How to Present Data in PowerPoint

© 2012 Matt Hunter

PRESENTING DATA IN POWERPOINT

Practical advice on slide design

DIGITAL ◊ PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT ◊ STRATEGY

22 June 2012

© 2012 Matt Hunter

What are we covering today?

• Slide design

for heavy

data

• Slide design

for non-data

• Answer first/

Pyramid

Principle

• Vocal delivery

• Vocal ‘tics’

• Physical

delivery

• Presenting

slides

• Word choice

• Directive

language

• Active speech

• Bad habits

This presentation is about one important niche area

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Overview

• This presentation is a re-worked version of a one-hour lecture presented at Tsinghua University,Beijing (清华大学）for students on the International MBA; with additional explanations for Slideshare users

• Our objectives are to:

-Motivate you to improve your data slides

-Give you some clear guidance on how to improve your data slides

-Turn you into a force for good in the world of business & PowerPoint

© 2012 Matt Hunter DIGITAL ◊ PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT ◊ STRATEGY

All third party information featured in the presentation slides remains the intellectual property of their respective originators. All use of information is done under the fair use copyright principal, and I do not assert any claim of copyright for any quotation, statistic, fact, figure, data or any other content that has been sourced from the public domain. Whilst efforts are made to ensure accuracy, no warranties can be given. I do assert a claim of copyright for my domains, matthunter.com, my site design, slide design, database design, look and feel, and my logo (“the cube”). The core material in this work is shared under a creative commons licence [attribution 3.0 unported (CC by 3.0)]. Readers are free to share (copy, redistribute, transmit) and remix (adapt the work), including for commercial use; but must properly attribute the original work to me. Such attribution should not suggest that I make any endorsement of the user or their derived use of my material. Further viewing of this presentation indicates your understanding of and consent to these conditions.

© 2012 Matt Hunter

AGENDA Why Presenting Data in PowerPoint matters 5 Principles of Good Slide Design Slide Dissection Reflection About

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Sometimes, you get to present unusual, exciting stuff

© 2012 Matt Hunter

More often, you just have to present stacks of data

© 2012 Matt Hunter

People make judgements about the quality of your work based on just your PowerPoint

(Hundreds of hours of market research, Excel analysis, crunching accounts, …)

(You and a handful of PowerPoint slides)

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Poor PowerPoint can limit your career

• Your work is worthless unless people act on it

• If your slides are unclear, you force people to think too much

• The more effort people must exert to understand you, the greater the chance they will ignore you

•

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Remember your objectives when you are making data slides

• Most presentations aim to achieve agreement on a course of action

• By the end of the meeting, you want to have moved people closer to making a valuable decision

• To do this, you establish credibility and build trust

• You string together a series of logical statements that lead to your conclusion

• You use data as supporting evidence that the statements are correct

• If the data is clear, reliable and agrees with your interpretation, your audience believes your story

• Gaining credibility and trust, you persuade your audience to accept your recommendation

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Our focus right now is on making the “supporting evidence” do its job well

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Of course, not all presentations are exactly the same

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Sometimes, the data might not be central

• A large audience (Conference, annual general meeting) is probably there for entertainment, not statistics

• An initial chat with investors might focus on broad concepts – not an illustrated business forecast

• A 500 word blog post probably doesn’t have enough reader engagement to need heavy-duty data the whole way through

© 2012 Matt Hunter

In these special settings, you can bend the rules

Original alternatives to graphs and charts can amuse an audience & express your

creativity

In a day full of corporate presentations, being the

special guy can help you

to be remembered

© 2012 Matt Hunter

In the usual corporate setting, more formal rules apply

• You want people to focus on your content not your presentation

• Graphs and tables need to convey information, not distract from your message

• Clarity and credibility are paramount

Follow the principles described in this presentation

© 2012 Matt Hunter

5 Key Principles

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Principle #1: Help the eye to compare the data

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Imagine…

After 100 hours of work, you’ve finally completed the critical analysis your team needs to see

