In my book Select Effective Visuals, I explain that there are many different visuals to use when comparing values in a single data series. The most common visuals are the column graph and the bar chart. They look like each other, just rotated 90 degrees. Does that mean that presenters can choose either one and…
Category: Data & Graphs
Re-emergence of donut charts; Issue #347 September 29, 2015
Many data visualization experts like to rage against pie and donut charts. They make valid points about the mis-use of these charts by some presenters. But as I explained in my book Select Effective Visuals, pie and donut charts can be useful for showing how one segment compares to the total. Donut charts, in particular…
Axis or data labels; Issue #346 September 15, 2015
On a graph that uses a measurement axis, like column, bar, and line graphs, one question that comes up is how the graph should be labelled. The default is to have the axis only. In my workshops I often show how data labels can help the audience more than the axis. One thing you don’t…
Small multiples makeover April 8, 2015
Compare multiple data series across multiple categories using small multiple bar graphs
Visuals that indicate performance; Issue #333 March 17, 2015
A few months ago I delivered a webinar on turning spreadsheets into visuals because far too often presenters just copy their analysis from a spreadsheet onto a slide and think that the audience will figure it out somehow. Today’s insight comes from that webinar. You can’t just copy dozens of numbers onto a slide. In…
The correct visual to show a trend; Issue #332 March 3, 2015
As I write my next book which is due out in late spring, I am forced to think deeply about the decisions business professionals should make when selecting visuals for their slides. One of those decisions is whether to select a column chart or a line graph when showing a trend or direction in the…
Graph labelling techniques; Issue #331 February 17, 2015
In this article I am going to share a couple of innovative ways to use the built-in graph data label feature of PowerPoint to make your graphs more effective. I’ve always taught that if the built-in data labelling feature does not work for your graph, just add text boxes with the labels you need. And…
The correct use of a pie chart; Issue #327 December 23, 2014
The correct use of a pie chart is to show one segment compared to the whole; Use bar charts for ranked values
Universal Indicators; Issue #312 May 27, 2014
Next week I am presenting a workshop to accountants in Vancouver. One of the points I will be making is that when you show a number that indicates the difference between a measured figure and a standard, you need to use an indicator so the audience knows whether this is a good number or not.…
Diverging Stacked Bar Charts; Issue #310 April 29, 2014
When I first heard the name of this visual, diverging stacked bar chart, it seemed complex. As I learned more about it, I realized how valuable it is to know about this type of visual in business presentations. In this article I want to show you what this visual is and how you can use…