📊 Presenting data

Simplify the chart

1. Show only the data that support this slide’s point
2. Remove gridlines, 3D, legends you can replace with direct labels
3. Highlight the key bar or line in color; gray out the rest
4. Make labels big enough to read from the back

Talk through it

Tell the audience how to read the chart before what it shows: “Each bar is a dorm; height is cups thrown away per week.” Then point to the key part: “Look at West Hall — it’s twice the others.” Then the meaning: “That’s where a pilot would have the biggest impact.”

Numbers people remember

Round numbers (“about 40,000” not 39,847), compare to something familiar (“enough cups to fill this lecture hall”), and use one big number on a slide by itself for impact.

Honest charts

Start bar charts at zero, don’t cherry-pick time ranges, and show uncertainty when it matters. Professors and employers notice misleading charts — and lose trust.

Tip

💡 If a chart needs a long explanation, it’s probably two charts.

🧠 Quick quiz

Answer all 4 questions correctly to mark this lesson as done.