The results are amazing

You can’t wait to tell your team

You print out the spread sheet & call a meeting

© 2012 Matt Hunter

When you show your team, you feel the evidence is clear

© 2012 Matt Hunter

But your team sees things differently

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Human brains aren’t designed for reading spread sheets

22

Cognition happens in the cerebral cortex at the front of the brain • Recently evolved • Still in Beta • Slow, with limited bandwidth

Seeing happens in the visual cortex at the back of the brain • Pre-attentive visual processing

automatically occurs in the brain prior to conscious awareness

• Specialist neurons make us receptive to size, colour, intensity, shape, …

• And we remember pictures better than facts

© 2012 Matt Hunter

So - present the data in a way which makes the most of human capabilities

• Humans can visually perceive 2D space well

• But humans struggle with lots of other things

-Estimating depth

-Estimating colour intensity

-Measuring distance on a curve

• And some things people cannot judge accurately at all

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Can you pick out the highest dot? Can you pick out two dots close together?

Source: Juice Analytics

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Can you pick out the highest dot? Can you pick out two dots close together?

Judging distance in two dimensions is pretty easy


© 2012 Matt Hunter

Can you find the tallest? The shortest?


© 2012 Matt Hunter

Judging relative height in 2D is pretty simple

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Which bars are widest? Thinnest?


© 2012 Matt Hunter

Judging width is more difficult

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Which is the largest piece?

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Judging distance on a curve is difficult

© 2012 Matt Hunter

What values are shown in the graph?

0

1

2

3

ColumnA

ColumnB

ColumnC

3D Perspective

Problems

• The chart on the left appears to show that: Column A is a little under 1 Column B is a little under 2 Column C is a little under 3


© 2012 Matt Hunter

What values are shown in the graph?

0

1

2

3

ColumnA

ColumnB

ColumnC

3D Perspective

Problems

• The chart on the left appears to show that: Column A is a little under 1 Column B is a little under 2 Column C is a little under 3

• However, the data in the graph is: Column A = 1 Column B = 2 Column C = 3


© 2012 Matt Hunter

3 Dimensions can makes things needlessly complex

© 2012 Matt Hunter

This has strong implications for how we visualise data

• People can judge some things very accurately:

- Length of a line, position of something in 2D space, …

• People judge some things semi-inaccurately:

- Width, area, length of a curved line, …

• And some things people cannot judge accurately at all

- Three dimensions is tough


• Bar charts and dot plots work with our natural strengths

• Pie-charts and area graphs test our abilities and should be used sparingly

• Never make 2D graphs into 3D graphs

Human capability Implication

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Let’s talk about colour

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Which dot catches your attention?

Colour guides the eye: use for emphasis

© 2012 Matt Hunter

However, remember that the meaning of colour is NOT universal

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Using a culturally inappropriate colour scheme can confuse you audience

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

Stuff

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

Stuff

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Generally, corporate presenters favour conservative colour schemes

© 2012 Matt Hunter

This means gentle gradient colour schemes are fashionable

-20

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

07 08 09 10 11 F12 F13 F14 F15

Profit Before Tax

(£ Million)

Year

Forecast Profit Before Tax, '07-'15

Other

Van

Energy

Travel

PersonalLoans

Historic data Forecast data

Legend: Product Lines

© 2012 Matt Hunter


-20

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

07 08 09 10 11 F12 F13 F14 F15

Profit Before Tax

(£ Million)

Year


Other

Van

Energy

Travel

PersonalLoans



But being “too gentle” can cause problems

© 2012 Matt Hunter

-20

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

07 08 09 10 11 F12 F13 F14 F15

Profit Before Tax

(£ Million)

Year


Other

Van

Energy

Travel

PersonalLoans




But being “too gentle” can cause problems

Readers can’t easily pick out each data series

© 2012 Matt Hunter

And colour gradation has its own meaning

1

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Avoid excessive colour contrast

High contrast images can confuse the eye, making static imagines appear to move and pulse

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Strong (but inoffensive) colour clashes come from opposite sides of a “colour wheel”

Source: Kingdom of Style

© 2012 Matt Hunter

The brain is highly attentive to colour – make conscious use of this

• Use differentiated colours to mark out different series

• Use colour gradations to portray a general trend in something

• Be aware of colour weaknesses

-Avoid very high contrast colour combinations which can annoy the eye

-Around 1/10th of Western males over the age of 40 are partially colour blind and struggle to discern the difference between blue and green

-The colour red communicates different meanings in different cultures (Danger Vs. Luck)

© 2012 Matt Hunter

What does all this mean for how we present data?

