minor).
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Step 2: Adjust the size of your chart to balance it with other elements on the slide.
Step 3: Check for the font size and font colour of axis, chart title and data labels. If you have
re-sized your chart, you must re-adjust the font size.
Step 4: Merge the colours of the slide, chart area and the plot area. Ensure good contrast
between colours of the bars/lines with the background colours. Aim for better visibility.
Step 5: Make the line graph thicker to enhance visibility and appeal. See Tip #9 to know
how.
Step 6: Change the location of your legend. This will free a lot of space.
Step 7: Delete some data labels which you don't need, without causing a loss of information.
This reduces a lot of clutter.
Step 8: Club your axis title with your chart title. Instead of writing In '000 tons above y-axis
you can always make the title as; Sales (in '000 tons). This will free some more (valuable)
real estate.
Step 9: Make the axis lines thicker. This gives a good frame of reference to the eyes to view
the chart.
Step 10: Convert your three dimensional chart to a two dimensional one (3D to 2D). Why?
Because the extra 'D' spells disaster.
If we use these 10 steps on the 1st chart we can get a dramatically better chart. Here is the
old chart and the new and improved chart.
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If you find any problem in applying these ten steps you can check out the detailed step-by-
step explanation on the blog here.
Remember
Your chart will be read only if it appeals to the eye. You don't need a piece of art. But that
does not mean that your chart totally ignores basic design principles. Every presenter is a
designer and it's time you stood up and took notice.
[Click here to read the detailed post which will explain the entire ten steps above as
applicable to the makeover example]
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E-Book: 14 Tips to Present Awesome Charts All About Presentations
What Next?
To continue to learn more about presenting charts, you can do four things.
1. Extra Effort: The next time you are going to make a chart, spend some extra time thinking
about the four areas (key message, chart need, chart type and chart design).
2. Develop Basic Charting Skills: Develop your basics through practice. Know how to play
with excel charts. If you get stuck refrain from calling your colleague. Solve it with help from
your inbuilt software and from Google search.
3. Learn from Others: Download and watch investor presentations of large multinational
companies from their website. Visit slideshare and check out the most voted presentations
in your area of interest. Every time you see a chart, stop and ask why you like or hate it?
Seek help and feedback from others. After a presentation, you can always ask your
colleagues on how they liked the charts. Were they able to understand it easily or was
something missing? People will always share candidly. You just need to ask.
4. Take Interest and Discuss: Follow a presentation blog (like my All About Presentations)
which writes about charts regularly. Start a conversation to try and understand what is
being said and why.
Best of luck on your journey to make better charts. Be rest assured that that you are not
alone. You will always find a co-traveller in me. Ask your friends and colleagues to also join
in the fun. See you on the blog!
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Disclaimer:
All the charts that have been taken from corporate websites and investor
presentations have been used for purely academic purposes. The e-book does
not intend to comment, in any which way, on the style of working of any
organization.
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