DISPLAYING

“Data slides are not really about the data.
They are about the meaning of the data.”
Nancy Duarte.

principles to present your data
in the clearest possible way.

Tell the Truth.

As a presenter, nothing commands like credibility.
This is especially true when it comes to presenting
data.

Which graph makes
is easier to determine
R&D’s travel expense?
This 3D chart or the
charts below?
Expenses by Department in Millions
Data and Image Source: Slideology

Get to the Point.

You need to draw some kind of meaning from the
data so that you can effectively express that
meaning to your audience.

On this chart show sales growth and recovery.
This chart was for Management to draw attention to the April.

Image by Frantisek Kusovsky

Image by Andrew Simpkins

Pick the Right Tool.

You’ll need to choose the most appropriate tool for
displaying your data.The most frequently used
graphs for business communications are pie, bar,
and line graphs.

Pie charts work only for
showing large differences in
proportion, especially
percentages.
Image by André Oliveira

Image by André Oliveira

Bar charts are visually more
precise than pie charts, and
can accommodate larger data
sets.
Image by Alex Pankratov

Image by Jazmine Kohl

Line graphs are used to
track changes over short
and long periods of time.
Image by Kean Richmond

Image by Graphorce

Sometimes though, the best chart is no chart at all.
If you only have one key message for your slide or
the big message is just a number.

Image by MojoTech

Image by Anton Egorov

Image by Anton Egorov

Image by London Media

Highlight What’s
Important.

Keep in mind that the purpose of slides is not to
show all the data, but to communicate conclusions
and insights.

Think of a data chart in three layers
The background layer contains
elements like tick marks,
scales, legends, and grid lines.
The data plotted on the slide is
usually pulled from a data table.
The emphasis layer exists in
the foreground and clearly
highlights the key message
from the data
1.Background
2.Data
3.Emphasis

Data and Image Source: Slideology

Keep It Simple.

Do your best to avoid all unnecessary visual
distractions and the message will come through
much clearer.

Data and Image Source: Slideology

Tell the Truth
Get to the Point
Keep It Simple
Highlight What’s Important
Pick the Right Tool

Bipul Deb Nath
bipulcontact@gmail.com