• Bar graphs, line charts and scatter plots work well with our natural abilities – use abundantly

• Pie charts, bubble charts and other area graphs are more troublesome – use with reservation

• People are poor at judging anything in 3D so never needlessly add 3D effects to things

• And colour is hugely powerful - but always consider possible cultural bias before use

Image: Rollins College

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Principle #2: Tell the truth

© 2012 Matt Hunter

What is wrong here?

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

2008 2009 2010

Bamburger Department Store Retail Sales, 2008-2010 Sales ($US)

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Because the Axis doesn’t start at zero, chart “lies”

2009 sales appear twice as tall (suggesting twice as big) as 2008. In reality, they are just 10% more

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

2008 2009 2010

Bamburger Department Store Retail Sales, 2008-2010 Sales ($US)

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Q: Which firm has the lowest level of purchases?

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

Firm A Annual Purchases,

'06-'15

US$ Billion

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

Firm B Annual Purchases,

'06-'15

US$ Billion

-

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Firm C Annual Purchases,

'06-'15

US$ Billion

© 2012 Matt Hunter

They are all the same - All show identical data but with different scales on the Y-axes

Mixing up scales on Y-axes means we can’t compare the height of the line from graph to another. This is a common way to

“accidentally lie” to your audience

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

Firm A Annual Purchases,

'06-'15

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

Firm B Annual Purchases,

'06-'15

-

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Firm C Annual Purchases,

'06-'15

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Keeping Axes the same between slides sometimes means leaving a lot of white space on one slide…

£0

£20

£40

£60

£80

£100

£120

£140

£160

£180

£200

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Business Unit PBT (£M)

Product 1 Product 2 Product 3

NPV 08-15: £307M

Scenario 1

Axis maximum value is chosen to make comparison with the values on the next slide easy

© 2012 Matt Hunter

…but this ensures the change in values on the next slide is properly understood

£0

£20

£40

£60

£80

£100

£120

£140

£160

£180

£200

2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Business Unit PBT (£M)

Product 1

Product 2

Product 3

NPV 08-15: £632M

Scenario 2

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Beware of truncated axes

• People lie with axes more than they realise

-PowerPoint & Excel will often automatically reset the Y-axis to a number greater than zero

-When you are being lazy and copying and pasting other people’s graphs into your presentation, the odds are every graph will use a slightly different scale

-Shifting the Y-axis between graphs on different slides makes it extremely difficult to compare data

• This breaks one of the most important rules about being honest with data: If a number is 2X as big as another, the bar should be 2X as long (or the height of a line twice as high)

© 2012 Matt Hunter

In an effort to make presentations “more interesting” many lies are told

• Here a money bag is used to represent $1 million and two moneys bags to represent $2m, a sum which is twice as much. Twice the sum = twice the area

• In this version, a single icon has been scaled up. However, now it is roughly twice the HEIGHT & twice the WIDTH of the $1 million bag: making it more like 4x the area for just 2x the sum

Source: United Nations Statistical Commission

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Finally, the triple threat: 3D, curves and abuse of area

As described earlier, humans struggle to judge angles or distance on a curve, and struggle to perceive things intended to be in three dimensions. For these reasons alone, 3D pie charts are to be avoided.

However, there is another problem. We’ve also established that when we use area to represent data, the amount of area something occupies should be proportional to the sum represented. In the given chart, the 3D angle and depth effect used means segments at the “front” of the pie chart receive more visible chart area than those at the back. This chart is hard to read, and it lies to the audience.

Source: United Nations Statistical Commission

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Key lessons from this section

• The length of bars should be directly proportional to the value they represent (if a number is 2x bigger, the bar should be 2x longer)

• When using areas, the area should be proportional to the value represented (if a number is 2x bigger, the area used should be 2x as big)


© 2012 Matt Hunter

Principle #3: Take away the distractions

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Fundamental rule of chart design

Reduce chart junk

(Anything repetitive,

ornamental or distracting)

Increase data:ink ratio

(Communicate meaning)

Source: Edward Tufte

© 2012 Matt Hunter

What is the main problem here?

0

1,000,000

2,000,000

3,000,000

4,000,000

5,000,000

6,000,000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

Aft

er

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

10

11

12

To

tal w

eekly

sale

s r

even

ue

Total Sales Revenue Before & After

“Before” “After”

© 2012 Matt Hunter

The eye tries to make a line – so give the eye what is wants

0

1,000,000

2,000,000

3,000,000

4,000,000

5,000,000

6,000,000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

Aft

er

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

10

11

12

To

tal w

eekly

sale

s r

even

ue

Total Sales Revenue Before & After

“Before” “After”

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Reducing the ink used in a graph usually helps

Reducing the ink used in a data slide

typically

reduces the cognitive processing

the reader has to go through

& helps the important information

stand out

© 2012 Matt Hunter

This is Tim Bray’s example in reducing “chart junk” to a minimum

1 2 3

6 5 4

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Bray’s changes show how less can achieve more

Before After

• Colour background lowers the contrast between the bars

• Gridlines cut across the image adding confusion

• With detail stripped out the data sits in higher contrast

• Simplicity frees the data

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Let’s look at the most common distractions

• Colour backgrounds

• Over-powered gridlines

• Repetition of information

• Making people turn their heads

• Using too many digits

• Overloading a single chart or slide

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Avoid using strong colour backgrounds

White backgrounds increase the contrast of the data items on your slide, making comprehension easier

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Weak Contrast Strong

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Strong Contrast

The main possible exception to this rule is the use of gridlines

© 2012 Matt Hunter

If gridlines are used, they need to be visible but easily distinguishable from the main data line

Gridlines can aid reading – but use with consideration

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Intrusive gridlines Strong

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Assisting gridlines

• Use a faint colour that contrasts with the main data

• Consider using a pale background to lessen the contrast between the gridlines and the background

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Don’t obsessively use titles, legends AND axis labels

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Sales

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50Sales, $

Sales

Sales, $

Don’t repeat yourself

$

With a single series of data in your chart, you don’t really need to use an axis label, title and a legend

Repetition Strong High effect

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Try not to make people “turn their heads”

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

Janua

ry

Fe

bru

ary

Marc

h

April

May

June

July

August

Septe

mber

Octo

ber

Novem

ber

Decem

ber

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

If it is hard to read, assume people won’t try

Vertical labels aren’t readable. Use a mild angle, or abbreviate labels and keep them horizontal (“Jan” or “J” vs “January”)

90 degrees Strong 45 degrees

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Use fewer digits wherever possible

• Which is the bigger number:

12,573,981 or 11,894,397?

• To process the relative size of these numbers, the brain goes through the following steps:

• Help the brain – It’s easier to understand if they are written as:

12.6 million and 11.9 million

Source: United Nations Statistical Commission , OECD, Local Govt. Dept (Wales) http://www.unece.org

http://www.unece.org/

http://www.unece.org/

© 2012 Matt Hunter

The most common problem with “too many digits” is on the axes of graphs

-

2,000,000,000

4,000,000,000

6,000,000,000

8,000,000,000

10,000,000,000

12,000,000,000

14,000,000,000

16,000,000,000

18,000,000,000

20,000,000,000

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

World Rough Diamond Production

Additional zeros do not help the reader

$

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Changing the axis to “billions”, and adding totals to each bar, sets the data free

13.4 13.3

14.9

16.3 15.9 16.9

17.6

-

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

World Rough Diamond Production $Billion

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Don’t overload a single chart with more information than it should handle

-1

0

1

2

3

4

5

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Sales & Profits (2004-2011)

Revenue

Net Profit

£Billion

Version 1: Two data series together

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Often a “2 Up” slide allows easier comparison than putting all the data in a single chart

0

1

2

3

4

5

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Sales

£Billion

-0.3

-0.2

-0.1

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Profits

£Billion

Version 2: separate charts

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Remember, you are (usually) allowed to use more slides

• How many important points are you trying to make for your audience?

-A rough guide is “one or two points to one chart”

• Just because you can stick all the data in one graph or one slide doesn’t mean you should

-Unless your boss has imposed some crazy limit (“Jim, you can only present 5 slides”) remember that extra slides are free! Use as many as needed to convey your message without confusing the audience

(If you do have a crazy boss, try to negotiate: accept a time-limit on your presentation instead of a slide limit)

© 2012 Matt Hunter

When to stop stripping away distractions?

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Sometimes you can get rid of charts completely: tables have their place

Source: Information Builders

Use tables when:

• Graphs interact with our visual system

• Tables interact with our verbal/reasoning system • We process information in a sequential fashion,

reading down columns or across rows, comparing one number to another…

• Tables force greater mental engagement by the audience, which can be both a pro (more attention) and a con (more chance of audience giving up)

• Readers need to look up or compare individual values

• Readers require precise values

• Values involve multiple units of measure

© 2012 Matt Hunter

However, bad tables are just as common and destructive as bad graphs

• Put data that readers must compare into columns, not rows

• Right align data in columns

• Remove excess digits

Avoid the most pointless errors:

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Comparison is easier in a column, not a row

Country Germany United Kingdom Luxembourg

Population 81,538,628 58,491,643 406,589

Country Population

Germany 81,538,628

United Kingdom 58,491,643

Luxembourg 406,589

Working along the row, the eye must jump back and fore to compare the digits, with the reader attempting to identify what the value of each digit is

With the digits in a column and right justified, it is easy to compare digits in the “tens of millions” column and see Germany is the largest, followed by the UK, with Luxembourg far behind

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Right justification is the right justification

Country Population

Germany 81,538,628


Luxembourg 406,589

Right justification keeps the digits aligned and sets the data free

Country Population

Germany 81,538,628


Luxembourg 406,589

Slide designers often like to “centre align” tables because it gives a sense of symmetry - however, it also makes it harder to compare digits. Here, it almost looks as if Luxembourg has a “4” in the “tens of millions” column

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Tables also usually benefit from using fewer digits

Country Population (Millions)

Germany 81.5

United Kingdom 58.5

Luxembourg 0.4

Cutting out digits saves on brain processing power

Country Population

Germany 81,538,628


Luxembourg 406,589

As described earlier, the brain struggles to digest long numbers

There are too many digits to deal with!

Check the size of the numbers – both millions…

Right, let’s start comparing ….

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Sometimes PowerPoint makes the news

PA Consulting prepared the diagram on the next page when working with the US Army It appeared in the New York Times alongside a piece that attacked the military for falling victim to “Death by PowerPoint”

© 2012 Matt Hunter

The New York Times have no idea what they are talking about

PA Consulting’s counter insurgency diagram uses the principles of system dynamics, developed by MIT’s Jay Forrester (pictured). This “influence diagram” links together the multiple elements at play in the Afghan war. It assists high-level strategists in identifying points of leverage where positive or negative feedback allows a small action to have a great impact. This is not a slide for public consumption by lay people. But it’s a Powerful piece of work for those who know the tools.

© 2012 Matt Hunter

“Lot’s of complicated, difficult to understand problems have simple, easy to understand

wrong answers”

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Be as complex as you need to be

• PowerPoint users face pressure to be succinct

• There is a pressure to make things perfectly easy for the audience (“Keep it simple, stupid”)

• But PowerPoint is not a substitute for thought or dialogue

Sometimes complexity is appropriate

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Let’s play a game

• On the next page, I will give you some numbers that fit a pattern I am thinking of

• When you think you know the pattern, turn the page and check whether your answer is correct or not

© 2012 Matt Hunter

What is the pattern I am thinking of?

• 1,3,5

• 20,22,24

• 1006,1008,1010

• 50,52,54

• 8,10,12

When you think the know the pattern, turnover

© 2012 Matt Hunter

The pattern I am thinking of is…

• “Any three ascending numbers”

• Is this what you guessed? Probably not.

• Most people will have guessed “numbers rising by 2” or something similar

• Why?

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Most people don’t assess all the options

• “Numbers rising by 2” is a pattern that fits all the examples given - but not the only one

• Most people come up with an hypothesis early on and then look at the other sets of numbers to see if the hypothesis fits

• If it does, they believe in their first hypothesis – they don’t generate more hypotheses, or notice that many other hypotheses would also explain the data

© 2012 Matt Hunter

This is an example of “confirmation bias”

• Confirmation bias is a tendency of people to favour information that confirms their beliefs or hypotheses

• People display this bias when they gather or remember information selectively, or when they interpret it in a biased way

• Experiments suggest people are biased towards confirming their existing beliefs

• People commonly tend to test ideas in a one-sided way, focusing on one possibility and ignoring alternatives

• Confirmation bias is mostly driven by a combination of wishful thinking and the limited human capacity to process information

© 2012 Matt Hunter

In a PowerPoint setting, the headline on a slide can encourage confirmation bias in the audience

• A strong headline implants an idea in the minds of the audience

• The audience then views the rest of the slide in an attempt to prove / disprove this idea

• The audience is far less likely to generate their own original interpretations of the evidence provided on the slide

• In short, a strong headline controls the audience and stops them thinking for themselves

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Consider the same slide with a passive or strong headline

• The passive headline tells the audience what is on the slide, but not what it means

• The audience might generate several conclusions: “Emerging markets and the S&P 500 are highly correlated” “There’s little performance difference between the emerging markets and the S&P 500” …

• An active headline changes the audience experience

• This headline tells the audience to look for a dip in emerging markets, followed by a strong bounce

• The eyes scan the lines and confirm the interpretation they have been told to look for

• Most audience members will then not raise alternative data interpretations

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Be aware of what you are doing when you use strong headlines

Giving your audience strong headlines helps you. By pushing the audience to focus on things you think are important, you keep a presentation moving in the direction you have intended, and avoid lengthy tangential discussions.

Giving your audience strong headlines can also help the audience. Some of your audience may be uncomfortable reading data (no matter how well presented) and the assistance a headline gives removes stress.

However, promoting confirmation bias can also inhibit dialogue. You can encourage the audience to become passive. You can even deceive the audience into believing false conclusions.

Don’t use headlines for evil

© 2012 Matt Hunter

This section puts things into practice

• We capture some real world slides in the wild and then dissect them

• These concrete examples demonstrate how doing many small things right (or wrong) alters the impact of a slide

© 2012 Matt Hunter

This slide is functional but could use basic improvements to aid clarity

Axis has excess units: it is in millions but should be in billions

3D effect adds nothing and makes graphs harder to read

Headline is too passive / cryptic

© 2012 Matt Hunter

This Zero2IPO chart makes several basic errors

Axis has excess units: it is in millions but should be in billions It’s also not clear what currency this is, as the currency information is listed in the legend

This is a two axis graph but is unclear which data series goes on which axis. This can be worked out by looking at the legend but this is easily missed

Bar totals have unnecessary extra digits, going to 2 decimal places

There are effectively two chart titles, repeating themselves

Overlapping data series makes it hard to read individual totals. If all of this information is actually important, the author should place this data on to two separate graphs

© 2012 Matt Hunter

This bubble chart loses impact because the axes are unclear and the headline is passive

Rotated axis is hard to read

X-Axis label is hard to find

Circle colour gradients make overlapping objects easier to see

Passive headline

© 2012 Matt Hunter

The below chart is ineffective and contains area-lies

The slide repeats colours in each of the pie-charts but they have different meanings – confusing the reader

Pie charts are ineffective – using stacked bar charts would be superior

Size difference between pie-charts is misleading The radius of the right hand pie chart is 32% greater than the left This makes the area 74% greater However, the value of expenses/revenue = only 59% greater The area of the right hand chart overstates the difference by 15% points

© 2012 Matt Hunter

This chart shows proportions within a category well but misses comparison across categories

At a glance, the reader see almost as much dark purple as light purples. This leads to the conclusion that there are almost as many VC-backed listings as there are non-VC backed listings. However, when we look at the values in the charts we see this is not the case: Mainland China is by far the single biggest market and is predominantly non-VC backed The marimekko chart overleaf would have been superior in illustrating this data

© 2012 Matt Hunter

This chart displays the same information as a marimekko, allowing the size of Mainland China to stand out

1,604 217 121 121 15

Mainland China Hong Kong

S’pore US

Other

Choice of Listing Market: VC-backed Vs. Non-VC-backed Total: 2,078

100%-

0%-

50%-

25%-

75%- VC backed

Non VC backed

© 2012 Matt Hunter

There are many features working together to ensure this bar chart is readable at a glance

Title in bold & centred on the chart

Axis label is clear, with units ($) and “Billions” rather than 9 zeros

Bars have values clearly marked aiding interpretation

Years are clearly marked without excess detail (“2006” Vs. “2006.01”)

Coloured background is faint and does not lower contrast with main data items

Gridlines assist the eye in reading the height of bar. Gridlines are faintly visible and unobtrusive. NB: Using gridlines & bar totals is “overkill”

Axis units are double digits: E.g “20” not “20,000,000,000”

All bars have solid shape outlines in a dark colour to increase background contrast

Chart has no “black frame” to distract attention content

© 2012 Matt Hunter

This line chart is clearly readable and high contrast with minimal distraction

Axis label is clear

Heading in bold & centred on the chart

Legend marks two series; with top-most series in graph at listed at the top of the legend


Date periods are clearly market with no excess data (“Jul-2011” Vs. “01-Jul-2011”)

Axis units are appropriate: “100” not “100.00”

Coloured background is faint and does not lower contrast with main data items

Gridlines assist the eye in reading the height of bar. Gridlines are faintly visible and unobtrusive


Series data is shown using strongly differentiated colours

© 2012 Matt Hunter

A complex and unusual area chart, but clearly labelled to be intelligible to subject matter experts

Axis label is clear

Gridlines aid reading of height

Gradated colour scheme gives a perception of depth

Axis uses appropriate increments: “0.5%” rather than the default “0.1%”; keeping detail under control

Axis labels are listed at different heights to avoid overlap

Chart uses 3D to display additional data (rather than an embellishment on a 2D slide)

© 2012 Matt Hunter

3D may be used legitimately if it allows you to display additional information (and is not just decoration)

Axis label is clear

Meaning of negative numbers clearly explained

Gridlines aid reading of height

Axis label is clear, with distance from labels to aid easy reading

Chart uses 3D to display additional data (rather than an embellishment on a 2D slide)

© 2012 Matt Hunter

Some final thoughts

For better or for worse, PowerPoint is a critical tool in most businesses. Most people under-estimate its importance. You are judged on the work you present, not the work you do. Therefore, always take time to deliver high quality slides.

Humans are generally weak at understanding data. Visualisations exploit the brain’s natural hardware, making it easier for your audience to understand and remember your data.

Good slide design works by exploiting human physiology and psychology. Use colour to communicate meaning. Use height and area consistently. Remove unnecessary detail to optimise contrast. Use strong headlines to control your audience’s perception.

There are pressures to make all PowerPoint presentations into “sales pitches”: brief, linear, simple and unchallenging for the audience. Often, this is the easiest path to “get to yes” and persuade people to agree with us. However, remember that at times creating understanding and encouraging dialogue is the more important objective. This is especially true when presenting on issues around risk. If critical matters are at stake, have the courage to ignore prevailing conventional wisdom and to be as complex, wordy and detailed as you deem necessary.

116

© 2012 Matt Hunter DIGITAL ◊ PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT ◊ STRATEGY

Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: http://cn.linkedin.com/in/digitaldirector

© 2012 Matt Hunter

DIGITAL ◊ PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT ◊ STRATEGY

Email: [email protected] LinkedIn: http://cn.linkedin.com/in/digitaldirector

How to Present Data in PowerPoint

Business

Transcript of How to Present Data in PowerPoint